Focus on Your Future Success

Focus on What’s Working and What Needs Re-Working

As a business owner, sometimes you have to take a step back, look at how, and where you’re investing time and effort, and ask yourself some hard questions about focus and intent. Questions like:

 

• What’s your ROI (in dollars and cents)?
• If you’re still “paying your dues” is your tribe or following increasing enough to warrant continuing to put your effort into the same activities?
• Can you afford to continue at the current rate of return financially, with followers, or both?
• If you’re considering a mentor or coach, have you come across anyone who shares your values enough to reach out and investigate that option? If so, do you have a budget for the effort?
• Are you truly putting in as much effort as you can to make the current system work for you in the long run?
• Do you still believe in what you’re doing as strongly, or more so than when you began?
• What other avenues can you explore to move things along more quickly? More efficiently?

And my personal favorite:

• Have you allowed yourself to get stuck in a rut, or time warp?

Avoiding Stagnation

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a startup, someone who’s been plying their trade for a year or two, or an long-established concern. Stagnating is the same thing as going backwards which ultimately leads to extinction. If you don’t focus and evolve, the world passes you by. It’s as simple as that.

I’ve been publishing regular blog posts for quite awhile now. I respond to requests for writers whenever I see something that is a fit. I’ve written for a few people along the way, but haven’t entered into any long-term contracts yet. I know I need to make changes to my focus if I want to make progress this year, and especially if I want to be in it for  the long haul.

Granted, AB-5 and COVID-19 haven’t helped my industry. The first 9 months of 2020 gave California a toxicity with regard to hiring freelancers that sent a lot of work out of state; some fear permanently. COVID caused a lot of small businesses to tighten their belts, if not close their doors entirely.

Still, I kept showing up, and still do. I continue to write and schedule 3 blogs a week. I do a Facebook Live and a gratitude post daily which help inspire me to focus on continued productivity. In short, I’m staying visible in spite of it all because I believe to the depths of my toes that half the battle is showing up ready to help someone in any way you can.

Bring it All Into Focus for Effective Decisions

Do I expect to re-work my plan this year, taking into consideration the changing marketplace? I’d be a fool if I didn’t. The one thing I won’t change is my persistence and belief I’m on the right path.

Taking a good, hard look at myself over the last year, I realize I’ve gotten lax about the time I put into plying my trade and working my job. The last couple of months have seen the amount of hours I put into work every day dwindling. I allowed procrastination to slip in through the cracks, filling up my time with a lot of nothing. In truth, I fell into a rut of sloth and frustration. In short, I allowed my focus to blur.

The first step in fixing a problem is to recognize the problem. With a new year spread out before me, I see a wealth of opportunity, but only if I show up on a more regular basis, and do a better job of getting on the radar of people who need my skills whether they are currently aware of it or not.

Commit to Yourself, First and Foremost

Most of all, I’m recommitting to myself as I realize my commitment slipped during the holidays for a lot of reasons which, if I’m truly honest are mostly excuses. I’ve learned when I falter in my personal commitments, it becomes a downward spiral if I don’t turn things around quickly. It starts with falling behind on my blog scheduling. From there, I go into a kind of productivity tail-spin unless I grab the wheel, adjust the focus on my view through the windshield, and get myself back on track.

Granted, a new year is just another day on the calendar, but let’s be honest. It’s often when you do take a good, hard look at the previous year and determine where you might do better this time. I’m not one to set resolutions as I’ve yet to see any work. What I do instead is set intentions, and even give myself a theme for the year.

This year, my theme is “Empowerment”. It means I’m looking at those grandiose dreams and goals I’ve set, and preparing myself to take more bold, assertive, intentional steps towards making them a reality.

Setting the Plan in Motion

It doesn’t mean I have to map it all out from start to finish right now, but it does mean I must stop allowing procrastination, imposter syndrome, plain old laziness, or anything else to get in my way any more. I’ll be looking behind a lot of previously unexplored rocks to find possibilities, and looking for more people who embrace some, if not all of my own values with whom to connect and learn from.

I’m admitting I’ve been treading water for the last few months, and it’s time to leave the shore and start swimming. It’s a little scary, but I’d be suspicious if it wasn’t. Change and determination don’t come without a certain amount of trepidation. They’d hardly be worth the effort otherwise.

Are you brave enough to take a good, hard, honest look at where you are now, and what you need to do to reach your own gigantic, amazing, exciting dreams and goals? If so, know you don’t swim that ocean alone. Let’s help each other navigate the unknown and find our own version of Shangri-La.

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.

If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author.

Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.