Mediapreneurs by Toby Mildon

Mediapreneurs: How to have a business and a life!Media

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© 2011 Mildon Media. All rights reserved.ISBN 978-1-4476-7909-7Content ID: 10605855

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Contents

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Introduction01 Business mindset02 Perfect day03 What do you really want?04 Connecting the dots05 First things first06 Align priorities and aspirations07 Goals08 Action!09 Barriers10 You have what it takes11 It’s a wrap!AcknowledgementsAbout Mildon Media preneursMedia

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Introduction

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Introduction

Perhaps you want to leave a legacy, have a better work-life balance, be the boss not the subordinate, have freedom of creative license, make handsome profits and more, the world really is your oyster.

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Introduction

I’m hazarding a guess here, you’ve picked up this book because you’re building a media business or are planning on doing so for what could be any number of reasons.

Perhaps: • You’ve worked for years in large media organisations and you

now have enough experience behind you to go out on your own • You already own a media enterprise but are struggling to

strike a balance between outstanding business results and the lifestyle you desire

• You’re facing redundancy and rather than jump straight into another 9-5 job you want to be your own boss for once and to set the rules

• You have a passion for the media and you’ve struggled to get your break in the industry so want to carve out your own name and business instead

• You have a fantastic media business idea, which just doesn’t fit the mould and so you want to be a leader in your idea and create a fabulous business around it

• None of the above! However, you’ve got just as important and passionate a desire to build a media business of your own.

The thing is, I have some hard hitting and scary news for you. Seventy percent of start-up businesses only last two years and fifty one percent of these last at most five years. This means that if on the same day as your launch party 99 other media businesses open their doors too, only 30 of you will celebrate your second birthday. Worse still, if you are one of the lucky businesses to survive to two years, you along with 14 other businesses might not make it past your fifth birthday. I call this situation Start Up Atrophy. You know you need to work hard so your business stays strong and healthy to serve you better.

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This book will help you do just that, but in a way that also supports the lifestyle you want. According to a BBC News article, start-up businesses fail because of:

• Failure of entrepreneurs to see the bigger picture – becoming caught up in the minutiae of running their business and not looking to the horizon.

• Failure to plan – if you go on an unfamiliar journey without a map you can easily get lost.

• Failure to measure – very few businesses know what their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are so how do they know whether they’re on course or not? If a business doesn’t know whether its drifting off course, where could it end up? Shark infested waters, pirate territory or toward an iceberg.

• Standing still – if you do the same thing today as yesterday, can you expect progress? Probably not. In business you cannot afford to stagnate – you must innovate and move forward.

Apologies for all the doom and gloom, however, it’s important to paint a realistic picture and to position you for success. The fact is, you CAN start up and develop a new media business, which goes onto achieve great things and gives you the life you want. Perhaps you want to leave a legacy, have a better work-life balance, be the boss not the subordinate, have freedom of creative license, make handsome profits and more, the world really is your oyster. There is no reason at all why your business shouldn’t be one of the 15 that outlives its fifth birthday and survives well into its wisdom years making profits and giving you a great lifestyle.

Introduction

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By following the Mildon Media Steps for Clarity, Direction, Action and Results you’ll set yourself up for a greater chance of success:

1 Pinpoint your business pains, challenges, fears etc, which you must address.

2 Identify, confirm and reaffirm why you’re in business (or entering business).

3 Figure out how your ideal lifestyle fits with your business aspirations. I bet you aren’t in business to work 24/7 or as hard as a 9-to-5 and be penniless.

4 Push your thinking patterns and boundaries on what you really want to achieve for the sakes of your business success and ideal lifestyle.

5 Hone in on all that needs to be done so you have a focused plan.

6 Double check that your reasons for being in business and having your desired lifestyle are congruent with your business plans – for a greater and more enjoyable chance of success.

7 Overcome barriers that might get in your way and look at them in a different light.

8 Highlight your strengths as they are now and how to apply them to your business success.

I wish you success and happiness as you work through the winning formula herein. You will need a notebook and pen to jot down your thoughts as we go through the exercises. Regardless of your past performance you can achieve your aspirations and sever the ties with problems of the past. For a lot of people it’s time to abandon the ‘script’ we were given through childhood and write our own narrative, which we can pass on to generations to come.

Introduction

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Introduction

Identify, confirm and reaffirm

Identify, confirm and reaffirm why you’re in business (or entering business).

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01 Business mindset

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01 Business mindset

Did you really imagine yourself working 16 hours a day, missing out on your children’s nativity play, not finding time to take your partner out for dinner, or unable to relax on holiday? I hope not.

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01Business mindset

Before you delve into planning your business growth, development and ultimately success and results, you first must take a step back to formulate the vision and bigger picture of why you’re in business and the kind of lifestyle you expect. If you’re already in business, are you ‘living the dream’ and if you’re starting out do you want to ‘live the dream’? I know it’s clichéd to ask whether you’re living the dream but when you first imagined your business it began as a thought and a mental image. Did you really imagine yourself working 16 hours a day, missing out on your children’s nativity play, not finding time to take your partner out for dinner, or unable to relax on holiday? I hope not. I hope you imagined a much better lifestyle and work arrangement. I find that entrepreneurs and business owners sometimes struggle to define what a business actually is. Without this definition firmly in their minds they fall deep into their business and get wholly consumed by it. The business takes over and it’s as if they’ve taken on just another job and their business isn’t working for them.

Write down your answer to this question: What is a business?

