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About Goals
Some key points we would like you to know.
Proper goal setting is almost without question the best tangible tool we
know of for achievement. Human beings are truly goal oriented creatures
and that is why we are taught to have goals. Read any success book or
story and you will find the author talking about goals. Goals are
essential to life. Our parents tell us, our leaders tell us, our
preachers tell us, our teachers tell us. Goals are the fuel of life.
They are our dreams and passions worked out in a tangible form. Consider
Roger Bannister who performed the amazing feat of breaking the 4 minute
mile when medical experts said humans were not capable of running at
those speeds. Henry Ford for producing the supposedly impossible design
of the V-8 engine. Thomas Alva Edison who became the world’s greatest
inventor with only 3 months of formal schooling and said "Genius
is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
as he tried no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the
world for the most suitable filament material to create the light bulb.
Consider the athletes, artists and business persons whose goals are
clear and found the motivation, perseverance and determination to
achieve what they wanted.
Good things happen to those who know exactly what they want.
Achieving goals is not the problem. As goal-oriented creatures we always
reach our goals. The problem is being clear on what it is we want and
what we do in order to get there. Most people never clearly define their
goals so they just end up somewhere. If it doesn’t matter to you where
you end up, the things you acquire or the person you become then you do
not need to set goals. If you are one who desires to be the most you can
be then you must clearly identify your goals and set those which are
most important to you. The purpose of this planner is not to load your
schedule with 100 things to do or to get you so overly focused on one
specific goal that other important things slip by without attention but
to:
- learn and master the art of goal setting.
- clearly identify and prioritize your goals and values.
- set those that are most important.
- learn planning, task and time management.
- create balanced schedules that allow for flexibility and
keep important things first.
Few people really know how to actually write a set of goals that can
keep them balanced, productive and effective in life. The claims are
that only 3-5% actually write goals and plans and everybody seems to
work for them. These are people who understand inspirational goals that
produce vision, mission and power. Everybody else has general goals that
do little but keep one going day in and day out.
General Goals and Motivational or Inspirational
Goals
General goals are what everybody has. These are the kind of goals
people make at New Years, their wish lists, the lists people make like
to lose a few pounds or buy some new furniture, buy a new car or travel
to a new country for a holiday. These are great and we all have them
because we are goal oriented creatures but please don’t mistake the
fact that having these goals in your mind or even written down on paper
is what it means to have "set your goals".
This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make. They have a
couple of lists or a few vague ideas in their head and they think they
have "set their goals". These are just the natural actions or
developments of our unlimited minds, these are our dreams. Please don’t
stop dreaming either. Dream big dreams and keep on dreaming -- just don’t
mistake them for "set goals". If there are no major obstacles
between you and your goals then they are only activities and will not
give you the motivation or life experience I am talking about.
What I really want to talk about are motivational or inspirational
goals. These are the kind of goals that cause men and women to risk
their life, the kind of goals that stretch you beyond your present
abilities, the kind that change you from the inside out. The kind of
goals that keep you up at night, dreaming about them, reaching them,
living them, owning them. More often than not it is one goal, your
primary goal. Your major definite purpose. It is the one you can write a
personal mission statement around. The one that taps into your desire
power, and the one that you develop your strongest passion for and use
your best talents and skills to achieve. It is here that you will find
the meaning and purpose for your life. People of all kinds are seeking
and searching for goals that create purpose, meaning and direction. It
is for this need that I created The Life Goals Planner a tool that helps
you identify all your goals, organizes them and then walks you though a
unique process to prioritize your goals leaving you with a clear look at
what is most important to you. It helps you identify your primary aim,
your A1 goal and form that into a passionate mission for your life.
Michael Gerber is the author of the best selling business books The
E-Myth and The E-Myth Manager in which he communicates the
importance of having a primary aim. He says it is the starting place for
the entrepreneur and the manager he says. "The question every
manager must ask, and then answer is what do I want? It is a life
defining question and one of the first rules for defining your primary
aim. It is my hard belief that without asking this question, then
answering it, no one can be successful at managing anything."
This is precisely what the Life Goals Planner produces -- the main
reason or reasons for your life.
I agree with Gerber on the importance of asking and answering this
question. In fact The Life Goals Planner not only helps you define your
primary aim, create vision and mission but helps you keep balance with
practical applications and processes for getting results. The truth is
how else can you really be effective as a human being, effective with
your time, efficient with your resources, your money or your skills? The
answer is you can’t without having prioritized your goals and values,
and defined your life’s purpose. It won’t make much difference if
you spend time and talent on things that don’t matter that much. Being
busy does not mean that you are being effective. We must not only ask if
we are doing things right but are we doing the right things. Brian Tracy
says that there is no greater waste of time than doing things well that
need not be done at all. This is part of the reason so many climb the
corporate ladder only to find it is leaning on the wrong wall or to wake
up from some loss or tragedy to realize that they are not fulfilled and
wonder what went wrong. Nothing went wrong it was simply that we never
clearly identified where it was that we wanted to end up.
