I'm constantly amazed at the amount of people I encounter who seem to invest a big chunk of their time and money attending seminars, joining coaching programs and investing in very expensive products only to do nothing with them.

I recently saw a testimonial from a lady who had attended one of these events, saying the information from the program was going to turn her business into a million dollar company.

Well I hope for her sake it does, because I know this person and she hasn't got a clue how to maximise the potential of her current business. She'll be broke if she doesn't address the basic mistakes she is making. She has no idea how to manage her time, has poor systems, she's wasted thousands of dollars doing the wrong type of marketing, she has a high staff turnover and seems a complete mess.

Mary's run off to a seminar where she's learnt how to do something completely different. It will just take her focus off her business and it is guaranteed to suffer further.

What's she's done, instead of addressing her real issues (herself), she got attracted to the 'bright shiny object'. The 'magic pill'.

'Mary' has attended many seminars etc. but has not focussed long enough to finish anything off.

Both myself and a client of mine attended the same event last year. Bill got excited and was very quick to pull out his credit card to purchase a program which if he applied it, would increase his sales. However he had just started his coaching program with freeing up his time first being the priority. If he invested in an additional product or program at that time, it would be left on the shelf gathering dust.

Luckily he caught up with me that day to ask me if he should go ahead with the purchase. I said 'no'. He needed to follow through to completion what we were doing first.

What you must understand is it takes time to implement.

I had a one hour coaching session with an expert to make changes in a specific area of my business this year. The work created from that hour has taken weeks to apply.

So do you get the message? Here's 5 practical steps to take to get your focus on track...

1. Summarise all your ideas /projects that need to be actioned.
   
2. Number each idea with No. 1 next to the highest priority and continue until each idea has a number next to it.
   
3. Get your diary and plan time to action idea No. 1.
   
4. When that's completed work on No. 2
   
5. Do the same with the rest.

The key to implementing this knowledge is all in the planning. When working out when you will take action on each idea, be realistic with timeframes.

I find that the majority of people do not follow through because they underestimate the amount of time it takes to get things done and end up being overwhelmed.

They then put all their intentions into the "too hard, can't be bothered, I'm too busy" category and move on to another 'bright shiny object' for further motivation and newfound knowledge.

Unfortunately, the cycle continues and they become educated derelicts.

Attending the event, investing in the program, or being coached is the easy part. Taking the action is much harder. If you perservere and follow through on these top tips your hard work will pay off eventually.

Now, if you're not sure what you need to do and EXACTLY how to stay focussed and on track to generate more income, then I urge you to take action and invest in a proven step-by-step system that will get you big results. Get a copy of The Productivity and Profit Home Study System". It includes everything you need to know to free up your time, master your marketing so you make much more money and get a life!

It's laid out in a very simple way: do step one of the system, and when you're done with that, move on to step two etc. It's so simple and yet so powerful, it's changed the lives of many solopreneurs and small business owners.

You can read the success stories and get your own copy at www.productivityqueen.com/profit.html (why be time poor and struggle in your business, when you can easily get much more done, make more money and have time off?

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Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen is the creator of “The Productivity and Profit System” the complete one-on-one training program for solopreneurs and small businesses. She's a productivity expert, leading business coach, author and speaker with straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work. Lorraine specialises in helping entrepreneurs to organise their time, master their marketing and stay on track with efficient systems so they make much more money and have a life!.

For your complimentary audio CD “How to Boost Your Productivity and Profits and Enjoy More Time Off” VALUED AT $47 for a limited time only. Go to www.productivityqueen.com