Circle the key words in your definition. What do you notice? Have you used words that are more aligned to an employee or job like trade, service, supply, occupation, concern etc? Or have you used liberating words like profitable, lifestyle, rewarding, fun etc?

One good definition for a business is ‘a profitable enterprise that works without you’. How does this definition alter your attitude towards business?

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Answer these questions:

Can you take a four month holiday?If you can’t take four months off then write down what’s stopping you. Does the answer boil down to the fact that you have an ‘enterprise that cannot work without you’?

If you can take four months off – congratulations! However, there’s no mobile coverage or internet access on the holiday. Can you still take four months off?If yes, congratulations! You have an enterprise than can work without you.If not, write down what’s stopping you. Again, does the answer boil down to the fact that you have an ‘enterprise that cannot work without you’?

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a fantastic book by Robert Kiyosaki. Robert Kiyosaki introduces us to his Cash Flow Quadrant as below:

If you can’t take four months off then write down what’s stopping you. Does the answer boil down to the fact that you have an ‘enterprise that cannot work without you’?

01 Business mindset

Illustration 1: Rich Dad Poor Dad Cash Flow Quadrant

90% of Population 10% of Population

Employee You have a job

Business Owner You own a system, which leverages your growth

Self Employed You own a job

InvestorMoney works for you

10% of Wealth 90% of Wealth

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Kiyosaki identifies four economic categories. 90 percent of the world’s population are employees or self employed, however, they take home just ten percent of the world’s wealth. On the other hand, ten percent of the world’s population are business owners or investors – yet they take home 90 percent of the world’s wealth. Which side of the quadrant do you want to work?

Circle the statements below that you most identify with today:

If you’ve circled predominantly the statements on the right – congratulations – you’ve got the Mediapreneur Mindset. The next steps in this book will help you forge ahead. If you circled mostly the left hand column write down your reasons why, along with any fears or anxieties you’re feeling. On a scale of 0 – 10, how happy are you to operate in the left hand column? If you scored low – what’s preventing you from living in the right hand column? If you scored high then perhaps you’re comfortable where you are. Ask yourself though – what would life look like if you received a passive income, drove your business rather than being the passenger and had more time for yourself.

01 Business mindset

• If I don’t work I don’t get paid

• I have no system that takes care of business

• I work IN my business

• My business is driving and I’m the passenger

• I can’t afford to or risk taking time out

• I WORK for money

• I am a servant to my destiny and a deckhand on the ship

• I receive passive income regardless of whether I’m actively working or not

• I own a system that works for me

• I work ON my business

• I drive my business

• I can afford to take time out

• Money works for ME

• I am the captain of my ship and the master of my destiny

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You’ve defined what you want out of business and what it is to have the Mediapreneur Mindset. Before you move onto the second step complete the sentences below. Put these statements somewhere you’ll see them everyday. Read them out loud and tweak them until you feel really enthused and excited by them.

[my business] is a system, it makes me money.

When I take four months off, [my business] will do just fine.

I have the Mediapreneur Mindset, which means I am not driven by [my business], I see the bigger picture.

The above is your end game, and it will take time to get there. In reality you might have to forgo working shorter hours and earning passive income at the outset but the important thing is that you have an ideal business and Mediapreneur Mindset. As Stephen Covey says in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – begin with the end in mind. Another question for you: When might you want to sell your business? The reason why I ask is because when a business is ready for sale the enterprise really can work without you. Go ahead, write a date down and anchor this in your mind as the tipping point at which you have an autonomous business and well versed Mediapreneur Mindset.

01 Business mindset

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01 Business mindset

[my business] is a system, it makes me money.

When I take four months off, [my business]will do just fine.

I have the Mediapreneur Mindset, which means I am not driven by [my business] I see the bigger picture.

=

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01 Business mindset

=

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02 Perfect day

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02 Perfect day

When you first decided to go into business you probably had certain lifestyle expectations in your mind’s eye. Perhaps you expected to spend more time with family, to travel, to do charitable work, to have multiple income streams, or simply to chill out.

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02 Perfect day

In the previous chapter you defined what a good business is and what it means to have a Mediapreneur Mindset. We will now explore the other side of the same coin. That is, now you have a business that works for you, what does the rest of your day look like? When you first decided to go into business you probably had certain lifestyle expectations in your mind’s eye. Perhaps you expected to spend more time with family, to travel, to do charitable work, to have multiple income streams, or simply to chill out. You’ll spend some time now visualising what your perfect day looks, feels and sounds like. Make sure you’re somewhere comfortable and a place where you won’t be distracted or interrupted. Read though the passage below and pause after each sentence to build up a picture in your mind. Pay attention to how you feel in your body – do you feel relaxed, content, excited, happy etc.

Today is your perfect day. As you slowly open your eyes from having a fantastic night’s sleep what do you see around you? Who is the first person to come into your mind? Someone that you’re so grateful to have in your life. As you slowly wake up you notice comforting noises around you. Noises close by and noises further away. What do you hear? You feel invigorated and excited about the day ahead. What do you most look forward to doing? As you make your way down to breakfast there’s a letter waiting for you. A letter you’ve been looking forward to receiving. As you peel open the envelope and you catch its first line it makes you smile. What does this first line say? As you read down the letter you read more good news. What is this news? As you look up from the letter and look around. What do you see? You gaze out of the window. What do you see outside? You enjoy the taste of breakfast and write down three things you really want to achieve on your perfect day. What do you write down?

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Before you begin your day in earnest you decide to go for a stroll. On your walk you meet someone you are really pleased to see. Who do you meet? As you continue your walk you head in the direction of your favourite place. Where do you head? What do you do when you get there? You’re really enjoying yourself in your favourite place on this perfect day. You have an urge to check how your business is doing. Who do you call? What good news do they have for you? This person tells you of one problem but it doesn’t trouble you because you know someone else in your business who will take care of it. Who is this person? You hang up and take a moment to reflect on how well your business is doing. What are you happiest about? You’re so proud of the business you’ve built. What business do you own? What has it achieved? What’s great about your business? You sit back and think about how you can drive your business forward so you can have more perfect days like this one. What comes to mind? What do you feel most excited about? You finish strategising and a dear friend calls you on your mobile to invite you out for lunch. Who calls you? You agree to meet for lunch and you recommend a favourite place to meet them. Where do you suggest? On your way to this meeting place a thought pops into your head – ‘today is just wonderful because...’. What do you think? You approach the meeting place and your dear friend is there waiting for you. Just the sight of them lifts your spirits even higher. How do you feel on the inside? You have so much to tell this person and you can’t contain your pleasure with life. You tell some great news to your friend. What do you tell them? As you finish off dessert you bid your friend farewell. You’ve had a wonderful lunch with them and can’t wait to see them again. You have to rush off because you have something really important to do. Where do you go? What do you do when you get there? After accomplishing this really important thing, how do you feel? How do you congratulate yourself? The afternoon draws to a close and you look forward to the evening. What plans do you have?

What business do you own? What has it achieved? What’s great about your business? You sit back and think about how you can drive your business forward so you can have more perfect days like this one.

02 Perfect day

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You’re really happy because your business went well in the morning, you had a fantastic lunch and you accomplished something really important in the afternoon. The evening is now upon you. You’re doing something you really enjoy. What are you doing? Where are you? Who do you have around you? As the evening draws to a close and you make your way back to where you began the day. On your way, someone approaches you. They have a warm and embracing smile. They ask ‘excuse me, but what’s the secret to your happiness and success?’ What do you tell them? You continue on your way. As you climb into bed you feel really satisfied that you’ve had a perfect day. You close your eyes and reflect on the day. What do you appreciate the most? What did you love about the day? What do you look forward to tomorrow?

Take a moment to summarise your perfect day by answering these questions. Write your answers down:• What three things did you do?• Where did you go?• Who shared the day with you?• What did you hear?• How did you feel?• What did you see?• What smells did you notice?

Your current day might not be anything like the perfect day you visualised. Don’t worry – it’s all work in progress. Write down your answers to the following:• In reality, what is your typical day like now?• How does your current situation compare to your perfect day?• How wide is the gap? Are you almost there or poles apart?• What three things can you do to bring your current day and

perfect day closer together? These can be big actions or small bite-sized steps.

At this point you’ve defined:• a business that works for you and not against you• your desired place in the economic system• how this harmonises with your ideal day and lifestyle.

You’ve also begun to think about how to bridge the gap between your current reality to an ideal day where you can end up. How does it feel to accomplish this? Good? Take a breather now before you move onto Step 3, defining what you really want.

02 Perfect day

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02 Perfect Day02 Perfect day

Today is your perfect day Take a breather now before

you move onto Step 3, defining what you really want.

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03 What do you really want?

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Ever wondered why good ideas pop up in the shower or when walking the dog? It’s because you’ve taken your foot off the accelerator and your mind is working at less thoughts per minute.

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03What do you really want?

In the last two exercises you’ve laid the foundations (Mediapreneur Mindset, profitable enterprise and your visualised end-game and lifestyle) and now it’s time to construct the walls. By now you should have a few pages in your notebook mapping out your desired future – this is your blueprint. Now we’ll add to the list.

The be, do, have game...Sketch out a table like the one on the next page into your notebook. Over the course of a week brainstorm all the things you want to be, do and have in your business and life into the table. Take a week to do this exercise so all your ideas have time to bubble up to the surface. Take your notebook everywhere you go as ideas crop up in the most unlikely of places and times. Ever wondered why good ideas pop up in the shower or when walking the dog? It’s because you’ve taken your foot off the accelerator and your mind is working at less thoughts per minute (TPM). Write everything down. Ignore the voice in your head that says ‘oh don’t be ridiculous’, ‘you’ll never be able to do that’, ‘who are you kidding’, etc. Defy the voice. You can do anything to which you set your mind. You get what you focus on most of the time. Write everything down no matter how big or small or strange it may feel. We’ll cover the realities and practicalities of achieving your goals / aspirations later in the book. For now, let your creativity flow and commit all that you want to be, do and have to paper. Try and have an even balance between your business and personal / lifestyle aspirations. Some examples of be, do and have are:

• I want to spend more time with family;• I want to be on top of my business game;• I want to have an assistant to help me out;• I want to have a higher value clientele;• I want to do less fire fighting;• I want to do more of my hobby.

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What’s driving you up the wall?Everyone has had things going on in their lives which are far from pleasurable. What’s going on in your life that is irritating, painful, frustrating or annoying? Make a list of these things in a table like the one below. When you’ve exhausted all of your irritations, pains, frustrations and annoyances turn to the right hand column and list what you could do with instead.

I want to be... I want to do... I want to have...

1month

3months

6months

6months +

The things I find most irritating, painful, frustrating and annoying are... What I really could do with is...

e.g. Lack of time, no money, system overload!, uncooperative people etc.

e.g. more free time, more money, less on my plate, a good team around me etc.

Take your notebook everywhere you go as ideas crop up in the most unlikely of places and times.


