Here's a fun way to help you achieve your goals that really works. Plus it's a little more exciting than just writing down a few goals, or an objective, in your marketing plan.

This method actually brings them to life, and puts them in front of you everyday so you're constantly focused on making them happen.

Create what I call a "Success Poster"

What's a Success Poster?

It's a visual or graphic representation of your vision of success.

First You Need To Create A Vision

The first step in creating a success poster is to sit down, close your eyes and envision the success you want to create with your business.

Ask yourself what you want your business to look like one year from today.

Think in terms of your ideal success. Dream big. Think of all the little things you would love to have happen in your business and in your life.

Think about how many clients you'll be helping and the material results of your success.

Consider what other results you'd love to have ... coverage of your business in the news media perhaps?

Picture yourself delivering your products or services ... what does that look like in your ideal world?

The Second Step is to Create Your Poster

Get a piece of paper or cardstock and some colored markers or crayons.

The size or your poster is up to you. Just pick a size you can easily post on a bulletin board or the wall above your workspace. The idea is to have it somewhere you can see it every day.

On the paper, draw elements of what you envisioned. Write words. Create a picture that represents all the success you see yourself achieving in the next year. Make it colorful. Make it fun. Make it represent YOUR dream.

I did this exercise last January and my poster is hanging on a bulletin board right above my computer. Every day as I work, I can easily look up and see my success poster and all the vignettes representing my success that I set as goals at the beginning of the year.

It's Your "Inspiration Magnet"

It's wonderful inspiration to see these visions of success as I work on my business. And the best part is, they're coming true!

It's also great when I'm having a tough week. Because I can always look up and remember why I'm working so hard. It reminds me of what I'm trying to create.

It reminds me of the people I'm helping. And, the smiling faces of my family, my clients and ME! And ultimately it reminds me of the success I know I will achieve - I know it's inevitable and is just a matter of time.

Use Your Success Poster to Write Your Goals

From your vision and your success poster, you should create written goals, and one or two measurable objectives. And then you should create a marketing plan to get you from where you are right now, to this place you have envisioned.

This process brings your goal of success to life. It makes it "real," making it much easier to work toward than just a couple of sentences written on a piece of paper.

It Also Uses the Law of Attraction

If you understand the Law of Attraction, you know what you focus on expands. When you're in sync with the good, positive vibration your vision creates, things seem to magically happen to move you in the direction of that vision. I'm not sure how it works, but it does!

I've seen evidence of it in my life and with others.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. Spend all your time focusing on what you don't have or what's not happening with your business and guess what? You'll perpetuate that. Yuck!

The Choice is Yours

I say go for the gusto and dream big. Then keep your eyes and your mind glued to that vision and watch it come true!

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Debbie LaChusa

Debbie LaChusa is a marketing veteran with 20 years in the business. After 13 years in the advertising and marketing agency business, Debbie founded DLC Marketing, Inc., a marketing consulting and coaching business. Her goal? To give entrepreneurs and small business owners affordable access to the same high-level strategic marketing and advertising expertise that typically only large companies with big budgets can afford.

Debbie's commitment to making marketing expertise accessible to small business also led her to pursue speaking engagements and teaching. She has spoken at meetings and conventions across the United States and in Canada. She also is on the faculty of Wellcoaches Corporation, where she teaches wellness coach trainees around the world how to successfully market their new coaching practices.

Debbie has written and self-published two marketing workbooks, "A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide" and "A Step-by-Step Marketing Guide for Your Fitness Business" which have sold copies worldwide. Her advice is also featured in Entrepreneur Magazine's "How to Start a Personal Training Business," part of the magazine's Business Start-Up Series. And she is a contributor to the San Diego Business Journal.

Debbie created The 10stepmarketing? System to provide small business owners, coaches, consultants and other independent professionals with all the tools they need to market themselves.

This simple, step-by-step system, features an easy-to-use question-and-answer format that walks business owners through every step they need to take to develop and implement their own marketing plan designed to achieve the success they desire and deserve.

On a more personal note, Debbie LaChusa is a fraternal twin. In 2004 she launched Twin Connections, a web site that celebrates the unique and mysterious bond shared by twins. She collects twin stories and hopes to compile them into a book.