Tag Archives for " Empowering young entrepreneurs "

8 Get Moving: Think Change – Lesson 17 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

According to management consultant John Murphy, “motivation means movement.”  It means reaching inside of ourselves to find the power that we all have to move forward, to make a difference, to advance ourselves and the people around us.

Motivation means going places, doing things and not standing still.  By putting our attention on change, growth, improvement, education, experimentation, adventure and discovery, we energize and enrich ourselves.  We are creating the momentum we need to power confidence and self-esteem.

When we do the opposite by staying the same or maintaining a fixed position, we lose energy and find ourselves mired in the same place, being stagnant and outdated.  This opens the door to fear, doubt and overwhelm with the world around us that is changing.

It doesn’t take a miracle to change.  It starts with a decision.  Decide to make a change.  Make a commitment to try something new.  Make an effort to expand your horizons and learn new things.  Open your mind and broaden your scope.  It seems like the decision should be a no brainer – adapt and thrive or fall behind.

Remember what Albert Einstein said, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.”

If what you are doing isn’t working, for goodness sake, change what you are doing.

2 7 Ways to Overcome Age and Be Respected As a Young Entrepreneur

Today’s blog article was originally posted at http://www.Under30CEO.com and was written by  Paul Eze of Nigeria.  Paul is the Managing Director/CEO of Pejas Solutions Limited, an ICT services and tech startup incubator.

Many years ago the barrier to entry into business was high.  Starting a new business was extremely difficult for a young twenty something year old not to talk of a young person below the age of 20.

While this has certainly changed in the 21st century there are still challenges of credibility, access to funding and so on facing a young startup entrepreneur.

In some climates like Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America young entrepreneurs have to fight against a mindset where people tend to see youth as not with potential for success but as liabilities.

Still despite the many challenges you may face as a young entrepreneur it is a very exciting time to go into business for yourself.  There has never been a better time to start your own business than now.  With the internet and new emerging technologies lowering the barrier to entry it is now a more open game for every willing soul.

Challenges to Expect if You Are a Young Entrepreneur

It is better you understand the challenges you are going to come up against as you set out to start your own business or run your own company.  Knowing these challenges will help you develop the right attitude to overcoming them.

Challenge of Credibility

I recall the first time I sat before a big hotel executive in my country trying to convince him on how my tiny marketing consulting company can help stimulate reasonable sales and profit growth for his large hotel.  The fact that I was a young, small guy with little or no track record didn’t help matters.

As a young entrepreneur you are faced with convincing clients, customers and even prospective employees that you are serious enough and capable of delivering on your promises.  Building credibility will determine how far you go as an entrepreneur.

Challenge of Cynicism

In parts of Africa you meet lots of unbelief when you introduce yourself as an entrepreneur and they see you are very young or even too young.  I don’t know about your country but there is something about being young and in business that makes people look at you with some skepticism.  It is a challenge you have to overcome with boldness and professionalism producing stellar results whenever given the chance.  Results will erase the challenges of cynicism and credibility faster than anything else you can think of.

How to Become Respected and Successful as a Young Entrepreneur

You should never despair when people take your words for nothing and dismiss you with a wave of the hand.  Learn to grow a thick skin.  And here are ways you can become successful even as a young business person.

1. Embrace Technology:

Nothing has contributed to the high number of successful young entrepreneurs in our world today more than technology and the internet.  Two decades ago or even less it was more difficult to start a business.  The financial requirements and barriers were too high.  Technology has taken care of that today.  Media businesses no longer take much money to start.  You can start a serious business today with a couple thousand dollars and no warehouse costs and inventories etc. Today businesses worth millions of dollars have been started by young, bleary eyed teenagers who had barely enough money to cater for their needs.  All thanks to technology.

If you hope to start a business and hopefully grow it to become profitable without the luxury of millions, look towards problem solving through technology.  It is one of your best shots.  If your idea is good enough maybe before you run out of money you get interested investors willing to give you enough funds to take you to profitability.

