From running my business, to addressing a national audience, to writing my next book, to helping my kids with homework, to piloting a flight cross country, I wake up every day with a goal to “make it happen” for my clients, friends, loved ones…and myself! I don’t know about you, but I get a tingly feeling of self-satisfaction when I check something off a list or achieve the day’s goal by 10 a.m.
My business card states that I am the “Make-it-Happen” director at JJR Marketing!
This is fitting because as a marketing consultant, my goal is to “make it happen” for my clients on a daily basis.
Despite what people think, “making it happen” goes beyond well-developed time management skills. One day, a close business colleague of mine and I were discussing the idea of “making it happen”. He told me that it was this very ability I have that makes me and my company different from the others. His words made me wonder how I could encapsulate the “make it happen” process into steps that anybody could follow. So I did!
In my upcoming book, Living the Amazing: 7 Simple Truths to Make Your Heart Beep, I offer a 30-day “Make it Happen” challenge in Chapter 2. It’s an opportunity to jump start your dreams and create a more purposeful life. The book will be out in early 2017. But in the meantime, I’d like to share a little about the actual process of “making it happen” that you should begin to understand in order to challenge yourself to even greater purpose. Here are my top seven steps for “making it happen”… right now!
1. Inspiration & Vision
I define an inspiration as an idea with an unbelieving “amazing” feeling attached to it. It’s more than just a thought or an impulse. It sets your heart “beeping” and you become excited as you envision the final product. It’s this fire that fuels your efforts to “make it happen”.
2. Capture THE IDEA
For most of us, this means writing the idea down in a journal, making an audio note or scribbling on napkins like J.K. Rowling did. You must capture the idea, in a concrete way, somehow. Otherwise it’s just a great thought that can fly out of your head. By capturing it, you lay the building block for the entire foundation of your plan.
3. Share it
Sometimes I get an idea so “out of the box” that I think I’m crazy, and I’m convinced other people will think I’m crazy too. But after I share my ideas with others and I see them signing on, showing support or following me into the thick of the implementation, I know I’m not. If I can get people behind my mission, it validates the idea’s worth and also lets me share the accountability.
4. Take First Action Step
This is probably the hardest part of all. How many times have you sat in a meeting and listened to people throw out great ideas that never materialized because of the lack of follow-through within the organization? Many times, out of fear, laziness or time and money constraints, people leave that inspiration locked up in their journal or imprisoned in their dreams. It’s important to plan, then take that first action step. Don’t let anything stop you!
5. Stick to It
Commit to the project. Author Steven Covey defines commitment as ”doing something that is important but not urgent”. Many times dreams fall into that category—important but not urgent. If you stick with it, and keep it in sight, sooner or later you will see the physical manifestation of your idea take shape. And that will fuel your commitment through completion.
6. Get Real
After you’ve begun implementing the idea, take a step back and evaluate it. Have you done all that you can? Is it on the right track? Think back to the original inspiration. Can you still recognize it within the project? If not, should the current situation change to rejuvenate the original spark of innovation? Will it make a difference? I bet it will.
7. Celebrate
Many people skip this step, but I feel it is very important to the well being of any project manager to take time to smell the roses. On the personal side, I take time to journal about my successes over the week, month or year to just gain perspective about not only my accomplishments but how I can continue being successful in the future. Professionally, I have helped clients celebrate great achievements by taking them out to lunch or presenting them with a commemorative small gift that meaningfully will remind them of the wonderful event that took place.
I’ve brought my process for “making it happen” into the workplace at JJR to nurture a culture where inspiration and initiative are encouraged and allowed to flourish. It helps employees engage and produce higher quality, more meaningful work.
Just as my goal is to “make it happen” every day, I’d like to see what it looks like in your life as well! If you’d like to “make it happen” for your company, contact me today to discuss your needs. If you’d like to inspire the management team or employees within your organization to “make it happen”, I would be happy to arrange a presentation for your organization.