Make a plan for 2017

Photo: Contributed

Many people ask me and my business partner why we appear to be having so much fun in business.

It is a startlingly common question usually followed by, “I wish my life was like that."

Well, frankly, they probably don’t because there is an awful lot of hard work to get to this point and stay here. And it doesn’t all smell of roses along the way.

But here is what I consider to be a big part of the secret. 

When you plan a business or project, why not start by laying out the fundamentals that you enjoy.

What would energize you to go to work every day and be positive even when it does not go the way you want it to?

Throughout my entrepreneurial activities. I have heard so many bad pieces of advice, including:

• “It doesn’t matter what you do, it matters what you make at the end of the day.” 
• “Never turn your passion in to a business, it will ruin a good hobby.”

Really?

There are many more sayings that are similar, alluding to the fact that the goal is simply to earn money and this, I believe, is where most people fall in to the trap of a daily routine they do not enjoy.

So, for 2017, how about you write a new business plan. Not for a new business, but what about for you personally?

Let's start 2017 by looking at how you might want to live, or the things you might want to do. Perhaps a top 20 list of what you would like to accomplish during the year.

For goodness sake, don’t write anything about income, or work because that is where we fall in to the trap.

We measure our ability to achieve things by our relative access to time and money.

What if those parameters did not exist?

My wife and I did exactly that in 1994 and found out in the process that we don’t even like work. 

It was not in our top 10 list of things to do. Imagine that.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.