Always set concrete deadlines

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams (British comic)

The term "deadline" has always been a grim term. We've all had to deal with them, whether it was back in our school days or at work. I mean heck, it's even got "dead" in it. However, many of us take a deadline's importance for granted in our general lives. Without deadlines, business as we know it wouldn't function properly.

Deadlines are an extension of the simple universal law that dictates that everything that has a beginning must have an end. We deal with deadlines all the time, which is why we take them for granted when we need them for ourselves. The fact is, whenever we are given a predetermined deadline, we work harder to make sure all the work is completed by that date.

Imagine, if you will, that you knew you were going to die in 6 months. I am willing to bet good money that 99% of us would try even harder to live life to the fullest before our "deadline" approaches. The problem is, all of us don't know when our own "deadline" looms, and so we become complacent and comfortable. When it comes to our own lives, most of us don't set deadlines for our goals and/or dreams. As such, we find ourselves drifting from day to day, month to month, constantly deferring what we need to do until "later." However, there's only so much time you can use to defer something until it becomes too late.

It is the ability to predetermine an end that separates successful people from the rest. Any entrepreneur who planned for their business seriously has made religious use of deadlines (i.e. a launch date). Any goals you've set for yourself must be specific not only in nature/amount but also specific in terms of a timeframe.

Here are some tips in setting deadlines:

• Make them specific. In other words, don't put down "a month" Make it "July 31, 2009"
  

• Don't be generous in the timeframe, but be realistic too. Don't give yourself too much time to achieve your goals. Saying that you'll, for example, travel to Europe within 10 years is MUCH too generous. To borrow a term from the "4-Hour Workweek" you should set impossible deadlines. Reason for this is that you will work that much harder to make sure your goal is achieved.

• Set a deadline for each critical task that needs to be done to achieve your goal. Every journey has its milestones. That's how you keep progress, pace and most of all...motivation.
  

Deadlines can be used for all aspects of your life. Use them religiously. In fact, use them on your loved ones...and you'll get your grilled cheese sandwich sooner than you thought! How it's delivered to you though...well...that's up to you ;)

Get out of your comfort zone

Sorry, I found this picture to be too funny to not use, even though it's totally irrelevant.

On the subject of gold chains and mohawks, I pity the foo' who does the same things over and over and expecting different results.

If you look at any successful entrpreneur, they all have many things in common fundamentally. One of those things was the sheer determination to do things that most people would be uncomfortable or afraid to do. It is precisely because they do what most don't that leads to their inevitable success. Of course, that's not to say that these people never fail. In fact, all successful entrepreneurs will fail AT LEAST several times before finally succeeding.

Failure is uncomfortable. No one likes to fail. Many people will refer to the quote, "Play with fire and you get burned." Well...so what if you get burned a little? You become all the wiser. It is the fact that you made a mistake or failed that teaches you to appreciate not only what you have, but to appreciate what you're aspiring for.

When you can bring yourself to do things that most people won't (within reason of course...I'm not saying go walk naked out on the streets...) you will find that there's very little competition on the other side of the fence. If being an entrepreneur was easy, don't you think everyone would be one then?

I know I used this quote in a previous post, but it begs to be repeated. A successful entrepreneur once told me, "You know why people never get ahead in life? It's not because they set the bar too high. It's because they set the bar too low, and they keep jumping over it each and every time in a ritual of sheer habit."

As an entrepreneur, you will be faced with many unknowns. You will have to become something you've never been educated or trained to do. You will learn as you go, and you WILL make mistakes along the way. However, don't let it get to you, it's just part of the process of being successful. Starting something is always the hardest thing to do.

Take running for example. When you first start your run, your muscles burn and you're practically wheezing...because you've went from a state of comfort and low activity to a state of motion. However, you find that after the first 10-15 minutes, your body adapts to being in a state of motion...your breathing slows down and your muscles stop burning. It is a simple example, yes, but it is true of any endeavor in life. It will always be difficult at first to get out of your comfort zone...but when you do (and persevere), you will go far.

And with that, I shall leave you with a wonderful quote by Mark Twain:

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."

Always set goals

There's no journey without some sort of destination.

...at least that's what I keep telling myself ;)

But in all seriousness, as a future or current entrepreneur, you must get in the habit of setting goals for yourself. If you read the success stories of great entrepreneurs (both small and big), one of the key secrets to their success is that they set goals for themselves. In a way, we all set goals for ourselves, at least internally. However, that is not always enough. Often times, the goals we set for ourselves are not high enough either.

I was once told by a successful entrepreneur, "You know why people never get ahead in life? It's not because they don't set goals. It's because they set the bar too low, and they just keep jumping over it time and time again."

To really harness the power of goal-setting, you need to make your goals a realistic challenge to achieve. It's the same concept in sports or martial arts. If you want to get better, you need to challenge yourself and never be afraid of failure. Often times, you need to pit yourself against people who are "out of your league." It's the sincere effort in conquering that goal that makes you stronger.

