Chapter 4. Have clear goals
A goal without a timeline is just a dream - Robert Herjavec
I used to be told that if you sailed from Southampton to New York and were just one degree out you would end up in South America, thousands of miles from where you intended to be. Life is just like this. If you don’t have a goal, you don’t even have a destination. If you have no destination, you have no chance of enjoying the journey. How can you be proud of what happens in your life if they happened by chance? You need purpose in life and goals to score. You need to be clear with yourself about what you want and be clear about the behaviours and actions to get you there. Keep moving towards success. Progress = Happiness. Our brain does not understand about moving away from something, it is hardwired to move you towards something, your goals, so ensure they are clear and purposeful.
Define what success looks likes, whether it is a 3-month outlook or a life vision. Avoid a midlife crisis through planning ahead. For example, plan what you wish to achieve before the next big birthday arrives, and the big one after that. The world punishes us when we are vague. Without clear defined goals we create poor outcomes, lack direction and poor discipline. “Ok” will become the normal, and the exceptional life you deserve will become a long forgotten idea. It takes a high degree of self-awareness to identify this. Life should be a joyful journey. The challenge is the further you are off course the greater the deviation that is needed to get it back on course. Despite this a well known Chinese proverb states “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” So if you don’t have the correct structure, start today and start building it.
Goals are not there to constrain you, nor undermine your creativity. Think of them like the hard drive on your computer, the operating system. They are an essential piece of equipment, a springboard for your success, the launch pad to achieving your dreams.
What are your goals and how are you going to achieve them? What are the priority areas of your life which deserve clear goals? What time frames are you planning around. What will you be proud to achieve within the next 3 months? Or by end of the year? Or by that landmark birthday date?
