Determination

Success = determination – feelings + systems and time

Being determined is key to your success. So much about being a successful business owner is about just not giving up. Not giving up, in other words, is not allowing your feelings (fear, anxiety, worry, stress) to overtake your dreams.

Determination then, is the capability to acknowledge the tough feelings you will have in growing your business, but not letting them engulf you, and derail you.

It’s the strength you need to push through the tough times and overcome obstacles. When it comes to business, being determined means having a clear vision of what you want to achieve and never wavering from that goal.

You need to believe in yourself and your abilities, knowing that with hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Being determined doesn’t mean you’ll never face challenges. Being determined means you get up and keep working towards achieving your goals, despite obstacles getting in your way.

Every successful entrepreneur has had to overcome hurdles along the way. The key to success is not giving up, no matter how difficult things may seem.

PRO TIP: Use your determination to motivate yourself to find solutions to problems. Stay flexible and be prepared to pivot if necessary. Remember, the willingness to adjust your approach is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Dreams + Determination + Systems + Time = Success

Dreams are what keep you motivated and give you a sense of purpose. But dreams alone won’t get you to where you want to be.

Dreams are not enough to get you out of bed in the morning – determination and systems are what get you out of bed in the morning and at your desk ready for action.

Daily systems and practices move you toward achievement.

  • What you do in the first half hour of waking up will shape the rest of your day every day.
  • So make sure your early morning practices and rituals serve you and your dreams.
  • Ditch distractions in the morning, that add no value to your next big move, and instead create and stick to a plan for getting the most out of every day.

Outcomes are born from plans

  • You need to combine your dreams with a well-thought-out plan that include daily actions, habits, rituals, and a promise to yourself to follow through on them.
  • With a solid plan in place, you can take consistent and actionable steps toward your goals.

Create a weekly structure for achievement.

  • It takes time and a lot of hard work to achieve your dreams.
  • That’s why it’s crucial to stay motivated and focused on your goals.
  • You can do this by creating a framework – a system – of accountability for yourself for weekly and daily systems.

Your weekly structure

Here is a guide for you to help you get started. In business ownership, the two most important days for effective planning are Sunday and Friday.

Sunday

  • Set aside an hour to assess what you need to achieve by the following Friday, to move your business forward.
  • Make a list of these projects and make them your first priority every day between 8AM – 10AM.
  • List of all the actions required and people involved in order to achieve the projects for the week ahead.
  • Review your calendar so you know what you have booked for the week. Ask yourself what value you will bring to the meeting and if your attendance is really required. If not, RSVP your apologies. If yes, make a plan for each meeting scheduled for the week ahead, regarding the outcomes you need from each.

Monday-Friday

  • 8AM-10AM – focus on the projects to be completed by Friday.
  • Keep your phone on silent and only review your email if it relates specifically to these projects.
  • From 10AM – time for meetings, phone calls, collaboration, management and staff meetings.
  • Set a half hour aside at the same time every day and block it out in your calendar for after lunch. This is contingency time – if an urgent, unplanned matter arises, and people need to speak with you, confirm with them to call you at that time.

Wednesday

  • Assess progress and what needs to happen to move the top projects forward to ensure they get completed by Friday.

Friday

  • Review the projects for completion today – and identify a short list of what needs attention in the upcoming week, so you have this for your planning session on Sunday.

Daily Structures

Speak to any business owner and ask them how they are and most often they will tell you they are stressed, do not have enough time, and cannot get to everything they need to. Sound familiar? You cannot make all these problems completely go away but you can put structures in place that will give you more control and allow you to get more out of every minute. Here are our top insights into getting your business days on track, in order to more you toward achieving your goals. These will only serve you if you commit to them every day and this requires determination.

Self-Care

  • To build a successful business, you as the owner, have to be well, motivated, healthy and determined.
  • So you need to invest in yourself – daily exercise, a balanced diet, hydration, meditation, self-development, professional development, contact with friends and family and colleagues, staying educated on information relevant to your business are all ways you need to take care of yourself.
  • Taking responsibility for your other roles outside of business management is also part of self-care. Not having time for anything but your business is not a winning approach to a fulfilled existence.
  • These are not nice to haves – they are all essential for you to achieve your goals.

