SWOT Analysis and Setting Attainable Goals
Now it’s time a for a little business lesson. The next step in a self-analysis is conducting a
SWOT Analysis. That may sound like a big, scary corporate exercise complete with suits
and briefcases. Actually, it’s nothing more than an honest appraisal of your strengths and
weaknesses, along with opportunities that may help you and threats to your success. Typi-
cally, strengths and weaknesses are internal (you), while threats and opportunities are ex-
ternal (them).
For example, let’s say you are one of those people gifted with perfect or relative
pitch. If you hear it, you can play it. That’s a definite strength. Some say it’s a curse,
though, because the world is apparently out of tune. On the flip side, maybe you’re lousy
at improvisation. That could be a weakness, especially if you’re into jazz. An opportunity
might be bumping into a ridiculously wealthy guy who’s into music and looking to invest
in a band. If you’re a lead guitarist, and they’re a dime a dozen in your area ... and good ...
that would be a threat. You get the idea.
After you’ve firmly established what success means to you and where your strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats lie, it’s time to start putting some goals and objec-
tives together. Goals are broad-based intentions. They’re the big picture. Objectives, on
the other hand, are more specific and measurable. The trick with goals is making them at-
tainable. When people make goals that are too lofty, they set themselves up for failure
from the beginning, become disappointed and give up. For example, if you’re just starting