Graditude = JOY

I have been away this past week, & I took some time to think of the vision I want for This site. Since I am highly affected by negativity, as well as others. In the Future: Nothing that is considered a JOY-SUCKER, will be posted on this blog.




The Game that Nobody Wins

If we have been lucky, we have been bought up in a house full of positive thought and unconditional love. Otherwise we probably find ourselves spending a lot of time dwelling on the negative things we find around us.

It appears that so many people love to share their doom and gloom, to try to get others to feel sorry for them, they love to moan and complain. We humans even play this strange game of trying to out do each other with our tales of woe, as if whoever has the worst tale wins.

No one really wins this game. It just increases the negativity in the world and does nothing to lift our spirits or enhance our lives.

There is a way out of this game and it is called gratitude. Instead of spending your days looking for things to be unhappy about, find things to be grateful for.

Selective Attention

We always have a choice on where we place our attention. So why not place it on all the good things in your life, instead of on the negative things or on the things you don't have. If you are having financial difficulties don't put your attention on how little money you have. Instead put your attention on all the wonderful things you do have in your life. Think of your family, your friends, your talents, your health, the trees around you that provide clean air for you to breathe, and your pet for providing unconditional love.



Finding Gratitude

Make a list of all the things in your life you are grateful for. Make it as long as you can. See if you can fill pages and pages.

You might be struggling at first but once you start you will be amazed at all the good things that are around you. This can be a great exercise to practice if you are feeling down in the dumps. It is harder to do when you are feeling low but if you are determined to feel better then start focusing on the good and write it down.

Life's Difficulties

If you are going through a tough time, you can be grateful for the lessons you are learning, the strength you are gaining and the compassion you find for others going through a rough spell.

Difficult times and difficult people can be our best teachers. When we are open, they teach us to find peace and harmony within, they build our strength and compassion. When things get really tough, if we want to keep our mental health intact, they can even force us to live in the present moment.



The Path to JOY

You will create a life full of joy if you look for things to be grateful for. Try it for a day, just to see how it feels. It is great to share with your friends and family how much they mean to you and how you appreciate the good things they bring into your life. Be sincere and do not go over the top. But expect some interesting reactions. Some people will love your comments, others may feel uncomfortable receiving praise if they are not used to it. Some people may even think that you want something or have done something that you are feeling guilty about. It is all just a reflection of the times we live in and the negativity that seems to be the norm in most people's lives. But you do your bit to turn that around by spreading your words of appreciation and gratitude.

In fact you don't even have to say or do anything. If you spend your time in gratitude then it will radiate out from you. People will start to seek you out because they will feel uplifted in your company.

Create a Vision with a Layer of Marketing

When people say they don’t have a marketing plan, they usually haven’t thought about what their business means to them. Start by looking at your business in the future. Where do you want it to be one year from now? How about five? Really think about it, and write down exactly what you see. What type of guests do you have? What are they spending? What is your profit? What are you doing with those profits?

The more you can “see” your business, the easier it will be to get excited about it!

Set your goals.

Once you see your future, it’s easier to put it into place.

Start out by writing your general goals on a piece of paper. For example, if one year from now you see yourself with 500 guests a month, each spending $300.00, write that goal down.

These are your large goals. But large goals are hard to achieve because they are so large. 500 guests at $300.00 each sounds great, but if you are having trouble getting 200 guests through our doors a month, then this 500 guest can be a monumental goal.

Become a better marketer.

Marketing is a game that must be played throughout your business career. As long as you are in business, you must market!

Many creative professionals make the claim, “I hate marketing” or “I just don’t have time to market”. Yet that is their lifeblood.

Add into it all of the different methods - especially with online marketing techniques, and it’s easy to see why it can become overwhelming.

The important thing is to understand it. Then make a commitment to do something about it. Understand it enough to hire the people to help you. Or purchase services that will make you marketing efforts easier. But you must understand it to make sure what you are buying has value for your company.

Test everything you do. Choose your marketing tools wisely. And test them. Find out how people are coming into your business. Keep the tools that work - stop the tools that don’t.

Do it again. Once you’ve tried a marketing tool, and analyzed how well it’s working for you - do it again!

Some things work; some don’t. The important thing is to keep trying. Even if something fails, the worst that has happened is you’ve spent money and learned. If it doesn’t work, don’t assume nothing will. It’s a matter of finding the right message in the right place in the right time.

Think Strategically To Define Your Vision

Most business owners have a vision for their enterprise but often lack the strategies that will enable them to realize that vision. What they need to do is to commence the process of strategic thinking.

It helps you adapt to changes in your life and make transitions from one stage to another; it also enables you to more clearly see the opportunities that lie ahead. Basically it helps you to achieve your goals.

Essentially what strategic thinking asks you to do is to define your vision with as much clarity as possible, then work inwards to create the steps that will allow you to get where and what you want. You do this with the power of your imagination.

There are five focus areas that will guide you to the definition of your vision, and create an awareness of how to realize your vision.
Each focus area should be taken separately. Don’t rush and be sure to go through these steps in as much detail as possible. Record your thoughts as you go; a voice recorder is often helpful in this procedure.

The Big Picture
The first task is to step back. Once you see the big picture and your ideal outcomes first, drill down to the details. Close your eyes and imagine that you’re looking down on your business as you want it to be in three years’ time with everything working perfectly and generating good profits. Now apply this technique to the people in your business, then to the systems that make it work. Always start on a broad scale and work inwards from there.

