Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail.

The Right Tools for the Job.

abs-olutely

Since this whole thing began back in late May, I've been using social network sites, primarily Facebook (via my own personal page and the abs-olutely page I created,) as a tool to bring awareness to my goal.  And it's worked, using FB to target business' in a "scatter" technique proved successful, choosing specific target groups daily and sending as many requests for donations of product or services to that one group generated fantastic results for my Silent Auction.

Follow Me

But with the desire to make this bigger than Ben Hur growing every day, I figured I needed to start casting my net further afield.  Lately I've begun posting on Twitter, as well as joining LinkedIn in the hope of reaching a different target audience. I've even taken it the next level, I've started to seek out people that could identify areas of potential growth for my idea.

I was encouraged when just the other day a local businessman added me on LinkedIn  I looked closely at his skill base and decided "nothing ventured nothing gained" so I sent him a link to this blog and asked for any advice he was prepared to give.  I was pleasantly surprised to receive a reply.  His advice was sound and though a number of his ideas I had already implemented, he did suggest I look at developing a website to establish trust and credibility for potential supporters.  I like this idea, and being the uber'nerd I am, I think this could be beneficial and will start looking into it.

People often comment that I over prepare, over think and over organise things, but instead of taking this as a criticism I've learnt that it's actually a skill I have.  Seldom do I go into a situation unprepared my dad always told me "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."

Help Me Grow

I recently read an article entitled Practice Being Fearless by Jonathan Alpert in the Huffington Post and it resonated with me,

"fear loses its power when you prepare yourself to meet it head-on. If you walked out onto a stage without preparing for a speech, of course you would be scared! But if you walk onto a stage after preparing -- practicing your lines and learning your craft -- the fear won't be quite as strong."

I've never been brave, I've seldom taken risks, but this past year has seen all that change, if over researching and over preparing is my way of overcoming the fear of something new, then I'm okay with that...

Life doesn't have a remote, you want a change it, get off your butt and do it yourself. 

Asante
Jacq