At one point in my life I was under the impression that change was wrong and if I loved change, it meant something was majorly wrong with me. Unstable, unreliable, and wish-washy were words that routinely ran through my head whenever I considered any major change.
What I have realized since, is I can bring about change in my life through many different avenues. Change doesn’t always have to mean a move across the country, or a job change (although I do these as well).
This is where I have discovered the beauty of a project. I have found projects to be a great way to both bring about healthy change and get awesome things done!
My projects may take anywhere from 30 days to a year. However, I try to keep them around the 6 month mark. As long as I know when the project is complete, I can move on to something else. I am happy.
So what makes a great project? For anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset like me, there are 3 guidelines to a great project that Dan Miller lays out so well:
- It should align with your values, goals, and passions
- It should use your skills and abilities
- It should have a clear economic model (a potential way to make money)
There are also 2 hard and fast rules:
- Deadlines are the brackets in which all great projects reside. Projects need a deadline or they have the tendency to keep going on, and on, and on, and on, like a bad first date. They turn from a fun, amazing idea, into a dreaded, soul sucking one.
- You must allow yourself to ride the ‘roller coaster’ of a project while holding the end result loosely (don’t get to attached to the outcome). The value comes in the experience you get from doing something worth doing – the end.
Are you ready to start your next project? How can we help?
Claudia,
Great post. Whether we “like” change or not, it is an absolute requirement for progress. And that’s where I always expect change to take me. While some people assume change is going to take away, I expect it to open the door to more of the life I want to live.
So true Dan! You always have the best possible positive spin on things. Thanks for sharing
Dan,
Thanks for your input. Funny, I remember writing you a question about this exact topic of change on your podcast- probably 2 years ago now – when I was in the midst of struggling with it. Your answer then really helped me to see my love of change in a new and positive light. I haven’t been the same since, so thanks a million!!!
Funny how our first thought about change is now it will impact us NEGATIVELY. There have been so many positives coming out of change for me that I crave a big change every couple of years.
I was just writing my strategic plan for my business idea. What great timing Claudia 🙂
Not exactly sure how you can help though. Perhaps, be an excellent promoter? Or accept guest posts when the time comes?
Awesome Alex, glad I could help!!
Michael is brainstorming a plan for highlighting different people and their projects so keep us posted when your project is up and running! We’ll be glad to help.
Hopefully Late August! I’ll keep you posted for sure 😀
Alex, looking forward to seeing you launch your project!
As always Claudia your post resonated with me! I just completed two projects I am VERY excited about – one is my Free 7 Days to Feeling Great Challenge – the first time I’ve done anything like that.
(http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com/free-7-day-challenge.html) or
http://goo.gl/dXhBQ
And Caroline Gavin and I just released our Healthy Business, Healthy Body, Healthy Life 40 day program – again a first for me!! (http://reflecthislight.com/healthy-business-healthy-body-healthy-life-program) or
http://goo.gl/EB0GD
If you would be kind enough to share them – I would be so appreciative!
Awesome Ann! You’ve got some great things happening, good for you! I’m sure you have put a lot of work and thought into these things, I’ll help spread the word!
I love that you were able to join up with Caroline Gavin!! What a great idea, both business and health play such an important role in our overall happiness!
p.s. Michael is brainstorming a plan for highlighting different people and their projects so stay posted for this as well… 😉
Thanks Claudia and I will certainly stay posted!! You guys always have something cool going on.