Internet and tech companies are reasons we have more millionaires in their twenties.  So look at problems or challenges that can be solved with the use of technology with enough potential market size, get the right partners and jump in. It will be an easier route to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

2. Use Other People’s Experience:

I struggled with a colleague of mine trying to run a business a few years ago while in the University until I learned the lesson of leverage.  If you can’t get across a dugout throw a plank across it and walk your way through.  If you are starting a business a sure way to fail is to try to do everything.  You might be good in programming and so single handedly you get the website for your idea up and running.  How do you promote the idea, get early users in and improve onward all alone?  How do you source for more funds from investors?

You don’t have to pay to get other people’s experience.  You can offer equity to have experienced people join your team thus complementing your own efforts. You can also get a lot of other people’s experience by just asking.  If you have a meeting set up but you need a more credible figure to boost your chances of getting a worthwhile contract then seek out that more experienced person and ask him to join you.  You take the back seat and ride on the back of the more experienced people to get what you want.

3. Be Bold and Creative:

Be bold!  There are no two ways about in today’s business world.  Do your homework and be confident all through.  If boldness gets you into trouble only more boldness will get you out.  While this may not be absolutely true I have found from experience that you have to be very bold to get the respect you deserve as a young entrepreneur.  At the first sign of timidity you lose.  Do not allow yourself get cowed.  You should also never be too boastful or proud.

Become creative and look for unconventional means to solve problems.  People tend to respect you for that.  If you are young, ambitious and creative you stand a better chance to succeed.  Use your creativity to your advantage.

4. Surround Yourself With a Sound Board of Advisors:

A very good way to tap into other people’s experience as earlier stated is to build up and surround yourself with a smart and knowledgeable Board of Advisors.  It need not be a formal board nor do they need to know themselves.  They are people you consult for advice, people you go to for business leads.  One of the first things I did while trying to restructure my company last year was to weave through all my contacts and create an Advisory Board of all experienced and accomplished professionals who I felt will be of great help to my business.  I approached them and asked to seek advice from them whenever I needed to. Several of them agreed.  I advise you should do the same.

How Do You Get Such Board if You are Then Young and Inexperienced

Getting a decent Board of Advisors is no easy feat.  Chances are that you do not know any experienced or resourceful individual in your proposed line of business. The only way to solve this is to actively begin to network and meet the right people.  LinkedIn and a few other networking innovations have made it easier to link up and meet new people you wouldn’t otherwise have met.

Don’t make any request first, Build up a Relationship: It’s always smarter to build trust and affinity before making requests from new acquaintances and associates. Make positive efforts to gain their respect and trust and then politely explain that you are starting a company and you feel their experience will be invaluable to the success of your new venture.  Let them know that you would love to have them as one of your Advisors.  Promise not to take much of their time or run to them with every little problem you have because you know how busy they are.

Getting the right advisors will be difficult.  Many will not have your time and turn down your request.  The few that do agree may not even have the time to give you advice on phone, reply with detailed advice through email or meet in person with you.  So the sooner you know that the better.

Start with gathering a list of potential advisors who are good for the kind of business you are going into.  Then approach them one after the other to first connect then request.  If you end up getting two or three who can give freely of their time and advice you then that will be great for you.

5. Network, Network, Network:

Your best bet to meeting the right people and team you need for your success in the entrepreneurial journey is via social media.  With the help of social media networking you can hire the best hands, get needed investors and advisors, attract good consultants and ultimately reach out to more of your target audience without spending tons of money.

If you are a young entrepreneur social media can be a very powerful and important tool for you.

Build a Reputation.

Reputations grow like wildfire because they are essentially helped along by word of mouth. Determine a specific talent or thing you want to be respected and known for and quickly begin to build a reputation for yourself.  When your name goes ahead of you it doesn’t matter anymore if you are young.  For instance if you grow a reputation as a very tough and smart manager you’ll find that it neutralizes the age thing and people begin to take you on your reputation and not your age.

