Yesterday I wrote about my identity crisis and in the “me” time I said I was going to take I tried to start at the beginning by looking at my different business verticals, my “personalities” if you will. I thought if I went back to basics and looked at everything with a fresh perspective it might help me focus. This is what I’m working with:

Laina Turner – author, blogger, marketing for other authors

A Mom Entrepreneur - social networking site for mom entrepreneurs

Chizofrenic.com - online magazine for women

Laina Molaski – college professor, business consultant, educator

While there can be crossover from one personality to another they aren’t all interchangeable. It makes it hard for me at times to keep all of them up and running seamlessly. I have a focus and goals for each one but not a great action plan.

What do you do to create your executable action plan?

Laina

Long gone are the days of graduating from college (or not) and working 30 years until it’s time to retire. Getting the gold watch and living your life out on a good pension traveling in your Winnebago.

Our society has changed in many ways where staying with a company until you retire isn’t guaranteed on the employer or the employee end. For me I enjoy variety and have always dabbled in many different things on wide spectrums.  However, I think I have now done that to a fault where I’m confused as to what direction I need to take to reach my goals (whatever those are now) and am in a holding pattern. Holding for what, I’m not sure. Maybe some clear epiphany as to what I’m supposed to do with my life now. Where to focus my energies, what should be on my new master plan?

I came across a blog post by Erica Douglass How I (Almost) Threw My Popular Blog in the Trash . It talked about how she wasn’t thrilled with where her blog was going, so took a step back to figure out what she really wanted to do, and then came back with renewed energy. She apologized for being gone and explained how some folks might not like her new direction but this was the path she was starting down because it’s what SHE wanted to do. It made me think how I have ignored many of my business verticals the last few months because I didn’t feel I had that clear direction  I wasn’t sure what my focus was and as I mentioned in the first paragraph have been paralyzed by not knowing those things. What I realized after reading her blog is the piece I was missing was actually taking the ”me” time to think about what I wanted and where I wanted to go and then how to get there. I was so busy and caught up in the day to day craziness I couldn’t see the forest for the trees (to be cliche). I’m also in the dilemma many entrepreneurs are in where there are things I HAVE to do to support myself until the things I WANT to do can fully replace that income. The reality is I have 2 kids I support on my own and I want them to eat. At least every other day:)

So I have set aside time every day this week to do nothing but think. About the big picture of what I want and the small picture of how to get there.

Share with me how you have determined your direction?

Laina