Only One Reason Counts

Yesterday we thought about the fact that there could be a thousand reasons not to do something. And that was all right because you only needed one reason to do what you want.  Only one reason counts.  Yours.  So how do you know that it is your reason, and your idea is sound?

Great question.  And like most excellent questions, it can lead you on a long search for answers.  I believe the best way to look at a challenge like this is to first understand what you expect the end of your journey to be. 

In other words, you have an idea of what you want to do.  Think about what it will look like when you have accomplished the goal.  Be as specific as you can.  What are you doing, how are you feeling, what is going on?  Visualize the scene.  What are the emotions like?  Write it down. 

Now you know where you think you want to be.  At this moment, it is just a dream on a piece of paper, you have a lot of research and hard work to make it real.  Anything worth having is worth working to obtain. Right now, the job is reverse engineering. 

During this exercise, you cannot just assume or take someone else’s thoughts as reality.  You need to get as much factual information as possible. You need to research on-line, talk to the people who are now where you want to get to, and weigh all of the answers to see if it is really what you want to do.

Start with where you believe you want to be, and ask what do I do to get there.  Based on what you have found in your research, write down each thing you have to do on post-it notes.  One item per post-it and do not worry about the order at this point. 

When you get everything written down, then start to loosely arrange the post-its into an order on a wall or board.  There will probably be gaps, and there will be things you have not thought of yet.  Doing this will help you to identify areas you need to consider.

Some of the questions you need to be asking as your ideas start to take real shape in this are:

• Is this what I am really looking to accomplish?
• Am I willing to do what it takes to get the results I want?
• Can I indeed be happy where this will take me?

There are probably many other questions you will have.  I do not know them because they are your questions. Tomorrow we will look at weighing the objectives we seek.

Thank you for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof