Clarity – the ‘art’ of focusing clearly on what you want

One of the more prevalent comments Maree and I often hear amongst small business owners is their wish to be successful, to do well and live well – to pursue their business dreams with passion and energy. Sounds like a plan … but here’s the thing. Everyone feels this way, but not everyone is a champion business owner. So, why not?

Put simply, if you are not certain and clear about specifically what it is you want to achieve in and for your business you may fall short of achieving your ambitions. You see, to ‘have a passion’ to be great at business is too vague. What do you mean by this statement … good at selling, good at managing staff, good at product creation? This is so open a statement it becomes an impossible outcome to achieve.

The first question you should ask yourself is “Why am I in business?” If the answer is to enjoy the experience, be successful and create time and space for spending time with family on weekends and so on, then ‘job done’. This is easily accomplished.

However, if your answer is, for example, that you are clearly focused on being the best business person you can be in your field, to grow your skills and expertise, and enjoy growth and success, then you have a future direction you can work on, one which allows you to begin breaking down the over-riding ambition into smaller and more manageable and achievable steps … the beginning of a clear focus, and a place towards which positive energy can be directed.

?So … if you are serious about your business, and you have a defined outcome in mind, the following mental strategies will help you remove any uncertainty, and replace this with clarity and focus … certainty.

Take full responsibility for the level of clarity you possess or aspire to having

How many of us look to business coaches for direction. Do they possess a crystal ball? Don’t think so. Clarity is not given to you; it’s something you have to develop yourself. It’s a decision! The amount of clarity about your business vision you have right now is what you have decided to accept. But then, not deciding is also a decision – one to remain uncertain about where you are headed … a lack of clarity.

To make a good decision you need to examine the potential directions you could take. To continue considering a number of differing (and therefore competing) directions leads to confusion … a sense of being ‘lost’. Committing to one direction leads naturally to clarity. Having said that, don’t ignore what is happening around you. It’s possible you may discover things and need to make changes over time to further define your direction and therefore strengthen your clarity. In any case, it’s still your responsibility alone.

Don’t create the opposite of clarity

For all of us there will naturally be thoughts that create fuzziness about our business direction. Such thoughts will lead to a lack of clarity and have an adverse effect on progress. Thoughts and actions that can impede on our clarity include:

• associating with others in your circle of friends who appear to be drifting aimlessly with no direction
• ?surrounding yourself with colleagues) whose goals and ambitions conflict with your own
• ?allowing yourself to be distracted with time-wasting habits that have the potential to sway you from your goal(s)
• ?confusing and dulling your emotions and thinking with (too much) junk food, alcohol and the like
• ?overstimulating your brain and emotions with excessive caffeine (eg via coffee) and other ‘bad for you’ foods
• ?depressing yourself about your perceived lack of clarity, and believing you don’t know what to do to change things.

You can immediately overcome the above issues through the application of better and more positive thoughts and actions, as follows:

• only allow clear, focused and positive people into your ‘sphere’ – their purpose and direction will have a positive impact on your own thinking
• ensure the colleagues (and significant others) you choose to associate with share similar goals and ambitions to yours
• make it a habit to feed your mind with motivational material, be it books, DVD’s and so on
• eat healthy – unrefined foods (eg fruit and vegies) help you keep your mind sharp and alert
• keep away from stimulants that can cause mood swings and unhealthy thought patterns
• focus on your goals and the actions you need to undertake on a daily basis towards their achievement.?

Spinning in circles is unproductive, so seeking to take on board strong and positive mental strategies is a good step towards going in a straight line rather than circling unproductively.

Look to past events where you had clarity

Realistically, we have all experienced times where our level of clarity modulates up and down, depending on how we are feeling at the time, any apparent external influences etc. A good task to undertake is to consider those times when you have been at ‘extremes’ – ie highs versus lows – and identify some of the causal factors on both sides. The simple outcome from this is to apply the positive factors (which will lead to increased clarity) more often and, likewise, reduce those negative factors as much as possible.