Purchasing The Life Goals Planner is one of the best investments you
will ever make. As you work through these processes you will begin to
understand the power of clarity. It will take some effort though. Do
your best and be as objective as possible. Let go of the attitudes and
beliefs that may have held you back, your cynicism, doubts, fears and
inhibitions. These processes are practical, proven and used by all
high-achieving men and women whether they are aware of it or not. Once
you have completed all the exercises you can decide for yourself whether
you are going to commit to anything here or not. It is your choice and
always has been your choice, and that is why you are where you are. Now
it’s time to have a look at your life from a different angle, have a
look from an ideal picture looking back and see what you see. Believe me
the view will be so compelling you will never look the other way. Don’t
let a little hard work scare you for that is what success always comes
disguised as. The only place success comes before work is in the
dictionary so be ready to put in the effort so you can enjoy the rewards
that will follow. To help you get motivated let’s look at some of the
immediate benefits that properly set goals produce.
The Benefits of Proper Goal Setting
Ÿ Proper goal setting clearly identifies your
targets.
Ÿ It helps you concentrate and focus for high
productivity.
Ÿ It develops discipline, perseverance, persistence
& determination.
Ÿ It promotes, motivation, excitement, and enthusiasm.
Ÿ It helps provide
accountability.
Ÿ It develops passion and
burning desire.
Ÿ It promotes good decision
making.
Ÿ Goals allow you to control
change in your life.
The Benefits of The Life Goals Planner
Ÿ It produces all of the above and more.
Ÿ It prioritizes values and identifies the most
important.
Ÿ It promotes good habits and disciplines.
Ÿ It produces true purpose, meaning and direction.
Ÿ It develops life balance and keeps check as you
grow.
Ÿ It promotes character development.
Ÿ It provides review templates and a perfect little
system to help you keep track and keep on top of your goals
without a lot of time or effort.
Why don’t more people set goals properly? Lets look at what two
well known goal setting trainers have determined and see if any apply to
you. Zig Ziglar in his video "Goals" points out four
reasons why the majority of people don't set goals;
- Fear of what people may think if they didn't reach their
goal. Criticism and ridicule.
- Poor self image.
- They can not see themselves being successful.
- They have never really been sold on the need to set those
goals.
- They just don’t know how.
Brian Tracy’s "Action Strategies for Personal
Achievement" identifies seven reasons why people don’t set
goals;
- They are simply not serious.
- They have not yet accepted responsibility for their
life.
- Guilt. No confidence in themselves to reach a goal so
they don’t set them to avoid the guilt.
- They don’t realize the importance of goal setting.
- They don’t know how.
- Fear of rejection or criticism.
- Fear of failure the greatest obstacle to success.
I have found all of these to be true in the hundreds of men and women
I have worked with in the past several years. The biggest reason being
that people just don’t understand the importance, the power and value
of thinking through and working through a process to achieve their
goals. Another misunderstanding or expression I find very common is
people will say to me; "I know what to do. My problem is that I
do what I want instead of what I should do." This is a critical
mistake in wording and quite possibly an insecurity not just a lack of
discipline. Most don’t really know what to do or how to go about it
and that’s why they are not doing it. The inability to admit not
knowing a key life skill -- especially if it is a foundational life
skill like goal setting can be lethal. In Part 6 we discuss some of the
characteristics of success and failure for you to evaluate and check
within yourself. This is an area where you need to be humble and face
some truths about what you know and don’t really know. One of the main
reasons people fail in life is their inability to admit a mistake or
that they don’t know something. The above thinking is an example of a
common misunderstanding that if you don’t get straight may cost you
more than you want to bear. The truth is the things we want to do are
the things we know will bring us more success in life but we opt out for
the easy things because of one hundred and one reasons. Mostly a lack of
discipline, courage and direction and we misquote it in our mind and say
"I should do this or I should do that but I just want to watch TV
or I just want to take it easy".
This is what I suggest we say "I want to go to the gym" or
"I want to take that work shop" or "I want to read that
book on success" but I am going to take it easy and do .....! Do
see the difference. Most of us want to be happier, we want to be
healthier, we want to be wealthier and we know that it takes discipline,
clear direction and effort. That's what we want but many have fallen
into the trap of saying it backwards. This kind of misrepresenting the
truth to your mind does you no good; in fact it is more likely going to
give you the opposite effect that you desire. Your mind and body want to
pursue the things you want, so if you continually say to yourself the easy
things are what you want and the hard things are only what you
should do then your mind is going to work against you and go for the
easy things. Get the wording right and you will soon find yourself more
motivated to do the things that will bring you the real success you
want.
If you find yourself with one or more of the above reasons for not
having set your goals then I encourage you to rethink your position and
complete these exercises in full to determine yourself the value of
proper goal setting. Do not let your fear, pride or ignorance rob you of
the experiences and joys of properly set goals. Open your heart and mind
and let the magic of your uniqueness, your creativity, your thoughts and
ideas work miracles in your life as you set your life's goals.
"One day Alice came
to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
Which road do I take? she asked. Where do you want to go? was his
response.
I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't
matter"
Lewis Carroll |
