I admire people who like to “raise the bar” a little when it comes to setting goals. Those are my kind of people. You’d be smart to get into the habit of always setting a target that makes you “reach” a little bit higher. That way you won’t be disappointed if you fall a little bit short. That’s the way to stay centered on your personal growth and development. Organize a plan of action that keeps you focused on winning. Anyone can achieve modest goals. That’s why modest goals always yield modest rewards. Will you be satisfied with that? I was never happy with that.
RAISING THE BAR ON EXPECTATIONS, WILL INCREASE YOUR LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT!
I never set a modest goal for my life in my life! I always wanted to be the very best I could be, and I organized my efforts to achieve that. And it worked! I hope you share this view too! Yes, I started out with more attainable short-term goals, but they all added up to what I really had my sights set on-becoming the very best I could be in my chosen field! Once I became the world’s number-one salesperson, the only person left for me to challenge was, well myself. And I did that too. Most of the records I ever broke were my own. I was never content with staying in the same place. I would reorganize my efforts using every tool I could get my hands on to achieve new goals.
One of the most important aspects of your organizing plan is how you prioritize the to-do list in your planner. Your priorities may differ from mine because of the business you’re in. Even so, make sure you get your priorities straight. What does the company expect of you? Where does what you do fit in? As you know, I was in the business of selling cars and trucks. My approach was actually quite simple. If a task had anything to do with losing or gaining a customer, it was a priority—plain and simple. Nothing got in the way of that. A customer centered focus—that’s how I would prioritize my day and everything in my planner.
If there were other meetings or things I had to do, they were slotted around those customer priorities. Sometimes there were conflicts I couldn’t do anything about. But my customer priority mindset made everything else take a backseat whenever possible. That’s the way I operated. I didn’t have to be told what was important. I already knew that. And my customers knew I knew they were numero uno! That’s what counted!
The higher you “raise the bar” on your expectations, the more you must be tuned in to an effective plan of action. Once the bar is raised, not having an organized plan is a little bit like running out of gas before you even start the race. It is critical that you keep your train of thought focused on the task at hand and not drift into unnecessary distractions because you’re not ready to go. If you are properly organized, you’ll stay the course and get the job done. Train your mind on what you have to do and nothing else!
Photo Credit- Differentiated Learning
