Goal Setting: Today’s Power That Shapes Your Future

Imagine boarding a plane and hearing the captain say:

“Thanks for flying with us. I’m not sure when we’ll take off, where we’ll land, or even which direction we’ll be heading. But hey, relax and enjoy the ride.”

You’d probably jump out of your seat. Why? Because no sane person would trust a pilot who doesn’t know where he’s going.

And yet… how many people live their lives that way? They drift along without a clear destination—hoping things somehow turn out right.

The truth is, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up someplace you don’t want to be. That’s why goal setting is not just important—it’s essential. It’s the defining characteristic of every highly successful person I’ve ever studied, worked with, or coached.

And I practice it myself. In fact, when people ask me what has made the biggest difference in my own career and personal life, I tell them without hesitation: goal setting.

Why Goals Matter

J.C. Penney once said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you someone who will make history. Give me a stock clerk without a goal and I’ll give you a stock clerk.”

He was right. Goals transform ordinary people into extraordinary achievers.

After presenting a two-hour, step-by-step program on goal setting at Knouse Foods, Vice President Richard Esser wrote me this note. He had been struggling for years to lose weight and then maintain his desired weight, without success. Richard said, “Alan, I do have to thank you for your direction on goal-setting. I set a goal for weighing 193 pounds and your process worked like magic! Companies should invite you in to teach their people how to achieve their goals.”

Richard was an ordinary person who became an extraordinary achiever. And you can too. Read on.

Just look at history. After World War II, Japan was devastated—no resources, no wealth, no global power. Yet they set bold goals:

• First textiles. Done in a decade.

• Then steel. Achieved in the 1960s despite having no coal or iron ore.

• Then automobiles. They overtook the world by 1980.

• Then electronics. Think Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, Toyota, and Honda.

They didn’t “hope” to rebuild—they set goals to lead the world. And they did.

Or take a more contemporary example: Elon Musk. Whether you agree with his style or not, you can’t deny the power of his goals. Colonize Mars? Transition the world to sustainable energy? Reimagine transportation? Those are audacious goals and they drive everything he and his companies do.

The same principle applies to you and me. Goals give your life focus, purpose, and momentum. Without them, life feels scattered. With them, life feels directed.

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals

From my years of work as an educator and professional speaker, I can tell you absolutely, unequivocally, if you don’t have definite, written goals for every aspect of your life, you are not getting anywhere near what you could be getting out of life.

From working with more than a million people worldwide, I’ve learned that achievers do three things:

1. They set clear goals.

2. They create a plan to reach them.

3. They take consistent action.

Here’s a process you can use:

► 1. Ask yourself some stretching questions.

What would you go after if you knew you could not fail? Don’t edit your dreams or worry about whether they seem possible. At this stage, just let your imagination run.

► 2. Write them down.

This is non-negotiable. Research proves that written goals are far more likely to be achieved than unwritten ones. Writing them tells your subconscious: of all the millions of possibilities in the world, these are the ones that matter most to me. As soon as your mind gets that kind of focus, it starts to subtly think of ways to make those goals come true.

► 3. Write down your goals with specificity.

Writing your goals is absolutely necessary. But so is the way you write your goals. Vague, blue-sky, wishy-washy goals are seldom achieved because they do not provide a target for your mind to hit.

For example, contrast these two goals. Which one do you think is more likely to be work? “I want to be a better husband.” Or, “I want to be a husband that shows more love to my wife by listening to her more intently, complimenting her more frequently, and taking her on dates more often.” Obviously, the second goal will work so much better for you.

Write down your goals with specificity.

► 4. Make sure they’re your goals.

Don’t chase someone else’s dream. Set goals that YOU really, Really, REALLY want to achieve. It will ignite your motivation to accomplish more than you might ever imagine.

I’m reminded of 90-year-old Hulda Crooks, who set a goal to climb Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S. Age, setbacks, and doubt didn’t matter—because the dream was hers. And she did it.

► 5. Balance your goals.

Don’t pour all your energy into one area and neglect the rest. I’ve seen people succeed at business but destroy their health and relationships along the way.

Make sure you have goals in several areas: career, health, family, finances, personal growth, recreation, and spirituality. Success in one without the others won’t feel like success at all.

► 6. Visualize your success.

See your goals as already accomplished. That’s right. As silly as it sounds, sit down once in a while, close your eyes, and visualize your goals as … finished, completed, achieved!!!  The clearer and more often you picture that, the stronger your subconscious works to make them happen.

Athletes do this before big games. Executives do it before big presentations. You can do it every day to program your brain for success.

► 7. Take daily action steps.

Dreams without action are fantasies. Action—even small action—is what builds momentum. Spend at least 5 to 15 minutes of conscious effort every day moving toward your goals.

Winston Churchill put it bluntly: “It’s not enough to say you are doing your best. You must do what is necessary.” Daily action is necessary.

► 8. Celebrate progress.

Don’t wait until you’ve reached the finish line. Celebrate small wins along the way. Each one builds confidence and energy for the next step.

The Bottom Line

Most people don’t get what they want from life because they never sit down to decide what they want. They’re like passengers on that aimless plane, hoping to land somewhere good.

But life doesn’t work that way.

Set your goals. Write them down. Take action every day. Do that and you’ll join the ranks of people who live with purpose and achieve results that once seemed out of reach.

As I’ve seen in my own life and in the lives of countless others: goal setting isn’t just a technique. It’s your ticket to a great life.