Goal Setting Rituals for freelance writers and copywriters

Why freelance writers and copywriters need to set goals.

People who have goals are more successful than those who do not.

In the world of business and entrepreneurship, this is a given.

Find me some self-made millionaires who don't set goals, and I'll ask them to tell me what word or phrase they use instead of "goals".

Goals give you direction. They show you where you are going. They motivate you. They allow you to plan. (How can you plan anything if you don't know where you are going?)

Goal-setting is a fundamental building block of any business, including a one-person freelance business.

So why do so few freelancers have goals?

In a recent survey I asked a group of writers, about half of them freelancers, if they set goals.

Fewer than 50% of respondents said yes.

So what's happening with the 50% who don't?

There are two things happening here. Some of those people do, in fact, have goals. They have just never articulated them or thought of them in terms of "goals".

Had I phrased my survey question differently, and asked, "Do you know where you are heading with your business?" I think more people would have said yes.

But my guess is that most of those people who said no really don't have goals.

That's a pity. Because they are denying themselves access to their true potential. They not earning as much as they could. And they are not enjoying their work as much as they could.

And even those people who know where they are heading, but don't go through a formal goal-setting process, are selling themselves short.

Why setting goals makes a difference...

Look at it this way. If you don't have goals, you're just drifting, going with the flow and hoping that you'll pick up enough work next month to pay the bills. You have no real direction in mind. You'll just go where the work is.

The day you set some goals and start working towards them is the day you strap on a 200 horsepower engine and stop drifting. You know where you are going, you set your course and you start your voyage.

It's a powerful difference.

So why are so many freelancers "drifters"?

In most cases freelancers have simply not been exposed to the concept of goal-setting. Or, if they have thought about it, they haven't found someone to teach them how to do it.

Goal-setting is a formal, deliberate process. You have to think hard and make sure you are setting a goal that is right for you. You have to do a lot of planning and set yourself some milestones along the way. You have to work hard and review your progress on a regular basis.

Yes, it involves work. And maybe that's what turns some people off the idea.

You can get started by going to your favourite book store and finding some books on goals and goal-setting.

Or you can check out Goal Setting Rituals, a guide written specifically for freelance writers and copywriters.

________________

Home | Affiliates | Sign Up