6. Push for and Embrace Positive Change:

One astounding feature of today’s youth is that they are more adaptable to change.  To succeed today you’ll have to be dynamic and fluid.  You can become successful by pushing the limits and boundaries and initiating change.  You may be met with initial resistance but if you are courageous enough you make a name for yourself later on.

7. The Art of Organization (Set goals, checkpoints and strive to meet them):

Unorganized individuals hardly make good football managers (same for business management).  Until recently organization and definiteness of purpose was one of my greatest challenges as an entrepreneur.  You have to be able to plan the short and long term future of what you are building or hoping to build.  Keep the long plan in view and execute the short term plan with dexterity making adjustments as each situation warrants.

If you are not organized it shows in your business life and activities and you lose respect. That is something you don’t want as a young entrepreneur.  Plan and follow your goals. Never enter a meeting without planning and being ready with necessary facts and information.

2 Goal Setting – Part 3: Lesson 15 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series

Have you fallen into the trap of setting too many goals?

An easy trap to fall into is setting too many goals. Many successful people often only set one big goal at a time. This focuses their efforts on one target, speeding up the completion of their goal. Once the first goal is completed, you can then look to tackle your next one.

If you set too many goals, the danger is that your focus will become so spread out that you end up achieving nothing. As an old proverb states; “if you chase two rabbits both will escape.”

Are you feeling it?

The meaning of the word goal is outlined as a ‘clearly and well defined measurable state.’ The goals you aim to achieve in life-whether it is to be a rock star, to build a multi-million dollar business, or own a mansion on the beach are all strong motivations because of the way you imagine they will make you feel once you have obtained them.

If you believe that having a multi-million dollar business will make you feel secure, powerful, and liberated, then these desired feelings are the driving force behind obtaining the goal.

Before setting out to make your dream become a reality it is important that you associate with the feelings that you imagine experiencing once you have obtained your goal.

For example if building a multi-million dollar business will make you feel secure and liberated, it is important that you connect with those feelings before you begin building your empire.

This will optimize and speed up the process of obtaining your goal.

Have you taken action?

All the great ideas in the world are worth nothing if you don’t take action on them. However, once you take action on your ideas they can begin to take form.

It is common for people to spend a significant amount of time setting worthwhile goals, but if you are not prepared to act on them then nothing will ever be achieved.

All successful people have one thing in common; they get more done in the time given to them, than most people.

Whatever idea you have in mind, you must begin working towards it the moment that your goal has been set.

It is important to develop a sense of accountability and commitment towards taking action, otherwise you may find that you talk yourself out of making your goals a reality.

Do you have a deadline?

Remember to give yourself a deadline to achieve your goal, otherwise you could end up spending a lifetime working towards it. Without setting a deadline you run the risk of becoming a procrastinator, always putting off the things you need to do. By having a time plan you streamline your focus, making sure that every second of your time up to this date is dedicated and organized to achieving your aim.

Remember: A goal is a dream with a deadline.

If you are going to be successful, you need to make sure that you live your life with a real sense of purpose and direction.  Creating goals is one of the most effective ways to do this.

6 Learning to Set Goals – Part 2: Lesson 14 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

How will you know when you have reached your goal?

Your goal needs to be as clear and precise as possible so that you know exactly when you have reached it.  One way to do this is to set the goal as a numerical figure.  If you can produce a clear ‘yes’, or ‘no’ response to whether you have reached your goal then you have successfully created a measurable objective.

For example, consider the goal of a financial target: Earn $100,000 by the end of the year.  Another example would be:  Make 5 contacts each day.

The numerical and precise nature of your goal allows you to effectively evaluate whether or not you have successfully reached your target when the end of the year arrives.

Does your goal make you go ‘wow?’

Is it important that the goal you set be ambitious?

