Feature image public domain.
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” said Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
There are so many applications of this phrase for small business owners—particularly for small business professional creatives. Intentionality is the act of knowing where you want to go (in life, business, your art, etc.) and having a clear plan on how to get there.
BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT…
- Your business. Do you have a business plan with specific goals, objectives and parameters for success? Have you written it down?
- Your craft. Where do you want your skill level to be 6 months, a year, 5 years from now? What classes are you going to take? How many “How-to” YouTube and Vimeo videos will you watch? How many tutorials will you invest in? What mentors will you follow? What personal projects will you do to push your craft forward and continue to learn?
- Your shoot. Have you gone through discovery with your client to determine what their objective’s are? Have you determined the best people to be interviewed for a shoot? Have you scouted the best locations? Created a shot list? Got client approval on everything that’s crucial?
- Your health. What foods are you eating every day? How much water are you drinking? Are you getting periodic check-ups at the doctor and dentist? Do you exercise? Do you get enough sleep?
- Your family. Are you carving out times of the week to spend time with your spouse, significant other, and/or children? Are you having date nights with your spouse? Are you teaching your children to be the kind of men and women you want them to be? Do you know their friends? Their interests?
- Your future. Do you have a retirement account? How much are you putting in it each month? Are you saving every month? Are you aggressively working to pay off your debt?
- Your faith (whatever faith you claim). Are you reading whatever you should be reading? Are you praying? Are you fellowshipping with fellow followers and believers?
- Your happiness. Are you doing what makes you happy?
Just for the record, I am not nearly as intentional about some of these things as I ought to be. But as I always like to say…“I’m trying Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.”
