5 Secrets to Achieving Your Goals with Passion
Some faces scrunch up as if to say, "I wish you had not asked
that!" Others look contemplative, as if saying, "Oh, I am so
grateful you reminded me of that question, now I can take some
powerful action!" And then there are the few who answer with
confidence, knowing exactly what they are meant to do by when
and how.
What is the question?
"What are your goals for the next "Insert the period of time
here."?
Sometimes the exact phrase is changed. Some people who may look
at "Goals" in different ways. For them, the question might be,
"What is your vision?" or "What is your intention?"
Nonetheless, the root question is the same. "What do you want to
grow towards? Where is the gap in your life you currently want
to fill?"
Until this question is answered, aimlessness is what governs
your life.
Forever etched in my mind was the first session with Ray. He
told me before we got started that he was trying this out much
like he would go to the parade to see the Emperor in his new
clothes. He was not convinced there was anything to coaching,
but since he was curious, he wanted to work with me as he
created his newest product.
At the conclusion of the session, I always give fieldwork
assignments, as the session itself is what I refer to as "Locker
Room Talk". The game is played out on the field, and the Coach
remains on the sidelines. Fieldwork is sort of like the Play
book: it brings to life on the field what the Coach has taught
in the locker room and during practice. It integrates the
lessons into the player's lives.
One of the assignments included continued work to make his
vision crystal clear, to take the cobwebs away, to get inside
them with a microscope so nothing would get in the way of
creating powerfully.
Ray groaned, as if in pain. "Oh, you have hit one there. I know
how goals work. I know writing it down works. I know how
important this is. AND I have been ignoring it."
Later that week, I received an email thanking me for pushing
him. In the next six weeks he achieved more than he had achieved
in in the previous six months. And it all started with a
discussion of goals followed by taking action on those goals.
Step by step by step.
Below is an outline so you may achieve your goals passionately,
just as Ray did.
Goal Secret #1-Paint a PICTURE. Don't just write your goals in
words, craft your goals so you can see and experience the end
result. Paint a glorious, three dimensional multi sensory goal
instead of a one dimensional, flat goal. When you can clearly
see and experience it, you can more easily create it. One way to
make a picture is through creating a dream board. Simply cut out
pictures from magazines that illustrate aspects of your goal and
make a collage. Hang the Dream Board where you can see it
frequently. Your picture will quickly and artfully come to
reality.
Secret #2-POSITIVE framing of your goal by crafting your goal
using a positive perspective rather than a negative perspective.
In your goal, you will want to be growing towards something
instead of avoiding something. Using positive language attracts
positive situations and people into your life. Avoiding stuff
brings more stuff to avoid.
Secret #3- Have PASSION for your desired result. Lets face it,
you will have more interest in reaching your goals if they are
something you are passionate about. If you are living your life
based upon someone else's dreams or someone else's passion, what
do you suppose will happen? Very little of significance-so
choose passion!
Secret #4-PRECISION in crafting your goal is critically
important in achieving it. On the same point, it is also
important to not be totally attached to achieving it exactly as
you first created it. I refer to this quality as "Passionate
Detachment". This means your vision is crucially important to
you, this particular project and its particular result are
simply a piece of it, they are NOT the entire vision and they
are NOT you personified. With PRECISION, write your goals such
as this: "My intention is to have X number of new accounts by Y
date using the following tools 1, 2, and 3". If you just say "I
want to have lots of accounts" well, thats interesting. Just
doesn't mean anything, so it is unlikely you will get to where
you want to be very quickly.
Secret #5-POLISH your goal as you grow towards it. One of my
favorite examples of polishing goals is Oprah Winfrey, whose goa
was to be a Network News Anchor. She never became one,
obviously. She did, however, become an American icon, positively
effecting millions of people every weekday. She polished her
goal, making modifications as her life changed. She loved
herself and her vision enough to not be overly rigid.
Cecil B. DeMille, American Film Producer and Director said, "The
person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his
goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication."
Being dedicated to your vision and allowing yourself room to
create it will bring you to higher heights than you could ever
imagine.
Want to be the next Oprah (or whomever you admire)? Polish your
goals with passionate precision. Picture yourself already there
from a positive perspective. Live Passionately, today.