part0005

All successful people are goal oriented people. It is just that simple. I do not mean just monetary success either. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who was happy in life who said they got lucky and it just happened. They may never have taken a step back to appreciate what they had to do to get a life they loved, but they worked hard for it. Goal setting increases the speed with which you get to live a life of fulfillment.

People who have used limitless thinking and set goals with a clear vision of what they wanted are the people we rely on now for everything we have. Think of any invention that was ever created that added quality to our lives. If those inventors hadn’t set goals to do what they did, the world would look a lot different.

Goal setting creates persistence because you know what you really want to accomplish. It has been said that Thomas Edison tried over 10,000 times to invent the light bulb; now that is desire and persistence at its best. You do not have to set goals that change the world, just goals that will change your world.

No one can force you to take full advantage of your potential. People with goals make their own future, and people without goals live the future others give them. I once heard a quote that said something like “people who do not set goals will be used by the people who do.” This was not meant in a negative way, simply stating the obvious fact if you want to earn money and don’t want to own the business, you will be working for the person who does.

You are designed to be doing what you love to do each day. If you live your life fulfilling your purpose and doing what you would do even if you didn’t get paid, you experience the type of happiness so many people strive for. We buy and try so many different programs, courses, books, etc., that we hope will give us the secret to happiness in life but end up disappointed. The secret to happiness lies within us, and is simply being who you truly are every day and doing what you love to do every day. Once you figure out what that is of course.

I don’t care if that means you are working for others, volunteering your time, living in a shack or a mansion, the swamp or the mountains, or whatever the case. I want the best for you as a coach, but that “best” can only be defined by you. If you believe you are your best, but you complain about the things you have or don’t have in life, then you are not living a life you love. I know that is easy to say but if you don’t like the money you make, the partner you chose, the career you have or anything else, change it. Set some goals, commit and persist and see where it takes you.

You work towards goals to provide direction in life. I do not believe you simply want to exist in life but that you want to go somewhere. Goals provide clarity in what can be a very intimidating and confusing world. Everything changes so fast that you can end up spending most of your time chasing your dreams vs. living them.

Setting goals allows you to stop looking for all those “golden opportunities” that usually turn out to be a disappointment, allowing you to create your own opportunities. When you have clearly defined goals, you strategically assess opportunities and choose the ones that best suit your goals. Desperate goalless people make choices that do nothing for them, or worse, cause them emotional and physical harm.

You may have found that you are reluctant to set goals and resist starting even at the encouragement of others or this book. Some of the reasons may be:

● You don’t believe goals can make a difference in your future

● You don’t believe you have the time to do the work needed

● You don’t take seriously the fact you have to create your own life

● You don’t know how or where to start to set goals

● You don’t believe you deserve happiness

● You have had poor results following goal setting exercises before

● You are by your definition content with life but still feel unhappy

There could be any number of reasons you have chosen to not set goals up until this point. I hope what you learn in this book will inspire you change your mindset towards goals and design the life you want.

“Change your thinking and you’ll change your world.” – Norman Peale

Write down whether or not you believe setting goals will make a difference in your life? If yes, why? If no, why not? What is holding you back from trying again or for the first time?