Unlocking the Mystery of Internet Cookies

Have you noticed that every time you visit a website, you’re greeted with a question about cookies? They’re everywhere, but what exactly are they, and why do they matter?

Picture this: you step into a concert hall, and as you hand over your coat, you receive a small ticket. That ticket holds no value outside of that event, but it’s your key to reclaiming your coat later. Internet cookies work in a similar way, except they’re tailored to your online experience.

So, what are these digital crumbs? Cookies are tiny bits of data exchanged between your browser and a website’s server. They help personalize your browsing by remembering your preferences, login information, and more.

There are two main types of cookies: authentication cookies and tracking cookies. Authentication cookies save your login details, making it convenient for you to access your favorite sites without repeated logins. On the other hand, tracking cookies monitor your online behavior, shaping your browsing experience based on your interests.

While cookies enhance your online journey, they’ve also sparked privacy concerns. Advertising-related tracking cookies, especially third-party ones, can trail your activity across multiple sites, raising red flags for privacy watchdogs.

However, there’s good news. Advanced browsers like Microsoft Edge are leading the charge in protecting your privacy. With innovative features that manage passwords without relying heavily on cookies, they’re your digital bodyguards in the online world.So, the next time you’re asked about cookies, remember they’re not just for snacking—they’re shaping your digital experience. Stay informed, stay secure, and enjoy your online adventures with peace of mind.

My first impressions of the Taskade App

I recently started using the Taskade app as my project and task management tool and here is my impression so far of the app.

Taskade is a collaboration and productivity app that helps both individuals and teams work together more efficiently. Think of it as the perfect project management tool without all the complicated fluff.
Taskade combines project management, scheduling, meeting, and chat tools with productivity-enhancing features for the perfect all-in-one solution for anyone that needs to track and stay on top of their work and deliverables.
 
The Taskade app has a simple interface and it is ready to use without a steep learning curve. In fact, I can use it smoothly after playing around with the interface for less than 20 minutes. There is a guide to teach you how to use the app, so you should spend a few minutes reading it thoroughly.
 
Taskade is not simply a task list app and it differs itself from other apps by building a tree structured database. That means you can transform a simple list to other workflows. There are 5 formats to choose from, which are List, Board, Action, Mindmap, and Org Chart; You can switch among them in a single click.
 
You don’t have to start a project from scratch. There are numerous templates available to help you get started quicker. They are divided into different categories like Mindmap, Journaling, Production, Trip Planning, Roadmap, Remote Work, Team Management, etc. Therefore, you absolutely can pick a suitable template for your project.
 
There are a lot of things you can do with the tasks. You can organize, create subtasks, headers, lists, highlight text, add icons, add due date, delegate a task to members, add comments, or attach file. Everything is so intuitive so that you can create a professional-looking list.
On the project screen, you can find a chatbox on the right side; Here you can make audio/video calls, chat with other people working on this project, and share files. You can minimize the chatbox to avoid distraction, especially when you are working alone.
A very important feature of a collaboration tool is cross-platform compatibility. Fortunately, that is not a problem with Taskade since it covers almost all popular platforms. You can use it on web browsers like Chrome or Firefox, install app on your Android or iOS device, or install the desktop app on Windows, macOS, and Linux. More importantly, all those versions offer almost the same functionalities, so can choose to work on any platform convenient for you. The only requirement is a stable Internet connection.

Ways to Stay Healthy While Running a Company

When you’re working to build a business, it’s easy to put your own needs aside so you can devote as much time and energy as possible to making your venture succeed. But neglecting your own well-being is just as bad as taking your eye off the numbers or forgetting to follow through with projects.

Even in the midst of running a hectic business, you have to take care of yourself. Though it might seem strange, self-care should be an important business goal. If you allow unhealthy habits to seep into your life, you’re probably also letting your productivity slip.

Along with the demands of your business, you need to make sure your health stays a priority. Follow these 10 important tips to keep yourself (and your company) in tip-top shape and you’ll continue to thrive along with your business.

1. Check in with your mental health.

Running a company often requires long hours and hard work. Unfortunately, this can lead to the perfect storm of feeling overwhelmed, stressed and isolated. You may feel so busy and focused on work that you don’t even realize that these feelings are taking a toll on your mental health. It’s important that you stay connected to your feelings and do regular mental health check-ins.