Table 1: Be, Do, Have

Table 2: Frustrations

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The whole you...We are made up of three parts: the mind, body and spirit (not necessarily in the religious sense of the word). Thinking about your three parts answer the questions below:

• How do you want to nurture your mind?• How do you want to develop your mind?• How do you want to maintain a healthy mind?• How do you want to care for your body?• What does a good body look and feel like?• How will you stay healthy in your body?• How can you connect with something bigger than you? This

doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘God’ or spiritual leader but perhaps some form of purpose, vision or mission.

• How can you connect with nature more?

Whom do you admire?Often you can achieve a lot by modelling your behaviour and actions on people who are ahead of the game and have achieved what you want to achieve for yourself. Ask yourself these questions and make a note of your answers:

• Who do you look up to and admire in the business world?• What did they do to get to their position? What can you mimic?• What attitudes or behaviours do you admire in this person? How

can you adopt some of the same behaviours or attitudes?• What strategies do you think this person used to get to where they

are today? Which of these strategies could you use for yourself?

• Who has a lifestyle you’d ultimately like to mirror?• What did they do to achieve this lifestyle? What can you mimic?• What attitudes or behaviours did this person adopt? How can you

adopt some of the same behaviours or attitudes?• What strategies do you think this person used to achieve this

lifestyle? Which of these strategies could you use for yourself?

By now you’ve probably got a long list of things you want to be, do, have, frustrations etc. to overcome, ideas for your mind, body and soul and actions to mirror of someone you admire. If you followed my advice to not hold back on your thoughts / ideas and committed as much to paper you’ve probably got a lot to take in. Don’t panic. In the next chapter we’ll make sense of it all in Chapter Four – Connecting the dots.


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03 What do you really want?02 Perfect Day

MindBodySpiritBeDoHave


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04 Connecting the dots

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It’s important to get all your thoughts out in the open and committed to paper for a clearer vision and to evaluate what to pursue. This next exercise helps consolidate all your thinking and plans into manageable packages.

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Don’t worry if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the business outcomes and lifestyle aspirations you’ve written down so far. It’s important to get all your thoughts out in the open and committed to paper for a clearer vision and to evaluate what to pursue. This next exercise helps consolidate all your thinking and plans into manageable packages. Take out your notebook and read through all your notes from the Business Mindset, Perfect Day and What Do You Really Want exercises. As you read your notes, ask yourself:

• What themes, categories or groupings do you see?• What relationships or linkages are there between your notes?• What themes, categories or groupings overlap and which of them

are independent? For example, Family and Family Holidays are closely related but Business Growth and Diet are perhaps not.

• Which of your aspirations belong to more than one theme, category or group?

Turn to a clean page of your notebook and make a list of the key themes, categories or group headings you see as you read back through your notes. Headings should be between one and three words each and describe the themes, categories or groups you notice. Common headings might include (note: create your own headings for maximum effect):

• Money• Health• Business Results• Staff• Relationships• Et cetera

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Read through your notes again and when you’re confident that ALL of your aspirations belong to one or more theme, category or group heading, write your final list of headings into a table like the one below. The table can be as big or as small as you need it to be.

Now populate the table (under each heading) with each and every one of your aspirations from the Business Mindset, Perfect Day and What Do You Really Want exercises. This is quite a systematic process to ensure each aspiration is accounted for. When you’re confident that all aspirations have been checked off and accounted for, take some time to absorb the content of your aspirations table. Underline the aspirations that appear under more than one heading so they stand out. How can some headings and their respective aspirations merge to simplify the table? What additional patterns and relationships can you see between aspirations? What additional aspirations emerge as you analyse the table? What aspirations can be erased because they duplicate another? Update the table accordingly. Congratulations! You’ve consolidated all your aspirations, thoughts and ideas into one place, which you will use in the next step.


Family Health Learning

• Aspiration A• Aspiration B• Aspiration C

• Aspiration D• Aspiration E• Aspiration F

• Aspiration G• Aspiration H• Aspiration I

Travel Profits New Business

• Aspiration J• Aspiration K• Aspiration L

• Aspiration M• Aspiration N• Aspiration O

• Aspiration P• Aspiration Q• Aspiration R

Table 3: Aspirations grouped by theme

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consolidate aspirations, thoughts, ideas

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consolidate aspirations, thoughts, ideas

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05 First things first

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About ninety percent of achieving a goal is why you’re doing it and ten percent constitutes how you do it. Therefore, the more congruent your goals are with your priorities the greater the likelihood of achieving them will be.

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To recap, you’ve defined a Mediapreneur Mindset, created a perfect day vision and produced pages of aspirations, which are now all consolidated into one neat table under theme bundles. In the next chapter you will focus more tightly on your aspirations so you have a manageable set to work with. Before that can happen though, you need to look at priorities in your life and work, which you’ll do in this chapter. About ninety percent of achieving a goal is why you’re doing it and ten percent constitutes how you do it. Therefore, the more congruent your goals are with your priorities the greater the likelihood of achieving them will be. Take some time to consider the questions below and write your answers into your notebook. Write your answers as a short and concise list.

What ten things are the most important to you? List them.What three things would you miss the most if they were to go missing from your life tomorrow?What three things make you happiest to be alive? When does time fly?When do you feel most successful? When do you feel most proud?Imagine you’re 95 and a journalist is interviewing you about your wonderful successful life. What ten things do you attribute to your success?Thinking about your perfect day in Chapter Two, what do you need in order to make this a reality? They can be ‘hard’ attributes like money or ‘soft’ attributes like confidence.Thinking about your business mindset in Chapter One, what do you need in order to make this a reality? List hard and soft attributes.Thinking about your aspirations in Chapters Three and Four, what do you need in order to make this a reality? List hard and soft attributes.

