Thinking Big: Secret #3

By A. Yanina Gomez, Ph.D.

I’m always excited to share with you tips and strategies to maintain a healthier and stronger mindset!

So far, we’ve been talking about challenging ourselves to think big. In previous posts, I shared with you 2 secrets to thinking big:

The value of creating a mental picture of your goal.
Falling in love again with the real reason why you started your business by answering the question:
Why Do I Want to Do This?
By now, you should have a clear idea of your business’ goal and identified all the reasons why you should pursue or continue pursuing your business. And also, you’ve identified possible consequences should you choose not to pursue or continue to pursue your business or idea.

Now it’s time to reveal secret #3: Create an ACTION PLAN

Once you have a clear picture of your idea or goal, write it down. Formalize it to make it official! Clearly state what you want to achieve always thinking it should be concrete and doable. Whether you’re starting a new series, a marketing campaign or taking your business to the next level, take some time to write it down. Once you’re clear about the direction you’re heading and what you’re focusing on, you’re ready to create a plan of action. Running your art business without a plan is like driving somewhere you’ve never been before without directions.

This is the planning and strategizing stage. Maybe you want to plan for 6-months, one year or 5 years in advance. It’s up to you! But, if you choose to plan way in advance, be flexible and innovative. Be willing to make changes and adjustments as necessary. Remember, what’s working today might become a relic a month from now. What was hot and popular last week, it’s old news today.

Think about the steps that need to be done in order to achieve your goal. I call them micro-goals. What you can you do today, whether it’s a big or small step, to get closer to accomplishing your goal? This means that, each decision you make should be related to accomplishing your goal. Be selective and careful! Don’t think small. And don’t fall for opportunities that present themselves as amazing but are completely unrelated to your goal. Create a vision that goes beyond your comfort zone. You have to believe it. Believe it will happen!

In my case, I wanted to create a safe platform where women can share their mindset blocks and struggles and receive emotional and accountability support and guidance from me and other like-minded ladies who understand and have experienced similar situations. So, I wrote it down, developed a plan of action, took action and viola…! The Fabulously Driven Me membership community (Art NXT Level sister community) was born.

Now, my idea is taking shape. It has a long way to go, but if I wouldn’t put my idea in writing and set deadlines for each micro-goal, I wouldn’t be here, right sharing this information with you! So, take some time to write down your ideas and a plan of action.

This Week’s Action Plan
1. Set measurable goals.

Decide how much time should you invest in this goal (s). Be flexible!
Create a budget. Estimate the money you’ll need to invest in order to accomplish your goal (s).
Set realistic deadlines. Each goal should have a deadline so things get done!
2. Schedule time to review your plan occasionally.

Be flexible and innovative. Be willing to make changes and adjustments as necessary. As I’ve mentioned before, what’s working today might become a relic a month from now.

To recap, write down your idea or goal. Formalize it to make it official. State clearly what you want to achieve always thinking it should be concrete and doable. And set deadlines so things can get done! As you plan ahead with flexibility in mind, you’ll experience less stress, anxiety and frustration that come along with lacking a plan. Your energy will be used for productivity and problem-solving and not to clean up avoidable messes.

Next week, keep an eye on secret #4!

Until then… If you haven’t done so yet, I encourage you to head over to the Accountability Forum where you can share your weekly micro-goal (s) with the community. We are here to partner with you so things get done!