You Can be Great If You Really Want To

Do you still remember the goal setting you went through last year? How many have you stuck with through the year? Did you write them down? Did you look at them every day or did you simply put them out of your mind and out of your consciousness so as not to be reminded of your lack of commitment? It’s the pleasure pain principle in action. We will always do more to avoid pain than we will to seek out pleasure. It’s in our mental programming.

When you toasted to your new goals, at midnight on new years eve, you were determined to stick to them… or maybe that was just Champaign courage.

You were going to workout three times a week and give up on the junk food. That was an easy goal to set. Nothing but good can come of it. Or maybe you were going to quite smoking or cut back on the drinks. Seemed reasonable goals to set at the time.

Arriving at work on time every day was definitely possible until they started that road repair and the traffic ground to a halt in the morning. Well that wasn’t your fault was it. Maybe calling your parents once a week was on that list, or perhaps signing up for a personal development course to help your career get moving again.

Why is it that often within less than 90 days those heart felt resolutions have evaporated and now you feel a deep guilt (again) that they didn’t at least last until summer.

What stops you from making those changes that could empower your life? What stops you from keeping those promises you make to yourself?  Why do you cling to old habits for dear life, never wanting to let go of them?

Setting goals and committing to them is one of the most challenging things to accomplish. There is an endless supply of new content produced just for you every year. In fact, did you know there are over 53,552 books on Amazon with the title: “Secrets of Success” in the title? Have a look yourself. People who want to know the secret to not just goal setting but actually sticking to the goal. Setting the goal is the easy part.

The biggest secret and one that is seldom discussed is that goals need to be broken down into small achievable steps. It is the idea of one gigantic goal that overwhelms people in short order and stops them from trying. It’s like planning to climb MT. Everest but you haven’t even managed to hike up that hill at your favorite park.

As long as you keep your eye focused on the goal and keep that in front of you every day, you will manage to get there by taking small but meaningful steps.

I heard an interesting story from a enterprising women who started a very successful weight loss club to compete competition with the more famous Weight Watchers. She set up her office in the garage of her house. That’s where she tested and assembled her product line of healthy foods and supplements and planned her marketing strategy.

Her weight loss club grew into a huge organization with the additional revenue of sales of her products in supermarkets. During an interview for a series on successful women, she said that if she had known how big her company would become, she wouldn’t have had the courage to even begin it.

That’s how our goal setting often fails us. We set our goals to be so large we fail because we lose courage to charge forward overcome with the enormity of the task. If you need to lose weight, set a realistic goal and let the incremental successes build momentum.  The fact that it might have taken ten years to put on the weight is all too soon forgotten. We want to get rid of it in a month. When that doesn’t happen we give up in despair. And probably head to the fridge for comfort.

If you want to start a home business… be realistic about the financial and time commitment that will be required to gain momentum and start to see a return on the investment of time and money. Every goal is realized through the progression of small steps leading to the goal achievement. That’s why you always hear that success is a journey.

Break up your goals into small bite size chunks. Make them smaller and easier to achieve and recognize that achievement regularly. Being able to easily reach these many small successes will motivate you to keep going to reach the bigger goal that you’ve set for yourself. And that is the secret of goal achievement.

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Just as loans are available for any occasion in the same way it also available for different kinds of borrowers. For those who have bad credit history and can not go for any other loan option but loans for bad credit is a good option. These loans provide basic financial backup for people who have imperfect credit record like default, late payment, CCJs or bankruptcy etc. There is no credit check procedure involve with these loans.

The loans for bad credit are available in secured and unsecured form of loans. You just need to choose according to your requirement and repayment ability. Secured form of loans provide loan to the people who can give security for the loan amount. That’s why these loans are called secured because due to the security it is secure for the lender. You can get the loan amount upto £75000 depending upon your property value. The basic benefit of this is low interest rate which you get in this form of loans.

When it comes to unsecured form of loans then you can apply for this without any collateral. Here lenders do not demand any security against the loan money. So as usual interest rate will be high in this form of loans. Borrowers can get the loan amount in the rage of £1000 to £25000 for the time period of 6 months to 10 years. Lenders decide the amount after seeing your income.

Once you applied for loans for bad credit you just need to provide some basic information about yourself like employment details, bank details, and so on. Lenders allow the loan after crossing checking your details. Many bad credit holders can rely on these loans for the problem like debt consolidation, wedding, holidays, higher education, medical treatments and so on.

