Key distinction: What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as who you become by achieving your goals.
Goals Are My Primary Source of Motivation.
My existence is goal driven.
Does motivation exist without a goal?
3 key drivers of motivation:
A clear and compelling goal or outcome
A path or process you believe will lead to the attainment of that goal
A belief that you execute and succeed And then it hit me... My key to happiness is taking action towards significant goals. Even small steps in the direction of my ultimate goals, give my life has purpose. A life with purpose has more meaning. Thus, goals give life meaning and give purpose to the actions I take. As long as we have a meaningful goal, there are no unjustified actions. Writing, mediation, and yoga allow me to step back and reflect on what's important, where I am making an impact, on how my life is unfolding. Often times I don't like what I see.
In looking back at a time in my life when I seemed to achieve a great deal, I see that I dedicated a page to summarize my goal in this format:
Goal Title (written in the tense of already completing the goal).
A strong why statement - to remind myself of why to goal is important.
An aggressive but realistic deadline.
Checkpoints (dates) - these are 15 mins 'check ins' that are on my calendar where I check my progress to see if I'm on track. I know that if I'm not achieving my mini milestones, the end goal is not going to be accomplished.
Tasks - the action steps! Way back in 2000, I see clearly now that it was the goals with the strongest why statement that I accomplished. When I take time to reflect, it allows me to recalibrate and realign. It's also revealing to see how reality aligns with my plans. I can see that sometimes reality smacks me with something outside of my control which impacted my ability to accomplish my goals. An example is when I was working at IBM in 2004 and was assigned a new boss. He wasn't a good manager and I remember how out of balance my life quickly became as a struggled to fit myself into a new position. Ultimately, the position was not for me. It required that I sacrifice my value (telling the truth) and play a game of politics (which I never appreciated). As the stress of my job went through the roof, the rest of my life began to crumble and there was literally no time for anything else. When you take a job, you are making a commitment to work toward the goals of others. If they align to your own goals, you'll do well. But if they don't, you'll suffer and resent those you work for. If the goal is simply a paycheck, you'll lose steam.
Sidebar: In 2005, I wanted to become a better ukulele player. I signed up to teach at class. It worked! Why? There was a class that was scheduled. It was a deadline (point in time) when others would hold me accountable. My focus seems to be more on what I don't want rather than what I do. I have a tendency to dream big dreams. Impossible dreams? Perhaps the passage of time has made me a bit more resentful towards myself in old age. I haven't achieved as much, but I haven't wanted as much either. Isn't achievement subjective anyway?
SMARTY
When you set a goal (or when someone delegates something to you), use this structure to get all the information you need quickly:
I am grateful to live at a slower pace that allows me to recognize the little things, appreciate life, and have gratitude for the entire process. Planning is part of the process. The process of moving towards resolution of the incomplete is what relieves tension and brings me peace. Planning the steps (writing them down) is the first step, but taking action is ultimately what provides relief, not the planning itself. But without a plan, our actions are often less intentional. Setting goals is easy. It's the work that stops most of us.
Until a goal becomes a project, it's just an idea. Turn your goals into projects and turn them into reality!
Instead of telling yourself you can't take one more step, tell yourself you can: I can run another step. I can write another word. I can last another hour. I can save another $500.
The only failure is giving up. We either succeed or get stronger. Use your past as fuel to strengthen your mindset as you go into the experience next time more prepared.
I know that from person experience, our beliefs are to a large extent, determined by those we surround ourself with. You are more likely to reach a goal when you are others who've been there/done that. This was my experience in completing an Ironman).
Be careful what you sign up for. Your self-worth will be heavily impacted by the goals you set for yourself. When you publicly declare your goals, you won't have to beat yourself up - others will do that for you. Actually, the upside of creating a page on PubWriter for each goal is that you tap into the collective wisdom (and encouragement) of the crowd. The most exciting goals are ones with outcomes that have an impact beyond yourself. When the significance of achieving the goal extends beyond yourself, you'll find more people willing to support you. It's all about picking goals that serve a purpose greater than yourself.
Here's the value in doing a daily clearing. 5 Ss of Clearing:
Delegation is the same as doing the work, when others become an extension of yourself. They become part of the program to completing the task. In fact, the more you delegate, the more you can do.
4. Revisit the goal and assess where you are in the process
When we measure what matters, what we measure matters more. Focus on the metric! Often I lose sight of the goal once I leave the plan. My desire create tension! A hum begins in my subconscious.