Some people will tell you that goal setting should be realistic and attainable.  On the surface this makes perfect sense, because you want to set goals that you have a good chance of hitting.  And possibly failing to hit your goals because of aiming too high may leave you feeling a little depressed.

Others will suggest that goals should be set as high and as ambitious as possible because there is no logical reason why you cannot achieve whatever it is that you want.

It is only through your negative internal belief systems that you decide what is and what isn’t realistic.  Years of conditioning have encouraged us to develop a limited view of our potential.

Aim for the stars and you will catch the moon.

Have you written down your goal?

Once you have precisely and clearly established what it is that you want to aim for, write it down.

Your goal should be written down in a specific style in order to be successful.

Although goals are inherently in the future write your goal in the present tense. For example; instead of writing ‘I will have a successful business’, write ‘I have a successful business.’ This will add immediate impact to the strength of your goal.

The second point is to make sure when you write down your goal it is something you want instead of something you don’t want.

If you focus your energies on what you don’t want unfortunately you will attract what you don’t want into your life.  It is always more powerful to move towards something, instead of away from something.  For example wanting to make more money is much more effective than focusing on getting out of debt.

Is any goal better than having none at all?

Even if you do not master an effective goal setting program on your first attempt, having a bad goal setting program is better than nothing.  Setting any kind of goal is better than relying on luck.

Teddy Roosevelt once said; ‘in any moment of a decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.’

Even if you obtain a goal that you realize you did not actually want, at least you are one step closer to finding what it is you really want. As Tom Watson (Founder of IBM) famously said; “if you want to be a success, double your rate of failure.”

Watch for Part 3 tomorrow.

4 Learning to Set Goals – Part 1: Lesson 13 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

Today we are going to start a discussion about goal setting.  One way to enhance the quality of your life is to learn how to apply an effective goal setting program. These tips will help you on your way to doing this.

 

 

First of all, why set goals?

The biggest predictor of success is direction. If you don’t have something to aim for in for in life, the chances are you will end up achieving very little. Almost every successful person in the world started with a clearly defined goal in their mind of what it is they wanted to achieve. This provided them with a sense of purpose and direction.

The beauty of setting goals is that they help to streamline your life, adding a focal point and something for you to work towards.

Working out what you want.

It’s amazing how many people work towards goals that they don’t really want.

Usually the motivation to achieve these goals comes from a feeling that you should want them. Fame, recognition, and a high status job, are some of the modern day desires that society conditions people to think that they want.

It is important that all goals and desires come only from a place of wanting and not from a place of should.

When you cut out all the noise that society deafens you with, and directly ask yourself, “what is it that you want?” honestly and whole heartedly, you are able to generate goals that come from a place of inspiration, and not from a place of conditioning.

It is from inspiration that all worthwhile goals are created. When you work from this place your commitment to your goals is full of desire and passion.

Set goals based on your values.

Working out what your goals are is often the hardest part of the goal setting procedure, and the part which requires the most thought.

The first step to working out what you want is to establish what is important to you in life.

If for example you value your friends and family above anything else, then it makes sense to set a life goal of spending as much quality time with these people as possible.

If financial independence is valued highly you may choose to set a goal that focuses on reaching a specific sum of money within a set time frame.

Ask yourself a series of questions that force you to look at who you are and what is important to you in your life.

Consider answering the questions below and start devising goals around the answers you produce:

• What would you want to achieve if you knew you could not fail?

• If you could leave one message to the world what would it be?

• Who are you when you are at your best?

• If you had one day to live, what would you do?

The responses to these questions should provide you with some information about what is important to you in your life and aid the goal setting process.

Watch for part two tomorrow.

There are only 3 days left to register to win the Calm Parent program.  It’s simple.  Just enter your name and email in the box with the red arrows to the right on this page, or go to the contest page to learn more about The Calm Parent.

6 The Four Types of Support People Needed to Succeed: Lesson 12 in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur Series

The idea for this article came from Adam Urbanski of The Marketing Mentors.   I met Adam last year at his Overnight Authority Event and have been following him ever since.  He has these pearls of wisdom that inspire me and I can’t help but share them.

