If you’re waiting for someone to make the world just right for you so you can succeed, you’re on the road to nowhere. Before you go down that path, remember this: No one ever got any recognition for climbing up half a mountain. Either aim for the top beginning with a positive attitude, or get out of the way and let someone else through who does have his or her sights set on conquest. If you want to lock up every opportunity that life presents to you, here’s my advice: get your heart, your body, and your mind focused on the goal. Block everything else out. And if its personal goals we’re talking about achieving, even more so.
We all know how important and satisfying it is to achieve the goals we set out to accomplish in life. I spent an entire career in retail sales setting and breaking my own records. I achieved what I did because I never took anything for granted, even after I became number one in the world. I locked up my opportunities because my mindset remained unchanged from the very first sale I ever made. I remember it well. That customer sitting across from me that day was not a man in a brown suit. He was that “bag of groceries” I desperately needed to feed my family. I was “hungry” during my 15 years of selling. And I remained “hungry” until I closed the last of my 13,001 sales. If there was one thing I WAS NOT, it was complacent—not a day in my life after that first sale.
Setting goals is an important step as you head for the top. In your overall game plan, break this step down into a number of smaller steps. It doesn’t matter what your business is—or your profession, or your job, or whatever the top is you’re going for; the principles and strategies for setting goals and achieving them are the same. Whatever goal you set for yourself, you must consider it from a number of angles. Write your goals down then ask yourself these eight questions:
1. Have I clearly defined my goal? Have I spelled it out?
2. Is it a minor or a major goal? How important is it?
3. Is my goal a long range one, a short range one, or both?
4. Is it a realistic goal? Or is it wishful thinking?
5. Is it an achievable goal for me? Am I up to it?
6. As I strive to reach the goal, can I measure my progress so I can know if I’m winning?
7. Is my goal flexible so it can change when my needs change?
8. What sacrifices are required in time, energy and money?
Work through the eight questions to arrive at meaningful answers. You may come to the conclusion that a goal you set is a realistic one for you, attainable within either long or short term limits, and decide to go for it. Other times you may realize that the goal which at first seemed worthwhile is not, so set your sights on a different goal. Set objectives: Break your main goal into smaller ones then attain one objective before moving on to the next. Get Real: Goals that are unrealistic, far out, or wishful thinking are hard—if not impossible to achieve. The Step-at-a-time principle—small objectives along the way to the top, holds true for whatever major goal you desire in life!