Small Biz Franchise Blog » Dreams

Dreams vs. Fantasies – Do They Make A Difference in Franchising?

Lizette Pirtle — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:45:53 +0000

The word “dream” for some of us brings up ideas of wasting time, of losers, of people who never act, and who we critically put down by calling them “dreamers” and expecting they will achieve nothing. This is a misconception; dreams are not fantasies. While fantasies belong only to the imagination, dreams are doable and achievable. In franchising, dreams can help determine success or failure. Yes, they are that important.

Dreams are also unlike goals. When we dream, we focus on what it is that we want and don’t concern ourselves with how we are going to get there. Dreams engage our right brain more than our linear left side. They incite our emotions which fuel our dreams or nightmares into fruition. Dreams are the first step in achieving anything in life. They are composed of the thoughts of what we want and without these thoughts and the emotions they bring up, what we want would simply not come to being.

There are dreams that support us and dreams that work against us. Worry is a form of dreaming that does not support us. Worry is our nightmare; it is composed of the things we do NOT want. While we worry we are thinking about what can go wrong; and, unfortunately, we tend to do this over and over and over, thus empowering the nightmare with every thought and the emotions they bring and allowing what we don’t want to manifest in our lives.

Dreams allow us to know where we are going. Earl Nightingale once said: “All you have to do is know where you’re going. They answers will come to you of their own accord.” Dreaming allows us to develop the scene of where we we want to be and it takes us there. If we worry that we don’t have the answers or that something may go wrong, we interfere with our dream and take away its power to take us there.

All franchisees had and have dreams; unfortunately they also have nightmares. One of the main keys to franchise success is to keep the attention on the dreams and away from the nightmares. How do you do that? It is actually simple , although not easy.

Take time to clearly define your dreams. The more time you spend in this exercise the better. If possible write them down or draw a picture or a symbol that represents your dream.
When the nightmares come, just shift the focus to the dream. This is why having a symbol or picture is so useful as we can immediately look at it and change our thoughts
Acknowledge the worry and be honest about it. Are you at that place where you want and need to be worried? Do you prefer darkness and gloom at this moment? It’s OK, these sometimes are stages we go through; however, know that as long as you are tied to your nightmares you won’t be able to get close to your dreams.
Keep reminding yourself of your dream every day. Franchisees who lose touch with their dreams will become disgruntled. Yet, in most cases, it has nothing to do with what may be happing at the moment other than the fact they are no longer engaged with their dreams.

Dreams, whether supportive or not, are catalysts. They inspire and motivate us into action. Ask yourself daily: What’s motivating me today? Is it my dream or my nightmare? Make the choice that works for you. It is really all about the choice.

What makes a franchisee successful?

Lizette Pirtle — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:26:00 +0000

The success of franchisees depends on many factors however the most important ones seem to rest on the franchisee. The outer factors include:

Is the franchise concept viable?
Is the success of the business replicable?
Are the financial results of the business sustainable or is the business just a fad?
Is the business capable of producing profits commensurable with the investment required.
Does the franchisor provide an effective training program?
Does the franchisor offer a solid support system with efficient and effectual tools?
Does the franchisor focus on innovation?
Does the franchisor invest in the system continuously?
Is there sufficient demand for the business products and/or services?

Traditionally franchise experts have focused on these outer elements as the keys to franchisee success. Yet, if these factors were enough to produce successful franchisees then no franchise systems with these components would ever experience franchisee failure. Unfortunately this is not the case.

Franchisee success depends on much more than outer circumstances and conditions. It depends on the inner character of each franchisee, specifically around the following factors:

How well do franchisees know what they want to achieve from the business; that is, what the business will do for them? How engaged with their dreams are they?
Do they hold beliefs that support their success or are they still hanging on to beliefs that work against them?
How ready are they to accept all of the conditions that are brought about by their potential success?

Franchisees who don’t do well in a franchise where others are thriving tend to look outwards for the causes of their personal lack of success. Typical comments from these individuals include:

Had the franchisor been honest with me I would not have bought into this franchise.
Only those franchisees who have this or that innate skill can succeed at this business.
If we only had this or that tool then I could succeed.

I know this may sound stern but to me these are rationalizations from franchisees who are not ready to take responsibility for their success. There may be some truth to their statements and feelings, but when they use them to justify their results without examination these statements are unreliable.

