I’ve just returned from a lovely weekend away with friends in Norfolk. The sun was shining and we enjoyed a long woodland walk, pub lunch, delicious dinners, and my 11-month old managed to make it through the stay without destroying anything in the holiday cottage (always a positive!).
The weekend was spent with my oldest and very best friends – we’ve known each other since primary school (one of them I’ve known since birth). Together, we’ve shared the childhood years of playing horses and learning to ride bikes, the messy teenage years of pub crawls and first dates, followed by the equally messy years of university, careers, partners and kids.
As we were catching up and setting the world to rights, one person asked the question: ‘Is there anything you would like to achieve before you’re 40?’ And yes, that birthday is rattling ever closer, so it’s definitely the time to think about it!
It got me thinking. We all have life plans and goals we would like to achieve by certain milestones. However happy we are with our lives, there’s always the feeling that we should perhaps also achieve really momentous things to make a difference or leave our mark. Whether that’s running a marathon, reaching a career goal, completing our families, or travelling somewhere far-flung.
I’m sure with our businesses too, we all have certain targets that we feel we have to reach, or something else that we use as an indicator of success. I’ve certainly worked out financial goals and a business plan for my work for the next five years, although I’m sure this will be forgotten about once the day-to-day treadmill of writing and meeting deadlines takes over!
Having worked with numerous partners, individuals, companies and charities over the years, I definitely understand that one of the most important things is understanding what makes that person or business tick.
When I work with a client, I wish to get to the root of what you see as success. Not only that, it’s about the ‘heart’ of what you want to achieve. Because there will certainly be an emotional pull for why you’re doing what you’re doing. Something that fires you on. Once I understand that, then it’s so much easier to get your voice across. My belief is that people buy from people, and they want to know what matters to you. That’s why it can be important to remove the anonymity and instead tell your story and make sure it gets heard.
And by the way, my answer was that I want to write a book before I’m 40. So, I better get cracking!
