# 044 - 9 Foundations for Success
Foundations. Very important for without them you cannot build anything meaningful. And if you do build something without strong foundations then you run the risk of it all eventually falling down. Here are 3 examples where stronger foundations can make a significant difference. 1. Studying for a degree: A 2010 study by a collection of five Canada-based psychology professors found that of students who register for a four-year university degree programme, 25% drop out before completion - the root cause being a lack of vision and goal-setting. In an attempt to improve this statistic, the study helped students through a four-month goal setting process, with their results showing a significant improvement in academic performance in comparison to students who did not partake in goal-setting. 2. Unexpected windfalls of income Take the lottery winner who becomes an overnight millionaire or even multi-millionaire…according to BBC Capital it’s a sad fact that within 3-5 years lottery winners are twice as likely as ordinary people to declare bankruptcy and within that same time frame over 35% of them do just that…over a longer timeframe even more fall by the wayside. 3. Starting a business. Unfortunately, the statistics for new business owners are even worse. According to the CBI in the UK 60% of businesses fail in the first 3 years. “According to Investopedia, the four most common reasons why small businesses fail are a lack of sufficient capital; poor management; inadequate business planning; and overblowing their marketing budgets - all of which have either direct or indirect ties to a company’s vision statement and their goals.” So if foundations are so important, why don’t more people make an effort to work on them? The answers I get most often are: 1. I don’t know what to do 2. I have no time to do things like this 3. Other things take priority What that tells me is that either what you’re doing is not a priority in your life or you are working outwith your values…you might not even know what they are or if you do, you won’t know what you values are. Which is ironic because the first of the 9 Foundations is Values. What are yours? You not only need to do these and find out, but you ought to be able to reel them off to anyone who asks..at least reel of the first 5. So the 9 Foundations of a solid business are: 1. Values – as the founder – what are yours? Find them at www.DrDemartini.com 2. Vision – Do you have a clear picture of the purpose of your life? If not, spend time setting one out and have fun doing it. 3. Pick the most ordinary business that fits both your values and your vision 4. Constantly Improve that business. 5. Listen to your customers – get to know them better than anything 6. Respond to what your ideal customer tells you 7. Set the highest standards 8. What’s Your Story? Why do you want to do this? What motivated you? 9. Live the story every day