Goals without action steps to accomplish them are just dreams. We’re not saying that you should stop dreaming.  Instead, it’s time to turn your dream into a goal. That dream can only be realized by taking action.

Ask any actor who seems to have become an overnight success. We didn’t see the years of acting lessons, practice, working for free or very little money, and begging for jobs that preceded his entry into the spotlight. The key lies in making small changes and taking incremental actions, every day.

Many business owners, and sales and marketing professionals grow their business through referrals. It happens gradually. Each new client will potentially refer them to their acquaintances. Each networking event attended may be the beginning of a business relationship with someone. A new client may not have resulted from the first networking event they attended. Maybe not even the second. But over time, they became a fixture in the business community and the work started coming their way.

The fast-paced environment in which we live might lead you to believe that things can happen overnight. That’s clearly not always the case. It’s the little things that we do every day that get us to our goals.

How to Plan for Success

1. Write down your specific goal. What does it look like to accomplish that goal? What does it feel like? Set a realistic date for its achievement. How long will it actually take to complete?
2. Now write down the steps that will get you there. It doesn’t matter how many steps there are.  Be as specific as possible. If you want to become really healthy, you wouldn’t write down “eat better”.  You might need to do some reading.  You probably need to go shopping.  You might also need to find some recipes and make a list of the foods that are healthy.
3. Now, assign the steps to a schedule.  Some steps might need to be done once.  Some may require daily actions.  Some might require thinking outside the box.  Maybe you feel like your time is stretched to the limit and you don’t see any possible way to fit exercise into your schedule, but you know that it’s an essential part of your plan to get healthy.  Be honest with yourself about your time.  How much time do you actually spend watching television, or reading every single post on Facebook?
4. This is where the rubber meets the road. How badly do you want to accomplish that goal?  Enough to give up Gray’s Anatomy? Start with today. Make one change that will help you accomplish your goal.

Getting into the details of what it will take to make your dreams come true, and then taking the actions that are part of your plan, will make all the difference. There are many ways to increase personal effectiveness and improve your professional presence. Hopefully these will get you started.

This is the season for resolutions. This year, why not stop fighting to accomplish your goals and instead, lean into them, with little changes, every single day.

At EDSI, we have been resolving employee development, leadership, generational, professional presence, and personal effectiveness issues for over 30 years. Contact us to learn how we can help increase productivity and profits in your organization.

800-282-3374 www.employeedevelopmentsystems.com