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Goal Setting:
In the 1920's, he began selling paper cups and playing
the piano to support his family. He worked hard, and
he did well. In fact, he became one of the top sales
people for the Lily Tulip Cup Company after 17 years of
hard work.
But then he set a goal, and he did REALLY well! He set
the goal of going into the milkshake machine business,
selling machines that could mix 48 shakes at once,
selling machines that would revolutionize the world
and his life.
He convinced two brothers who owned a small restaurant
to buy his machines. In fact, he went into business
with them, until some time later, Ray Kroc bought out
the brothers.
Ray decided to keep the brothers' name on the restaurant,
however. "McDonald's" had a nice ring to it.
Indeed, it did. During the next 20 years, Ray turned
McDonald's into a multi-billion dollar empire. He
achieved in 20 years what it took IBM 46 years to do
and Xerox 63 years.
Ray Kroc was successful, but he did not become wildly
successful until he set a specific goal. The same is
true for you. There's tremendous power in setting
specific goals.
Unfortunately, three problems get in the way. The
first one is lack of awareness. Most people don't
think much about "setting" goals. They just think
about going to work and doing their jobs.
That's okay--to a point. If you know how to do
something, you may always have a job. But if you
set a goal, if you know where you want to go, you
have a much better chance of becoming wildly
successful.
The second problem is lack of understanding. Most
people confuse goal setting and discipline. They're
not the same. Discipline is setting your alarm for
5:00 AM and making yourself get up when it goes off.
Goal setting is knowing "why" you set your alarm for
5:00 AM in the first place.
And the third problem is lack of wisdom. Most
people spend too much time on activities that are
tension relieving instead of goal achieving. In
other words, most people spend their time doing what
comes naturally, doing what feels good or keeps them
out of trouble.
Very few people step back, apply wisdom, and examine
their actions. Hopefully you're one of them. As
fitness coach Kate Larsen says, "Every choice takes
you closer to or further from your goal. Where did
your choices take you today?"
As a reader of the Tuesday Tip, I don't know if any
of these problems are getting in your way. I
don't know if they're stopping you from being a goal
setter or a goal achiever. But I do know that you'd
like to be wildly successful.
So start by asking yourself a question. ASK, "WHAT
GOALS WOULD YOU SET FOR YOURSELF IF YOU COULD NOT FAIL?"
Don't ask if it's possible or impossible. Don't
worry about failing. Just focus on what you want, and
let that be your guideline for setting goals.
That's what winners do. Winners would rather attempt
something great and fail than attempt nothing and
succeed.
Then, VISUALIZE YOUR GOAL. Practice it in your mind
as though it were already accomplished. The clearer
your picture and the more often you view it, the easier
it will be to accomplish your goal.
It's like the legend of the prince with the crooked
back. He asked a sculptor to "make me a statue
of how I would have looked with a straight back. I'd
like to see myself as I might have been. "
When the statue was finished, the prince put it in
a secret place. Month after month, he would slip away
to look lovingly and earnestly at the statue. And
people began to notice the prince's back was not as
crooked as it used to be.
Still the prince continued to look at the perfect
statue. Each time he did, the sight of it set his
blood tingling and his heart throbbing, until one day
he realized his back was straight.
Just like the prince, we all have faults, and some of
us have goals. But you start the process of achieving
your goals when you visualize your goals.
Of course, it isn't enough to merely set a goal and
visualize that goal. It isn't enough to merely want
something. You've got to TAKE SOME ACTION.
Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Winners are
willing. They don't expect something for nothing. And
they don't expect anyone else to do it for them.
Winners accept complete responsibility for their lives,
and they don't make excuses. They're very tenacious.
They keep at it. As Winston Churchill said, "It's no
use saying you are doing your best. You have got to do
what is necessary. "
Action for Goal Setting:
This week, ask yourself what goals you would set if you
could not fail. Pick one that really appeals to you and
start visualizing that goal all achieved and accomplished.
Practice your visualization at least three times a day
for at least 21 days. You'll be delighted with the
changes you'll see and the progress you'll make toward
goal achievement.
More articles:
For additional information on the topic of goal setting, click on any of the
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