Road Trip to Success

This is the time of year where many of us plan time away with our family.  Summer is a great time to plan a road trip.  Road trips can be fun and often lead to the discovery of new places allowing for new experiences and personal growth; but a poorly planned trip is no fun and can often be disastrous.   Your business is on a road trip too, the results or outcome of the trip, just as your personal vacation will greatly depend on the planning you do before you get behind the wheel.

What type of trip is your business on?  Have you taken the time to plan accordingly?  Do you have a clear path ahead of you?   Are you prepared should you hit a road block or an unexpected turn?  Are you stocked with the right tools and provisions to make your trip easier and more enjoyable?  Do you have an alternate route set up to help you to get to your final destination or goals?

A road trip to success needs to be paved with basic principles that will help you to remain focused and productive along the way.  Some of those principles are:

Vision – Your vision will allow you to focus on the road ahead.  Your vision needs to be clear and simple, yet should also be bold and compelling allowing you have new experiences and see new sights in your business plan or road trip.   Your vision must remain in front of you at all times so that you don’t take a wrong turn.  One way to keep your vision is to come up with one word that embodies it and focus on that word numerous times a day.

Purpose – Once you are clear on the vision of your business and its goals allow yourself to develop and understand your purpose.  Your purpose is the answer to “Why am I doing all this? What is it all for?”  Use your gifts, talents and strengths to bring purpose to everything you do.    Burn out doesn’t come from what you do it often comes from forgetting why you’re doing it.

Optimism – This is the fuel for your road trip to success!   Optimism is having hopefulness and confidence about the future.  It means you expect the best outcome from any situation.   Having optimism means you can respond more positively to events in your life and in your business.

Positivity - Being positive is without a doubt a major part of your success plan.  Replace negativity with optimism and positive thoughts.  This will lead to a deeper belief in your vision and your goals.  It will keep your passion alive.  Your optimism and positive outlook matter.  When your mindset is focused on problems and negative outcomes all you will ever see are obstacles and challenges.  Negativity can cost a business dearly.  Positive people see solutions and work towards them.

Focus – What you focus on is what you will get.  So ask yourself every day “What three things can I do today to bring me closer to my goals?”  Tune out distractions because they often lead to destruction.