The Yesterday's Road Method

“The Yesterday’s Road Method”
by
Peter Thomson

Some years I sold one of my businesses for just over $7,000,000. Today that’s still a decent chunk of change – back then it was whole load of money! The deal I’d agreed with the purchaser, a London based publicly quoted company, was $4.7 million on signing and a further $2.8 million after a one year ‘earn out’ – providing of course that my company achieved the projected profit figures for the following year.

They gave me a check for...

The day of the signing of the agreement came – and the purchaser’s solicitors gave me and my wife a check for the equivalent of $1.8 million and shares in the publicly quoted company worth $2.9 million. Happy days!

Then…

Just six months into our ‘earn out’ year calamity struck and we lost a major client. Not because we’d done anything wrong – the client simply moved out of their previous area of operation.

Suffice to say though – if I didn’t do something dramatic – it was going to cost me a fortune at the end of that year.

What to do? Well I sat with a piece of paper and a pen – and thought! For hours and hours until – I came up with a solution that I thought would solve the problem – and it did.

Here’s what happened…

I called my director team together and explained the problem. If we don’t hit the figures we won’t get the rest of the money – it’s that simple – so here’s what we’re going to do.

I want you to imagine that it’s March next year – the end of the earn out period and we haven’t reached the target – we won’t get the money and we’re all going to pretty annoyed about the whole episode – it will have been a golden opportunity thrown away.

Now with that disappointed feeling in mind I want to ask you a question – it’s this!

If only I’d… we would have reached the target – what are those dots?

Now you’ll have spotted that...

Now you’ll have spotted, I said to them, it’s ‘If only I’d…’ not If only they… not if only the government, not if only interest rates, not if only the competition, not if only the weather – It’s if only I’d – personal responsibility.

I sent them off saying they each had just 20 minutes to do it – and in that time I went through the same exercise.

When I had all the answers from all the directors – I blended them with my own thoughts and prepared an action plan for the business for every single day for the next six months leading up to the end of the target year.

Each morning we’d meet and agree the actions – and surprisingly or perhaps not so surprisingly – we soared through the target and got paid the second tranche of the money – the $2.8 million.

The idea worked and I’ve used it – with the slight variation I’ll explain for you now to help me achieve more goals than I care to remember.

Here’s how you can use The Yesterday’s Road Method:

Its power is based on away motivation before using towards motivation.

When we have a goal we want to achieve – you and I know that the key ‘thinking’ we need to undertake is about – which actions will help us achieve that goal – isn’t it?

OK – this is where you’ll use the Yesterday’s Road Method. Sit quietly when you do this and take your mind forward to the time when you believe you should have achieved the goal.

Now imagine that you haven’t achieved it. Get frustrated, get angry, get really annoyed and disappointed with yourself and that situation.

Then – on paper, it must be on paper – write this: If only I’d… I would have achieved the goal – what are those dots?

Now make sure you put a question mark at the end of the line because the question mark prompts your mind to come up with answers, I like to think of the question mark as the enter key on your neck-top computer – you know what I mean don’t you?

Let your mind...

So; you’ve written the question – now just let your marvellous mind give you the answers. Just write everything down that comes to mind – even at this stage if it doesn’t make any sense.

You’ll know that you’ve captured the key actions that you know from your own experience will get you the results, the goal you want. Why? Because you know you better than anyone else knows you – true? So use that power of your own knowledge, experience and life.

Now when you’ve run dry of ideas – here’s the little twist that will make the Yesterday’s Road Method work even better for you than it did for me.

Here’s the twist...

You change the question: Now, again on paper – write this new question: Here it is:

You imagine that you’re at the time when you should have achieved the goal – and YES – you’ve achieved it! In your mind celebrate! Get excited, get happy, go wild! Then when you’re in that state; ask this question:

I achieved my goal because I… - what are those dots?

And let your mind add any thoughts that didn’t come out when you used the If only I’d version. Don’t be too surprised just how many ideas you’ll add.

You can see how this works so brilliantly, can’t you? You’ve started by using the power of away motivation then added the extra fizz of towards motivation.

“Away Motivation Is The Catalyst For Action...
...Towards Motivation Is The Continuation Of Action!”

Back to yesterday’s road!

Now you have a complete list of the actions that you know, for a fact, will get you achieving the goal.

And you can use this method for anything! Making money, getting fit, lowering a golf handicap, being a better partner or parent, getting a raise – anything and everything where you need to take actions to achieve a goal!

Here’s my suggestion

Try the Yesterday’s Road Method on one of your goals or on something that you want to achieve.

And – also share this idea with a family member or colleague and you talk them through it. Not just explaining how to do it – but get them to do the whole method whilst you’re there. You wait till you see the look on their faces when they suddenly realise that they have the correct and full list of actions to achieve any goal, any dream - any desire.

Peter Thomson
“The UK’s Leading Strategist on Business and Personal Growth”

Now you can avoid:

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