One option is to start a bullet journal. Journaling can help you gain clarity on your emotional state and identify a pattern of harmful behaviors. A bullet journal offers a format that’s easy to follow and can help you visually keep tabs on how you’re doing. It will allow you to easily log habits such as diet, sleep, physical activity, alcohol and caffeine consumption, stress levels and social activity.

2. Find ways to laugh.

There may be times while running a business when you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Choose laughter when you can. It will make a huge difference in relieving stress and helping you get through difficult times.

Finding ways to laugh makes us happier and healthier, and allows us to feel more relaxed and rejuvenated. We can find humor in all sorts of things, whether at the ridiculousness of a situation, finding amusing things to read or watch, or simply hanging out with people who see the funny side of any situation. Make it a goal to have at least one good chuckle every day.

3. Be social.

Humans are social beings. We thrive on social interactions and find comfort in supportive communities. No matter how busy you get, don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Make time for friends, family, partners and children — all the people who matter to you.

Developing and nurturing these bonds is an important element of emotional, mental and physical health. It’s not always about the amount of time you spend socializing; rather, it’s about the quality of the time spent with those you love. Make an effort to put your cell phone and other digital devices away. Strive to be in the moment, engage others and build genuine connections.

4. Manage stress.

Stress brings with it a slew of negative emotions and can adversely affect your health. Learning to manage stress is key for anyone who is grappling with the pressures of running a company. One great way to manage stress is to take control of difficult situations and find solutions to problems that would otherwise leave you feeling upset or overwhelmed.

This means being more proactive in managing your time, prioritizing your schedule and commitments, and learning to set boundaries and say no when need be. Take control of your day and work to proactively solve the issues and problems that would otherwise weigh you down.

5. Get moving.

Regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Being active can mean having regular workout sessions in the gym or playing a sport, or it can simply mean incorporating more movement and activity into your day. Getting your body in motion on a regular basis can help you improve your health, lower your blood pressure, boost your mood and deal with stress, anxiety and depression.

We should all aim to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. However, you don’t need to do it all at once. It can also be broken up throughout your day, such as walking or riding a bike instead of driving, taking the stairs when possible, or even taking a break to get up from your desk and do stretches, lunges or other calisthenics throughout your day.

6. Build your mind.

No matter how much you have learned, no matter how much education you amass or how many experiences you live through, you should always continue to develop and grow your mind. Your mind is your most important resource — your thoughts and actions stem from the inner workings of your mind.

By understanding and developing your mind, you can direct your behavior the way you want it. And if you hope to build a successful company, you should be striving to build and train your mind by constantly challenging yourself to learn new things.

7. Set a routine.

One of the most important hacks for dealing with exhaustion is to simply avoid allowing yourself to become exhausted. The best way to do that, and keep up with everything else on your list, is to set an intentional routine that works for you — and then stick with it.

That may mean getting up every day at 5 a.m. so you can exercise and have time to meditate before diving into a hectic day. It may also mean setting a firm bedtime, which allows you to get a full night’s sleep, giving you the energy to power through all the things you do.

Play around with your schedule and make adjustments to discover what works for you and what routine you can keep up over the long term. Once you lock that in, your body and mind will get used to it; it will become a habit. You’ll find your routine brings you peace of mind and creates space for a productive day.

8. Eat a healthy diet.

When we’re feeling rushed and stressed, it can be all too easy to grab fast food or mindlessly snack on junk food instead of planning meals or finding healthy snacks. But when our bodies are poorly fed, stress takes an even greater toll on our health and makes it harder for our bodies and brains to function optimally. Eating healthy is a basic way to support both your body and mind when you’re feeling under pressure.

Some tips that may help:

Eat regularly — this keeps your blood-sugar levels more stable and helps your brain perform better.

Consume healthy fats — include omega-3 fatty acids, which can be found in walnuts, flaxseed and fish oil, as they also support brain function.

Eat high-fiber foods — this is associated with greater alertness and decreased perceived stress.

9. Recharge and rest.

Entrepreneurs are among the worst offenders when it comes to being workaholics who don’t get enough rest. Many never take time off because they believe it will negatively impact their ability to stay ahead or become successful. If we make excuses that we have too much work, how can we possibly make time for a full night’s sleep or take time to recharge?

These excuses keep us from getting the rest we need and operating at our best. Make sure you recognize when you need rest. Giving your body and mind enough sleep and down time to feel rejuvenated and recharged will allow you to be more productive and focused during working hours.

10. Get a checkup.

Nobody loves taking time out of a busy day to go to a doctor’s appointment, but getting a regular physical is an important part of staying healthy and catching any medical issues before they become a bigger problem. You may be doing everything on this list, but that still doesn’t negate the need to see a doctor.

