How do you plan effectively for the New year?

Happy New Year!

I’m so glad to have made it into 2012 and gladder that you also made it. At the start of a New Year like this, people are always in such high spirit having far reaching expectations for their life and business. As a result, many start the New Year with a list of to-dos for vital areas of their life or business.

This list of to-dos popularly known as New Year Resolutions is created in the same high spirit that naturally accompanies the New Year.  Little wonder they barely help you achieve much!

Why New Year Resolutions Fail

The reason is this; New Year Resolutions are usually created with too much optimism that often makes the list overrated with unrealistic goals. Sooner or later, when the high spirit of the New Year begins to wear out, optimism begins to give way to reality. This is when you begin to lose faith in your overrated list of to-dos having realized that there’s just so much you can realistically accomplish.

The funny thing though is this; this wouldn’t still stop you from going over this process all over again in 2013. Why? Because the popular thing is often naturally easier to do than the unusual. Since everyone else is creating New Year Resolutions, it becomes quite easy for you to keep reinventing the wheel without evaluating its effectiveness.

In this unusual article, I will be sharing with you the unusual alternative to the popular New Year resolutions. Let’s begin!

Effective Planning For 2012: The Unusual Approach

Forget about New Year Resolutions, it’s just a list of to-dos that never gets done. Here’s the smart way to go; thoughtfully pick 3 words that will guide your thoughts, plans and actions throughout the Year. Then create daily, weekly and monthly goals for each of these 3 words and go to work.

These 3 words will serve as the underlying theme or framework that will influence your thoughts, decisions and actions in 2012. I first learnt of this idea in 2010 from Chris Brogan who since 2006 has given up on the ineffective idea of New Year Resolutions. I gave it a shot last year and found it very effective.

Why was it so effective?

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Lately, I have been observing the search queries [keywords] used by people to get to naijapreneur! One of the top phrases used by searchers to get to this site is this; “why become an entrepreneur?” or “why should one become an entrepreneur?”

This is an obvious indication that there are a lot of folks out there who are in search of valid reasons for becoming an entrepreneur. Luckily for them, I have written on this issue on naijapreneur precisely these two unusual articles;

Why did you become an entrepreneur?

9 ways how NOT to start a business

However, the answers in these posts were written for entrepreneurs who were already in business and was intended to correct their erroneous perception of entrepreneurship as a money making venture only rather than a what it really is – a problem solving or value adding venture.

I didn’t write for those who were currently employees and were in search of answers whether to quit their jobs and take the leap of faith or remain stuck on the rat race. This is the essence of this unusual article, to talk about entrepreneurship from the employees’ perspective and to further encourage you who have already taken the leap of faith that you didn’t make the wrong choice.

A little word of caution, this is a long one, so brace up yourself for a long read –over 3000 words! But I assure, the patient dog will eat the fattest bone on this one. You will never regret reading it to the end and you will mostly like want to share it with a lot of people.

Let’s begin!

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What should entrepreneurs be doing with their time?

Of all the resources available to mankind, time is the only resource that is given to all equally. We all have been allotted the same number of hours in a day –24hours; everything else rests entirely on how we choose to use it. What I choose to do with my time will determine the outcome of my life. If my life turns out well, it means I used my time well. Your time and your life are inextricably linked, what you do with one will be the direct outcome of the other.

As entrepreneurs, we are not excluded from the burden of time; rather, we bear more of this burden. As people who take on risk in order to make change happen, entrepreneurs are held more accountable for the use of their time. Because humanity relies on entrepreneurs for the provision of goods and services that can improve the quality of life, the burden of time is heavier on the shoulders of entrepreneurs. We cannot afford to be lazy as entrepreneurs with the use of our time!

So here’s the million dollar question; how should entrepreneurs be spending their time?

In this unusual article, I will be sharing 5 high impact activities that successful entrepreneurs spend their time on. I call them the 5C’s of effective time management for entrepreneurs. Don’t just read this and keep it to yourself, help someone else out there by sharing this article on twitter, facebook, linkedin and google+.

Let’s begin!

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All entrepreneurs create businesses.

What makes unusual entrepreneurs thick?

But all entrepreneurs are not created equal.

So what makes the difference?

A set of unique attributes that clearly draws the line between ordinary entrepreneurs and their extra-ordinary counterparts. Don’t be alarmed by this, in the business world, there exists two kinds of entrepreneurs; those who do business as usual and those who don’t. Obviously, they will end up creating only two kinds of businesses.

For those who do business as usual, I refer to them as average or ordinary entrepreneurs and for those who do business NOT as usual; I refer to them as unusual or extra-ordinary entrepreneurs. The average entrepreneurs don’t really deserve much explanation, their title says it all – they are just average. Meaning, at most, they are only capable of creating “good” businesses, but rarely ever create “great” businesses like the unusual entrepreneurs do. To know the difference between a good business and a great business, download the free ebook: the entrepreneur’s journey.

An unusual breed of entrepreneurs

Ever wondered what separates great entrepreneurs from mediocre ones? Ever wondered what makes entrepreneurs like Richard Branson of Virgin, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sam Walton of Wal-Mart, Tony Tsei of Zappos and the legendary Steve Jobs of Apple extra-ordinary?

I have.

It has been my central focus for the past 6 years researching and studying the lives and businesses of these unusual kinds. It’s been my goal to uncover those set of qualities that distinguishes them amongst others. As a matter of fact, I created this site [naijapreneur] to chronicle and share freely with the world my findings on how these seemingly ordinary men and women create and build truly extra-ordinary businesses from scratch.

In this unusual article, I want to share as always some of my most recent findings about what it takes to become an unusual entrepreneur.

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Do you ever doubt yourself at times?

The only book I know that covers this topic BEST!

Do you ever wonder whether everything is going to work out fine?

Do you ever battle with the fear of the unknown?

Do you ever feel uneasy thinking about the future?

Without any hesitation in my heart, I know your answer to those questions will be a resounding YES!

Unless, of course you are not an entrepreneur.

Uncertainity, fear and doubt are constant buddies of an entrepreneur. They are the ever present uninvited friends of every living entrepreneur. As I put down these words, I am currently going through a hard time dealing with these 3 musketeers myself.

As I have learnt from life, all things both good and bad are all useful. The question in most case is whether we’ll be patient enough to seek out the usefulness during unpleasant times.

So the big question is this, what good does uncertainty, fear and doubt bring?

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Entrepreneurs are nothing other than problem solvers for humanity. Their stock in trade is creatively thinking up

How can entrepreneurs become better problem solvers?

solutions to the problems plaguing the world. This unusual burden is the essence of entrepreneurship. To successfully carry out this task, as entrepreneurs we must first understand fully the nature of what we are up against – problems.

What exactly is a problem?

 A problem is a gap between where you are and where you want to be, with obstacles existing that prevent easy movement to close the gap.

This definition was given by James P. Lewis a project manager. In my opinion, no one understands problems better than project managers whose only task is to plan and schedule solutions to problems. I picked this definition because it’s so direct, no stories, simply straight to the point. A problem is nothing other than a gap! Having this mindset helps you get over the phobia of problems.

This definition is so accommodating, rather than making you see problem as something to avoid, it presents problem as a gap; a missing link; an obstacle, and these are less threatening. When you begin to see problems as a gap (missing link) it enables you to consider options you wouldn’t have naturally considered before. You begin to see the problem as what is hindering you from accomplishing what you had set out to accomplish. That alone, makes you want to go all out to find ways of dealing with the hindrance. At that point, the problem is not regarded as an option that can be overlooked, but rather, an obstacle that must be overcome if the goal is to be achieved.

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