Where are you right now?

Where are you right now?

The first thing you want to do when you’re defining your dreams is to take a look at where you are right now.  You can do as much or as little of this as you want.  If you’ve never really sat down and thought about what your dreams are, the more specific and the more time you can spend on this step, the better prepared you’re going to move forward and be clear about what you want.

To get started I want you to print out a few copies of the “Where You Are Now” exercise and start writing.  Make a list of all the things you regularly do now and then check off how you feel about those activities.

Include anything that comes to mind and feel free to use more than one sheet.  The more thorough you are with this step the more information you will have to process when creating your dreams.  So write down whatever comes to mind and don’t prejudge whether the activity is “important” or not.  If you do something, write it down.

I’m very serious about writing down everything you do. Yes, that includes cleaning toilets. “But what does cleaning toilets have to do with building an art and design business?” you ask.

(Hopefully nothing.) Furthermore, you ask, “What on earth does cleaning toilets have to do with defining my dreams?” Stay with me, I promise that this will all be useful information as we work through the OPIC™ system.

Having a very detail list of exactly where you spend your time, either in your business or in your life, is important as your business begins to grow.  Later we will talk about outsourcing.  Refer back to this exercise and you will be able to see different areas in which you could hire people to do things that you’ve been doing yourself.  Creating a detailed list may surprise you.  Many people don’t realise exactly what or how much they actually do.

After you’ve spent a little bit of time and effort on the “Where You Are Right Now” exercise and feel happy about the amount of information you’ve  included, we ‘re going to move on to the next exercise.

“Fine- Tune What You are Passionate About” is going to be a bit more fun.

The Quantum Compass OPIC planner

 

Here at Quantum Compass we’ve been working with our business clients on what we call the OPIC planner:

OPIC stands for:

          Objective

          Planning

          Implementation

          Commitment

The OPIC planner sheet is very useful when it comes to goal setting. It will help you keep track of your progress and give you a clear process for planning each of your steps towards your goals.

Key Result Area: In this section record your primary aims. What specifically do you want to achieve

Here focus. on your three main priorities:

•   Mental

•   Physical

•   Spirtual

Objective: In this section record the goals that you want to achieve. Remember that you want to write you goals in the present tense as if you have already achieved them.

Planning: In this section write down your action steps in sequential order. If your goals are broad make sure you chunk down the tasks into small steps.

Implementation: In this section you can plan, outline, and delegate (for yourself and others) the specific tasks required to complete each action step.

By Whom: This section refers to whom will action each of the steps that you have planned. It could be your self or others. Everyone who will be involved with your goals.

By When: Note the time or date when you anticipate the task will be actioned and completed.

Validation: Tick to indicate that the task has been actioned.

Commitment: This section is a critical section for you as you work towards achieving your goals. Focus on the reasons you have to achieve your goals, and how you will maintain your mindset as you encounter hurdles and setbacks.

Success: This final section is where you can record what you learned as you worked towards achieving your goal. Write down what your wins and gains from your journey have been.