What Are You Working Towards?

Do you ever sit and question the meaning of everything you do? Reality can be overwhelming when you think of it in this context, but feeling anxious over what’s to come is to miss the point completely. Because it is the ‘right now’, the moment you’re living in, that matters. 

A lot of times we can get caught up in the process of reaching a goal that we miss the best part. The journey is what matters, whatever you’re a part of right now and will be a part of in the future, that is the gift. This concept can be confusing but it is largely responsible for the upswing of retired individuals looking to come back to the workforce.  

Most of us might see retirement as driving sports cars, mimosas every morning, and beaches, living off the fruits of our labour. A lot of the time, the reality is this; that life isn’t what you’re after. It may happen now and then but it isn’t the reason you’re studying or working. Instead of thinking about what you’re after, why not start thinking about how you can best impact what you’re doing now? The result of this will be an incredible reward down the line.

If you went to high school or college, consider the fact that the end goal is a piece of paper that says you were there. Now, does that piece of paper represent your experience in any way? Absolutely not, it’s the lessons you learn, the challenges you face, the people you meet, the pep rallies, the cool teacher or the witty professor. To neglect the process of doing takes all joy out of the reward. 

Imagine someone right now hands you a limitless supply of money. You’d have a lot of fun with it for a while but eventually, you’d hit a wall, and for some that wall would be a lack of purpose. This is not meant to be intimidating— this message is simply meant to give you insight into reality. Remember, what you do as a career will be where you spend the majority of your life. To maximize the value of this experience, take some of these points into consideration:

Recognize Your Value

Getting caught up in the “me mentality” will cloud your view of the value you could be providing others. Say for example you work a part-time job and have regular customers. While those people may just be part of your daily routine, you could be the interaction in their day that they look forward to the most. It’s hard to understand this when we’re caught up in our own lives, but a pivotal part of “the process” is how you affect others. 

Control What You Can 

You have a very finite amount of things going on that you can dictate the outcomes of. However, there will still be things outside this scope that cause you stress. Why would they cause you to stress if you can’t control them? Because most of us still choose to believe we can control them. But these things are black holes when it comes to focusing energy. If you take the time to pay attention solely to the issues you can control, you will be a lot more confident when dealing with problems.  

Define What You Want

Have you ever asked someone what their dream job is and it’s something radically different than what they’re currently doing? This is a result of not identifying what it is you want long term. Some things speak to us, fields of interest which we would do for free, never mind making it a career. That is passion, and if it’s something that benefits your happiness then why wouldn’t you want to keep it in your life? 

Unfortunately, the common saying is “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. But this statement is not true when it comes to planning your long-term goals. Believing it will keep you below your potential because if you commit enough effort to anything, you can succeed.

Set an Example

What’s more valuable than having a successful career that you enjoy? Imagine leaving a legacy that inspires the next generation, innovating the industry, or contributing something that will be relevant even after you’ve left it. We all have opinions on how things are done, but too often we talk about it rather than go out and implement what we know is right. 

Conclusion

Now, some people will read this and think “I remember when I used to believe anything was possible” or “yeah but this doesn’t apply to x, y or z in my life”. Thinking like that is what this idea is arguing against. Essentially, all action taken today whether in the workplace or not is directly correlated to a future result. 

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Trading Reward For Productivity

Our weeks can be a struggle when we’re plugging away with our work. There’s a lot of pressure to meet objectives which makes reaching them something to be proud of. Say, for example, you’re writing a book, you go through the long and testing process of writing it and eventually it gets published. An amazing feeling, without a doubt, deserves recognition. However, we can’t get complacent. There is now a decision to make because finishing one task never means you’re done chasing.

Productivity is a hard thing to maintain. It’s even harder to have it once you’ve spent too much time not being productive. The motivation and drive will not be the same and you could be limiting yourself immensely. You could exemplify this concept by the feeling that comes with going back to the office or the classroom after a vacation.

What’s the remedy for this? Well, there are numerous ways to keep this level of focus, but the most effective and straightforward one is to have disciplined roots that keep you chasing. For the example of the writer, this could be something as simple as reading a certain number of books before you plan to write your next one.

You should be proud of your accomplishments, and you should reward yourself after meeting a goal. But efficiency and opportunity are privileges, and it is entirely possible to lose your drive without maintaining tasks for yourself. 

So what can you do to mitigate this loss and improve your ability to get it done? Here are some ideas:

Avoid Multitasking

Whatever you’re doing, give it all of your attention. Some may think “well I have a million different things to do in a day” and that is exactly why you should stop dividing your attention. Break up your day, dedicate time to your tasks where you don’t think about anything else but what you have to do.

