Zig-Zag-Zoom - Part II(a); WHAT... Before How

I am sure that at some time in your life, you have been blindfolded and asked to walk forward. Or have had to enter an unfamiliar room with no lights.  I am confident we can agree that, these were not comfortable circumstances. 

Reaching your Business-for-Self, Highest Potential, has much in common with walking around blindfolded or having to walk through a pitch-dark room.  Suddenly, you run into things that you had no idea even existed.  Even if you are headed in the right direction, clear of obstacles, you remain filled with anxiety, self-doubt and uncertainty.  If you remain in this state for an extended period, FEAR creeps-in, to distort your thinking, paralyze your intuition, and eventually render all action as useless. This is NOT a Good Place to be!!

So let's put into place a firm thought foundation that will afford you a course of repeatable and trainable action.  We have 3 fundamentals in the understanding of WHAT... Before How.  These include;

• The Need for Pacing
•  Creating Your Lighthouse in the Fog and
•  The Journey through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability / Part II(b)

The Need for Pacing
As we covered in Part I; WHO... Before What,  CHARGING is a highly desirable entrepreneurial trait. When you are ready to combine Action with watch words such as Focus, Determination, Attention-to-Detail, and Patience, you can begin to move forward. Filled with the need to Succeed, the tendency will be to CHARGE HARD. Attempting to move straight forward, rapidly, often without regard to potential negative effects. 

Pacing is required to insure three things;

1. You don't develop shaky knees and wobbly legs; which inhibit you from taking daily action. The world is filled with hopeful ambitions and dreams that never clear the runway. But, You are No Longer Dreaming! You are No Longer content to sit on the sidelines! You want your 767 to take-off, to clear the runway. You are willing to wake-up every morning take responsibility for the things that you do, and the things that you choose not to do.  As an entrepreneur, You are creating your reality.  
2. You are able to maintain a high level of Mental, Physical and Spiritual fortitude.  You don't want to charge so hard that you get halfway there and run out of resources. 
3. Pacing allows you to collect data, analyze the data, and then make corrective steps to maintain balance and forward progress. Remember, that your target is moving. Collecting and Analyzing data assures that you are running your race without blinders.  You need to look side-to-side; you’re attempting to fulfil an opportunity marked by time.  With the passage of time, the target may have moved, and if you are not prepared, the opportunity will be missed. Pacing affords you the flexibility to adjust in preparation for this.

 
The first critical Pacing step is Assessing Resources.  You need to have a firm inventory of what is in your pocket.  This is not a financially based statement. Many assume that they need money to succeed in business.  This is the wrong - CHARGE HARD mentality to adopt as you begin to undertake whatever you have set your sights on. YES, money, at some point, is often needed to reach the end.  More significant than money are the resources of knowledge, passion and relationships. This thought foundation is influenced by the factual success of many businesses that started in a basement or college dorm room with little more than a Passion.  Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard...  all started with little more than the smarts and the passion of their founders.  These founders achieved their Highest Potential by moving side-to-side; zig-zagging if you will, stringing together smarts, passion and the network of their friends and their financial resources. 
  Your ability to build relationships is the most important resource that you carry in your pocket. Money does not yield knowledge, passion or relationships. Knowledge, passion and relationships, will always yield money. While you attempt to build and maintain relationships, you are able to reduce stress if you remember two things... a) Do the right things for the right reasons.  b) NEVER use People - Have a genuine concern for others and constantly be on the lookout for ways that your product or service can serve those around you.

Creating Your Lighthouse in the Fog
As you prepare to set sail toward your highest potential, rest assured that there are many who will attempt to dissuade you.  So you need to be on guard!  You are looking for three types here: (1) Those that Never Do,   (2) Those that wish they could and are hoping that you don't, and,     (3) Those that say, You can't do it.  So, WHAT do you need to keep on course while you endure the fog of dissuasion?

Every Achiever, in order to claim their success, has had a set of values to work from.  Let’s go back to Part I, WHO... Before What - Your WHO Values are a set of behavioral traits that must be in place as you build toward your goal.  These behavioral traits, are Your Lighthouse in the Fog. Always shining in front of you, they keep you from running aground.  Tested through time they evolve to be the cultural foundation of your business. They serve to clearly define the rules you follow and they outline the direction that you are headed.
If you refuse to first establish your WHO behavioral traits, you leave yourself in jeopardy of allowing just anyone to join your efforts.  The goal here is to never let anyone into your intimate circle that does not fit with your values. Period! This applies to everyone - your important hires, your friends, your partners... everyone.

In Part II(b) of WHAT, before How...  We will pull up anchor and journey, along the Seas of Highest Potential. Our journey will lead us through 3 Ports of Repeat-ability...