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Turn to a clean page in your notepad and draw three columns down the page. List your answers to the above questions down the left hand column. Your answers need to be one to three words long each. For example:

Starting from the top of the left hand column and working your way down, ask yourself “why is this important to me?” and using one to three words put your answer in the middle column like the examples above. After considering each item in the left hand column cross it out until every item is accounted for. Then, starting from the top of the middle column and working your way down, ask yourself “why is this important to me?” and using one to three words put your answer in the right hand column like the examples above. After considering each item in the middle column cross it out until every item is accounted for. You should now have a list of key words listed in the right hand column with values in the left hand and middle columns crossed out. Read through values in the right hand column again and cross out any duplicates.

Imagine you’re 95 and a journalist is interviewing you about your wonderful successful life. What ten things do you attribute to your success?


Short answers to previous questions

1 – Why is this important to me?

2 – Why is this important to me?

Achievement Financial independence

Security

Money

Spouse Supportive

Horse riding Relaxing Time to think

Cooking for friends Companionship

Winning new business

Exciting Energy

New technology

Table 4: Values and priorities

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Draw a new table like the one below on a fresh page of your notebook. Read down your list of values from the right-hand column of your previous table and enter them under the left-hand or middle column as appropriate.

Review the left-hand and middle columns in the above table. Which values conflict or contradict each other? In the example above, ‘Taking Risks’ and ‘Conservativeness’ conflict with each other. For each contradictory value enter a neutral value in the right hand column, which gives you the best of both worlds and that you’d be happy to live by. Cross out the contradictory values. Consider the values in the middle column. How happy are you to live with them if they are impeding you? How can you tackle them? How can you leverage the values in the left hand column so you get more out of your business and life? In this chapter you considered what’s important to you and dug deeper to reveal your core values. You then considered how these values help or hinder your aspirations, and where conflicts appeared you determined a neutral value by which you could live instead. By doing this exercise you should have a greater understanding of what drives you, which is key to the next chapter where you will align your values to your aspirations.


By living these values I feel as though they help me to achieve my personal and business aspirations...

By living these values I feel as though they hinder me in achieving my personal and business aspirations...

Where values conflict or contradict each other I will live by the below instead...

Energy Security Calculated Risk Taking

Taking Risks Conservativeness

Etc. Etc.

Table 5: Useful vs. hindrance values

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02 Perfect Day05 First things first

What’simportant to you?

What Are Your Core Values?

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06 Align priorities and aspirations

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One step in alignment is worth more than one mile out of alignment.

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In the last chapter I mentioned that about ninety percent of achieving a goal is about why you’re doing it and ten percent is about how you do it. In this chapter you will align your values from Chapter Five (First Things First) to your aspirations in Chapter Four (Connecting The Dots). The more congruent your values and aspirations are the greater likelihood of achieving them will be. One step in alignment is worth more than one mile out of alignment. Revisit your aspirations table from Chapter Four (Connecting The Dots) and add a row below each category heading to make a table similar to the one below. Then look back over your final list of values from Chapter Five. Consider each value in turn, and add it to one or more categories in the table below, as an example.

Applicable values: e.g. love, support

Applicable values: e.g. energy, strength

Applicable values: e.g. progress, mental strength

• Aspiration A• Aspiration B• Aspiration C

• Aspiration D• Aspiration E• Aspiration F

• Aspiration G• Aspiration H• Aspiration I

Applicable values: e.g. variety, progress, energy

Applicable values: e.g. achievement, financial security

Applicable values: e.g. achievement, financial security, progress

• Aspiration J• Aspiration K• Aspiration L

• Aspiration M• Aspiration N• Aspiration O

• Aspiration P• Aspiration Q• Aspiration R

Table 6: Aspirations and values aligned

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You should now have a table divided up by category, which bundles up your aspirations with the most applicable values attached to each grouping. For each grouping of values and aspirations, on a scale of 0 – 10 rate how satisfied you are with this area of your life (in terms of how far you are away from your aspirations and how well values work for you). Which ones score low? For what reasons do they attract a low score? Which ones score high? What relationships do you see between your values and aspirations?

What relationships do you see between your values and aspirations?


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Align...

Priorities &Aspirations

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Priorities &Aspirations

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07 Goals

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07 Goals

There are two types of goals – those you move away from and those you move toward.

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07Goals

The exercises so far have been broad for a reason – they are designed to open up your thoughts and reach into and explore all corners of your business and life. Chapter Six narrowed down your aspirations somewhat by aligning them to your priorities and values. It’s now time to formulate the goals you want to work on, which give you the life, business and work you so desire. Look over your final table from Chapter Six (Table 6: Aspirations and values aligned) and ask yourself:

• What areas of your life and business (i.e. the categories) do you want to work on first?

• How do you benefit from working on the lowest scoring categories first?

• Realistically, how many categories can you work on at a time?• How many aspirations per category can you work on at a time?

When you’ve decided how many aspirations to work on first, i.e. your bandwidth, write them onto a fresh page of your notebook. What ever you decide to put on the shelf for now can easily be revisited later on. Perhaps you decided to work on just one aspiration for one area of your life or business first. Or, a number of aspirations for one area of your life or business. Or, a number of areas in your life / business each with one aspiration (or more). You decide how much you can cope with. Choose enough aspirations to stretch you without overwhelming you. You should now have a shortlisted set of aspirations in your notebook (or even just one) and a value and category associated with each one. So far, we have discussed aspirations, which are different to goals. Goals are a lot more concrete, so now you will turn your aspirations into goals.