You might notice that you save time while doing this, and you absolutely will because you are using your time far more efficiently. However, it will require more focus, which may make the desire to continue doing it less appealing. This is where you need to choose to trade what demands less of you for an investment of your attention. You will find this much more rewarding down the line. 

Hold Others Accountable

In an organization, what you put out, you get back. If you are part of a team and make sure everyone is pulling their weight, they will return that energy. This is why mutual respect is important; you don’t want to boss people around and not do anything yourself (which we all know happens). 

One of the best ways to go about this is leading by example. If you are consistently putting in effort and making a point to collaborate with others, the team will be highly motivated. You want to utilize your surroundings for a boost. It’s important to know that nobody can rely on someone else to keep them accountable. People are good for a reminder or inspiration, but real determination comes from the self.

Keep it Simple

You can come up with all kinds of goals and timelines for yourself or for others, but if they aren’t clear, they’re useless. Obviously, in the workplace things happen fast, they require urgency, but they cannot be tended to with care if there is extrinsic pressure. If you’re a leader, clarify and check in with your people. If you are working for someone else, ensure you can come to them for help. 

There are many ways to “keep it simple”. One very effective way for a leader is to give information for short-term goals first. Then once that part is finished, you give more and continue breaking down the development process. This ensures you don’t overwhelm your team. This can also be applied to yourself— always focus on the closest step. 

Conclusion

Ultimately every action is a trade-off, something that gives you pleasure now may cost you pleasure later. It’s always your choice, but make sure you consider your long-term goals with every action you take.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Characteristics of Today’s Entrepreneurs

There’s so much variety in the world today. We pretty much have all the options and accessibility that anyone could want. This includes what we pay attention to, what we buy, and what we want for ourselves. As we go through our lives, we make choices through the options we see which eventually lead us to what we spend the majority of our life doing. 

Now, let’s look at what we could consider the average layout of someone’s life. Go to school, meet people, gain experiences, get a job, meet more people, have a family, and eventually retire, then you’re free. Something to notice about this path is that there is an emphasis on the individual. What about someone who wants to make a bigger impact than just their life? What might they think, want, or do?

Well, the ones who divert from the norm sometimes tend not to think only about what their life will look like. They instead think about how their life can influence the lives of others. To create something sustainable and influential enough to do so, their idea or concept becomes this person's purpose and eventually business. To build a business with this kind of power, they must create something that will attract attention and create value. This is not an easy or quick process, this is entrepreneurship. 

You might look at the successful entrepreneurs of today, maybe with envy or as if they have some superpower you don’t. This is not the case, these individuals have adopted values and searched for answers over an extraordinary amount of time. During that time, they were most likely broke at points, making sacrifices, working regular jobs, and unsure of what was to come. Yet there is always something in our lives that pulls at us. It’s very subtle, and you have to be careful with it. But it is often us gravitating towards our purpose. 

Hundreds of thousands of new businesses are created each year. As we know, the success of a business is based on leadership, so let’s look at a few things the successful entrepreneur might do to run theirs:

Plan and Adapt

A truly successful entrepreneur has guided their business through changes in the market, consumer interests, and many other difficulties. You can think of an entrepreneur as the captain of a ship, guiding it through storms, using the help of the crew, all while headed towards an intended destination. When you develop a concept for a business, it will not be a one-and-done approach. You must be open to the fact that it will undergo revisions and even unexpected changes. 

When these changes happen, an entrepreneur can adapt their approach by prioritizing and aligning their team as well as getting their help.

Imaginative

A wild imagination is a pillar of creativity. Most entrepreneurs see something in their ideas that even others sometimes aren’t able to. By fine-tuning the logistics and reasoning behind the idea, they can turn it into reality. Entrepreneurs see a future that isn’t real in the moment they see it, but they trust their imagination and create a place for it in their future. 

Additionally, being able to plan for future initiatives, campaigns, or contingencies requires an active imagination. 

Take Chances

Now do not assume that the chances entrepreneurs take will lead them on a linear progression, they will have to endure failure of some kind to learn what works and what doesn’t. The point is, that entrepreneurs need to believe in their cause enough that they see the value in taking chances for it. These changes will ideally lead to innovation. This continues the idea of keeping up with changes in the market.

Some things will not work— that’s how you learn what does, but trying to find those answers accumulates over time to an efficient operation. 

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is a complex lifestyle, but it can be incredibly rewarding and give you an unmatched sense of fulfillment. It will be hard, but full of lessons, and becoming successful depends on how you use those lessons to your advantage.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

Written By Ben Brown

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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.