So I jumped in to today's activities well-rested and motivated. Now, I'm a bit tired, but I think the results of my work today has really made some headway on this week's progress. I started with some life planning. I followed something very similar to the format found on StartupNation.com. I've used this format before in project team and other organization retreats and have been very happy with the outcome. What resulted is the following "personal manifesto:"
Positive, healthy relationships – build trusting and significant relationships (both professional and personal) with people that are like me or that I like. I want to know everyone’s name that I work with. I want to know what’s going on with their families and just general things about their lives. I want to help my friends reach their goals and offer advice. When I get older, I want to help young people like me start out. Productive, Complementing Teamwork – have a great team that is constantly refining and fine tuning their abilities and processes. The team should have a great work ethic, and shouldn’t worry about someone that’s not pulling weight or is being too demanding. The dynamics shouldn’t have to be developed or cultivated, it should just be natural. Well balanced life – while work is important, it’s impossible to be personally unhappy and productive at the same time. I have to be able to section off time. I shouldn’t feel guilty about not being in the office every weekend, i.e. I must always be doing what I love, both in my profession and at home. This is sort of the part where you say "doesn't everyone want that?" Well, that's why this is called goal setting. It's what I want and it's what I'm aiming for. I understand that even the best teams require attention, cultivation, and growth, but it doesn't necessarily have to feel like it.
From this manifesto I discovered I'm definitely in the right field: entrepreneurship. It's something I'm committed to pursuing - I'm passionate about leadership and making businesses work for everyone involved. I also think it puts me in a great position to build the deeper personal and professional relationships I'm looking for in life.
So where's the plan part? I'm afraid this step didn't yield anything earth shattering. For some reason, however, I did find it empowering to put on paper. This is my action plan.
- Shake the full-time job to become a full-time Entrepreneur
- Start meeting the right people to help me reach my goals
- Mentors
- Potential Customers
- Team members
- Investors
- Generate passive income to reduce risk in other Entrepreneurial endeavors
- Investigate what to sell
- Learn how to sell it
- Sell it
- Implement It
I also spent some time today working on Objective 1 (What type of Biz to Build) - particularly in the vein of what to sell. The age old question continues to come up - should I consult or should I build a piece of software and sell it? After talking with a few people, it seemed like I might be able to do both, but that I needed a focus regardless of what I choose. I definitely think my objective will be to release some sort of software for small businesses, but we shall see how the remainder of the week works out.
All in all, I evaluate today as a success in getting more in touch with my personal needs and objectives. If anyone tells you business/professional goals should never interfere with personal ones or vice versa, they're fooling themselves. These days, I think it's impossible to segregate the two. When you're life planning, be sure to account for all aspects of life and how they can influence each other. Without that consideration, I don't think you can plan realistically.