Monday, July 8, 2013

THE SUMMER OF DREAMS

Summer is the time for baseball, beaches, sun and fun. It's
a time to slow down, to rest, relax and vacation, right?
Isn't that what everyone does?
Well, not exactly. In my opinion, summer (and particularly
this long holiday weekend) is the time to design your
strategy and develop your plans for 2014.
Most of us do our year-end and new-year planning in
December, to coincide with the calendar. That seems
logical, but in fact it’s an "amateur mistake." The end of
the year is full of holidays. It's full of year-end tax
planning, distractions, busy-ness and stress, and under
those conditions, planning becomes a haphazard, hurried
thing.
In contrast, summer is a time for dreams. It's a time for
lazy afternoons, for watching the kids play at the beach
and taking long country drives. It's the perfect time to
design and plan your future.
In my opinion, now is the time to create the year you want
in 2014.  Everyone else is lazing away, but not you!  Use
these long summer days to plan your next conquest, to
detail your next project. Focus on the future you really
want and let the "lazy, hazy days of summer" motivate you
to dream bigger, go further and reach higher than ever
before.
Just be sure you don't let your summer day dreams end
there. As you dream, take notes! Get a calendar and set
some targets. Use your checkbook, profit and loss
statements, and sales data to develop a budget. Talk with
colleagues and share your dreams. Develop action strategies
and implementation plans.
This year, use summer to create the life you truly want.
Life will rush at you in the months and years ahead,
whether you are ready or not. Be ready! Have a plan. Take
action. Create the life you truly want and what better time
to prepare than after Independence Day, during the glorious
days of summer?

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