If you don't like "life coaching" stuff, today's post isn't really for you. It's a bit much for me too. But it's proven itself to be (for me at least) a really valuable way of thinking about things.

Before you can make any kind of plan, you need to figure out what you really want to do. Because running a business on your own is really tough at times. So you have to make sure it aligns with who you are as a person.

My way of doing this, taught to me by someone who is incredibly successful, is as follows.

Imagine you're 110 years old. You know your best days are behind you. But you're sat on your chair, in the sunshine, just outside your house. Your eyes are closed and you're smiling as you think back on your life. "I'm so glad that I dedicated so much of my life to X"

What is X?

It's a really tough question. But, as all the documentaries on death say, no-one ever says "I'm so glad that I spent years in the office". If you're going to spend years in the office, there has to be a reason behind it - something that drives you. It might not even be business related - it could be "I'm so proud that I stood on the moon", or "I'm so glad that my kids are healthy". But you need to know what it is and then you can figure out how to get there.

Once you know where you want to go, you can think about how to get there...

Image from "Never Trust a Hippy" by Adrian Sherwood