If something doesn’t seem right, or you’re feeling “off,” make sure you get yourself checked out. And that goes for all aspects of your health, such as getting dental cleanings — that surprise root canal will ruin your day and seriously cut into your productivity! Keep your medical appointments, and remember to continue to prioritize your health and well-being.

Ways To Tune Your Startup Execution For Success

I’m sure you have all seen entrepreneurs and startups with great ideas that never seem to live up to their potential, while others with more mundane solutions seem to take off quickly and never slow down.

In my experience as an advisor to startups, the difference is almost always related to the founder and their execution strategy, more so than to the solution quality or the market.

For example, I used to regularly hear pitches for the next great social media site, usually focused on a special interest or niche, such as photography, cooking, healthy living, or a thousand others.

Unfortunately none of the struggling entrepreneurs I worked with turned out to be the founders of successful ones like Pinterest (photo sharing), NextDoor (neighborhood), or Classmates (school).

After investigating these successes, I have isolated certain strategy elements which I now offer to you as expeditors of success in starting a new business, independent of the product or service you are offering, as well as the market segment you are targeting. Of course, none of these are a substitute for doing your homework on the opportunity, and maintaining the energy to drive it:

1. Break the journey into small sprints with milestones.

We all need to see progress toward a goal to keep us motived and focused. If you tell me that you have been working on your startup for two years, but can’t quite quantify the progress, I’m not impressed.

If you have completed four out of five milestones, we can both see success in your future.

2. Define success metrics, and measure progress regularly.

Smart entrepreneurs set reasonable progress targets, and use these as lead indicators to provide feedback and allow pivots based on things learned along the way. Startup success is rarely a straight-line process, so knowing where you stand at any given point is critical to success.

3. Look for tools to automate and simplify strategy execution.

Initially, you may be able to do everything in your startup, including product development, marketing, and shipping orders.

Too many entrepreneurs I know burn themselves out as this burden grows, and they are hesitant to use available tools or outsourcing non-critical tasks to allow scaling.

4. Focus on communication and responsibility assignment.

As you move from development to rollout, a team effort is required, including marketing, sales, funding, and customers. Your success and growth as a business is now highly dependent on your ability to clearly communicate what you expect from others, and keep them motivated.

5. Define and implement a rhythm to minimize business chaos.

Everyone on the team, including yourself, will be more confident and productive if they see things happening on a predictable schedule.

Most people like a weekly schedule, where they can see reports, predict management appearances and decisions, and feel in control of the business.

6. Regularly schedule time with outside advisors for perspective.

I can tell you from personal experience that it’s easy to get blinded by daily crises, and miss key issues that gate success. Every startup should have at least quarterly meetings with an Advisory Board or key investors to bring a new perspective to what is working and what is not.

7. Make strategy updates part of your normal business cycle.

Nothing kills startups like an entrepreneur who is too fixed on a given strategy, and refuses to change in light of real data that changes are needed. Part of the culture that you must create is one of learning and regular updates, not requiring a crisis and loss of momentum on the team.

8. Most importantly, create a strategy before you start.

Too many entrepreneurs I have known started their business without any strategy or plan to make it grow.

They try to do everything at once – sell online, go retail, expand their product line, and be the premium brand as well as the low-cost producer. Choose your focus and do it well to succeed.

Thus I’m convinced that any strategy is better than no strategy. However, the best entrepreneurs provide the agility and foresight to incorporate the elements outlined here, allowing them to seemingly take any solution and build a successful business.

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, now drives the strategy of over 400 companies. But even he started with just one.

How To Focus On What’s Important

https://siroconsult.wordpress.com/2019/11/13/how-to-focus-on-whats-important/

These 3 Simple Steps Helped My First Small Business Make Millions

Starting my first business was one of the scariest decisions I’d ever made. I was a very young man with a very young family. I’d dropped out of school and moved back to my home state because a misunderstanding had led me to believe it would give me a competitive advantage.

Instead, I began like anyone else, looking for clients anywhere I could find them and taking any job that came my way. I worked long hours, lived on next to nothing, and spent more nights than I care to remember tossing and turning in fear that everything would fall apart around my ears.

It didn’t. Gradually, my business stopped looking like the jury-rigged dream of a naive kid and became a thriving enterprise. It’s impossible to attribute the transformation to any one cause, but the following three rules were critical to my success:

1. Do what you’re good at.

When it comes to career advice, I personally find “follow your passion” a little cloying and naive. American Idol taught us that a passion for singing is more a burden than a blessing if you can’t carry a tune; the same remorseless logic applies to business.