?Yes, it sounds a little childlike in its simplicity, but in reality it is possible to get ‘ah ha’ moments when reviewing past experiences. As an example, how do you feel after speaking with someone who is telling you that you need to change something by taking actions that go completely against what you believe? Or, how do you feel after watching an amazing and uplifting movie? Which feeling would you rather have more of?

Use visualisation to improve your clarity

You may believe that your external reality has to be ‘right’ for you to feel clear and focused, but you can also use your imagination to create a feeling of clarity. However, clarity is more than just a feeling. There's an emotional state associated with it, but it's more than that. ?When you're really clear, your mind and emotions are centred. Every part of your body feels like they are on the same page … there is no uncertainty, only a powerful state of being to experience.

The following is a visualisation exercise that will help you develop visualising skills towards improved clarity.

1. Think of a goal for your ?business you have in place that you would like to work on – ie the goal itself and what its achievement would mean to you.
2. Select a comfortable chair (not too cosy), one which will allow you to stay alert – alertness and focus can be improved through verbally stating your actions/intentions.
3. Begin by directing attention inward, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.
4. Your visualisation time should be centred on the goal you have pre-selected – the use of positive language and imagery is useful here.
5. Seek to enhance your visualisation by being very clear on what it is you have to do to achieve your goal– ie what is it you are attempting to achieve, and ensure you have a clear understanding of this in your mind.
6. Ensure you include all relevant sensory information in this exercise – feel, see, hear, appreciate the experience and the outcomes you seek to achieve.
7. Engage consistency and regularity in your visualisation
8. Include ‘being’ qualities and character traits you have identified as integral to the success of the goal.
9. When visualising, consider the compelling inevitability of successfully achieving the goal – place the images you create in the near future – consider the sub-modalities of colours, sounds and feelings associated with this (we are looking here for evidence of positive reactions).
10. Repeat this process for all your business (and even personal) goals, and on a regular basis as a reinforcing strategy.

Ask for assistance in seeking clarity

Remember that, while you remain solely responsible for the decisions you make, it is a good idea to check in with those you trust to ensure you are still on track, and your clarity or focus remains strong. On the other hand, you may be aware you need an outside hand to re-boost your energy – it’s not easy to stay 100% on top of things. Your ‘best bet’ for assistance will be your business coach, although don’t forget your business colleagues (including staff) and personal partner, others you have a strong bond with, and even close and involved / supportive family members.

Make your goals real and achievable by addressing them daily

We are not going to spend time here talking about goal setting. Instead, we invite you to:

• Brainstorm your dreams and motivating forces towards identifying goals that have meaning.
• Identify each goal by its outcome, intention and consequences.
• Appreciate that while any goal may be better than no goal, a goal badly constructed?is little better a having no goal at all.
• Create goals which are pitched at the right level – not too easy (you’ll lose interest) and not too hard (you may give up in frustration).
• Develop a set of goals but focus on each separately to ensure clarity.
• Create your goals as ‘experiments’ – remember you can fail to achieve a goal, but you cannot fail an experiment, by its very nature.

Both Maree and I continually seek to practice what we preach in all our business endeavours. The above may sound a little simplistic to some of you at first, but it is fair to say that doing the simple things in life can often be the hardest … and can bring the best rewards. The biggest challenge to face at first is to begin, to develop clear goals, directed focus, and a strong belief in your ability to achieve.

At the beginning you may feel like you are stuck in a state of ambivalence, not sure where to start, or whether you are starting the right things, or even too many things. Do whatever it takes to break the impasse, maybe something radically different than what you have been doing up till now. For example, if you feel your current approach to your daily business routine is unfulfilling, do something completely different for a while.

Don't expect to get everything perfect on the first try. Go out and rack up a string of experiments, and you'll soon be much closer to figuring out what you need to do to have clarity, goals, and success within your business.

However, don't wait for clarity to come to you. You are responsible for creating your own clarity from within. If you lack clarity, then get busy creating it.

If you can achieve clarity by staying within the confines of your world right now, then great. If not, then leave your comfort zone behind, go ‘outside’, and explore.

Want to learn more about how you can grow clarity in and for your business vision?

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