Too often goals are set and quickly abandoned. Why? It could be that these goals are just so big and overwhelming that you don’t know where to get started. On the other hand, the goals may not be aligned with what you want to achieve in your life. These, and other goal-detracting hurdles only lead to frustration and abandonment of your goals.
Courtesy: Wix Images But not for you. You have big dreams. And with your overarching vision to become financially invincible, you need to stay focused on what’s important. Alignment, focus and drive coupled with strategically designed goals is the secret formula for making marked progress. To help you get started putting this formula into action, here are three steps you can take today to get serious traction on your goals. 1. Start Saying “No.” We always have so much of our energy focused on the things that we want to do, and we want to achieve, but we seldom talk about the things that we are just not going to do. You may not realize how important it is to say no to opportunities that may come your way that simply will not serve you or the organization and clients depending on you. But saying “no” is one of the most difficult things to do psychologically because it feels as if you may be passing up on the opportunity of a lifetime. Yes, there’s no assurance that a certain engagement or project might move the needle a bit, but one thing is certain; if it doesn’t align with your overall purpose and goals it will take you off track. These distractions cost valuable time and money and will only serve to fuel your frustration. To illustrate, my friend John had started and was being mentored, given strategic guidance and financed to grow his franchise organization. But he found himself giving a lot of time and energy to another one of his brilliant ideas; a business venture that offered great promise and the potential to improve the quality of life of its clients and generate sizable increases in the income and wealth of entrepreneurial participants. John was so excited, he was carving several hours out of every week to strategize about the development of this second concept. It was at this point that one of his mentors said to him, “John, you’ve got to get focused. It’s because of your passion for this franchise idea that we’ve committed to work with you. You’ve got to decide what you really want. Get focused. If you really want to build this venture to its fullest potential, don’t think about the other opportunities now; they show up every day. You’ll have lots of chances to capture and develop business ideas.” John followed that advice. He divested himself from his interest in the second venture and concentrated his focus and energies on the first. Within five years of that decision, he had attracted over two hundred franchisees, expanded the footprint of his franchise organization nationally, become a preferred service provider for national and international clients, and grown a successful multimillion dollar business. That’s the power of saying “no.” Begin by identifying what you’re not going to do. How? Well, if it doesn’t align with your goal, then it probably isn’t something worth your investing in. Don’t worry about offending someone or feeling as if you are letting others down. People respect others who are clear about their commitments. Instead, get comfortable with graciously declining opportunities that won’t serve you and enthusiastically accepting those that will. 2. Understand Your Focus. Not very long ago, a senior executive of one of my client organizations shared his admiration for two of his senior managers who had been performing admirably by growing revenues in their markets, managing highly productive teams and generating attractive profit margins for the company. On the other hand, he was expressing great frustration with another one of their colleagues with whom he had invested an enormous amount of time and emotional energy but, despite his best efforts at encouraging and challenging him, still underperformed his peers. I asked him,"in your opinion, what would you say explains the difference in results?" His answer? "The two high-performers are focused; the other guy is not."
It all comes back to focus. Getting traction on your goals not only means moving away from what won’t serve you but identifying and focusing on what you should be doing. With that said, there are three things that merit consideration when we come to that place where your perspective and focus should lie: Vision, Mission and Purpose. While it may take some time to thoroughly flesh out these three guiding principles, starting with a rough idea will help you crystalize your focus. Once you have a general idea of these three guiding principles, use them to discern the things to which you should say ‘yes’ and ‘no.' Everything you focus on should align with your vision, mission and purpose. And when you find yourself off track, and you will from time to time, pause and reflect on the following questions: Where is my focus? Where should my focus be? How will this activity or engagement help me achieve my most important goals? What steps will I take to refocus my attention and activities? How will I monitor my progress? How often will I track my actual versus desired activities? Who should I talk with to realign my focus? 3. Drive Your Goals: There is often a misconception that people who are high-achievers are totally consumed with working around the clock. Not necessarily so. Many who have achieved great wealth, built a thriving business or excelled as a leader, had personal lives, careers and family commitments that consumed much of their day. But one thing they never wavered on was driving their goals. Now it’s your turn. Whether it’s fifteen minutes or three hours each day, focus on driving your goals. Start each goal-driving session by reflecting on your mission, purpose and vision and ensure the goals, projects, and interactions that you plan to commit precious time to are all aligned. Then cut out all distractions and get to work. Even the smallest commitment of time and effort will help you gain significant amounts of traction on your goals. An easy way to do this is to set aside some time to create a list of all the things that align with your goals that can be done in fifteen minutes or less. Making a quick sales call, growing your skills by listening to a podcast, writing a note to a client, drafting a presentation outline and commenting on a potential client’s post, are just a few things that you can do while standing in line at the coffee shop or waiting to pick up your kids after school. Small drives. Huge gains. Learn to develop the habits of focus, thoughtfully saying “no” and investing in small (or large) goal-driving segments each day. In doing so, you are building the muscles necessary for incredible financial freedom. It takes intention, but these small steps compounded over time result in unbelievable outcomes. You now know the secret formula that is applied daily by high-achievers. And now that you’re aware, it’s time for you to apply them. “Life is not as long as you think it is, so let's get to it!” I want to help you get traction on your most important goals, become increasingly irresistible and financially invincible. Together, through intentional and achievable steps, we can make your future bright, build your wealth and give you the freedom you deserve in your business and life. Today is your day. Let’s get started. Reach out to me here.