Steps to making anything happen

Every success we’ve ever had shares something in common with the greatest success stories in the world: even the smallest step in the right direction made a difference. I can’t think of any great success story that happened in one giant leap. Even people labeled “overnight successes” laugh when they hear that. Why? Because they know there was a lot of hard work that went into that success, some of it spanning months or even years before anyone took notice. Regardless of what you are working towards – writing that book/script/article/blog, starting a business, losing weight, retiring, saving for a holiday – there are certain actions that successful people agree are essential to making it happen. And you have complete control over all of them.

1. Make a plan – I know this one gets talked about a lot but the reason for that is because it’s so important. To know what you need to do you must know where you’re starting from and where you want to go. A plan will also show you what obstacles you’ll encounter on the way and give you plenty of time to work out how to deal with or avoid them completely.

2. Make it personal – Dedication is a key factor in reaching a goal and we can’t be fully dedicated to any project if we’re doing it for other people and not for ourselves. If your goal is to write a book or get published in a magazine, that’s great. But if the article you are trying to write is about a friend’s holiday experience, which you only agreed to write about after she pumped you full of alcohol last Friday night, you probably aren’t going to give it your all. It has to be something personal. It has to be something you have passion for, because that is what is going to drive you to the end.

3. Make it a priority – While not every goal we have can be our number one priority, there are some that just have to come first. This is especially true with writing. You’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again: the most important thing for a writer to do is (drum roll please) write! This might mean writing when you’re sick, tired, lonely, sad, angry, frustrated, or when you just don’t want to write. But everyone knows you won’t succeed at anything if you only do it when you’re feeling great. It’s the times we push ourselves to write even when we don’t want to that will get the book or article done. Half the work is just getting yourself to the keyboard or pick up the pen. Waiting for the “right idea”, the “right time”, or the “right mood” means you will probably never write another word again.

4. Make it rewarding – Yes, there will be a big reward at the end of the journey but don’t disregard the little rewards along the way. The first chapter, the first article acceptance, the first payment for a writing job in the bank, the first byline, the day when you can finally hand in your resignation to write full time – these are the amazing rewards you’ll get along the way. If these don’t excite you at all and you can only think about the end goal it might be time to revise your plan – why are you doing this? If you don’t enjoy the journey, you probably won’t really appreciate the final destination either. If you don’t enjoy the whole writing process, and the idea of finishing a first chapter (or fifth, or tenth) doesn’t give you tingly happy feelings all over, you definitely need to think about doing something else.

5. Make it fun – This is something people often forget when working towards a goal. Yes, much of what needs to be accomplished has to be done seriously but don’t forget to make time for fun as well. Some days I need a break from the computer so I’ll pick up a coloured texta (or 10) and an A3 sketchbook and write my article or blog entry like I’m scribbling on a canvas. You don’t always have to be sitting in front of the computer to write. Grab a pen and some paper and head outside. Go to the park or zoo and take your notebook with you. Or go for a walk and take a voice recorder. Have a nice long conversation with yourself, dictating the next chapter or a few article ideas. Yes, you might look slightly crazy walking along talking to yourself but I don’t know many writers who are truly sane to begin with so I don’t think many reputations will be damaged with this one. Whatever your idea of fun, try to incorporate it into your work.

6. Make it to the end – I don’t mean just make it to the end of your goal. Sometimes we need little pit stops along the way to give us the momentum to keep going. Break your larger goal into smaller ones and concentrate on reaching them. If you’re struggling to get words on paper, pick a number and write until you reach that number. Just get there. Make it to the end of a chapter. Make it to the end of an hour. Make it to the end of the notebook. Once there, even if it’s been a short trip, you will be surprised at the feeling of accomplishment you get. “I made it to the end of [whatever]!” Again, don’t disregard these small accomplishments – they are what every success story is made up of.

7. Make it worthwhile – My final piece of advice is to make your goal worthwhile. If it’s not worth your time and effort, if it’s not beneficial to you or others, if you’re not being productive or constructive, why are you doing it? I’m not saying you need to justify everything you do; you only have to answer to yourself with this one. But if you’re struggling through an article that holds no interest for you, it probably won’t interest anyone else either. Is it really worth your time? You also need to remember that not everyone may see what you are doing as valuable or worthwhile, but that shouldn’t make it less so. I want to go to uni and finish some studies I started years ago. Some have told me this is a waste of time and money but for me it’s not. This is a goal that means so much to me and will help me in my career and in my long-term goals. Because it matters to me, the person doing all the work, it’s a worthwhile project.

