by: Stacy Karacostas

“A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream”

Are you on track to reach your business, sales or marketing goals?

If your answer is no—or you’re not sure—believe me you are not alone. I can’t even begin to count the number of small business I’ve run across that aren’t on track to meet their goals—or have no way of knowing if they are or not.

Why do so many entrepreneurs struggle to reach their goals?

Because although setting sales and revenue goals and making resolutions is a good place to start, you have to do more than that. If you truly want reach your goals, you have to have a plan. And you have to have deadlines for taking action.

You see, goals and dreams don’t become reality just because you want them to. Neither do resolutions.

Even if you start out strong, without a plan and concrete deadlines it’s far too easy to find an excuse, or create a roadblock. Or simply put off for today what you can do tomorrow.

It’s also easy to give up because achieving your goals just seems too darn difficult. Luckily, humans have an amazing capacity to change, adapt and overcome—even against tremendous odds.

Just think about the people who climb big mountains like Everest…

Having been an avid extreme sports participant for half my life, I’ve had a chance to chat with quite a few successful mountaineers. Personally, as much as I love mountain biking, whitewater kayaking and backcountry skiing, I’ll never understand why they do it.

Every single mountain climber I’ve ever met agrees that high-altitude mountaineering is a suffer-fest. The closer they get to their goal, the more agonizing each step becomes—literally. Not to mention the fact that it is incredibly dangerous.

Thankfully, for most of us, our small business goals are much easier to achieve than reaching the summit of a mountain like Everest. But there is a lot we can learn from the way these mountaineers go about getting to the top.

How do mountaineers manage to summit major peaks time and again?

By approaching mountain climbing the same you should approach achieving any goal…

1) They create a plan

Mountaineers spend literally months planning food, logistics, gear, their route, their possible summit dates and more for a trip that may only last a couple of weeks—or less. Without all this planning they would never be successful.

Your goals may not be as difficult, dangerous or extreme, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t devote some time to writing out a plan for reaching them.

2) They set smaller goals with deadlines

Mountaineers don’t go from Base Camp to the summit of Everest in one day. They know it takes time to climb a big mountain. And if their sights are set only on the end goal it’s hard to maintain a positive attitude. Because that end goal is always a long ways off.

It’s much easier, and more rewarding, to reach big goals in stages. Plus it gives you a chance to get used to the changes you encounter every step of the way. That’s why mountaineers set a date to reach Base Camp, another to go to “Camp 1”, and so on until finally they make one last push to the summit—ideally on their predetermined summit day.

You can, and should, do the same.

3) They remember to plan for the down climb

Mountaineers always say just reaching the summit isn’t enough; it’s only a successful climb if you make it back down. The same holds true for your goals.

If you want to stay on course and truly achieve success, you have to do more than just plan for achieving your short-term goals, or even reaching your “summit”. Instead you have to think about what you’re going to do next to sustain your goals, maintain your new, successful behavior and keep moving forward.

The bottom line is…If you really want to reach your business goals and achieve your dreams, you have to start by making a plan. Abe Lincoln had it right when he said “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Most people avoid planning like the plague, but it really does not have to be difficult. All you need to do is spend a few minutes writing down your main goal, choosing smaller goals to reach along the way, and making a list of what you need to do to make it all happen. And don’t forget to include deadlines for when you are going to get each action item done.

So, don’t just pick a goal and hope for it to happen. Spend a little time deciding how you are going to make those goals a reality—then take action. You’ll be amazed at the great heights you can reach when you do!

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With more than 20 years experience running small businesses—including four of her own—Stacy Karacostas understands the unique challenges entrepreneurs face. An experienced marketing consultant and copywriter, she has created a variety of proven tools, tips and tricks that take the stress out of growing a small business including her Marketing Success Action Plan Workbook “Putting Your Business on the Road to Success” that makes writing a marketing plan as easy as planning a vacation road trip. Best of all, Stacy loves sharing her know-how and has a knack for making marketing both easy and fun. Have her business-building wisdom sent to your Inbox each week for F*REE by signing up at http://www.success-stream.com/brightideas.htm.