Episode 63: Digging into Goals

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

― Epictetus

When I graduated college and began my first job, my manager loaned a copy of a Brian Tracy seminar to me. One thing he said that stuck out to me was that fewer than 3% of adults have clear written goals for their lives, but those who did often accomplished great things. I was determined to be in that 3% and I must say that doing so has made a tremendous impact on my life.

Here are some things I learned on my journey that I’d like to add to why clear written goals are important:

• If you have clear goals you can model them

• You can look at all your goals, time, and resources to see if they are compatible and realistic

• You can prioritize your actions (sometimes we need to live out of balance to work through big goals)

• Weigh benefit of one vs another

• Build a specific action plan

• Discover what you need to learn or where you need help

• Weigh the cost of achieving

• Look at possible risks or obstacles

Last, really ask yourself why you want something. Or, better yet, ask what outcome you are seeking. For example, if you want enough money to by a place in San Diego because it has beautiful weather near the beach, are there other places like that in the world where you could accomplish this for a fraction of the cost in terms of time, money, and ultimately life? (Learn more about Kathleen Evans’ journey to do just that on Episode 44, From Corporate Grind to Pura Vida!)

Listen now to to dive more deeply into all of this!