Make sure that your goal is specific (put a number to it) and that it is within a self-imposed deadline. For example, "My goal is to make $100,000 a month by the end of 2009." Your brain, believe it or not, will subconsciously do whatever it takes to achieve that goal, as long as you are sincere and focused. WRITE your goal down and place it where you can see it everyday.

Well, off to my journey. I knew I should have made a left turn at Albuquerque...

Just as a reminder, the new blog update days are Sunday & Wednesday. See you then!

The Power of Imagination

Helix Nebula (sometimes called the "Eye of God")

GOTCHA! SPACE PHOTO!

The human imagination is very powerful. In truth, all of us have the ability to be "mini-creators." Human beings have the power to take something as fleeting and non-existent as a thought and turn it into something that can be felt, seen or heard...almost as if creating something from nothing. Even as you read this blog, you have witnessed the process of creation. I turned my fleeting thoughts into actual text you can read and react to (...and laugh at sometimes ;) ). Who knows what power this creation ultimately has though? But...that is the wonder of creating things...the wonder of a new frontier.

Unfortunately, we are increasingly living in a world where people can't let their imaginations run wild anymore. We're taught from a young age to stop daydreaming, do our work, learn our manners and please everyone. We are not machines.

I repeat: We are not machines.

Imagination is the essence of artists but also the entrepreneur. Most people dream from time to time...but they never create. What separates an entrepreneur from the rest is that he/she takes those dreams and creates a reality out of them. Most people simply "climb the ladder", climbing to heights that have already been predetermined by other people they don't know.

Entrepreneurs build their own ladders, so they can go as high as their dreams can take them.

Look at all the biggest businesses out there. Every single one of them started out as a fleeting, non-existent thought. If nothing was done, they would have never existed...doomed to die with their creator in a graveyard of dead dreams and broken hopes.

So I say to those of you who are entrepreneurs or aspire to be one:

Let your imagination run wild and create something from nothing.

Ideas are great...but motivation is essential

HAH! Not a space photo this time! Office Space baby!

...which probably means next post will have a space photo ;)

Anyway, we were discussing before on how to come up with ideas and research promising ones. However, none of this is possible without proper motivation. A lot of people I've talked to have interesting ideas, but sadly, these ideas are buried or constantly pushed aside due to a lack of motivation.

We are, by design, creatures of habit. We prefer predictability and order in all aspects of our lives. Change and the unknown scares us. That's why successful entrepreneurs are a minority. If entrepreneurship was easy, then everyone would be doing it. However, that is why the rewards of entrepreneurship are potentially great, because it is the path less traveled. A job provides that sort of static predictability. You are given work by your boss, and you collect a paycheck either every 2 weeks or a month. However, remember the golden rule: JOB stands for being "Just Over Broke" There's no shortcut or easy way to anywhere worth going.

As mentioned in previous posts, finding an idea that you believe in and/or enjoy is not just essential in your future success, but also essential in your own self-motivation to see it through. However, sometimes that sort of conviction isn't enough. Often times, people simply daydream day after day of how glorious their idea would be, and eventually realize so much time has passed, and nothing happened.

So, what are some tips to get motivated? Here are some that, from my own experience and the experience of others, work:

• If you cannot bring yourself to be self-motivated, find a trusted business partner who can share in the burden of bringing the idea to life. If the both of you are responsible to each other, you'll find yourself motivated not to disappoint your partner. Deep down inside, all human beings have a strong sense of loyalty to those they respect (authority figure), like and/or trust. Use that inner instinct to your advantage! Your boss certainly does!

• Join a group that's related to what you want to do. Whether it be a group of like-minded entrepreneurs, social activists or whatnot. By surrounding yourself with the right people, you can bring about powerful change within yourself. Machiavelli once said in "The Prince" that "The first method to estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."

• Declare to others of what you intend to do. I know some people where this method was extremely effective in self-motivating themselves. You don't have to tell people what your idea is specifically. Just tell people you're starting a business, and you intend to launch it by so-so date. It's important to give a rough idea of a timeline, because then some people will try and ask you about it later on. No one likes being thought of as a hypocrite or big mouth (well...most people anyway). Use that fear of embarassment...and your ego *COUGH* ;)... to your advantage!

• Set a goal and post it up on a wall where you can see it everyday. Let it be a constant reminder that you have something to work for.

• Read about success stories of other entrepreneurs. Often times, they are very inspiring. You can also...if you really need to...hire a motivational coach to pump you up and hold you accountable to the goals you set. Mentors are also a great source of inspiration and motivation. Most people do not like to disappoint people they respect.

• It's a basic psychological principle that anger is more useful than despair. If you want to improve your life, despair won't get you anywhere. Anger, although usually a negative emotion, is a source of strength and motivation. If needed, put yourself in a kind of mood in where if you had a bazooka, some mo'fugga would say hello to your little friend.
  

• Readthisblogandtalktotheauthorofthisblogformotivation *COUGH* *SNEEZE* ;)
  

When there's a will, there is a way. Never forget that.