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There are two types of goals – those you move away from and those you move toward. Imagine for a moment someone who is really unhappy in their job. They may say ‘I have to get out of this job ASAP’ – this is a ‘move away from’ goal because they’re trying to get out of a bad situation. Alternatively, they could say ‘in two months time I will be in a much better job with a great employer’. The latter example is a ‘move toward’ goal as it’s something they look forward to doing and is a more positive outcome. Goals also need to follow the principal of the three Ps – Present, Personal and Positive. Goals stated in the present tense help our psyche and motivation since the goal is expressed as if you’re achieving it right now. For example, ‘my business has a £5m turnover’. Secondly, you need to own the goal by expressing it in the first person using language like I, my and we. For example, ‘I spend a lot more time with my family’. Thirdly, goals need to be positive (akin to move toward goals) by expressing them is if it’s something to work toward or look forward to. For example, ‘I weigh 93kg’ rather than ‘I want to lose 30kg’, which is about loss and is negative. Last but by no means least, goals need to be SMART. SMART means specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Let’s look at these in turn:

• Specific: The more specific your goal the better – it focuses the mind on what you want. It’s not enough to say ‘my business has new projects’. You should say ‘my business has new web design projects with clients in the retail sector’.

• Measurable: How do you measure success? For example, you can add “my business has three new web design projects with clients in the retail sector’ and add another layer of detail ‘each to the value of £55,000 or more’.

• Attainable: Your goal needs to be within reasonable reach. If taking on 20 new projects this month is unattainable then scope out the goal so it is achievable.

• Realistic: The goal needs to be realistic. By all means reach for the stars but don’t go after something that is so far off that it is overwhelming. If you face a large and unrealistic goal then break it down into smaller chunks.

• Time-bound: A goal without an end date is simply a dream! Set a date by which you want to achieve your goal. For example, ‘It is 30 March and my business has three new web design projects with clients in the retail sector each to a value of £55,000+’

07 Goals

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07 Goals

Read through your shortlisted aspirations from above and write them out as goals using the principals above. Here’s a checklist to help you out:

• Express it as a ‘move toward’ goal and phrase it positively• Write it in the present tense• Make it personal• Make your goal specific• Measure progress and achievement of the goal• How attainable is your goal?• How realistic is your goal?• What is your goal’s due date?

A good way of writing out your goal is: It is... and I..., for example:

• It is 28 July and I am enjoying a week-long and relaxing villa holiday with my spouse on the Côte D’Azur, or;

• It is 5 April and my business’s turnover is £2m;• It is 9 September and my business has five additional clients in the

retail sector, creating corporate training films for each of them, or;• It is 27 May and I drive a ruby red metallic Porsche 911 Carerra

Beginning a goal with ‘It is <date>’ you’re writing in the present tense and by attaching a date to it makes it timely. Speaking in the first person, as in ‘I’, ‘we’ or ‘my’ makes the goal personal to you. The above examples are also ‘positive’ as they look to what you want and not what you don’t want or things you’re avoiding or moving away from. You now have a handful of SMART goals, which are also personal, present and positive. Furthermore, the goals are of something you want to move toward and not away from. You’ve reached a key milestone by ending this chapter since you’ve worked through Chapters One to Six to settle on a handful of final goals. In the next chapters you will turn these goals into tangible actions, which will bring you personal and business results.

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07 Goals

smartsmartsmartsmartsmart

specific

measurable

attainable

realistic

time-bound

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08 Action!

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08 Action!

How can you make yourself accountable for your own progress?

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08 Action!

Hanns-Oskar Porr says “Even tiny steps take you to your destination. Ah, but you gotta TAKE each tiny step!” So, the ONLY thing standing between you and your goals above is EXECUTION! By execution I mean undertaking daily actions toward your goals.In this chapter you will set out your road map to guide you from where you are now to where you ultimately want to be. Familiarise yourself with your final goals from Chapter Seven. Vision boards and Mind Maps are good ways of displaying your goals. For each of your goals brainstorm no less than 20 actions, which propel you forward. Don’t continue with this chapter until you have at least 20 actions per goal. Actions can be big or small. Really push your thinking to create 20 actions or more. Ready? For every one of your goals draw out a timeline, which matches the size of the goal. For example, if you’ve got a goal due in eight months from today then draw your timeline in months. However, if your goal is due in a fortnight then draw your timeline in days. Use whatever format works best for you. Some of my clients just draw a line on a sheet of paper i.e.:

NOW----x------x-------x-- x-[holiday]-x--x---x-->DUE-DATE

(where x is a milestone) whilst others produce glamorous Gantt charts in a spreadsheet or Microsoft Project. The most important thing is that you have an even spread of actions between now and where you ultimately want to end up. Distributed actions are to you what a metronome is to a pianist taking into account your own tempo rubato. Be realistic with your time lines as there’s nothing worse than not achieving much because you’ve put too much on your plate. Similarly, don’t under commit as you might lose interest and stall. When you have all your actions mapped out answer the following questions...

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• Where will you put these actions so you see them every day?• How will you reward yourself every time you achieve a milestone?• What happens should you fall behind in your plan? How will you

correct it?• What will it be like to stick to the plan? What does success look,

sound and feel like?• Who will you share your plan with? Pick someone who is positive

and supportive.