No-one can guarantee success in any venture, but I can show you a way to guarantee failure. It’s to do the opposite of all these things. Don’t plan, make everything else a priority, make it a boring journey with no rewards along the way, and make it about everyone else and not you and you are sure to fail. More importantly, what a bloody miserable way to spend your time! If you’re not going to have fun and a sense of real accomplishment, why would you want to do it? If you want to do it – really want to do it – it will become fun, personal, worthwhile and rewarding for you.

And that’s all you need to succeed, to make anything happen!

Stay committed to your decisions

I made an important decision this week.  Having made this decision and seen the resolve that comes with making a firm choice, it made me realise how important the decision-making process is.  It might be the most inactive part of our plan, something we can do before even getting up in the morning, but it is as vital to our success as any other work involved.

The word decision comes from the Latin word dēcīdere, meaning “to cut off”. So, to decide something is to cut off all other options and choices and choose only one path or action.  It’s a way of determining what you don’t want as much as what you do.

Making decisions is something we do every day and often more than once every day.  It’s like taking a road trip – we are forever determining which direction to take and which road will take us there.  We can’t travel two roads at the same time. A decision is made, we take one route and the other way is no longer an option. If we can’t decide which road to take, we could end up driving around in circles or, at the very least, taking twice as long to reach our destination as if we had just picked a road and stuck with it.

Decisions have to be made that will help us reach our goals.  But who makes your decisions? Marilyn Manson said, “A lot of people don’t want to make their own decisions. It’s much easier to be told what to do.“  While it is easier, it definitely isn’t the option that will make you happy.  Many people that I speak to feel powerless in their own lives because they are letting others decide for them.  Your decisions are based on your wants, your goals, your dreams and your needs.  Someone else’s decisions are based on their wants, goals and dreams. Making your own decisions is how you get to stay in control of your own life.

Not making a decision, or letting others decide for you, can be just as costly as making the wrong decision so what have you got to lose?

I made a decision this year to quit working in a job that made me miserable and find work that I love.  It hasn’t always been easy but in making that decision I “cut off” all options that would lead me back to work I didn’t enjoy, even if it did offer certain security.

More importantly, it was my decision.  No-one decided this life for me. I have days where I am struggling but it makes it easier to remember that.  If I were struggling because someone else had decided this course for me I’d be resentful and angry.  But it was my decision and my choices that put me here, no-one else’s.

Every successful person I know made a decision to succeed.  That decision was all they needed to get started because it determined what they would say yes or no to in future. Whether they decided to lose weight or start their own business, they made a decision and excluded all choices that wouldn’t get them there.  And once their decision was made they stuck by it. They lived by the words of Tony Robbins who said “Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

My approach my differ but I’ve made my decision and, for now, it still feels like the right one. That’s not to say I won’t one day decide to change course again.  We all have the power to change our minds and I might decide in future that it is time to go back to more secure employment.

But that’s a decision for another day.

The year so far…

Two months of the year gone already and it’s time for me to look back and see if I’m still on track with my yearly goals. It’s important for me to review regularly because I can find myself veering off track so easily without even realising it. This is how I’ve managed to lose so much productivity in the past, by not being conscious of the time I waste. Keeping tabs on how I’m doing with my daily goals will give me a good indication of how my yearly goals are looking.

I have been great with my goal of writing every day, until this past week. I sat down to write only two times, and there was nothing really productive in it. To make it worse, I justified my casual attitude to leaving my schedule. It’s so easy to fall back into bad habits when I start excusing my slacker behaviour. If I skip one day it’s that much easier to say “well, what’s two days off going to do?” and before I know it I’m saying, “what’s one week off going to do?”

What that time off does is makes me forget why I’m doing this. I start looking at writing as a chore. I forget that writing is fun, not something I have to do. I do it because I love it and it makes me feel good. It’s the same with my morning walk. As the weather gets cooler I start thinking how great it would be to not walk, to stay in bed, curled up under the doona. But when I get ready and get moving I am reminded of why I do it – because it feels great and I feel fantastic for the rest of the day because of that effort.

