How to Approach Your Business Plan
Usually, business plans base ideas for future growth on the past, such as where you were last year. But this approach can limit you. Therefore, I recommend creating your business plan based on where you intend to be, which can open up more possibilities to you for achieving your goals. The information contained in your business plan, including charts, numbers, and words should support your intentions.

Using Visualization
Visualization is a powerful tool for helping you to accomplish your intentions. Here are some steps you can take to do this:

1. Visualize accomplishing an intention you have and feel the feelings of its success.

2. Think about what had to happen for you to accomplish your intention and write down as much of the details as you can.

3. Continue to focus on the images of success and your final goal. Let the elements develop fully in your mind.

Do this process for three intentions you would like to accomplish in the next year.

One of the benefits of the above exercise is that it begins the process of realizing what will be necessary to create the results you want, such as support of partners, employees, investors, and customers.

Another benefit is that, since the exercise is more creative than analytical, you are less likely to get objections from your analytical mind which can limit your possibilities and progress.

We usually stand at the bottom of the mountain and create a plan for getting up to the top. But with this exercise, you stand at the top of the mountain and detail the steps you took to get there.

Creating Action Items
Once you are clear about your intentions, list enough action items for each to produce the results you want. To test if your list is strong enough, ask yourself:

“If I do everything on the list, what is the chance (between zero and one hundred percent) that I will achieve my intention?”

If your answer is below ninety-five percent, then you will need to strengthen some things on the list or add more action items to it. When your list passes the test, you will have a good plan for achieving the results you want. You can continue to develop the plan as you progress towards your goal.

Adding a Time Element to Action Items
Next to each action item on your list, enter an estimate for the time that it will take to accomplish. Also indicate if an action item is reoccurring, such as paying employees bi-weekly, or if the action item has a start and end time and will occur only once. Also, schedule your action items and maintain accountability for each and you will be well on your way to accomplishing your intentions.