You have probably already set some big business and life goals for the year (if not: check out my last post). Today, however, I am asking — have you created the right conditions for your success?

Achieving any goal takes patience, momentum and hard work. But have you actually thought about what you need to do to actually achieve it. I am talking about what your environment looks like, who is on your team, how you organise your schedule and the relationships you need to make. It is about adjusting these components to create your right conditions for success.

The good news is that if we think ahead we can start to make changes that will help us succeed right now. It might be freeing up space in your weekly schedule, changing your office space, expanding your network or redefining your business model.

I was having an amazing chat today with two entrepreneurial women and we were all talking about how to take the next step in our business and reach for that next goal. Essentially we want to make our business lives easier in order to succeed.

So let me run through some examples of goals and the changes you could make now to help them come to life.

Example 1: Launching an ecourse

You want to launch an ecourse but know that to start creating that on top of your current workload will take up more hours than you have (not to mention doing all the marketing, launch and support). So if you started to think about your conditions for success one solution would be building a team that can take away some of the work that you do now, so you can focus on your new exciting ecourse. Right now, before you even begin your search you could think about what skills that person will need, how many hours a week you might need them and make a list of your least favourite tasks. On top of that you can start to break down your processes and systems to involve that person well before you actually hire them. This could mean setting up distinct email addresses for different parts of your business, so when a Virtual Assistant (VA) starts you can forward some of those emails to them. Or perhaps you could develop your templates for systems like how to publish a blog post or how you post to Facebook, and already mark the tasks your VA will do and the parts you will do. Even though their hire might be months away these pieces of work will set you up to succeed.

Example 2: Getting a book deal

Another example might be getting a publishing deal for a book you want to write. If that is your goal what could you be doing right now to ensure that you get the book deal and are ready to write the book when it comes. This might involve creating a brand new opt-in to really drive your subscribers to your list, as you know most publishers like to have their authors bring an already established audience before they sign them on. Or it might be creating different products in your business (like ebooks and ecourses) that will help you replace streams of revenue while you are actually writing the book and not doing as much of your main service that involves working directly with clients. Or it could even involve a redesign of your office space that makes you feel more creative and inspired to write — as that is soon to become your main activity.

Example 3: Becoming a well known speaker

My last example is that your goal might be to become a well known speaker by the end of the year. Setting yourself up to succeed might look like getting a new series of photos that highlight you speaking at events. It might also involve having a dedicated page on your website that showcases a professional speaking reel and other speaking highlights. It could even involve having a stylist work with you so you have a new wardrobe to wear when you are asked to speak, run an event or perhaps make last minute media appearances.

This list of examples could go on forever but you can see how it works. Think ahead and get a clear picture of what you want to accomplish and what others things you can do right now to make sure you hit that goal.

We all know anything that helps us make that goal is energy well spent so take a bit of time out to think about your conditions for success this year and then I would love for you to tell me yours in the comments below.