Where do you see yourself and your business or your career in 5, 10, or even 20 years?
If you have a business do you want to see it grow into a big company or do you just want to sustain what you have now?
Or maybe you have a job and want to quit it to start your own business? Or perhaps you just want to get a better job?
What is your big picture?
In 5 years time I see myself graduating from university with an MSc Databases and Web-based Systems, after graduating with my BSc (Hons) Computer Science degree at the University of Salford 
whilst my Web Design / Development business would be completely established, having a number of years of experience with small-to-medium businesses in the local area and being the go-to studio for Web Design for any new businesses starting up.
In 10 years time I see myself graduating from the University of Southampton with an MSc Web Science degree whilst also pursuing a PhD in Web Science at the same university. Alongside these continued university studies I see my business as either being sustained by existing clients along with new clients based on word of mouth and referals from existing clients or being terminated for a reason I do not yet know of
In 20 years time I see myself dominating the world 
I know what I want to be doing in 20 years time, but I won’t say because you’re all probably sat their thinking to yourselfs that I should wake up and smell the apples 
I guess we’ll see how far I get. Ambitious? Absolutely. Impossible? Certainly not.
Absolutely :tup:
Andrew Cooper
Great question! I see myself continuing to evolve my business and my skills as I always have been. It might seem rather funny to think that as long as I’ve been working within the tech industry, I still have as much enthusiasm to keep progressing and evolving as I did when I started. But things seem to be levelling out and the hard work has been slowly paying off. I get to work as a freelancer, pick clients I feel I can help, write professionally and that’s all fun. In the future I would like to see myself actively doing more teaching or speaking on the subject of web design as helping here has given me the bug to give the next generation of professionals assistance, but if I can still be here in 10 years consulting, teaching designing, developing and writing I’ll be a happy bunny
I’m not much for turning my business into some sort of monster, I would be happy to have a good selection of regular clients and have enough time to continue my other side projects and work while getting paid enough to sustain a half decent lifestyle. Perhaps I might one day decide I would like to work within another established business to have the experience of working with others as well as succeeding as a freelancer but as things go, I’m happy to have my business as a more subtle and selective brand that just acts as the portal between me and those projects I feel I can really give all my energy too. I’m one of those types who has more projects going than I can count! I prefer being small as it means I can remain diverse and avoid feeling like my job is becoming overly repetitive.
Since my 27th birthday I actually had that thought go round in my head and I do have a business plan (even though it currently looks like I spend all my time either in here or bouncing around random activities). I’m trying to turn my little business into a platform where I can spend less time just building websites which will become obsolete in years to come as stuff evolves and perhaps do something with a more lasting impression. I’ve already got a book under my belt which I’m really happy with (though I’m very self critical about certain things in retrospect - it’s a curse) and I’m having an awesome time doing some freelance writing for some well known web design blogs / e-zines, but who knows what the future may bring. All I know is I’m happy with where I am (currently) and will see where the future may take me!
Neither do I. But sometimes when you work your a$$ off 24/7 and have a couple of nagging clients pestering you, you ask yourself, is that what I want to do for the rest of my life? That’s when the goals need to be redefined.
I meant your cool new MAC envious still hehe - I really do think what you described is idyllic really - I hope I achieve perhaps just a small part of that contentment and peace when I get older if not in the immediate future. I believe it is very important to be realistic, as you say how you view things can be alot more clearer and in turn you create that sense of peace :tup:
That’s quite interesting, it’s not really something I do with everyday life - the reflection part - I guess I’m too busy fussing around and trying to stay on track that I should really take time out and re-evaluate where I am and if I’m still on course :agree: This may perhaps be why I tend to get lost most times down a path that’s heading in the wrong direction 
I miss my telescope, I used to love looking at the Sky it was amazing - I’ll have to get another one 
ps: you forgot driving 
[FONT=“Georgia”]Travel. See more.
Get some telescopes. See more of the sky.
Learn to dive. See more of the sea.
Keep learning and recording.
[/FONT]
My ultimate aim is to become entrepreneur and start a company but before starting a company i should take some experience in the market that is the reason i will work for some company so as to get experiences to run a company and when ever i will get that feel that now i m ready to come up with it i will start on the same day may be its sunday.
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I had a business that I lived off but I’ve closed it because I didn’t like doing it anymore. Talk about capricious! But I did that knowing that I could live a certain period of time with no income. Certainty is key.
That’s very much open to interpretation… What do you want to do with Crazybanana? :eyebrow:
I’m wit crazybanana…I’d like to be free and do what I want… maybe, one day in the future
all i want is to be free and do what i want, and this is where i am now - and this is also my future plan
I believe it’s good to have a goal in life and also to do your best to achieve that goal. I personally find that I get really distracted if I think too much about what I have to do or plan what I have to do right down to a step by step format - it almost gets to a point where it’s that overwhelming at times it depresses the life out of me to think, jeeze I’ve got a very long way to go!
I tend to focus on what’s now and take it from there - that way I can be realistic about how much I can give to acheiving that certain task etc - the goals are far more realistic for me as opposed to some life long ambition!
I guess on the whole though I would be the same as yourself Saul - from a business point of view continue to do well - but I guess develop on that also - we can always do better if we want to that is!
