If you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer, some days are better than others.
You wake up on Monday before the sun comes up ready to take on the world.
Gary V. Video? CHECK.
Early morning gratitude journal? CHECK
“I’m gonna kill it!”
Then there’s Friday.
“No one’s returned my emails…”
“Am I crazy? Please, someone, anybody, tell me I’m not crazy.”
“Maybe I should just get a regular job like all my other friends…”
If you’re not careful, your emotions will sink you and your dreams.
You need a system to keep you in check and help you keep up the momentum. Use the five elements below to create unstoppable momentum.
1.) Start With The End in Mind
The first step to getting what you want is knowing what you’re after. This is your vision. Your “Why.” Why are you on the hunt to begin with?
Start with the end in mind. Know the end result of what you’re after and reverse engineer it.
When things get tough, this is what “motivates” you to keep moving forward.
2.) Curate Your Environment
Your environment either feeds you or kills you.
Did you know that you are the total of the five people you hang around? Be conscious of your environment. Surround yourself with people who support your journey.
Seek out the sharks in your field. Don’t swim with minnows.
3.) Cultivate and Apply Knowledge
Be a ferocious reader, but actually use the information. If you have a blog, write about what you learned from the book in a blog post. If you’re a salesperson reading a sales book, read the damn thing to sell more.
Leaders are readers.
4.) Keep Yourself Accountable and Manage The Day
Stop going about the day as a servant, become the master, run your day and stop letting it run you. – Greg Plitt
If you can, find a coach, friend, or mentor to hold you accountable. When someone keeps you accountable, you don’t want to let them down. Imagine agreeing to be a workout partner to someone and then not showing up to workout. You’d feel terrible (most people would). You want to have this same sense of responsibility attached to your goals.
Also, organize your days into categories. Block off certain days to perform different tasks and duties.
This will make it easier for you to focus your attention on one task at a time.
For Example, if you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, your week might look like this:
Monday – Hunt for prospects
Tuesday – Follow up with prospects
Wednesday– Hunt for prospects
Thursday – Catch up on errands
Friday – Read and learn
etc..
5.) Gamify it.
Think of work as a game and reward yourself accordingly.
Write your goals out on a whiteboard and try to beat the deadlines. Find a friend who is on a similar path as you and challenge them to a competition.
Also, try using the app Way Of Life. It helps track your behaviors over time and encourages good habits.
Playing Offense
Apply these five elements to your work and you’ll create opportunities instead of waiting for them to happen. It’s playing offense.
Will you stumble along the way? Yes, of course. That’s the game. But it beats playing for scraps.
Have anything you’d add to the list? Let me know in the comments below.