Utilization
How's your programs' utilization? Can it be improved? You must first activate a resource before you can utilize it. Once a resource is activated, monitor it's effectiveness. What's an ideal utilization? 20%? 80%? If you want to earn $100k/year, but only work 40 hours/week and have 1 month of vacation, how much do you need to earn on an hourly basis? If you work 40 hours week, 48 weeks/year, you work 1,920 hours/year. An hourly rate of $53/hour would net you just slightly over $100k for 1,920 hours. The value of someone who earns $1 mil/year is approximately $530/hour. Now, factor in reality. Since we are not machines, we are never fully utilized. But more than anything else, our failure to earn more is a direct correlation to our ability to focus on the work that will generate the income we desire. There's never a one-to-one ratio. A common thread I see with my most successful clients is with a strong work ethic. The work allows them to level up. You can't go from earning $25/hour to earning $500/hour over night. There are many levels to complete between here and there. If you earn $25/hour, how can you invest that $25 to generate a return? If you spend it, you earn a negative return. If you save it, you gain a 0% return. If you invest it well, you can earn a return. Invest the profits back into the investment and reap the reward of compound interest. Earn more so you can experience more. I have long held a resentment of people driven by money. I don't trust them. I don't care for their efforts to exploit something for personal gain. However, for a wealth program to run successfully, this is a bug in the program. Perhaps it's more about HOW the income it's generated. I want to deliver a good value.
Example
1920 hours/year is the condition I am setting. It's the number of hours I am willing to put into the task of earning a $100k. On a daily basis, how much time do I actually spend on income generating work? How much time is allocated for Yoga, meals, errands, reading, walking, and socializing? It's less than 8 hours day. The reality is more like 4-5 hours/day. Under these conditions, I need to earn closer to $100/hour. If I can't earn $100/hour, then I need to invest my time into projects that will yield $100/hour in the future. I need to plant seeds of wealth. The employee mindset is one of trading time for money. Are you paid for the time you put in or the results you deliver? Someone earning a million dollars/year doesn't earn $500/hour. They generate $2,739/day from the programs they run. If I want to turn my knowledge into income, I need a trigger for income. I want allocate to teach Ukulele 2,500 x $25 My income goal is to generate $25 annually from 2500 people. I know that I need to continually produce valuable content to attract new subscribers and keep existing subscribers on board. Seek a return that exceeds your investment. Is the unimportant taking priority over the important because it's easy to do?
Identify Bottlenecks
Bottlenecks are defined as any resource whose capacity is equal to or less than the demand placed upon it. Some bottlenecks are simply a reality and must be evaluated to determine if they help or hinder overall system throughput. We are only as fast as our slowest bottleneck. Related: Cornerstone Habits
Fear of the unknown
Improvement follows change. Change is uncertain and we often fear the unknown. Fear is manifested by inaction. "We venture from what is safe and known into what is unknown, a move that most people are afraid to make." It hardwired into the human program to seek out control, predictability and certainty. Consider that your desire to avoid the uncertainty has been a bottleneck and prevented you from leveling up.
Define the metrics that matter
The 80/20 rule returns. A small number of constraints (likley 20%) is limiting overall performance. What constraints, if eliminated would allow you to break through to the next level? Don't focus all of your energy on the improvements themselves but rather on the process of improvement.
What's the goal?
We can optimize ourselves to run the programs needed when we know the conditions to meet. Unproductive activity is what fills the time we give a task when we give the task more time than it needs. <I love the quote from Brad Sugars... it's in my book - find it!> Ask your program:
What are am I self-limiting myself (what are the unnecessary constraints, bottlenecks, and hurdles I must overcome?
Where am I failing to leverage my unique genius?
What cornerstone habits can you turn on now?
Result Purpose Massive Action Plan
Every goal is a sequence of well-orchestrated strategic plans connecting achievable action steps to be accomplished over a period of time. And there we have the crux of the problem. Time can be either friend or foe. It can propel us, or it can slip through our fingers like sand. We are indeed masters of our time, free to fritter it away, or wisely harness it for career success. There are 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 4.3 weeks in one month, 13 weeks in a fiscal quarter, and 52 weeks in a year. There's plenty of time to achieve our goals, but only if we are being strategic with our time, choices, and efforts. As soon as we commit to a goal, the countdown to completion begins. To own your goals is to manage your time. My grandmother used to say, "manage your time, your work, and yourself, and success will take care of itself." Time management is a powerful strategy to generate positive momentum. The truth is that novelty always wears off. Once the really hard work starts, the excitement tends to fade. As with starting a new job, when pursuing a new goal, there's a honeymoon period full of hope and anticipation. In the beginning, everything seems possible and thrilling. Whether it's a month, three, or six months in, inertia raises its ugly head, making it hard to keep on track. This is when we need to dig deeper into our commitment to reach our highest potential.