Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan

“Success” is often defined as the progressive realization of a worthwhile goal. I like that. If you are doing the things that are moving you toward the attainment of your goal today, then you are “successful” even if you are not there yet. It’s the goal that starts the whole journey.

An illuminating study on goal setting sponsored by the Ford Foundation found that,

* 23% of the population has no idea what they want from life and as a result they don’t have much.
* 67% of the population has a general idea of what they want but they don’t have any plans for how to get it.
* Only 10% of the population has specific, well-defined goals, but even then, 7 out of the 10 of those people reach their goals only half the time.
* The top 3%, however, achieved their goals 89% of the time — an .890 batting average!

What accounts for the dramatic difference between that top 3% and the others? Are you ready?:

the top 3% wrote down their goals. Are you laughing yet? It can’t be that simple! Or can it? Dreams and wishes are not goals until they are written as specific end results on paper. In some very real sense, writing them down materializes them. Goals have been desribed as “dreams with a deadline”. Written, specific goals provide direction and focus to our activities. They become a road map to follow. And the mind tends to follow what’s in front of it.

So what is your dream-goal? Is it to be the most-in-demand session player on the East coast? To be the next Goo Goo Dolls? To get your song cast with a multiplatinum-selling recording artist? To start a company that creates soundtracks for video games and commercials? Or is it to simply earn extra income playing music while holding down a succesful non-music day job?

Each one of these requires a specific map. A map planning will help you to get your job done. But, you still need disipline to complete your task. Jim karter again mention a way to keep it simple and stupid way for successful entrepreneur. I think his ideas is work.

Knowing your options and establishing clear goals is your first step. In the entrepreneurship courses I teach, one of the early assignments is for students to write their own obituaries. While on the surface morbid, it forces people to seriously consider what they want to be remembered for at the close of their earthly lives. Try it. All of the achievements and acomplishments revealed in this exercise are translatable into specific goals from which you can work backwards to the present.

Here are some actionable tips to help with the map-planning process:

* Get a year-at-a-glance wall calendar and schedule your goals. This will help you visualize them as you see them every day. Remember, the mind tends to follow what’s in front of it.
* Schedule uninterrupted time each day to do your planning. Force yourself to plan!
* Look at your long-range goals. Try to reflect these goals in some activity everyday.
* Plan for tomarrow, tonight. Your subconscious will help you organize while you sleep.
* Sit quietly and mentally rehearse the steps in your plan. Use your imagination to visualize the steps being taken. You will sense where additional steps need to be added and will anticipate problems to prevent. Learn to trust your intuition and hunches.
* Anticipate possible problems you could encounter in your project because of people, gear, or technical failures. Planning by re-action squanders energy; planning by pro-action maximizes it.
* At the start of each day anticipate the sequence of activities that you will do to attain the objectives you are after. Then think about your entire week. How will important projects be sequenced?
* Do your planning on paper to capture all of your ideas and ensure none of them gets lost. We can only work mentally with about seven pieces of information without losing something. Write your thoughts down and you will be able to use everything you think of during your planning process. Carrying an “idea” notebook can help.
* If you cannot identify the objectives and steps to take to a goal, it is probably “unrealistic” for you right now.
* Career and business planning is not easy so don’t beat yourself up when there’re setbacks because there will be. And be sure to reward yourself every time you achieve a step in the plan. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to keep the wheels greased.
* Finally remember, the map is not the territory. A plan is only a provisional construct to help guide your steps. When you get close to the land there will inevitably be surprises and strange turns along the way. This is when flexibility and resilience are called for. Plans are made to be revised. Learn to dance with the unexpected.
Now more than ever musicians must have a plan to achieve the success they crave. The new economy is ripe for micobusinesses to spawn and grow. Set your goals, write them out, obtain the help and information you need, and then give your career or business idea the attention it deserves. Attention means focus. “Staying focused on what you want in the music business is not easy, but, it is a way to grow, not only professionally, but personally,” says Trish Thompson of the Atlanta band, Glass Candle Grenade. “When you see your plan in action and the progress you make, it is quite satisfying…and then it’s time to kick back and have a beer.” Ahh, now that’s satisfying.

As your plan comes into focus you’ll start to get a better idea of the real costs associated with your goals. “A written plan forces you to analyze your path to success.

Peter Spellmen tell how this help in music industry

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