Successful franchisees know what they want and go for it. They hold the beliefs that support their success and dismiss those that don’t. And, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get ready to achieve the success they seek.

Franchise Success = Dreams + Beliefs + Readiness

Franchise Success: Are you too old or too much of an achiever to dream?

Lizette Pirtle — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:58:09 +0000

There are many franchisees and franchisors who hold the misconception that the only way to get things done is by doing and that dreams are a waste of time. They tout that dreaming is for kids or something you do at night when you are unconscious. And, they believe that dreamers are losers.

My most successful accomplishments have arisen from the careful visualization of what I wanted; in other words, from dreaming. In all of these instances I did approximately 70% dreaming and 30% preparation. In fact, whenever I have done more preparation than dreaming my results have suffered.

So, what are dreams? Dreams are stories we create in our minds about the things we want, what they will do for us, how they will make us and others feel. They include details, colors, smells, feelings, words, objects and everything that makes them real in our minds. Dreams are freeing because they are not time bound. The more we crystallize our dreams, the more we transform them into our vision, the guiding force of our life.

Dreams are freeing. They don’t have to be based on reality; in fact if they are too based on reality they will not be expansive enough; they would just repeat an experience. Of course, we may already have reached our dreams and now just wish to keep them. But normally when we dream, we wish for something that we don’t currently have. Dreams are like a model of the life we want to have. Buckminster Fuller once said: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” That’s what we do when we dream; we build models of the reality we want.

Some franchisees have asked me: “Why not use the word “goals” instead of dreams. Aren’t goals things we want too? Goals are time bound; they have a timeline. Goals are based on reality; they are measurable and thus they don’t necessarily engage our creativity and imagination. Goals tend to create stress and thus they lack the freeing nature of dreams. The energy we feel when we think of our goals is very different from the energy we experience when we visualize our dreams. When we don’t reach our goals on the planned schedule disappointment and a sense of failure arise. Because dreams aren’t constrained by time they are more flexible and engender more joy.

Dreams are the first step. With our diligent clarification through visualization sessions dreams become our visions; we can actually see them happening. As our vision develops, goals will be created organically from the process. The dream that included being your own boss with continuous dedicated thought becomes your vision and from that that vision the steps of exploring franchising and other business ownership options arise until eventually one day you are living your dream as a franchisee. A word of caution, the dream is not “owning a business” or “being your own boss;” the dream is what that meant, how it was supposed to make you feel, how your life changed as a consequence. This is what you must connect with and keep the connection going. The idea is not to live in a world of dreams but to make our dreams our reality.

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.

Douglas Everett

Do you still think you are too old or too much of an achiever to dream?Which dreams have you turned into reality? Please share.

Franchise Success = Dreams + Beliefs + Readiness

Lizette Pirtle — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:05:49 +0000

Franchise Success: The New Formula is about how franchisees can reach the success they seek when they take the time and make the effort to clarify their dreams, adopt the beliefs that support their efforts, and reach the level of readiness that allows success. Through a series of examples I show how the lack of clarified dreams, non-supportive belief systems and non-readiness lead to a sense or the reality of failure for many franchisees. Furthermore, I also share examples of how success is achieved when these components are in place and the process needed to get there.

Successful franchisees know what they want. They dare to dream. They clarify their dreams to the point when they transform them into their vision. They allow these dreams to propel them through life towards their achievement. They are so sure about what they want that they see it, touch it, taste it, smell it, and live it in their minds until it becomes the reality they live day in and day out.

Successful franchisees have a belief system that supports the achievement of their dreams. They know they can win; they know they can achieve what they are seeking, and they know they can learn to do whatever they need to do to make their dreams come true. They believe that the franchise in which they invested will produce the results they seek. They believe in the franchisor, in the franchise system, and in the fact that they can implement the business model successfully. Whatever doubts pop into their minds they are quickly dissipated by strength of their supportive beliefs.

Successful franchisees are simply ready to be successful. They have worked through the issues and beliefs that could impede their success and are no longer in a state of resistance. They embrace their possibilities and their future but also they accept the present as the path towards what they desire understanding that there are steps that must be gone through on the way to their dreams.

Franchisees can create the conditions they need to manifest the success they seek. Likewise, franchisors can provide a supportive environment and a systematic approach for franchisees to reach the results they expect.

Do you know your dreams? Do you know if you have the supportive beliefs needed to assure your success? Are you ready?