How Do You Create a Success Blueprint?

Without a predetermined path to follow, achieving your goals becomes a bit hit or miss. When you create a success blueprint from the start and plan out the precise direction you are going and how to get there though, things become much more organized and straightforward. I call this planning ‘The Magic W System’ and it’s a great way to set you on a direct path to what you want to achieve.

For this purpose of writing I am going to use the example of starting up a home based business but it can be applied to anything that has a set goal in mind.

What? At the very beginning you have to ask yourself what it is that you really want. You need to think out exactly what it is you are aiming to achieve. Don’t be vague here and just say ‘I want a new car’. You need to be clear on exactly what car you want. The colour, the make, model, engine size, the extras package it comes with, the type and size of the rims and tyres, the size of the sound system….everything! The more clearly you define your exact goal the easier it is to visualise having it and this is what you should be aiming for. By visualising achieving your goal with a picture clear image of it in your mind you create a sense of excitement and positivity inside you. The more you can imagine it, the better. So think of what you want as many things as it might be, and describe them exactly.

Why? Next, ask yourself why you want to achieve your goals. You have to make sure that your goals are YOUR GOALS and you know just why you are working towards them. Quitting smoking is a good example of this. You can get nagged by everyone to quit, and no doubt you’ve thought about it, but until it becomes YOUR goal want to quit you’ll find it hard to. So make sure your goals are clear to you. Understand why you want to hit them and what will happen when you do. You may say you want to own your own home and pay off the mortgage so you can put the kids through college in 5 years. Your goal is clear and gives you more incentive to achieve it.

Write! This is the powerful part. Write it all down. Write what you want and why you want it. When you can see this on paper it takes on an even stronger form. It becomes that little bit more real now as you see it looking back at you in fine detail, exactly what you are now working towards. You can also read this list of goals anytime when its written down and reaffirm to yourself just what it is that you are aiming towards whenever you need a bit of boost in your incentive. I always like to read my goals just before I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning. It’s the constant affirmation to yourself of why you are working and what is at the end of it all that really makes you push yourself forward.

When? Now that you have a clear idea of what you want and why all written down in front of you the next step is to give all of this a time frame. When do you intend to have these goals done by. Think back to working for your boss again. If you were just given the work and he said to just give it back when it’s done, god knows when he’d get it. With no time frame to have things done by there is no urgency to complete them and without that you soon lose focus on getting things done.

So formulating a timeline for every goal is crucial. Look at what you want to achieve and split them up into immediate goals, short term and long term. What do you want to have done in a week, a month, a year or 5 years? Be realistic though. Don’t put unrealistic expectation on yourself that is simply impossible to achieve. This will just put an unnecessary strain on yourself and make you feel a failure when you can’t meet your own deadline. So think about things realistically and plan ahead.

What will you give? Ask yourself what you are willing to give to get what you want. Everyone knows you have to make sacrifice when you want something, be it free time, your favourite TV show, going out with your friends or whatever. Basically you are going to have to give up something you like and trade that time for your goal achievement. If you say you will give 2 hours extra a night and 4 at the weekends then make sure you stick to that! If you find yourself slacking off look back at your list of goals and time line to have them by and reaffirm this to yourself. You have to be hard on yourself so make sure you stick to what you agreed to with yourself!

Work..Make it happen! Now you have your plan of action in front of you, your success blueprint as I like to call it, make it work. Having all the best intention in the world is great, but without any work happening from you it’s never going to happen. Look at everything you want, the time frame to have it by and what you want to give to have it all, and write out a plan of how each one of these is going to be achieved and then make it work! Stick to your plan and keep your goals in mind and success is as good as guaranteed.