Prioritize aptitude over passion. What are you good at? What kinds of problems are you eager to solve? In my experience, passion comes when you gain mastery over something difficult.

Starting a business will take most of your time, so it’s important that you actually like what you do. Your fondness will sour fast, however, if you don’t actually do it well. Choose a business that checks both boxes–something for which you have both a liking and a knack.

2. Don’t quit your day job.

It’s exciting to think of leaving your 9-to-5 in the rearview mirror as your fledgling business carries you speedily toward an exciting future. In reality, it’ll probably be a while before you’re profitable enough to pay for rent and groceries.

Hang onto that steady paycheck until you’re sure you don’t need it. If nothing else, you can invest the cash into your business and watch it grow that much quicker.

For example, I opened my first business repairing commercial signs when I was 23 years old but continued working part-time at another sign company while trying to drum up customers and learn the ropes of full-time entrepreneurship.

It didn’t last long–my boss fired me as soon as he realized I was serious about leaving to start a competing business–but knowing I had a steady source of income during those first uncertain weeks was psychologically invaluable if nothing else.

3. Fake it like a pro.

Not all cliches are equal. If “follow your passion” should be taken with a grain of salt, “fake it ’till you make it” should be hung on every wall and pondered daily.

Starting your own business is like jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool. You feel out of your depth because you are. You quickly discover that what passes for swimming when your feet can touch the floor is really just splashing around. Now you have to learn to swim for real.

I remember this well. I used to take calls from prospective clients in the kitchen of my tiny apartment. I’d answer the phone using a fake voice, ask the caller to please hold, wait for my pretend secretary to transfer the call to my pretend office, then jump back on the line with a hearty hello as if I’d been doing this for years instead of weeks.

Fake it ’till you make it means acting like the real deal regardless of how you feel inside. Everything about your new business should come across as authentic, from the way you present yourself to the quality of your business cards.

Be professional and courteous with customers and competitors alike. Work your butt off every day and continually educate yourself about your trade, whether through online courses or with a library card.

Eventually, your inside will catch up with your outside, and faking it will be a thing of the past. You’ll wonder why you were ever afraid of the deep end of the pool to begin with. Your business will thrive, and you’ll be ready to move on to the next challenge.

The to-do list loophole that lets you feel great about not finishing every single thing

I’m a big believer in the power of crossing things out, and many of the items do make the journey from “to-do” to “to-done.” But nearly never do all my daily tasks get completed by the end of the day, no matter how late I allow my end-of-day marker to stretch until. Though I’ve grown used to living with the omnipresence of tasks to be completed getting carried over to the next day (and next day, and next day), I do harbor some shame about what feels like follow-through failure. But, according to Arianna Huffington, I should cut myself a break.

In a recent piece for The New York Times, Huffington shared her favorite micro-steps that can lead to big change and increased productivity. My favorite of the bunch? Allowing yourself to declare an end to the day, even if you don’t cross out each to-do list item. “Effectively prioritizing means being comfortable with incompletions,” she writes. “Once you’ve handled the day’s essential priorities, recognize that in any interesting job it’s almost impossible to do all you could have done in any one day.”

“As humans, we hit a plateau after a certain amount of time working, when returns for the time and effort we’re putting in starts dwindling.” —business coach Kimberly Lucht

Furthermore, implementing a time limit for completing that to-do list provides us the opportunity to finish tasks more artfully. After all, your brain can only handle so much at a given time or during a given timeframe. “As humans, we hit a plateau after a certain amount of time working, when returns for the time and effort we’re putting in starts dwindling,” says life and business coach Kimberly Lucht. “Ever read the same word on repeat for five minutes? That means it’s time to give your brain space to reboot and rest up.”

Not allowing that time for resting and rebooting can lead to—wait for it—total burnout and a lack of work-life balance, especially if your tasks to be completed are numerous (and important) by what’s supposed to be the end of the day. And if you find yourself knocking off the tiny to-dos, like “empty dishwasher” or “make doctor’s appointment,” instead of fulfilling the more important heavy-hitters? Lucht says restructuring your list, and even your whole list-taking method, could help.

“When I cut the list down to three main tasks or priorities per day, I noticed that not only did my productivity soar, but I got more done in less time since I was way more focused on these three things than I would have been on ten,” she says.

