A daily practice of “intending” can create the life, the job or the business we want. When we engage in this practice we are consciously creating our world exactly the way we wish.

Intending can be used for a variety of outcomes from throwing an audacious surprise party to helping you grow your business or assist you in solving problems.  For the purposes of this article however, I’m addressing the concept of “Intending” as a helpful business tool.  There are two parts to successful intending.  Initially there’s the “Setup” and then the “Daily Practice”.

PART ONE: THE SETUP!

The setup is your foundation.   You decide what you want and how to get it.

Step 1. DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT AND WHY YOU WANT IT!

The first question you ask yourself is “Why do I want the subject of my intending”?  You might decide you want a larger office space. Perhaps you want a larger office space so you can add another service to your business or practice. Now ask yourself who benefits from this larger space. It might be that your clients or patients benefit from the additional services being offered or perhaps your family benefits from the resulting increased revenues.  Next consider if there is any apparent downside to acquiring the larger space. Perhaps the increased overhead will force you to raise your rates. This may be okay if you’re also adding value to your service or product.  During this first step, weigh all of your options and be certain, before you continue on, that you are clear about what you want.

Step 2. BRAINSTORM A PLAN

This is the fun part for me. I like to sit with a big pad and colored pens and play. Write the subject of your intending in the center of the page. You may even consider drawing pictures or using cutouts from magazines. Get creative with your blank page; make it colorful, inspiring and energetic. Sometimes, playing with images will create a path for ideas to bubble up that you might not otherwise imagine. Don’t question any ideas at this point.  Just be playful. Write/draw/paste pictures of whatever comes to mind that might allow you to achieve what you want. Perhaps you get an idea to throw a party for your current clients — you could draw or paste a picture of a group of people having fun together. I once had great success after I imagined, and then implemented, hiring a magician for a magic act at our local park to help me increase my revenues. I had over 150 guests, their kids and dogs for a day of sunshine, community, play, laughter and fun. It worked!  My revenues increased as a result of this creative inspiration.

Step 3. NOW LOOK — EYES WIDE OPEN

Put your word/visual picture on the floor and stand above it looking down.  From this perspective choose the steps you feel will best support your chosen outcome. Each step should have a subset of tasks that will accomplish the step. These steps and tasks now become your master list.

PART TWO — THE DAILY PRACTICE

Each morning before you begin your day take a few moments for your daily practice.

Step 1. LOOK OVER YOUR MASTER LIST

Each day choose the tasks you are able to accomplish and transfer them to your daily reminder list.

Step 2. VISUALIZE

Now that you’ve settled on what you want and the daily steps to get you there, take a few minutes and visualize yourself accomplishing each of these steps. Really see yourself performing the tasks at hand.  Be as imaginative as possible with your visualization.  For instance, you might smell the coffee brewing as you’re making phone calls or see yourself interacting with new clients or patients and notice the smell of freshly cut roses on your desk.

Step 3. BEGIN TODAY

As we step into ownership of our abilities to be the creator of our outcomes, we are choosing our present and our future life.  We are the archer of our bow, which lands in perfect synchronized union, driven directly by our intention.

I’ve given a brief overview here of a more complex subject. Please feel free to contact me should you have questions.