On a personal level I’m lucky enough to have met the man I’ll spend the rest of my life with - so that side of my life is well and truely complete but of course there are many plans on these side of things - funnily enough though, I could talk and plan forever about those and sometimes I do…too much
ps: I think Datura may just have the perfect life
I think to have a successful life you have to be flexible. Set your goals as a broad wrapper with bold strokes and then work on the details from day to day. Take stock along the way and adjust so the boat you are riding is not going to be swamped by the waves but instead is riding the crest. Sometimes you fall over board, but if you use a tether you can climb on again.
In other words, the first thing to be done is pile in enough capital that is only meant for emergencies, never to be touched for wishes of comfort or ease of living, only for dire situations. Once you have that, all of your steps to continue your business are much easier because you have the knowledge of having security behind you. It keeps you independent.
That way you can also follow a dream that might keep knocking on the door. Dreams can be a good thing, but they must be evaluated to stand the test of reality, otherwise they are frivolous and leave you disappointed and drained.
That’s sounds like a plan! Though, I must admit I thought your plan would involve more chocolate and ice cream
i’m semi-retired now, and will fully retire in about 4 years
Close to it I think. A long time ago I eliminated wishes. Unrealistic expectations. I now think only in the parameter of the reachable. I set goals but I am flexible within the goal setting. Life has a way to surprise you and throw a rock into your path. I acknowledge that now and I am not so surprised and upset any longer when something does not go my way.
I also have learned to see opportunities that are real I think, all the offers with big promises attached are mostly empty, so I just toss them aside.
There is also the realization that inner peace does not come from objects but from the satisfaction one derives from doing things that are enjoyable.
One other factor is the aging process: I have excepted it as part of my rich tapestry of life. I am now almost 65 years old and certainly my appearance has changed over time. I will not do anything to change this, to tuck and to pull. I am going through my life the natural way.
I made that decision a long time ago, I threw out superficiality within the same bucket. I concentrate all my life within my mind, there is no deeper joy.
And to start the thread rolling…
I think everyone of us defines our own success. To one person it may be franchising their business and making billions, to another it may simply mean being able to take care of their family. To me it’s all about freedom. So my big picture is all about that.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I don’t want a big business, I don’t want to run a company. I want freedom, not only from working for someone but from my own business too. But the bigger you grow, the bigger the responsibility you have on your shoulders, and all of a sudden your big dream of freedom turns around to bite you.
I don’t want that. Instead my long term goal is to sustain what I have already achieved - the kind of independence I have. By now I know I won’t be a billionaire - I’ve crossed that one off my list of big dreams after I’ve realized what it takes. But one person can still do a lot without having to sell what is the most important to him.
So my long term goal is just to keep doing what I’m doing. Find ways to sustain it. I feel that I’m on the right track and all I have to do is not to forget what I want from life.
It may not seem very challenging but actually keeping the balance is as tough as a challenge gets.
yes, that is some of the things that belongs to freedom
last time i was in town i bought two big huuge bags of cakes. it took me almost 3 days to eat it all
My big picture is to make my company into top one and give it a vast growth for it…
The strongest goal in all of my life was to be free and do what I like to do, at the same time not forcing other people to take care of me and not having other people taking advantage of me or becoming dependent on me.
My goal has been met. I am married to a man who has the same principles as I have, so we ride along on a parallel rail. We are fiercely independent and value the same things. Now, to reach the goal of having what we value took a huge effort and many decisions along the way. The first one was quitting our jobs and going it on our own steam.
That of course brought out the pragmatic warnings of parents and friends, which we ignored. The idea to cling to safety and with that fritter our lives away in jobs we did not like was not what we wanted out of life. So we struggled and chomped at the bit, let our skins grow to a thickness that almost nothing can pierce, we succeeded in living our lives close to what our ideals are. We found the things that are fun to do, at the same time provide a living that suits us.
To grow a business and have it become an entity with employees was always a choice we had to make. We could have grown large but did not want to because we realized early on that it would mean to actually give up the hands on work we both love so much. So we chose to do what can be done on a small scale, that in turn gave us the freedom of working odd hours of the day, in the night, sometimes not for days. It gave us the freedom to have long breakfasts late in the morning, it gave us the freedom to go to places whenever we wanted.
It also gave us the freedom of not worrying about dependent employees in bad times. We can live easily in all sorts of conditions, but as soon as you have people that depend on you the responsibilities for them takes over and with that freedom goes away.
The most important thing to find in life I think is to find what you love to do. The thing that you love doing even if you are sick or tired, that thing you even do without getting payed for. And so my goal for the future is now to go back to painting my canvases and finding my contentment there.
I have never been a chaser of wealth, I live simply and do not need many toys. My satisfaction comes from my work done right, from my life in harmony with my spouse, from inner piece. I set my own standards for myself and how I should live. Outside opinions are not important to me, so there is never the drive to compete with the neighbor.
I am at peace with myself and the choices that I have made
Life long ambitions are achieved through simple every day goals. But you have to have the right goals. I think it’s a good thing to sometimes stop and look at the map to make sure you’re going the right way, otherwise you may end up somewhere else than were you expected to be.
That happened to me. I stopped what I was doing and went back a mile to get on the right track. The further you go the wrong way, the harder it is to come back.
You have a wonderful story, thanks for sharing it I can only hope that when I’m 65 I can come back to this thread and add a similar story. Got a loooong way to go yet