If you simply can’t strip down your to-do list to that extent, I get it. What you can definitely do, though, is prioritize tackling your most important tasks at the front-end of the day. Why? Because life happens and unforeseen situations pop up as the day goes on, so if you can knock out super-vital goings-on from the start, you’re less likely to feel stuck working way past your self-imposed end time, Lucht says.

Think about it this way: To-do lists can be great productivity and organizational tools, or they can guilt you into thinking you’ve accomplished nothing. Setting realistic limits and guardrails for yourself will help you finish what you actually need to finish. For all the other tasks to be completed? You’ll be perfectly refreshed to have at it tomorrow.

How To Focus On What’s Important

Let’s face it: Even as business leaders, we can’t pay attention to everything at once.

Doing so would be overwhelming. So, we filter things out. It’s the way we function in the world. We operate on autopilot. Our neural networks and muscle memory get us dressed, drive us to work and get us logged into our computers so that we can focus on crafting that important announcement at the 10 a.m. meeting. Some even attempt to “multitask” (a neurological and physiological impossibility) and switch their focus back and forth between competing demands.

But as an executive coach, I’ve seen that the challenge each of us faces is still in managing our attention. The more intentional you are about this, I believe, the more productive you can be. There are two things that I’ve observed trigger our attention: priority and change. It is important to pay attention to both.

Priority

All too often people find themselves challenged by “time management.” Back-to-back meetings, reports to read, text messages to respond to and a multipage to-do list all clamor for attention. For some, the “squeaky wheel” is given priority; for others, it is the degree of urgency that claims their attention.

In fact, I’ve found the most effective approach to time management is to focus on priority management. Quite simply, given what you are setting out to achieve, what is the most important thing that you can be doing in the block of time you currently have available? Priority is not given based on the urgency of an activity or request, but on its importance.

Note that the starting point here is outcome focused, not activity focused. By paying attention to the outcome first, you establish your priority. You also open the possibility of achieving it in different ways. For example, the priority might be to provide the boss with the information they need to make a critical strategic decision. By its very nature, this focus tends to call for paying a different level of attention than simply saying, “I have to write a report for the boss.” There might be other ways to provide them with the information. Or, if they are expecting the information to come in the form of a report, it might be that there are others who can draft the report for you.

“Priority” is singular. A single priority has your attention. Having several priorities, unless you are intentional about your focus, has your attention hopscotching from one to the next. This means that none is the singular subject of your focus.

which only you can do. Then pay attention to it.

Change

Change is the second attention trigger. It pulls us out of autopilot so that we can respond to whatever the disruption is. It might be a small change. Perhaps there is road construction ahead, and you have to alter your typical route to work. If the new route is on familiar roads, you are likely to go back to autopilot quickly; if the roads are unfamiliar, the change will continue to draw your attention.

The change might also be a significant one. For example, perhaps you received a promotion, or there was a significant shift in how your work is to be done (or even what work you are doing) as the result of a new strategic initiative. Such changes can be highly disruptive over extended periods of time as you pay attention to learning new ways of thinking and the skills that they require.

If the change becomes the priority, keeping up with your other responsibilities will quickly slip, resulting in a loss of both quality and productivity. If current responsibilities remain a priority, little if any attention will be focused on the change; momentum will be lost, and the change will fail to deliver on its promise. Be intentional about paying attention.

Anchors

The more quickly you can move through a change and make it your new reality, the more quickly you can refocus your attention on other priorities. The challenge, however, is that the more fully you focus on the change, the more overwhelming it can become. It can begin to seem like “everything is changing” because that is where you are paying attention. That is why anchors become so important during change.

As I have written before, anchors are those things that provide you with a sense of security and stability. They might be people, places, things or even beliefs. When you are heavily engaged in change, giving specific anchors priority and turning your attention to them will help to lessen the sense of disruption that the change is causing.

All too often, much like the anchors that boats use, our anchors are below our consciousness. For example, at one time, a new relationship was a change that you intentionally invested in every day; now you likely live day in and day out without paying any special attention to it. Knowing what your anchors are before you need to call on them will make it much easier when you do.

Pay attention to the outcomes that are your priorities. Pay attention to the changes you need to make. And pay attention to the anchors that will keep those changes from being overwhelming.

The 7 Strengths and Habits That Successful People Possess

Finding and developing success within yourself can come easily when you look at the strengths and habits of other successful people. The attributes of successful people don’t develop overnight and didn’t just happen by accident — although they may make it look effortless.