Yesterday he posted this quote I have here as the photo with this article, “Don’t let anyone ever dull your sparkle.”  As I shared it on my Facebook page, I thought about the message he wrote with it and was struck at how well it fit into the series of articles I’m writing in the Empowering Young Entrepreneur series for the blog challenge.

Adam wrote, “There are four types of support people we all need: teachers (to gain new skills), doers (to get things done), pushers (to make us do what we resist), and – the most overlooked one – CHEERLEADERS (to keep us going when we feel like giving up!).”

I realized that I can be all four of these types depending on what is needed from me at the moment.  However, is that wise?  Or is it better that we have four different people to count on?

Let’s take a look at the role of each of these support people.

Teachers.  When learning to become entrepreneurs, we must have teachers along the way to provide the knowledge we need in order to develop the skills to move forward and create a successful business.  Teachers also instill in us the values, qualities and characteristics that we need to be successful.  They can be anyone from a high school or college business teacher to an online expert or a businessperson we know from our community.

Doers.  These are the people that we delegate the work to, the assistants/virtual assistants that we assign tasks to.  These are the people who make sure our email blasts go out on time for the launch, or update our websites and blogs, manage our social media plan and so on.

Pushers.  The people who hold us accountable and help us get past our fears and doubts so that we accomplish the things that we must do to build success.  These people are psychologists to us, knowing how to reach our hearts and minds to get us back on track or keep us on track in the first place.  And last,

Cheerleaders.  This may be a young person’s parent or other family member, close friend, a classroom teacher who is supportive, a mentor.  These are folks who give us pats on the back and say good job each step of the way; the folks who encourage us to keep moving and don’t ever give up.  Any of the other three types of people can be a cheerleader as well as play their other role in your life.

So while it’s possible that one person can play all these roles for us, it isn’t necessarily a good idea.  Can you imagine how uncomfortable it would be to assign “chores” to your respected teacher or mentor?  That doesn’t make sense.  It also doesn’t make sense to ask the people who hold us accountable and “push” us to get things done to do those things for us.

After considering all of this, I have concluded that we need different people to play these roles for us.  That will serve to make us stronger, provide different perspectives and not confuse us as to what we can expect from the people in our lives who want us to succeed.

Which one of these roles do you play for others, or need to have in your life?

4 Ten Amazing Life Lessons to Develop An Entrepreneur Mindset

Today we’re looking at ten life lessons that are inherent in developing an entrepreneur mindset.

 

1. Follow your curiosity – Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the things you are interested in or want to know.  Questions are the key to learning and gaining knowledge.
2. Perseverance is priceless – Stick with whatever you are doing until you have gained what you set out to achieve.
3. Focus on the present – Focus is the key word here.  Keep your eye on your goal and don’t look back because that isn’t where you are headed.  You can only create your future by being in action in the here and now.
4. The imagination is powerful – The imagination is real for it is your relationship with thoughts.  It sounds deep, I know.  Whatever you can imagine can be real, just ask Walt Disney.
5. Make mistakes – Mistakes provide the greatest experiences for learning.  Never be afraid to make mistakes in business as there is always another chance to get it right.  If Plan A doesn’t work for you, don’t forget that you have 25 more letters in the alphabet.
6. Live in the moment – accept yourself and where you are in life at any given moment.  Don’t be envious of what other people have or appear to have.  If you want something different, take action to make it happen.
7. Create value – if you want to make your customers/clients to be happy, you have to provide them with something useful that they can use right away.
8. Don’t expect different results – Albert Einstein said that “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.”  If what you have tried or are currently trying isn’t working for you, don’t do it again; try something different.
9. Knowledge comes from experience – you can learn things from other people and from books, however, you can never truly know something until you have had the experience of it.
10. Learn the rules and then play better – don’t just play by the rules, play better than rules.  Go a step beyond and your customers and clients will be happy and remain loyal.