You are the boss, so be in charge

  • Also essential is how you approach each business day.
  • You are the boss, you own the show, so you are accountable for when you start and finish your work day. No one is clocking you in and out.
  • So make the daily allocation of hours you work, work for you, and achieving your goals, while balancing the other aspects of your life that require you.
  • Create a routine that serves you and your business, and your life, and commit to the routine.

Allocate your time resource

  • One of the top issues business owners report they have is not having enough time. As the leader, it is your responsibility to allocate resources, including time, in a way that will determine the success of your business.
  • You are the leader of your business so lead in all aspects – including how you allocate time, in order to create and implement strategy, have quality interactions with your team, and suppliers and run your business.

PRO TIP:

  • Keep your diary blocked between 8AM and 10AM every weekday for planning and reviewing work.
  • No-one needs you before 10AM.
  • By setting two hours every weekday aside, you create ten hours a week to strategical planning and implementation.
  • Block this time out on your calendar M-F and ensure your inner circle knows this is not time you are available.

Newsflash – Email is not your project planner

  • Do not use your email as your project planning tool. Your email is just a list of everybody else’s needs and expectations.
  • If you are spending all day looking at your long list of incoming email messages, you need to step away from your screen and get reacquainted with your top priorities for completion by Friday.
  • Spend 15 minutes each morning before 10AM reviewing any email that arrived overnight. If the emails relate specifically to your top projects for the week, respond to them in your 8AM-10AM key project planning time if necessary.
  • If the emails do not relate to your project work for the week and are low in priority, confirm with the sender you will review and consider during the course of the week.
  • At 4PM every day spend time reviewing any of those low priority emails and responding to them by the end of business. Block this time out in your diary and determine to do this every day.

Deadlines and milestones

  • Set deadlines and milestones, and hold yourself accountable to them.
  • And be clear with your team what your deadlines and milestones are so that they, where required honour the project work they are required to deliver.
  • Use a cloud-based project planning software to achieve this – such as Monday.com.

Allocate time to vent and celebrate

  • Surround yourself with people who believe in you and can help you stay motivated when things get tough – or when you want to celebrate a win.
  • Create a weekly check-in with a colleague who knows your journey, is objectively supportive and will listen to you when you call and need to vent or celebrate.
  • This person may be in business too and understands the business owner’s journey. Block this out in your diary each week with the right person, and commit to it.

Streamline your comms
Information overload – when we have so much information coming at us – relentlessly – sometimes the result is that we don’t get to the really important communications because they are hidden in amongst all the other messages we are receiving. You can take control of this.

Make sure you have separate work and personal email addresses. This creates clear boundaries between your work and personal life, and compartmentalises distractions away from your work email inbox.

Once a month review:

  • Your email subscriber list. Unsubscribe to any marketing emails that are not relevant to you. This is liberating because in doing so you remove so much noise from your inbox.
  • Your social media choices. Who or what have you chosen to follow in the last month – are the posts you receive from them supporting you and your mindset and business journey? Try culling back your list to themes that really matter to you, so that when you do go to your social media, you feel uplifted and happy.
  • Your app subscriptions. Ensure the apps you subscribe to add value for you and support your business in growth. There are millions of apps available, but only a handful will really help you in achieving your goals. What can you live without and what do you need to spend more time reviewing and committing to in your app collection?

Summary

Being determined really is the key to achieving your business dreams.

Combine your dreams with a well-thought-out plan, and robust systems, and the determination to overcome obstacles.

Remember, determination overcomes feelings. If your feelings overtake your capacity to be determined, things unravel very quickly.

Stay motivated and focused by surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who can help you stay accountable. And be there to celebrate your wins. Also, allocate time to declutter your incoming communications to ensure the messaging you are receiving supports you in your journey.

Apply the learning here, to stay focused on your goals and achieve the success you’ve always dreamed of.

Keep your eye on the prize, and with determination, success is yours for the taking.