GO GET IT!
GO GET IT!
Your Guide to Finding Purpose, Setting Goals and Maintaining Success
Excerpted from the book, “GO GET IT”
Three Ways – One Clear Path
People who want to be, do, or have something generally fall into three groups.
Group One – 85%
There are those who make no plans and set no goals. It’s not that they don’t have a list of wants in their life, but they tend to be dependent on outside resources beyond their control, like winning the lottery. 85% of the people you meet fall into this category. They have no specific goals that they’re focused on achieving. They work day by day, maybe weekend to weekend, with little thought of cause and effect or the role their action or inaction plays in their life.
Group Two – 10%
The next group of people is different. They have goals. The level of specificity may vary from person to person, but ask them what their goal is, and they can tell you. It might sound more like a wish to some, but these people know what they want. They’re capable of achieving their goal, but they get bouts of insecurity and feelings of doubt. 10% of the people you meet are in this group.
Group Three – 5%
The final group also has goals; you’ll notice they are far more specific when describing them. Even if they sound far-fetched, something about their confidence and self-assuredness tells you it’s not an idle dream of theirs. It’s a worthwhile, great goal, and there’s probably no stopping them. They have a secret weapon. Not only do they physically write down their goals, something 95% of the people you know don’t do, but they also make plans toward accomplishing their goals. A plan needn’t be more elaborate than a series of tasks and a deadline to meet each task. People with great goals achieve the important things they set out to achieve because they do the work it takes.
You’re probably in Group Two. People in Group One wouldn’t have read this far into the guide. People from Group Three reading this are doing so because they are devoted to continual improvement.
Do the work to move from Group Two to Group Three. Your success depends on it. Start by creating a Great Goal Statement.
Culling Your Wishes for a Great Goal Statement
People still confuse a list of wishes with goals. Goals should give you vision and direction so you can create an actionable plan toward achieving them. Some believe that the number one reason people don’t achieve their goals is because they have so many. It’s more likely that they have too many competing priorities clamoring for the A1 slot.
This exercise will help you identify the one motivating goal that is burning inside of you. Think of it as your Great Goal Statement. Everyone should have a Great Goal Statement, one that takes precedence over all others. If you work on multiple Great Goals Statements, you risk diluting your efforts and weakening your chance at success.
Follow these five steps to help focus your thinking.
Step 1 – Answer These Questions:
If I won one million dollars tomorrow, what would I do?
If I could change one thing about my body, what would it be?
Who do I wish to be, and why?
What skill do I wish I had learned as a child?
Where do I see my career in three or five years?
Step 2 – Pick One
Choose the one answer from the above questions that provoked the greatest reaction in you. That’s your foundational goal. Reflect on it and determine what part of it you believe you can accomplish in less than a year.
Step 3 – Pick a Time Frame
Determine how long it will take to accomplish this goal: one week, one month, six months, one year.
Step 4 – Determine the Cost
What will it cost you to achieve this goal in either time, talent (effort), or treasure (money)?
Step 5 – Fill in the Blanks
“I resolve to (answer from step 2) in (answer from step 3) by (answer from step 4).
Refine your statement in a way that speaks more clearly to you. Write it on an index card, fold it over, and bring it with you everywhere you go. Read it as often as possible; certainly, at least twice a day, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Create A Great Goal
How are you going to make sure you achieve your Great Goal Statement? First, you need to want it badly. If it’s not motivating to you, how fun do you think it will be to achieve? If you’re working on a goal that’s not fun, you should stop. Life is too short. Look at your Great Goal Statement. What is it you want to do or have? Avoid mediocrity. Here’s how to make it a S.M.M.A.R.T.+ goal.
S – Make it specific. Broad goals decay quickly. Vague goals get vague results.
M – Make it motivating and measurable. You won’t achieve your goal with one grand action. It will take several little actions. It’s those little actions that you’ll want to measure. A little now leads to a lot over time.
A – Make it attainable. Americans are an optimistic lot and think that anything they want is attainable. Because of this mindset, they nearly always get what they want. Stretch yourself like a rubber band – but don’t overextend, or you’ll snap.
R – Make it realistic. This has a direct correlation to your motivation. If you’re not realistic about your current skills, the resources you have, and what additional things you’ll need to reach your goal, you’re destined for some disappointment.
T – Make it timely. Getting squishy with time commitments will serve no one. Time is a silent accountability partner. It steadily ticks along, whether you’re ready or not.
BONUS TIP:
Make your goal positive in nature and phrase it in a way that causes the creation of something. Think about it; a goal to lose ten pounds sounds silly. Who makes it a goal to lose something? A goal is about scoring points. Get enough successful goals, and you have a winning streak. It’d be better to be specific about the realistic and attainable weight you want to be on the date you think you can achieve that weight. Soon, you’ll be creating a brand new you!
ANOTHER BONUS TIP:
Having a goal to stop doing something will be less successful than a goal of starting to do something that is more important to you. Eventually, the more important goal will replace the less important one.
How Much and By When?
Achieving goals is not necessarily easy. In fact, it’s often easier not to achieve them. That’s why so many don’t. It’s easy to stay with the status quo. Sometimes, it’s even easier to go back to the way things were. That’s not progress.
Aren’t you tired of being stymied after a long meeting that didn’t produce any action? Have you ever received instructions from your manager or even a customer that weren’t clear? There are two questions that will help. How Much? By When? There are other elements to effective goal setting; however, these two questions cut through much of the clutter.
“How Much?”
This is your volume measurement. It can be anything: dollars, units, customers, votes, or legislation.
“By When?”
This gives you a timeframe: a day, week, month, or year.
Put the two questions together, and you have an immediate basis for accountability. It’s hard for some people to answer those questions. They want wiggle room. They don’t want accountability.
Few like accountability, yet most thrive when it’s there. You’re at your best when you’re accountable to yourself, your family, customer or constituents, and ultimately a higher calling. Accountability creates movement. How much and by when is a catalyst to get things moving. Get in the habit of asking those questions and providing the answers to important projects.
Predicting the future is hard, so sometimes your answers will be off. Maybe your ‘how much’ was too much or too little. Your ‘by when,’ too near or too far. It’s okay. Revise your answer and keep going. You can achieve more if you can hold yourself accountable to those two progress-inducing questions.
As an exercise, listen when your favorite or least favorite politician speaks and see how often they offer answers to those questions. It will give you an insight into the breadth of their vision. If they have no vision, they don’t know where they’re taking you. Don’t follow them.
Ask, How Much and By When at least once a day for a week.
Find “GO GET IT!” on Amazon or shop for it and similar leadership books from Karl Bimshas on KarlBimshas.com
