Michelle Forsyth Shares Her 5 Steps to Setting Yourself Up for Success

After living with the pandemic for over a year, sometimes living in a state of fear, even panic, there is no better time than right now to start living your dream. The global pandemic changed us as humans, as a society. It revealed that the world we thought we knew, the world where we knew what to expect, can change in an instant.

Instead of living in fear, this is the time to pivot. This is your opportunity to change the direction of your life and focus on something new. Even if you’re already in business and making things work, how can you amplify your success?

Step 1: Making the Decision

The first step is always the hardest. Yet, it is the simplest. When you are climbing the mountain of entrepreneurship, the only way to achieve your goals is to make the decision. What do you want? Do you want to sell your product or services in your town, across the country, or worldwide? What are you doing right now? Is it what you genuinely want to do? If you are not doing what you want, make the decision to change it. Whatever you set your mind to accomplish, if you consciously make the decision to create that dream, you can do it.

Step 2: Identifying Your Why

More and more people talk about knowing your why. Why does this keep coming up? It isn’t because it’s a hot trend for the sake of being a trend. It is because when you have a firm grasp of your deep, personal why, it literally transforms your life. Everything becomes easier, even the hard stuff!

Why do you want to pursue entrepreneurship? Why do you want to expand your business? It is easy to say, “I want to help more people.” There’s a secret: no matter what type of business you run, there is more to it than you want to help people. This can be challenging to figure out. Keep asking yourself with each answer, “why is this important to me?” When you hit it, you will feel it in your heart, and it will make complete sense to you.

Step 3: Conquering Your Stumbling Blocks

The obstacles that stop us are not lack of money, education, or experience. Just like your why it comes from within. Imposter syndrome and procrastination habits kill our dreams before they can even begin to take shape. How do you change it?

Be aware of your triggers. When you find yourself avoiding the things that will help you grow your business, it is because fear is blocking you. Remember why you are doing this, and it can get you moving in the right direction again.

Step 4: Stretching Yourself

When you do what comes easy and natural for you and never challenge yourself, it is impossible to grow. We must step outside of our comfort zone to move to the next level. Professional athletes continuously train to improve their athleticism and go to the next level. The same can be practiced with entrepreneurship. If an athlete just got by with the basics, their career would suffer. If we do not stretch our goals, we remain stagnant and sometimes even go backward.

What is something you can do to accelerate your business, but you have been too afraid to try? Public speaking? Writing a book? Networking? Adding a new product or service?

Step 5: Strategic Planning

Now you’ve made the decision, know your why, understand your stumbling blocks, and you are ready to challenge yourself. Set your priorities and create a plan. What do you need to do first to make your dream come true?

•   Brainstorm and outline the various moving parts to putting your ideas into action.
•    Set up a realistic schedule to follow through with those actions. Will you work on it 30 minutes a day, set aside a day a week, 3 days a month, what, where, and when will you take these steps?
•   Get an accountability partner. Hire a coach, enlist a trusted friend, whatever you need to keep you accountable to follow through on your plan.

Does this feel exciting but a little overwhelming? It may take longer on your own, but it is possible to do it alone. Especially if you are just getting started or moving in a completely different direction, it often leads to disappointment, and it is easy to fall back into old habits.

As an author and productivity coach, Michelle Forsyth offers support, guidance, and accountability with personalized 1:1 coaching and can be your support, pep coach, and provide direction as you put these steps into action for your business. Connect with Michelle on her website today and start receiving her momentum builder newsletter that provides weekly motivation, inspiration, and stories to keep you moving towards your goals.