Hey everyone!

‍

So just finished recording the Episode with Zoe Thompson and thought there was some amazing insight, into what she's gone through.  

The key element that we focused on quite a lot was Zoe’s organisation skills and I don't think it's always a strength that's valued within business so much.  

I think it's always like:

How do you come up with a new idea?  

How do you fix this sales problem?

How did we get more sales?  

How did we do more marketing?  

It's all very creative and actually, I'd probably fall into that trap myself for many years and I still have moments now where I fall back towards them.

But actually organisation, structure, systems, processes, they're key.

‍

Zoe had that like wall of post-it which was her first quarter-- I think-- of the year, all planned out into months and then into weeks individually of the things that she was going to focus on, the things that she's going to get done, which are the most important things for her to have a successful quarter.

And that those things don’t do the technical work. They're not coach such and such client. Those things are going to happen anyway.  

So, we give a bit more detail because we delved into it a little bit off camera.

‍

And there are things that she wants to make sure happen. You know, they're the things that she wants to make sure build her a successful business and in a successful life.

And then if you go back and you look at the video, right behind Zoe is obviously on one side is the board right behind Zoes is a door, and that door is her main entrance into that office.  

And what I think is fantastic is that as she comes in every morning she gets to see. The sea, the wall of all of her tasks and everything she needs to do.

Yes, very easy to get overwhelmed, but actually it's also very easy to go,  

Hang on, that's what I need to focus on. They're the important tasks. What time have I put aside to make those bits happen?  

Because otherwise, as time goes on and I need to do the next month or the next quarter, where's my space?

I need to be able to complete these tasks and move them on. And also, then as she leaves every evening, she can also then have that moment of going,  

Have I done what I needed to get done today in order for me to be living this successful life? And for my time in business?  

I've learned that what gets planned has a far better chance of being achieved, and then what gets actioned and gets watched also has a far better chance of being achieved.  

And it seems really simple and straightforward and yes,it is. But how many of us are actually doing it?  

How many of us are really documenting a plan that helps us to lead or live that successful life that we would love to live?  

Very few is the reality.

The majority of people who come and join us are at MBS Accountants.  

The first thing we're looking at is what is success to you and where's your plan for creating and bringing that success into your life?  

And often, STEP #1 is the success that they're chasing versus like that you can see from the actions that have been taken and the results that have been achieved versus the success that they actually want are usually NOT VERY WELL ALIGNED.

They're usually very different.  

And then STEP #2 is there is no plan. And that probably contributes to number one. That actually, if you've got no plan to look at and keep you on track, how easy is it to get lost?  

‍

It's like going into a jungle.

‍

Sometimes there's people who've got lost in jungles and they've just gone round in circles because they didn't know which way they were going.  

What if they had a map?  

What if they knew exactly where they were and they knew exactly where they were trying to get to, and therefore they knew they could work, like the exact steps they needed to take, and if they got lost or they got a little bit off course, then actually it can just show them exactly where they are on the map?

They can work out the steps they need to take to where they want to get to.  

Sounds so simple and it REALLY, REALLY IS, but so many people don't do it because actually the first step in that exercise  is to think about WHAT DO I REALLY, REALLY WANT?

And people don't want to do it.  

It's painful because then the reality is that you go,  

Hang on this is what I really, really want.  

What have I really, really got?  

And they're so far apart from each other.  

And if they're so far apart, Can I really achieve it? Have I've been lying to myself

Maybe.

So, I’ll leave you with a thought:

How is it that you can bring more organization, more structure, and more planning, and maybe more thinking into your life and into your business?  

because actually again, what Zoe said, “We don't know when our time is up.”

‍

And actually she said, if her time is up today, she's happy.

And she's, she's doing everything she wanted to do. She's achieving lots of stuff. She still has more to go. What she is saying is that actually she's purposely leading a happy life today.  

Because if you don't achieve those learnings, why you're not going to enjoy the journey. Okay?  

Now, there might be some fundamental steps you need to take in order to make some shifts because maybe you're a little bit off track, but actually you should be designing that you are leading a happy life right now.

I think it was a wonderful insight into a very different approach to business.  

Somebody who's organized and structured.  

Very few, I think of such people probably make the leap to go to being self-employed because that's not organized and structured in those early stages.  

It's chaotic.  

‍

You don't know where the next income's coming from.

You don't know where the next client's coming from.  

You don't know how you're going to pay your bills.  

And for such a person with the characteristics like Zoe, that's not the norm because that doesn't feel safe.

So very fair play to Zoe for doing what she's done.  

She's certainly broken the norm for her general character traits, but I think then that's even more valuable to us, that there's so much we can learn because people like us who are the disorganized ones who are always thinking we can achieve the impossible.

We are starting businesses every day.  

We're not necessarily creating successful businesses every day.  

Many businesses that fail, we all know how many. It's 80% within five years, and I think it's 30% don't even make their first birthday.  

So, the fact that Zoe has made her first birthday and she's made her fifth year, she's bucked the trend, and maybe there's some great lessons in that episode that we can learn from.  

Thank you once again.  

Maybe it's time for you to start getting organized.

‍