25 - Use This Business Strategy for Life Success

Have you ever wondered how successful businesses achieve their goals year after year? The secret lies in their vision statement and well-defined annual objectives.

I will share something extraordinary with you... you don't have to keep this powerful strategy in the office. You can harness the same principles to create incredible progress and results in your personal life too.

Your vision statement, your guiding star

In the business world, a vision statement acts as a company's North Star, guiding every decision and action at a really high level. Every decision made should lead you closer to, and not further away from your vision. This makes decision making much easier.

Applying this to your own life, a personal vision statement can serve as your overarching purpose. Spend some time reflecting on what matters most to you. Ask yourself:

• What do I want my life to look like in 5, 10, or 20 years?
• What are my core values and passions?
• How do I want to be remembered?

Write down your vision statement and keep it somewhere you can visit it frequently. Year on year it will likely change, mine certainly has! As I often share, my vision is to have financial stability and freedom over how I spend my time (the one thing you cannot replace, or buy more of). At one time it would have been to have a family, successful career.... I am lucky to have the first, and the former is part of my journey but is not my North Star.

Let this statement be the compass that directs your life choices. It can be as long or short as you like, and you can change it as often as you feel compelled to do so, but at least annually. 

Download your free Wheel of Life guide to help you if you feel a bit stuck on where to start, or what you should prioritse. 

Breaking down your vision

Once you have your vision statement, the next step is to break it down into annual objectives. These are the big milestones you hope to achieve in the next 12 months that will bring you closer to your vision.

Think of them as building blocks, if you get to the end of the year and achieved them you would have made good progress towards your vision. Without these, it is easy for another year to go by still standing in the same place you were before, just a bit older.

You may brainstorm a lot of objectives, in order to remain focussed I want you to highlight your top three to six at most that you will prioritse this year. 

For example, if your vision involves living a healthy lifestyle, one of your annual objectives might be to run a half-marathon by the end of the year. Another could be to gain 5kg of muscle, or to become a yoga teacher. 

Each objective should feel achievable within a year, and be clearly defined. This keeps you motivated and ensures progress towards your annual goals.

Your "Year of" power statement

Now you have the detail, are there one or two words, maybe a short motto that can sum it up?

Crafting a headline "Year of" statement, helps to keep you focussed for the year. My current "Year of" statement is "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" and I have leaned into this many times this year!! Including launching my website (scary!), starting a super new job in my corporate career (daunting!) and launching my first online course, Career Clarity (petrifying!). All three things are exactly what I want to do, they move me forward towards my bigger vision and life goals, but on the other hand it would be very easy to make no progress out of fear or "being too busy". 

I lean into my "Year of" statement often to help me stay on track and make progress, even when times are tough. 

Let's take a look at some examples:

This year you want to improve your fitness, maybe you recognised this when doing your Wheel of Life reflection and prioritised your health. Your three objectives this year may be to loose 5 inches of your waist, run a half marathon and consistently get 10,000 steps in a day. Your "Year of" statement may be “Health = Wealth”.

I like to spread my objective out over a few areas, and you may choose to also. For example, complete a 10km run, write a book and move house. These are pretty big objectives! But all still very achievable in 12 months if you remain focussed. Your "Year of" statement may be something more personal to you, perhaps these three objectives are the start of you living your dream life, you may choose something like "Laying Foundations". If you achieve these, it will mean you have made amazing progress! How inspiring!

Consistency is Key

Just as businesses review their goals periodically, you should revisit your personal objectives regularly. I would recommend reviewing your vision at least each year, Autumn/Winter is a good time to reflect and journal this through just before launching into New Year with your new objectives. Adjust them as needed to stay on track, but don't keep pushing them out if you are not making progress. Ask yourself, what more can I be doing to achieve this goal? Understand what is holding you back or stopping you, and take action to ensure it doesn't limit you living your best life.

Celebrate!

Don't forget to celebrate your wins! It is really important to recognise the progress you have made.

Having a reward is a really good way to keep you motivated, and a reason why having clear objectives is key. Remember the link back to successful business'? When an organisation reaches it objectives, it may reward it's employees with a bonus. It doesn't come out of the blue though! Organisations share what the reward will be at the start of the period, this is the carrot on the stick.

So what reward are you going to give yourself if you achieve your objectives? A nice holiday? That new watch you've been eyeing up? Get a decorator in to revamp your home office? Be clear on your reward at the start of the year, achieve your objectives and celebrate when you have achieved them! 

Your next steps

Applying business strategies to your personal life can create a structured and focused pathway to achieving your dream life. The steps are simple, follow them each year to make significant progress in your life goals. The steps:

1. Start with a life vision
2. Break it into 3-6 smaller objectives you want to achieve this year
3. Underpin these with a catchy "Year of" statement
4. Review often and stay consistent
5. Rinse and repeat each year 

You've got this! But if you do decide you would like a little help then drop me an email at [email protected].

Always with love,
Elsa x