If you own your business or are starting up a business, you need a plan. Not a formal business plan (unless you are planning on forming a partnership or need to borrow money from a bank). But you do need a plan. A plan that uses your skills and what is important to you. Normally, I call what is important to you, “values,” and what I mean by that is heart. Your power to run or improve a business depends on your strength of heart.
Heart is talent. It’s what you believe in. It’s what you are good at and don’t mind putting in long hours to improve.
The biggest mistake you can make is get distracted. Decide that someone else is stronger, better, or smarter than you and follow them. Hope their light shines on you. Ask them to include you in their plan. Think they will mentor you.
Successful people have plans. They keep their eyes on working on their plan, making choices that benefit their plan. That is what you should be doing, too.
The American businessman Jim Rohn said it wonderfully: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
Of course you can ask for help, advice, or suggestions. But tend your own plan. Know what it is. Watch your business decisions to keep them filled with your heart. That’s where your power is. That’s where your strength is. That is how you will build a business that is all yours and clear to you.
—-Quinn McDonald owns her own business and helps others work on their plans.
QuinnCreative 
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This is such good advice, one really can’t hear it often enough. Thanks for the reminder.
I had to remind myself, right before I wrote the article!
This is good and resonates deeply. I’d like to hear more about how you form your own plan for what you like to have on your horizon. Any intentional steps or questions? Or just a general sense of direction?
Let’s see if I can keep this short, Mandy. I take a look at what worked in the last year and what did not, how much income is coming from which segment of my business and how that income is derived (how much time it takes to generate the percentage of income.) Then I create a list of “dream achievements” I’d like to create in the coming year. If something is new and will require start-up work, something else must be discontinued. This keeps me from piling up my workload to 100 hours a week. I break those big dreams into much smaller steps by month. I have a marketing budget, so the money is allocated so I know where it’s going. Then I dig in and start working.
This is a beautiful process and it makes much sense to me. I’m learning, but I’m already implementing the income and dream achievements elements—although it’s so hard for me to pace myself when I’m excited about a new long-term goal!! 😀 I think a good balance will come as I see that something has to be discontinued in order to make space. That’s a valuable concept. Thank you for taking the time to answer. These are rich tips!
We cannot do it all. Particularly if we have BIG dreams. So it is important to concentrate on the big-ness and the important work (and only we can decide what that is). Giving up is hard (the little things that make us little money). But important!
What a wonderful post Quinn. Having heart for your work is central to happy and successful worklife and I believe those two aspects are firmly linked although I daresay there are many people who, because they earn lots of money that they will be happy and money equates to success.
A perfect example of having a heart for your work is a yound New Zealand man by the name of Sam Johnson who at age 21, organised thousands of university and high school students in the clean up after the devastating Christchurch earthquakes 2010 and 201. He also went to Japan in 2011 to set up a similar intitiative.
If anyone reading this needs some motivation or would like to motivate youth who are feeling powerless, or perhaps is feeling in any way jaded about today’s youth, they can read more about this wonderful, extraordinary ordinary young man here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Johnson_%28activist%29
And website is entitled DREAM IT, PLAN IT, DO IT
http://www.samjohnson.co.nz/
Only 21 and so filled with purpose! Impressive!
Quinn, Thanks you so much for this post and the one yesterday. Arriving at just the right time for me as I am making decisions about which projects to put on the table for this year. Always, yes always, I learn something each morning as I read your words. Thanks
Kristin
Thanks for the kind words, Kristin. I’m doing the same thing, which is how those articles came up.
Love this. Both quotes are fantastic and so accurate.
It’s the amazing way of seeing yourself do something really dumb, then fixing it that sets me straight.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Oh, and hugs to you in celebration of your much wisdom and success!
I learn everything by screwing up.
Clever. Smart. And oh, so right.
I really needed this! Thank you dearly for your wisdom. 🙂
((((Sending lots of hugs!))))))
~Jacqui
Jacqui–you are one of the most focused people I know.