You don’t need a plan, you need guts

Happy New Year friends!

I’ve just finished my personal and professional vision board for 2014. Let me just say, this year is going to rock!

If you’re thinking about creating a vision board for inspiration this year, I highly recommend it. There are many tools online you can use, but I personally prefer a tactile pinup board filled with wonderful images and quotes that I can move around, look at and journal about.

This vision boarding stuff got me pondering on the value of visions versus plans. Sure plans have their place (in very small doses) but in reality they’re pretty much just ‘best-guess’ exercises. We waste time writing them and then we beat ourselves up when we don’t achieve them.

I believe vision, guts and intuition trumps planning any day.

Let me give you an example. Late last year I came to the blinding realisation that I absolutely had to fulfill my vision of publishing Unstuck in Provence (a very personal, real and raw book that I wrote in 2010). I knew that if I didn’t publish it now, I’d live forever more in the knowing that I lacked the courage to finish what I’d started and that I’d always be wondering ‘what if?’

So one day last year, when I’d had enough of myself, I sent a message out on facebook to ask for recommendations on businesses that manage the self-publishing process. (I knew myself well enough that I needed someone to help push me through the publishing process.) Before I knew it, I’d appointed someone to manage it, paid a deposit and set the launch date. Now I had some skin in the game and someone to be accountable to.

This sequence of events all occurred within a week and now a whole host of other minor miracles keep appearing to help me realise my vision – an editor, a brilliant venue for the launch, offers to help market the book, potential distribution partners and speaking opportunities.

I don’t (and never did) have it all planned out step-by-step. I’m simply focusing on my very first end game – the book launch soirée on 26 February and I’m acting upon opportunities as they intuitively feel right for me. And daily, I’m doing what I need to do to bring the actual book itself to life.

Clearly there’s no need for a plan. Vision, guts and intuition are the new tools of business. Know what you want, set the end date, have the guts to take action and follow your intuition as you proceed. Voilà!

January is a great time to get unstuck and set your vision for the year ahead and I’d love to help you get started.

Here’s some ways to connect with me;

1. Attend my Reinvent your Business Workshop in Melbourne on Friday 31 January Click here
2. Attend my book launch soirée, Unstuck in Provence in Melbourne on Wednesday 26 February Click here
3. Pre-order a special edition autographed copy of Unstuck in Provence, available Wednesday 26 February Click here

What one thing will you do to set your intentions for 2014?

Yours in conscious marketing