Successful people continue to work on their success habits as part of a daily routine so that success becomes a way of life. Let’s walk through seven of the most important strengths and habits of successful people.

1. They have a success-driven mindset and the passion to achieve

Successful people have a strong will to succeed and achieve in life. They look forward to growth and have a deeply rooted desire to do much more than the average person. These people take action to make positive changes and move outside their comfort zone. Even when their attempts fail, they can quickly see opportunities that surround them, adjust when things go wrong and move in a new direction.

Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, feel defeated, throw their hands up in the air and give up way too soon.

2. They are self-aware and have self-confidence

Successful people face challenges with confidence and trust their skills and knowledge. Even when they don’t have the right skills or knowledge to begin with, they move forward with enthusiasm and commitment to succeed despite the odds. Successful people have a strong sense of self, which allows them to make stronger commitments. They are comfortable speaking their minds. Successful people stand up, speak out and enjoy sharing ideas and opinions.

Unsuccessful people who lack confidence are often unwilling to open up and speak up, which holds them back and causes missed opportunities.

3. They are vision-focused and achievement-oriented

Successful people create a clear vision for goals and take action toward achieving that vision, which doesn’t allow anything to stand in their way. A strong vision serves as a guideline to keep them motivated and on track to achieving their goals. They set and conquer smaller goals first and then move on to bigger and bolder benchmarks so they can hit larger targets.

Unsuccessful people are frequently unclear, unfocused and misguided, so they often waste time and money getting to their goals or even missing the targets altogether.

4. They value time wisely

Successful people are extremely productive. They value and use their time wisely and don’t allow others to take advantage of or waste their time. They create barriers around their time by adding structure and systems into their businesses, which are respected by clients and peers. They clearly understand that time is their most valuable asset.

Unsuccessful people waste time doing unproductive things that don’t allow for effective growth and give away their time too freely to others. Therefore, they create fewer income-generating opportunities.

5. They own it!

Successful people build a solid business and brand foundation that sets them apart from the competition. They are known as experts and authorities within their respective industries. They own their business and their brand, which allows them to easily maximize their avenues to success.

Unsuccessful competitors either do things like everyone else, lack a success plan to build on, or do just enough to survive.

6. They think differently than the average person

Successful people think differently. They look one step — or more — into the future and see opportunities everywhere. They think outside the box and come up with creative and innovative ways of doing business.

Unsuccessful people follow the crowd or wait to copy other people’s ideas, so they usually remain one step behind the competition.

7. They love what they do

Successful people don’t think of work as work. They take pleasure in their business and love what they do for a living. This gives them a sense of achievement and happiness that fulfills their definition of success.

Unsuccessful people see work as survival, and they work simply to earn a living. Most don’t enjoy what they do for a living and consider what they do to be a J-O-B.

Creating a Business Plan that Always Works

Why is it that business plans never come to life? Why do almost all of them, once written, sit on a shelf and gather dust, while the futures they describe never see the light of day, and the businesses they lay out wobble their way into uncertain futures?

A traditional business plan is head-centered; it’s an exercise in what business owners think they should do. Writing a traditional business plan is usually precipitated by one of two thoughts:

1. We’d better write a business plan because “that’s what most successful businesses do”

2. We need to write a business plan if we want to go out and borrow money.

Traditional business plans are quite intentional. They are thoughtful, analytical, complete, decisive–all of the hallmarks of a supposedly “smart” business.

Traditional, head-centered, static business plans don’t work. A plan that starts in the head, with logic and reason and thoughts, lacks passion and excitement and purpose. And a plan that starts with the assumption that it’s been able to capture and account for all the relevant changes that will happen in the future is obsolete before the ink is dry on the page.

The business plan that will always work starts from a different place with a different set of operating assumptions. It starts from a heart-centered approach, which means it starts with experiencing the feelings you have. Not only does this plan tolerate change, but it relies on your building in change as a key factor that will keep you on the best course.

When I work with Entrepreneurs, I lead them through something I call ‘The Dreaming Room.’ This is the step before the business plan. In the Dreaming Room, we set out to imagine our businesses-but not from a logistics standpoint. Rather, we dream about the vision for the business. Why do you want to build it? Who will benefit? What will it mean to the world? Only after you understand those things, can you write any kind of tactical plan that will truly get you there.

The real difference between the business plan that always works and the traditional business plan is in how you think and feel about the plan–it’s your attitude and your relationship to the plan that will make all the difference.