Goals: a general overview
I’ve decided to start my own business maybe around 5 years ago. So far I’ve not accomplished the task and quite frankly I don’t know exactly why.
I believe I am a fairly smart guy, but I probably don’t know myself well enough to know exactly what I want out of life. I am 38 years old and I don’t even have a real career (meaning, I am not a doctor, or a lawyer, or an accountant. The jobs I’ve had so far are not necessarily related; I’ve basically went from one job to another simply because they were available, not because it would be a natural professional upgrade for me).
I’ve been reading a lot of forums and books about being an entrepreneur, as one of the major points is that you must have a passion for what you want to do. I am not sure I agree with that point of view, but I have to give in to the fact that maybe my passion is simply to own my own business, regardless of which type of business I will be running (within some reason, as I know I am not cut for some industries). I want to be responsible for my own success (or failure, but I won’t let that stop me).
I also need to learn how to focus on my goals (once I am able to determine what such goals are). I tend to over-think and plan things much ahead – for instance, when I think about a business, I start thinking which trade shows I will attend (as a vendor, not an attendant), how am I going to set up an affilliate program, etc. This causes me to have the famous paralysis by analysis…too much thinking, nothing done!
So I decided to think carefully what my goals in life are (for now, for the near future and for the long term). This list is a living entity. I will come back to make changes to it as I discover new goals I want to add to the list.
Short-term goals
(for the next 6 months – deadline: end of June 2007):
- Learn how to control my budget. I already have an Excel file for this, but I must learn exactly what I am doing and how to take advantage of the information the spreadsheet will provide me.
- Figure out which credit cards I must pay off first, so I will be left with low APR cards only.
- Find out how I can turn my house cleaner, less cluttered and more appropriate to a person who wants to run a high-end home-decor business. The house must reflect the type of person I am.
- Learn how to drive – that’s a tough one! I’ve been trying to learn how to drive for such a long time…not a very pleasant experience! But I must learn!!
- Get a promotion – although I want to run my own business, in the meantime I want to make more money at my 9 to 5 job. This will help me with my business in its early stages. So a promotion (either vertical or horizontally) must be one of my main goals for the next 6 months.
- Introduce exercising back into my life. I’ve completelly abandoned my body to fate. I eat bad and I don’t exercise at all. Go at least 3 times to walk in the park. That’s better than nothing. And eat better – stop eating crap.
- Create a business plan with small goals (with deadlines) and a baby step plan, so I can finally launch my business.
- Have my business set up and ready to be launched – deadline: end of January 2007
