OK so I have to admit I’m not mega into football. I end up comparing them to our military and NHS workers and the amount they get paid for what they do and it does start to get to me especially when I see them rolling around on the floor. Even the commentator said that one of the players whilst rolling around had a dislocated shoelace! OK so I’ve probably lost the football fans who are reading this.....
But what I do like about football is that the players succeed as they know which way they’re heading and they know exactly where the goal is. And Football is actually a lot like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
How is your year going so far?
Have you achieved what you wanted to with the months that have passed?
Have you checked the goals that you set at the beginning of the year and made progress against all of them?
No?? You haven’t even written them!?
Don't fret, this is totally normal!
BUT, If you don’t set yourself some goals or targets then the likelihood is that you will be in the same place as you are now.
When I work with my clients we always set goals and targets for their future. For some reason the word goal or target does switch some people off. Plus once they’ve written it down it somehow makes them anxious or nervous as they feel that they are more accountable. Football is actually a lot like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
However, the people I work with are usually wanting more out of their life whether it’s a new business venture, creating more time in their day, seeing their family more or re-aligning their balance so when I suggest creating some goals they usually jump at the chance.
"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score". Bill Copeland
If you’re not setting goals or planning for your future how can you be sure what you are working towards?
I always set goals for the year which I review at least once a month and every quarter I do a overall review to check they are still valid, still getting me to where I want to be and I update them with progress. Sometimes I get to this time of the year and I realise I’ve not done anything towards some of them so it gives me a real kick up the backside to focus on the next 6 months of the year.
Elon Musk (Tesla and SpaceX CEO) said they would build half a million cars in 2018 which was a fivefold increase from 2017 including 5,000 Model 3’s each week. Then followed months of teething troubles, back-tracking and admissions from Elon that he had got things wrong. It’s actually taken him until July 1st 2018 to hit this target and he had to take an unorthodox approach to get there including setting up another assembly line in a giant tent in the car park of his factory!
20% of his cars are now being built from this tent.
So what does Elon Musk do now he’s finally hit his weekly target? Give it up as a bad year and make 5,000 a week until the end of the year? No, he has upped his target to 7,000 a week! He is a master of resetting expectations of investors and customers alike with 18 months’ worth of back orders despite there being no sign of a Tesla driving itself across America by the end of 2017.
By the way if you didn’t know, Elon Musk also owns SpaceX with the goal of reducing space transportation costs, he has a net worth of $20.8 billion and is 21st on the Forbes list of the World’s Most Powerful People.
He taught himself computer programming at the age of 12 and sold his first company to Compaq for $340 million when he was 28!
This guy has HUGE goals and is not afraid to fail, two key components of people who are successful.
Some of his goals are:
First space tourists by end of 2018
Building autonomous cars that let their driver sleep by 2020 (revised to 2019)
Humans depart for Mars – 2032 (Revised to 2024)
Half of all US vehicles will be electric by 2027
No more steering wheels by 2037
OK, so you may not have ambitions to be the next Elon Musk but you may have some of your own goals. You may want to get a grip on your life, spend more time with your family, increase your monthly income, help more people with your business or just spend more time on holiday!
Whatever it is you need to make some changes, here’s 5 things that you need to do to set successful goals:
1. Review where you are
This may involve digging out your goals you set at the beginning of the year, updating and amending your goals or writing some new ones. They need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. I put my goals into categories to make it easier to work towards them and keep my balance in life. I use Financial, Business, Education, Relationships and Fun.
My balance is to make sure that I try one new thing a year so last year I flew a helicopter!
2. Remember your why
Remember what you’re doing this for? Is it for your family? Is it for a better life for you? Is it to help others?
What is driving you to get up every day and focus on your goals?
Mine is that I want to help others WAKE up to the fact that life is short and if you continue down the same path a real Wake-up call such as an illness may set you back. More than likely because I worked so hard and put such a strain on my body I now can’t have children so this is my true motivation to not let others go through similar problems and is my why.
3. Get your balance right
You want goals that challenge you, scare you and stretch you but you also want to keep your balance in life. Remember to set goals that are realistic where you don’t have to do everything right now. Set goals that you can break down into daily/weekly/monthly chunks so you keep focused and motivated. Set goals for the rest of this year but also look ahead to the next year and the next 3 years to have some bigger goals in there.
4. Set 9 goals
If you’re relatively new to goal setting then I’d recommend setting 9 goals. You need to get used to the setting and achieving of goals without being overwhelmed by them. I set 9 goals and break them down and this way you know that you’ll remember them. Previously I’d set so many goals I just couldn’t keep track of them. This way they’ll be at the forefront of your mind.
5. Focus on success not failures
Elon Musk sure doesn’t focus on the things he hasn’t done and neither should you.
Moving forwards at any pace is better than standing still so take some action every day
Don’t let the fear of failure make you freeze so you don’t do anything. Associate the fear you have of failing as an opportunity instead. When a child is learning to walk they don’t give up the first time they fall but they keep going until they can walk. They take small tentative steps to begin with and have a few bumps and tumbles along the way but they’re moving, and so should you.
Conclusion
Now that you know the 5 Steps, you'll realise that GOAL setting can be great fun! Give it some focus and you'll be amazed what you can achieve in a short space of time.
Love
Nikki xx
Resources You'll love: