More than Just Goal Setting

Goal setting is an interesting topic.  When I was younger, and you see it all the time in these free seminars with younger folks, goals are usually a static thing that you're encouraged to write down, and then want - and there are lots of ways to do this.  For instance, the SMART methodology:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Realistic
T - Time Based

Which can basically translate into: Increase my yearly income from $50,000 to $100,000 in the next 5 years.

Which fits all the criteria.  It's specific ($50k to $100k), measurable (there is that $100k number you want to hit), achievable and realistic (lots of people make $100k per year, in lots of ways), and time-based (within 5 years).

So.  Now what?  You've got a goal.  That's great.  And there is value in setting goals that you have no idea how you are going to accomplish.  So you end up with a room of people with a great list of 20, 30, 50 goals, spread across 1, 5, 10, 20 years, of how they want their life to look.

A beautiful picture.  Again - so now what?

How do you take your first steps to living that beautiful life.  You might believe in the power of the universe - throwing out what you want and getting it back.  Or you might believe in nothing but hard work - them that does, gets.  In any case - if you're reading this, you're interested in taking the next step.

And that's the secret.  Take the next step.  Choose an action and take it.  If it's right, you're closer to your goal.  If it's wrong, you've learned a lesson, and the next step will more likely be right.  You can't live life without making mistakes - the worst thing to do is nothing.

“I’ve made many mistakes, but I’ve learned from them.”
― Auliq Ice

So decide.  Go.  Do.  Take one small action right now that moves you closer to your goal.  5AK!

It's up to you....

Rough Morning

I had an early morning appointment today.  Across the city.  Which means getting up earlier than normal.

I had also been working on some business opportunities late last night, so I was up later than expected.

I've had a bad cold for about a week now, and back spasms for the same amount of time from moving literally a ton of bricks.

I'm exhausted, in considerable pain, congested and really kind of gross.

So the day could have been a write-off.

You Decide

But, fortunately, you get to choose your attitude.  You get to choose how you feel about your day.  You get to choose what your life is like.

So choose happy.  Choose to enjoy life.  Choose to look at things in a positive light.

Have a great day.  I'm going to.

What is that one thing you need to get done today?

Life can be a struggle at times.  Everyone has things that they have to deal with - a personal illness, job loss, credit or debt problems, a sick family member.  Life can be overwhelming, and beat you down, and make you feel like you're not going to go anywhere, at any time.

It doesn't have to be a tragedy or bad situation that has you stuck either.  Your life can seem to be going well, but you're just stuck in neutral, and not making the progress that you want.

Everybody has goals.  If you don't have them written down, you're missing something, but you've got goals - short, medium, and long term.

Some goals are financial, or personal, and are about moving you forward:

• Get a new job
• Buy a nice car
• Get a bigger house
• Start your own business

Some goals are more about just making it through the day

• Make it to work on time
• Visit a sick parent
• Get out of bed

So what's your goal for today?

The problem with a lot of goals is that we have no idea on where to start.  Life can be a mountain of not enough time, and too much pain, and it's hard to climb that mountain every day.  You can feel overwhelmed.  So you don't do anything.  And you don't get anywhere, and you don't make progress, and the mountain never moves.

So move the mountain.

The phrase we hear all the time is "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time".  Same thing with goals.  How do you move your mountain?  One thing at a time.

So right now, I want you to pick your goal for the day.  And it doesn't have to be big - it just has to get you moving.  If your goal is to get the basement organized, make today's goal to fill one garbage bag, or to haul 5 things up to the garbage, or to clean 10 sq ft.  And then go do it.  It's a little thing, but it gets you started.

Want to learn to code?  Today make sure you read two websites and do 2 tutorials.

Want to get a college education?  Today pick two colleges and find out what they need to admit someone in your particular situation.  That will give you your next goals.

Then the key thing is, go do it again tomorrow.  And the next day.  And the next day.  And don't stop.  Do little things that get you towards your goals every day.  Five years from now you're going to be five years older.  Are you going to have moved towards what you really want in life?

So pick something right now, then go do it, today.

5AK!

Motivational Speakers

I have to admit - motivational speakers are awesome.

Sure, their effect only lasts for a couple of days, and you need to drive yourself forward after, but their specialty is to make you look at things in a slightly different way.

I had the chance to see Spencer West speak yesterday (Twitter: @spencer2thewest) and he was fantastic.  A man who had both legs amputated just below the pelvis when he was 5, he will soon be climbing Mt Kilimanjaro with 2 friends.

Check out http://www.freethechildren.com/redefinepossible/

Right now, you probably need a boost.  Everyone does.  Go do something, listen to something, or decide something that will change the way you look at things.  You'll be better off for it.

And 5AK!

Concentration

Think on the value of concentration. I've read recently that senior execs rarely multitask. They focus all their energy on the task at hand and complete it quickly. That's probably too broad a statement to be true, but it makes you think about concentration. So I've had the discussion with a friend (and fellow 5AK follower) and he set me on to this:

http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/concentration_quotes.html

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent.

- Isaac Newton

To do two things at once is to do neither.

- Publilius Syrus

A bird can roost but on one branch. A mouse can drink no more than its fill from a river.

- Chinese proverb

Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.

- Plato

The first law of success ... is concentration: to bend all the energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor the left.

- William Matthews

The immature mind hops from one thing to another; the mature mind seeks to follow through.

- Harry A. Overstreet

The difference in men does not lie in the size of their hands, nor in the perfection of their bodies, but in this one sublime ability of concentration: to throw the weight with the blow, to live an eternity in an hour.

- Elbert Hubbard

There is time enough for everything in the course of the day if you do but one thing at once; but there is not time enough in the year if you will do two things at a time.

- Lord Chesterfield

Concentrate on finding your goal, then concentrate on reaching it.

- Colonel Michael Friedman

When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.

- Samuel Johnson


So think on concentration.  Concentrate on it!  And go forth and 5AK!

Towel Day!

It's towel day! For all you geeks, former geeks, or just plain lovers of the works of the late Douglas Adams:

http://www.towelday.org/

Grab your towel, and hang on for dear life.

5AK!