Think Strategically, Act Bodaciously

"Bodacious" means to be bold, outstanding, and remarkable.
Take those attributes to work and you're on your way to
building a fulfilling, bodacious career. Does having a
bodacious career sound exciting to you? It is! After
starting as an $8 an hour customer service rep, I rose
through the ranks of AOL, accepting four promotions and
surviving over six layoffs to become the head of corporate
training for 12,000 employees. Along the way I learned I
needed to be bodacious to achieve the career I wanted. Out
of that experience I created my "cheat sheet" of essential
Bodacious Career Builders. Here's one of them: Think
Strategically, Act Bodaciously.

Thinking strategically is intentionally thinking about the
big picture of your career and life. You have to determine
where you want to go before you can get there. Otherwise,
it's all just happen stance.

It's all too easy to spend 100% of our time on the daily
to-do list. There's always something that's demanding our
attention. Between our jobs, kids, spouses, parents,
finances, community involvement, and anything else in our
lives, there's always something that must be
addressed...now! Clearly, if we don't make deliberate time
to think strategically, time will zoom by and we'll have
done a ton but achieved little.

Take time to strategically create a future that's
satisfying and rewarding. You can do this by following the
example of a common business process that all companies use
to map out their path - the business plan. But this
version will be your personal step-by-step strategic action
plan that will take you from dreams to reality.

Creating a personal business plan may sound odd and
over-the-top, but it's useful, and practical, and it gives
you a strategic platform on which to build your dream. As
with business, the main purpose here is to take steps to
make you more effective and efficient with your time and
resources. By laying out all the details, you reduce the
risk of failure and increase your chances for success.

There are three main parts to your personal business plan:

Step 1: Capture the current state of your situation Like
the maps throughout your favorite mall indicating "You Are
Here," Step 1 helps you understand your current situation
as thoroughly as possible. Take stock in your overall
position. Does the job still hold meaning for you? Is the
reason why you once said "yes" to the job offer still
compelling enough to keep you going to work?

Step 2: Identify what you want your desired future to look
like Put your current reality aside and dream of the
future. What do you want from your career? How will your
future career look and feel to you? What will be your
role? What will it be like going to work every morning?
This is when it's valuable to invest the time and
concentration to examine exactly what's inside your soul
bursting to assert itself. Key points are to be honest
with yourself, and to look within.

Step 3: Determine what you have to do to get there Now
that you have been able to paint a picture of your ideal
future, it's time to plot a plan for getting there and
bodaciously implement it. Step 3 is the difference between
getting stuck in emotionalizing your dreams, feeling
frustrated that they haven't already happened, and thinking
negatively versus staying calm, confident, focused, and
productive. You need to build a plan consistent with your
vision while being flexible and resilient in the face of
ever-changing times and shifting circumstances.

Dreams don't come true overnight and they usually don't
manifest without some bumps and twists and turns. Such
events will challenge your resolve to make sure you really
want to achieve your goal. That's why you need to decide
up front that you're going to love every minute of it!
Remember, you're bodacious!

BODACIOUS CAREER BUILDER: Consider the bigger picture of
what you want from your career. Create your personal
business plan to get there and bodaciously implement it.

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Mary Foley, author of "Bodacious! Woman: Outrageously in
Charge of Your Life and Lovin' It!" and founder of the
Bodacious Women's Club, inspires women to be courageously
in charge of their lives. You can be inspired, too! Get the
free audio "Live Like Your Nail Color!" today at
http://www.LiveLikeYourNailColor.com .