How can you make yourself accountable for your own progress? Many of my clients say that reporting their progress to me in weekly sessions helps them to stay on track. Who can you share your actions with? Who can help ensure you maintain momentum? Topher Morrison once said the key to action is to create a ‘vacuum’. Imagine a vacuum cleaner whirring away in the corner of a room. It will suck up the dirt and dust in that corner of the room only but the rest of the floor remains dirty. You need action and momentum to push the vacuum cleaner across the room to suck ‘stuff’ up. In this instance, the ‘stuff’ is your goals. Imagine you want to replace some worn out work clothes in your closet but you keep putting it off because you’ve got other things to do. By throwing out your old clothes you’ve created a ‘vacuum’ since now you’ve got more impetus to go buy some new clothes (unless you want to go to the office in your pyjamas!) to fill the void. What vacuums can you create for yourself?

“The key to action is to create a vacuum”– Topher Morrison What vacuums can you create for yourself?

08 Action!

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08 Action!

What vacuums can you create for yourself?

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08 Action!

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X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX X




















09 Barriers

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09 Barriers

We face barriers and obstacles on a daily basis. They could be small like dealing with the stress of sitting in a traffic jam or much bigger issues like a health scare. The thing is – it’s HOW you approach barriers and the mindset or attitude that you employ, which positions you for success or failure.

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09Barriers

We face barriers and obstacles on a daily basis. They could be small like dealing with the stress of sitting in a traffic jam or much bigger issues like a health scare. The thing is – it’s HOW you approach barriers and the mindset or attitude that you employ, which positions you for success or failure. If you’re open (as opposed to closed) you absorb much more of your surroundings and are open to learning and change. Our minds are closed when we focus hard on a task at hand or the problem itself! Take time out, go for a walk, take a nap, go for a massage, or talk to a coach or mentor. As you open up under these circumstances quite often the solution appears out of the blue. Confucius once said “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor wo/man perfected without trials”. I have personal experience of this, which I’d like to share with you. I’ve grown up since the age of one with a rare neuromuscular disability, which confines me to a wheelchair and I need round-the-clock care. I’ve grown up facing physical, emotional and discriminatory barriers almost on a daily basis, however, this has been the ‘friction’ in Confucius’ terms, that has made me the strong character I am today. The proverbial really hit the fan in 2010 when I fell seriously ill with pneumonia and ended up in intensive care in a coma for three months. I had a bleed on my brain leading to a stroke, seizures and multiple organ failure. I was on life support, dialysis and 30 tubes and wires to my body. The doctors weren’t hopeful and they called my family back into the hospital since they didn’t think I’d make it through to the next day. I defied the odds and pulled through. I firmly believe my mindset helped me recover after the coma to return to my full-time job at the BBC, establish my business to help mediapreneurs like yourself, continue working on a TV pilot with my friend Eric, travel into Europe, complete my coaching diploma and a few other things. I know it’s an extreme obstacle but I hope I’ve managed the illustrate the importance of openness and mindset.

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If you’ve ever watched Wife Swap on the TV it’s some of the families not open to the new mum’s ideas/mindset and experience and refuse to change after the show that remain where they are – stuck in a life that’s not terribly healthy for their children’s future. For each action in your timeline from Chapter Eight, brainstorm all the possible obstacles or barriers you might face in the course of following your goals. Write as many obstacles down as possible – large or small, far or near. The fact that you’re bringing the obstacles front of mind and committing them to paper means they’re less likely to trip you up. Once you have your completed list of barriers plot them into this matrix:

In the words of Brian Tracey, “begin by eating the ugliest frog first!” Look at the barriers in the top left hand corner of the matrix (high impact, high likelihood) and ask yourself:

• What’s the worst that can happen?• What can you do right now to minimise the likelihood and impact

of this barrier?• Should the barrier occur, how will you rise to the challenge and

overcome it?• Who can help you overcome the barrier?• What will you do to ensure you have an open and solution-

focused mindset?

Should the barrier occur, how will you rise to the challenge and overcome it?

09 Barriers

High Impact¹ Medium Impact¹ Low Impact¹

High Likelihood*

Medium Likelihood*

Low Likelihood*

Table 7: Barriers Matrix. * of occurring / ¹ should barrier occur

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09 Barriers

Add the actions you derive from answering the above questions into your timeline from the last chapter. How does it feel to have preempted your barriers and plan how to tackle them? If you’re still unsure the following questions help to put barriers into perspective:

• What WILL happen if the barrier OCCURS?• What WILL happen if the barrier DOESN’T OCCUR?• What WON’T happen if the barrier OCCURS?• What WON’T happen if the barrier DOESN’T OCCUR?

Which of the above outcomes can you live with? What will you do to ensure this outcome occurs? Which of the above outcomes can’t you live with? What will you do to ensure this outcome can be mitigated or avoided altogether? Stephen Covey’s Sphere of Influence vs. Sphere of Concern is a really wonderful model to introduce here. In Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey encourages us to focus on what we CAN do and influence in our Sphere of Influence. Your Sphere of Influence is all the things you can have some control over or exert your power of persuasion on. Look around your Sphere of Concern (your problems and worries) and write down the concerns or problems that you CAN take action on and move them into your Sphere of Influence. If you feel there is nothing you can do, think for a moment about very tiny steps you can take – even if it doesn’t resolve the concern altogether. If you’re still stuck then who can help you out?

