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.