Viewpoints
These are tools that you apply as you work down from the big picture. Viewpoints are different ways of looking at the same thing as you develop your vision.
Four are listed here, but you can create as many as you need to ensure that every angle is covered:
*The project viewpoint – what individual projects are needed to build the vision and bring it to completion?
*The process viewpoint – what processes must be in place to make your vision function? How do they work?
*The resources viewpoint – what resources (financial, personal) are needed to make your vision happen?
*The environmental viewpoint – what are the conditions in your business environment? What are you competing against and what will make you successful?

Structure & resources
What is the organizational and human resource structure of your business when the vision is achieved? Imagine the way it will be managed, the support team in place and the production processes all working smoothly. This is your ideal so go into all the detail necessary to cover every aspect.

The drivers of your vision
Drivers are the forces that power your vision. They are the intangible elements and values in place when your vision is complete. What skills will your ideal business possess? What will be the focus of your team? What will be the mission of your business? What will build spirit and morale in your ideal enterprise? What ethics will be in place?
Ideal outcomes
By working through the first four focus areas of the process you have built the foundations of your ideal business. You know the structure, the resources, the values and the market in some detail. The final step is to do a summary of everything you want to have and what you’ve learned as you worked through the process.

By working through these five focus areas, you have developed a picture of exactly how your business vision can be fulfilled. Your vision has been created using a process that also gives you the strategies to accomplish it.

What Are Some Ways To Follow Your Business Vision With-Out Conforming To Industry Stanards

1. Surround yourself with people who are competent and share your vision and have good work ethics.

2. Set the Standards. It's always better to be the one setting the standards and having everyone else play catch up.

3. Do business with those who allow you to follow your vision.



4. Keep thinking outside the box. make sure you have people around you that have weirder or stranger ideas than you do. That will keep fresh ideas coming in.

5. Never have "Yes Men" on your creative/research team. They are the ones that you want to hear new ideas from. You don't want them just agreeing with ideas you already had yourself.

6. If you feel that a business is causing you to conform....look for new ways around that business to do what you want to do. In Meal Assembly Industry for example....if every time you tried making a meal Mtv told you it had to be changed for them to air it...it might be a good idea to start looking for backers to start your own music channel where you can show the videos the way you want and also allow other artist/producers to do the same.

7. Never accept "well thats the way it always been done."

Vision With Action Can Change The World

Vision with out Action is Merely a Dream.



Action with out Vision Just Passes Time.



Vision With Action Can Change The World.

Do you have a Business Role Model?

At some point, all entrepreneurs are inspired — they get the spark that not only gets them started, but also keeps them going. That inspiration can be an idea, an opportunity, or a person.

Whether we have met them personally or read about their success and how they achieved it, many of us are fortunate enough to have business role models whom we admire or would like to emulate. Do you want to be another Bill Gates? Do you see yourself as a future Oprah Winfrey? Or do you look up to your uncle who ran his own store?

Making a list of your role models can help you clarify your own Vision Statement. Take a moment to think about who has inspired you and then write down their names, what you admire about them, and how you can incorporate those traits in your own Vision for your Company. When you are done, you will have a handy reference sheet to come back to whenever you need a reminder of why you choose the profession you are involved with. Take a moment, Share with us if You have a Business Role Model. Who would that person be? Has this helped with your Vision Statement?

Do you have a Vision Statement?

A vision statement provides direction or focus to a business or organization. It is a no nonsense statement of how your company is perceived in the minds of your guests. I bet you want your business to continue to grow, and if so, then creating and articulating a Vision for your business is one of the best things you can do to ensure that growth. I am not talking about profit here. Of course, profit is nice. We all love profit. However, in this context profit is a by-product of an exceptional vision, not vice-versa.

Here is an example of Hewlett and Packard Vision Statement: In 1939, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started a business in a garage they named Hewlett Packard. Over time, Hewlett and Packard created a way of doing business that would come to be known as "The HP Way.” Hewlett once said that the HP Way was "a core ideology . . . [that] includes a deep respect for the individual, a dedication to affordable quality and reliability, a commitment to community responsibility, and a view that the company exists to make technical contributions for the advancement and welfare of humanity."

Is there a mention of profit? No.

So why does your company exist, what is the vision? Think of a pyramid. If you want to create a vision for your small business, the answer to the question "why does my company exist" is the base of your pyramid, the foundation upon which everything else rests. Hewlett and Packard answered this question by talking about their core values. What are your core business values? What difference does your company make in the world? What value do you add to employees, and customers? Your deepest values are the base of your visionary pyramid. Next on our pyramid comes commitment, a commitment to your vision. Business is not easy. Is it fun, exciting and challenging, however, easy it is not. This is especially true if you want to create a visionary business, a business that can make a difference. The top of your vision pyramid is action. It is worthless— creating and articulating a vision for your business and forming a team of similarly committed individuals — unless you are all willing to act on your vision.

The best of the best small businesses, indeed all businesses, are visionary businesses. So go ahead and create a vision for your business. It should focus your energies and inspire everyone around you.

Here is an outline to help you Develop your Vision statement by following the steps below.

1. Write down who your business is.
2. Write down what business you are in.
3. Think about and write down whom your company serves. Who does your target market represent?
4. Brainstorm and write down what it is that your target market needs.
5. Make a list of your competitors.
6. Write down and explain what makes your business different from your competitors.

Keep in mind that a Vision Statement expresses how your guest perceives your business. In the end it should have created a message of clarity & consistency to your guest.