Are you fearless?

I have personally put in a lot of time lately to get Avenue East's business/marketing plans for 2006 and beyond hashed out. Strategizing like this is great fun for me because it lets me see how we'll be able to help people, expand our reach to an even greater number of small business owners, etc. In essence, it's my blueprint for my business, with flexibility built in, of course. (If you don't do this sort of planning for your own business, you should! But that's another topic, so I'll try not to preach here.) :)

While I was developing the plan -- just a Word document full of ideas, goals and information on how to make all of the above happen -- I constantly referred to a question that I like to ask myself time and again: Am I aiming high enough with my goals?

If so, then all was good. If not, I thought through the idea in order to determine how to set my sights higher. Why? Because when you aim low, you get what you ask for, and nothing more.

Think long and hard about what I am about to note, which is critical to your future success. Make it your mantra for the future. Here goes ...

If you make decisions based solely on your fear of failure, you are not giving yourself the chance to get ahead.

But what does that mean? Think about what is holding you back. Write down those reasons; make sure not to forget to mention any fears that might be keeping you from putting your business into the limelight and getting the attention it deserves. Then think about all you have to GAIN from taking calculated risks.

It's hard to put yourself out there. I know it can be scary to think about getting (gulp!) a lot of attention for yourself, a higher income, a changed lifestyle, or what have you. Change is hard for most people to take, especially if you have always thought of more wealthy individuals as somehow greedy because of their financial prosperity. (How can it be bad to make your family's life better? You also have the opportunity to help others more if your business brings in more profits, so it doesn't have to benefit only you.)

As you start off 2006, make sure that you aim for the very best that you can achieve -- and then implement a realistic plan to help you get there!