My writing is the same. It’s when I’m sitting at the desk writing that I remember why I love it. If I’m putting time and energy into another pursuit, that is what I focus on and I tend to forget about the excitement that comes when I’m writing.

So, while I did lose my focus this past week, reviewing where I’m up to has got me back on track and writing every day.

And I feel 100 percent better for it already.

What success means to me

Learning about what successful people have in common and working to follow their example has made me realise that another key to being successful is knowing what success means to me.

Success means different things to different people and people find success in many different ways. Some consider being a parent the greatest success in life, others need to own to their own home or business to feel successful.

One writer may think of themselves as having succeeded if they are published regularly in a magazine or have a column syndicated, another will feel successful when they have won a prestigious award for their writing, while someone else won’t be satisfied until they have a book published.

Someone running a popular business may not feel successful until they are able to sell their store and retire on the profits.  While to another entrepreneur, simply having established their own business is their definition of success.

It’s important to define your own idea of success.  Living up to someone else’s idea of what it is to succeed may give you something to strive for but you will be working to achieve someone else’s dream. If you do succeed in reaching that goal others may see you as a success but you won’t feel successful because you haven’t reached your own limit of what that word means.

Some people in my life think that owning your own home is the  ultimate success. But if I were to follow that path I wouldn’t have been able to take time off this year to pursue my real goal because I would have been thinking of the mortgage I had. I would have been held back from working on my own dreams because I followed the success path of someone else.

If you’re stuck on what your idea of success might be, look at someone you admire or envy and analyse why you see them as successful.  Is it because they have their own plane?  Is it because they have millions in the bank?  Is it because they are known around the world?  Is it because they are the author of the latest best seller?  Is it because their book was made into a movie?  Whatever the answer is, that is more than likely what you think being a success is all about.

For me, it would be a regular column in a newspaper or magazine, a book published, an income from my writing that I could live on comfortably, and the freedom to travel to make me feel like I’ve succeeded.

But I don’t need to achieve all that right now to feel successful.  I’m happy today knowing that I’m working toward that goal, that my chances of succeeding have increased because of the time and effort I’m putting in now.  That is an amazing feeling.

Ya gotta have goals!

I love Saturdays. Not just because it usually signifies a sleep in (in contrast to the days of the week I used to have to get up early), but it also means I get to enjoy my Saturday paper.  For all the news nerds out there (and I know I’m not the only one) there is one paper a week that we love more than all others. Mine is Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald. My favourite part of the paper are the promotional liftouts that focus on the arts, music, books, author interviews, in-depth news features, opinion pieces and my all-time favourite – The Essay.

It hit me today that my number one big-time goal is to write an essay that is published in that section.

I have thought about it for so long that I have forgotten to set it as an actual goal.  It’s always been a thought in the back of my mind – “One day I’ll have an essay published in the SMH.”

But the thing about goals is that they have to be more real than that.  Using the SMART method of goal setting here is my number one publishing goal for the year:

Be SPECIFIC: I want to have an essay published in the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekend edition of Spectrum.

Is it MEASURABLE?: What are the steps I need to take to take to reach my goal? First, I need a great topic to write about. Then write a draft. Give my draft to my friend Jane to proof and comment on, correct any errors and rewrite if necessary. Once I have a final proof I will prepare a submission and send it off. If it’s not accepted, I’ll go back to step one (taking on board any feedback I received from the editor).

Is it ATTAINABLE?:  I’m going to say, yes, it’s attainable.  I’ve got all the submission details, I know they take freelance submissions and I know the style of the publication so I know what the editors want. Even though I know there are days when I will think it’s impossible, I have to keep it in my head that it is possible.

Is it RELEVANT?: Absolutely!  This goal is definitely relevant to the direction I want my life to go in this year.

TIMELINE: I would love to have achieved this by the end of the year.  The Essay is published once a week and the liftouts work a few issues in advance so that give me about 10 months to make submissions.

Having put this out there I’m surprised at how nervous I am. That’s the thing about goals – they can be daunting when other people know about them because I’m suddenly accountable, but without them I know I will be stuck in generalised thinking that gets me nowhere.

But it is exciting to have a goal, something to work towards.

Now, if only I had a great idea to start with.