 

 

6 A Three Step Equation That Equals Success

Welcome to Lesson #10 in the

Empowering Young Entrepreneurs Series.

Today we are going to consider an easy three step equation to success that I borrowed from John Williams, president and founder of LogoGarden.com.   He writes, “Assuming the risk of establishing your own company can have a mind boggling return when it comes to career satisfaction [and to your lifestyle].  Your reward probably won’t be determined by just one brilliant idea that you cash in on, but instead by your desire to grow, your craving to build, and your aptitude to evolve.  Those are the unwavering ingredients that determine the entrepreneurship spirit.”

These are the qualities that we need to instill in and model to our young entrepreneurs.  The equation is simple:

1.) Passion + Drive

Passion + Drive will get you through the hard times which include mistakes, rejection and failure.

Talent isn’t the basis for starting a business, passion is.  Without passion about what you are doing, the project is sure to fail; it is dead where it stands.  Passion is what provides your business with the legs it needs to get up and running.

For example, are you an avid reader who loves real book?  Or maybe it doesn’t matter to you if it’s a real book or an ebook.  A used book store or online book trading company might be a perfect match for you.  Or do you love cars and don’t own one yet, how about a car detailing business?

Some people are very passionate about money and the competitive fire that burns within them while trying to make it.  No shame in that!  These people make great opportunistic businesses.  That means your passion is not for a particular business, but for any business that has a chance to be successful that will earn money.  The passion of this type of entrepreneur is planting a tree, watering it, and watching it grow.  It is about more than pursuing a trade that you are familiar with, in fact many entrepreneurs didn’t know much about their industry when they started, but they had the desire to learn about it, and even more importantly the drive to succeed at it.

2.) Organization + Vision

Organization + Vision keep your business on the right track.    

There are always going to be risks involved with starting your own business.  Once you have found your niche (your audience, your clients) is when you should begin visualizing your business and mapping out the goals which will serve as the foundation.  Foundations can shift, and as your business begins taking shape, your goals may change, but don’t neglect this step’s importance.  Without the foundation of goals your business may sink.  Goals give your business the oxygen it will need to survive; they give it A FIGHTING CHANCE!

3.) Networking + Learning

Networking + Learning will give your business credibility.

Getting serious about making this happen?  Now is the time to branch out and learn as much as much possible from other entrepreneurs who have a business similar to yours.  Social media is a great way to do that.  People who are on twitter and have Facebook pages are often easily accessible and very open to sharing their knowledge.  Also, take advantage of all the free videos, teleseminars and other training available on the internet related either to your business or to the skills needed to start a business.  There are some great entrepreneurial experts who create a lot of free content that you can take advantage of.

After learning as much as you can about the business you want to start, look in the mirror and ask yourself, “is this for me.”  If it is, start writing your goals based on your burning desires, your dreams and the vision you have created for your life.

All that’s left is to get started.

4 Empowering Young Entrepreneurs to Learn The Five Steps to Success

Determine what you really want.  You must know what you want before you can go after it.  Think about why you want this thing and what it will mean to you.  Visualize it in detail to the best of your ability.  Write it down.  Make a vision board.  Focus on your desire as much as possible.

 

Set a specific goal to obtain it.  To be effective, this goal must include a specific time frame and plan for its accomplishment. The goal should also be written down and studied regularly. Having a specific, written goal with a date for completion is the key to opening the power of your subconscious mind. As you read your goal, visualize or picture in your mind the achievement of what you desire.

 

Gain knowledge about your goal.  Learn everything that you can about the thing you desire.  Learn it from different perspectives, learn about people who have achieved your desire and about how they did it.  Listen to tapes, talk to experts, go to seminars to learn about it.  The more you know the easier it will be to spot opportunities and open doors and make good decisions.

