A captain of a ship knows which port he is headed to, even though he cannot see his destination. He knows where he wants to go and unless there is an unforeseeable crisis that delays or upends his plans, he will arrive at his destination if he consistently does certain things a certain way every single day of his journey.
Every business owner must have goals. They must map out in their minds, the ports at which they wish to arrive in the course of their business journey.
This goals must have a time-based priority. A five year plan. A one year program. A six month campaign. A short project.
But even these elements of time management are still large in comparison to the minutes and hours where we spend our time each day. Most people spend their waking hours going through the motions. They chat idly, put off making decisions, and pursue trivial matters which have zero bearing on what will prepare them or get them to their destination.
They waste their time on low priority matters instead of high priority goals.
Instead of idling away, why not list on a piece of paper; in priority sequence, the tasks that must be completed on a daily basis for your business to grow and prosper? It requires self-direction to set a goal that is both realistic and profitable.
These goals also have to be specific. Words like, ‘happiness’, ‘wealth’, and ‘health’ are abstractions. They mean different things to different people. More tangible goals–like a dollar figure, purchasing a new outfit or even a weight goal are far more concrete and can be actualised with planning and effort.
Whatever I am saying is not a secret. It is good old-fashioned common sense. Having a clearly defined goal and writing it down is the first step towards achieving it.
No captain can ever arrive at a destination if he doesn’t have one. The person without a goal is like a ship without an anchor. You can blow whichever way and end up wherever.
A better strategy is to get behind the helm. Plan the work and work at the plan. Don’t bother with big dreams, instead; work out the details that will get you there.
Otherwise, you won’t get anywhere at all.
The Mercantile 