How to Be Successful By Doing Everything Backward

Success. It has many different meanings, but the actual definition is: The accomplishment of one’s goals.

There are many different goals we all have in life. Financial, health, relationship goals…the list could go on and on.

However, the one common thing I have found is that the best way to accomplish any goal is by doing everything backward. No matter where you’re starting from, visualize what it is you’d like to accomplish and work backward from there. This will bring you to a FIRST STEP THAT YOU CAN ACTIVELY TAKE!

Example. Let’s say it’s your goal to own your own ice cream shop. However, at the moment you work at a low paying job and can barely afford to buy food. Seems impossible, right? Break it down—BACKWARD, like this:

1. In order to open an ice cream shop, I will need $30,000 and the knowledge of how to run a business.
2. I might be able to get a loan for $15,000 and only have to save up $15,000 if I also have good credit but right now my credit is bad.
3. In order to save up either amount and repair my credit, I need to make more money.
4. In order to learn how to run a business, I need the help of experts and can also educate myself at the library, with books and on the computers.
5. Where can I find business experts who might be willing to help me for free? My local Chamber of Commerce. (In fact, there is an organization called SCORE, which provides free mentoring about business. The Chamber of Commerce people will have told you this if I had not.)
6. How can I make more money? Get a new job and an additional job and talk to my current boss about how I can make more there.
7. How can I repair my credit? Run my credit report, print it at the library, and begin contacting each negative company to clear things up.
8. How can I save the most money possible? Eat only inexpensive food at home, quit smoking, wear things twice before doing laundry, etc.
9. THEREFORE, THE FIRST STEPS ARE: Talk to my current boss about what I can do to move up, look for an additional/new job, call or go to the Chamber of Commerce, and spend all my free time studying at the library.

Sounds grueling? It is! There you are, working 16 hour days, stopping home to eat plain spaghetti, and going to the library in your only spare time, wearing clothes that have been worn for three days because you’re saving money on laundry!

I didn’t say it was going to be easy…I said it can be done! And really, what’s the alternative? Not do it? Never achieve your goal? Um, okay. Then don’t achieve your goal.

However, if you actually want to achieve whatever it is, working backward is the way to go. It identifies FIRST STEPS you can take, and we all know you can’t go anywhere if you don’t take the first step!

Train Your Brain!

Take a look at these examples and practice making a “Working Backward” plan. You can do it in your head or on paper. No matter what the goal, doing everything backward works every time…it gives you a starting point! Try these:

• I want to lose 40 pounds
• I want to have a better relationship with my spouse
• I want to finish my degree
• Think of your own, too!

I hope you enjoyed this article and I look forward to hearing your comments about your own Working Backward Plans!