 

Associate with people who share your goals and attitudes while avoiding those who don’t.  Don’t allow yourself to be with people who try to bring you down and try to convince you that you don’t have a chance of reaching your goal.  Find people who, like you, have a burning desire for something and are doing everything they can to reach that goal.  Join communities through social media of people who either want or already have what you want.  Talk with them, ask them questions, share the journey with them.

 

Don’t stop until you get it.  Do not ever give up or quit trying to get what you want.

 

4 Empowering Young Entrepreneurs to Get Stuff Done

 

Time is the one thing that we all have the same amount of every day and time, when lost or wasted, can never be replaced.  Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s time.

Let’s take a look at some facts about getting stuff done.

• What you do is more important than how you do it.
• 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort (time).
• The goal is maximum income from minimal necessary effort.
• Playing like you are busy is not productive
• Be more selective about what you do, do less, and be more productive.  Take an honest look at how much time you spend texting and Facebooking.  Is this productive?  Is it moving you towards your dream life?
• Lack of time is simply a lack of priorities.
• Limit the amount of things you actually do.  Focus on the most important ones.

If someone ordered you to “Stop doing 80% of what you’re doing!” what would you quit doing?  What are your big time wasters?  For example, watching television, playing video games, or just hanging out could be your big time wasters.

To be productive, try to never have more than 1-2 tasks to get done each day.  Do not multitask (doing more than one thing at a time) because it is very inefficient.  For example, it’s not effective to talk on the phone while you are doing your homework.  Do one thing start to finish then move on to the next.  This will save you time and you will accomplish more!

Now, let’s look at how you can get stuff done using a 3 step process.

The three steps we will look at include:

1. Brainstorming
2. Prioritizing
3. Creating a Visual

Step 1:  Brainstorm

Go somewhere different to brainstorm.  Get out of the house and find someplace where you will not be distracted.  You could go to the park, beach, coffee shop, or backyard. Turn off your cell phone and do a brain dump.  Create a list as long as possible of all the things you want to get done with, either for school and your business and your life.  Things you could have on your list include:  Getting on the honor roll, getting your GED, going to vocational school/college, being a role model for kids, volunteering, reconciling with a friend or family member, developing a website, creating a blog, and so on.  Do this for at least 30 minutes.

Don’t judge or analyze anything you write down because it will stop your creative flow. When you are finished, WALK AWAY.  On the next day, (or at least wait several hours) move on to Step 2.

Step 2:  Prioritize

You should begin this step after you have waited 24 hours or at least several hours after you complete your brainstorm list.  Now you will prioritize every idea on your brainstorm list rating it 1, 2, or 3 on the right side of each row or crossing the item off of your list.

• “1” for a high priority item.  It needs to be finished in 30 days.
• “2” for a medium priority item.  It is still important, but can take     30-90 days to complete.
• “3” for a low priority item.  It should get completed, but it may take a year or two.  Finishing it is not a big deal.
• Cross off any items that aren’t a 1, 2, or 3.

Step 3:  Create a Visual

Remember not to assign more than one or two tasks per day.  Your goal is success and completion, and if you feel successful you will keep going.  If you get behind, you may feel discouraged and quit.  Be realistic with how much time you have to get this stuff done.  Create three columns on a piece of paper:

• “What” Column.  List all of your high priority items from your brainstorm list (your #1s).
• “Who” Column.  Who is responsible for getting the task finished?  Unless you have others who are helping you, it is YOU.
• “When” Column.  The date you will finish the task.  Pick a date that gives you a little extra time because it is important to finish it by the date you commit to completing it.  This is the most important step because it is the ACTION step.  Be realistic in deciding when the task is to be completed by looking at everything else you have going on in your life.

Each of us is taking action every moment of every day.  Sometimes your actions will propel you forward with completing the items you have identified as high priorities in your life.  Other times, your actions will hold you back from truly getting what you want out of life.

You can use this exercise to prioritize your most important projects, then do this exercise again for each project you have to complete.  It may take a few extra minutes initially, but in the end it will save you a lot of time.