Hi everybody,
I thought I’d write this post, as I’m going through a process at the moment of developing a new project, and I wanted to share some insights with you.
One of the major things which holds people back in life and in business, is lack of clarity… not lack of expertese or knowledge, as you might think.
Now, being “clear” doesn’t at all mean that you need to have every nut and bolt in place before you start… far from it in fact.
For me, being clear about something is knowing exactly what it is I want to achieve…
What value proposition am I bringing to the table…
Who exactly is the person or group of people I am targeting my message to…
What is my end goal with the project…
So the way I do this, surprising though it may sound, is to work backwards.
Start from the end and work your way back to the beginning.
It’s actually no different than knowing where you’re going while you drive your car, or exactly what you are going to bring back from the grocery store.
If you don’t have a clear idea of the final outcome, how can you possibly figure out how to get there?
So how do you do this?
Well, my method certainly isn’t the only way, but here are some of the things I do to help get my journey mapped out.
1. Spend as little time at the computer as possible.
I find my best ideas come to me when I am away from the distraction of the keyboard.
2. Work in short bursts.
I find it really helps me to have to work against the clock sometimes, so I’ll set an alarm for 25 minutes to half an hour, and then really “go for it”.
Once the time is up, I take a 5 to 10 minute break. I’ll sometimes have ideas during the break as well, and I commit those to memory, and then write them down at the beginning of the next session.
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3. Talk things through with other people.
This is a biggy: actually having to “verbalise” your ideas has to be one of the best ways to strip away all the unnecessaries.
This evening, I was talking an idea through with somebody from my mastermind group, and I was amazed at how unclear I managed to sound.
It doesn’t make you feel good at the time, but I can tell you, there is probably no faster way to sculpt your idea in to shape than when you have to try and explain it to somebody else.
As ever, your comments and feedback are most welcome… I learn a lot from other people.
Enjoy!
-Matt
© 2010, Matt Wadsworth. All rights reserved.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Matt, thanks for your tips. I really like #2 – sitting down for a short period of time and really “going for it”. I am going to try that today.
I have clear ideas I just can’t separate them. Your blog has clarity. Thanks, Meg
Great tips Matt. Really practical and useful and something that I use too when I feel I am not clear about something.
Great blog bro. Liked it.
Abubakar Jamil´s last blog ..The Story of You
Thank you for great post Matt! I thought about that like you do, though seems i am still not that good at defining goals and going through the entire process.
Butdefinitely i understand that is like from point A to point B, so when you know where you got to, you will reach there.
After listening to your interview with Gauher last night and reading this post, the thing that really hit me was my need to get crystal clear on the end result. It’s funny how you hear this stuff over and over again and bam!
it hits you like a ton of bricks. Thanks for helping me get clear with my ideas. You have a great ability of relaying solid information at a receivable level!
Kristine´s last blog ..Save Money by Using Ebay
Hi Matthew
This latest article of yours struck a deep chord with me.
Here’s why: I have been in the online internet marketing business for years. But I’m nowhere near as successful as you have been in such a short time by comparison. Perhaps as you say I need to ‘get clear’ !
But occasionally I sense where the solution lies. I can often feel it is close. A few years back I had a blockbuster best seller book with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. I can do something like that again, probably easily. It’s like huge shadow, just out of reach. Something with real passion and great power.
Does that sound familar?
My life is also built around music of all types, my two sons being very good musicians, with one being an expert church organist as his hobby. Perhaps the answer lies there?
I listened to an interview you did with Gauher Chaudhry recently, and that almost opened the door for me. Maybe if you have a few minutes we could talk – on my ticket – and it might reveal the key to Aladdin’s cave!
I will send an email to you and we shall see. I hope that is OK with you.
Best wishes
Jonathan Gunson
New Zealand – South Pacific
Jonathan Gunson´s last blog ..Google Engineer Matt Cutts Reveals They Have Cut Traffic To Many Websites This Week … Was Yours One Of Them?