Sphere of Influence

Sphere of Concern

Sphere of Influence

Illustration 2: Covey’s Sphere’s of Influence and Concern

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09 Barriers

As you reduce your concerns your Sphere of Influence inflates and your Sphere of Concern deflates, which puts you in a much better place. Are you ‘you are what you eat’ or ‘you eat what you are’? If you eat fatty food and chocolate all day you’ll end up overweight and unhealthy. But if you eat fruit and veg and lean foods you’ll be healthy. In pursuit of goals and business there’s a similar analogy. If you spend time with people who are unsupportive of you and listen to negatives you’ll struggle to get ahead. If you spend time with role models, listen to and read positive messages and inputs and model your behaviour on people who’ve already achieved what you’re setting out to achieve, you’re more likely to succeed. As Gandhi said, “be the difference”. By adopting the attitudes, behaviours and actions of who you want to be then positivity and progress will gravitate to your feet. How do you think you should act? What must you do to feel successful? Now go do what you have to do. Writing out positive affirmations helps you propel toward success. Turn down the volume of the voice in your head, which says ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘who am I kidding’ and try to avoid a civil war between your ears. Replace these thoughts with positive affirmations like ‘I have the desire and ambition to overcome my challenges’ or ‘I am the captain of my ship’ and ‘I trust in me’. Write your affirmations out and stick them somewhere you’ll see them every day like your bathroom mirror, car dashboard, PC screen. I have James Lavers to thank for the following affirmations, which really do help. Repeat the following phrases out loud by emphasising and stressing the underlined words:

I can do it!I can do it!I can do it!

How do you feel after reading ‘I can do it’ aloud?Congratulations! You’ve come a long way through the process – you’re almost done. You’ve got a set of SMART and three P’s goals with a plan, and now you’ve considered how to get over barriers should they occur.

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Influence

Influence

09 Barriers

InfluenceInfluence

ConcernConcern

Concern

Influence68

Influence

Influence

09 Barriers

As you reduce your concerns your Sphere of Influence inflates and your Sphere of Concern deflates, which puts you in a much better place.

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10You have what it takes

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10 You have what it takes

Your goals help you strive for greatness but you know there are barriers to progress and results... however, your existing strengths are a major factor in your success.

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10You have what it takes

Your goals help you strive for greatness but you know there are barriers to progress and results. The previous chapter helped you identify actions to overcome these barriers, however, your existing strengths are a major factor in your success. For each goal, brainstorm all the strengths that will help in your pursuit of it. They can be ‘hard’ strengths like qualifications, vocational abilities etc. or ‘soft’ strengths like personality, mindset etc... Add your strengths to your goal plan so you frequently remind yourself of them. Another great tool is to keep a weekly journal as suggested by Richard Wiseman in his amazing book 59 Seconds, which is shown on the following page.

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Day Journal Entry

Monday What 7 things over the last week are you most grateful?

Tuesday Think of a wonderful experience you had in the last week. Imagine yourself back in that time. What was going on around you? How did you feel? Write a description of this experience.

Wednesday Imagine yourself in your perfect day from Chapter Two. Write about what it’s like to have achieved all you wanted to achieve.

Thursday Imagine you have just one opportunity to tell someone very important to you about how important they are to you. Write down what you’ll say to them so they know how much they mean to you and the impact they’ve had on your life.

Friday Imagine someone has written a surprise speech about you (i.e. for a work function, family gathering, event) about how great your life is and what you’re yet to achieve. Write down what this person is saying about you.

Saturday Think back over the last week and write down as many things that went well for you. It can be big or small things.

Sunday Look back over your notes for the last week. What do you notice? What will you do next week to have a great week?


Table 8: Weekly Journal (Richard Wiseman, 59 Seconds)

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Barriers;


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Plans;

Actions;Strengths;Goals;Success!


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11 It’s a wrap!

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11 It’s a wrap!

The process through which you’ve travelled is like an hour glass...

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11 It’s a wrap!

Congratulations! You’ve worked your way through to the end of the formula, which helps position you for success. The process through which you’ve travelled is like an hour glass:

You can take yourself through the above formula as many times as you like. In fact, I highly recommend you do it often so it becomes second nature. Now you’ve done it once, act on your plan, assess and then tweak it to get even greater results. I would love to hear how you get on with your aspirations and goals. Email me at [email protected] with your achievements and personal story. Look forward to hearing from you.

Lay the foundation: Business mindset

Dream Big: Visualise and brainstorm your great future

Package all your aspirations into manageable bundles

Know what’s important and the power of aligning values with your goals

Set powerfully focused goals

Produce a plan of action

Challenge obstacles and use their power as propulsion

Celebrate your strengths and reflect on good times

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Focus, progress, inertia, awareness, knowledge, action etc.

Unaligned mindset, no vision, no plan, no action, unfocused etc.Stalemate

Results

11 It’s a wrap!

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Thanks, Merci, Dankeschön, Tak, Kiitos, Dziekuje and Ddiolch Ch

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A big thank-you to Dan Bradbury and his associates for inspiring me to write this book. Thanks to my wonderful friend Marie-Elise Howells for making sure I stuck to English proper. Thanks to my clients from whom I learn a lot. Thanks to Simon and the guys at KentLyons (kentlyons.com) for designing such a great looking book. Cheers to everyone in my life who is so supportive and encouraging.

Thanks, Merci, Dankeschön, Tak, Kiitos, Dziekuje and Ddiolch Ch

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About Mildon Media

Mildon Media was founded by Toby Mildon to help owners or aspiring owners of media enterprises to achieve great personal and business results. Mediapreneurs come to expect outstanding business results but at the same time strive for a fulfilling and happy lifestyle. Mediapreneurs should work ON the business and not drown IN it. Mildon Media helps mediapreneurs get the balance right and have eligible award winning businesses. Mildon Media also helps clients identify strategies for profitable growth. More info at mildonmedia.com.

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