If cash flow is the lifeblood of a business, then effective business leadership has to be the oxygen.  Without it, a company will shrivel up and die. 

The best time to start laying the foundation for the type of leadership that will grow your company for many years to come is while you’re small. 

How?  Through values based on vision, courage, and integrity.   Out of all the necessary leadership qualities, these three are the most critical to the growth and success of your organization.

Vision

A clearly defined company vision is one of the most critical elements in any small business, but is also one of the most neglected.

But most small businesses that become successful small businesses (and sometimes big businesses) have one thing in common:  Vision. 

Your company vision defines who you are as a company, your core values, and your future aspirations.  It truly is your “reason for being.” 

Your vision should also reflect your company’s unique strengths.   What is it about your company that is different than your competitor, or other companies in general? 

Additionally, having a clear, strong vision motivates, inspires, and empowers your employees.  A vision that starts at the top and threads through the organization is an excellent loyalty and retention tool because employees like being part of a company that knows where it’s going and how to get there.  Remember, too, that your employees – more than anyone else – will be the driving forces behind your vision.  They will be the ones to bring your vision to fruition.  They need you to a) have a strong vision, and b) share it with them on a regular basis. 

It isn’t enough to have a vision statement hanging on your break room wall.  It needs to be a foundational part of your business.  In fact, your vision needs be the basis for all your business decisions.

The best small businesses have a clear-cut vision – a vision that effectively drives their companies toward success.  If your small business doesn’t have one, you really should begin developing one.  Today.

Courage

Great business leaders are courageous leaders.

Let’s face it, it takes guts to start a small business.  It takes guts to step out in the first place, and even more guts to take the necessary risks to step up to the next level.

But beyond having the courage to take risks, courage leadership means being able to make tough decisions and take difficult actions -  doing what needs to be done in spite of the consequences, both personal and professional.  And courage in the face of fear is one of the hardest things to do as a business leader.

It isn’t easy to turn down a client because his values are the complete opposite of yours.  It’s hard to confront an employee who’s been caught with his hand in the till, or a receptionist who lives to gossip.  It’s difficult to say no to a potentially lucrative business deal because it might be a bit shady.  Or any number of the thousands of issues business leaders face daily.   However, to leading an organization with courage is one of the most effective

When it comes to courage, we tend to think that it’s a quality we need to exhibit as needed.  In truth, courage leadership needs to be a daily demonstration – walk in courage and you will inspire those around you to walk in courage as well.  Just think what would happen if we all had the courage to act on our convictions! 

There are no shortcuts to courageous leadership.  You either do, or you don’t.  There is no sometimes.  And to start you on your journey, here are a few helpful tips:

Start being deliberately courageous in the decisions you make regarding growth, risk, and day-to-day operations.  The more you practice courage the more courageous you will become.

Resolve to never again “take the easy road.”  Have a clear understanding of your beliefs and core values, so when situations come up, you know where you stand.

Accept personal responsibility for the decisions you make, and encourage those around you to do the same.

Make sure the people you hire and promote are also courageous people.  Surround yourself with people of like mind and you’ll discover what a powerhouse organization you can become.

Don’t compromise.  Again, being consistently courageous is just as important as the quality itself.

Having courage isn’t always the easiest way to go, but it is the best way.  With courage, we can accomplish anything.

Integrity

Most of you have probably met someone in business who always does the right thing, regardless of the cost.  I am blessed to have known several, and the experiences have made me a better individual from both a personal and professional perspective.

Doing the right thing regardless of the consequences is at the heart of business leadership.  When faced with a decision, people of integrity will always do what is right.  And people of integrity tend to build businesses of integrity.

So why does it matter that we have integrity in our business dealings?  There is an unbreakable connection between integrity and trust.  In most peoples’ minds, they go hand-in-hand.  When our employees perceive us to have integrity, they trust us to treat them respectfully and reasonably.  Likewise, when our customers and clients look at us as a company based on integrity, they trust us to be honest, to give them a good product, and to keep our word. 

Think about it…given the choice, wouldn’t you prefer to work for and deal with a company you knew had integrity?  I know I would!

Vision…courage…integrity.  These are three transformational  leadership qualities that will turn your small business into a business powerhouse.