Check The Bottom Line

You’ve written down your goals, you’ve put
together an action plan, and now you are r
eady to go for it. Before you launch yourself
into prolonged activity it might be worth it
to work out what the bottom line will be when
you’ve achieved success.

Working out the bottom line means you work
out what the costs will be. The costs are
not necessarily only associated with
financial costs but may also be broader and
include relationship and personal costs,
time and resources costs.

Let’s have a look at the financial costs
first. If your goal is to get promoted and
move up the corporate ladder, or learn a
new skill you will want to go back to
school. You may determine that an MBA will
enhance your career prospects and assist
with your achieving your goal.

The financial costs involved in attaining
an MBA can be staggering. A good Business
School will cost you about $40,000 for
tuition. Over and above that you will need
books, and other supplies, as well as
several hours per day to work on the
program. Full time attendance will require
you to give up work; part time attendance
will extend the length of the program to
about 2 years.

Will you be able to put your other
commitments on the back burner for this
period of time? Will your family, friends,
and co-workers support your efforts? There
are many couples that get divorced when
one of the partners attempts such a
strenuous learning program. Will your
relationship survive?

Determining the true cost of your goal is
critically important. Discovering half way
through your plan that the end result is
going to cost more than you can pay in
money, emotion, time, or energy will mean
you will wasted an enormous amount of time
and effort on a goal that is beyond your
means.

I don’t write this to discourage you. Rather
I write this to help you map out your plan
in detail. Consider the implications of each
step of your goal and work to find ways to
accomplish them.

Tomorrow’s posting is about asking for help.
Until then, have a great day!