As we go throughout business and life, many of us will set use goals to focus our attention and activities.  This is a highly important activity, because the process of writing our goals down gives them a feeling of tangible reality that is frequently absent when they exist only within our mind.  Of course, goal setting can be a tricky science since setting goals that are too easy will lead to a lack of achievement, and setting goals that are too hard will lead to discouragement as our goals go by without being met.

One of the intellectual godparents of personal success is Dennis Waitley.  His library of books, speeches, and presentations about achieving your goals have become legend among those who seek to scale the heights of great achievement.  The way that Dr. Waitley describes the ideal formation of goals is that they should be “Just out of reach, but not out of sight.”

Just out of Reach, but Not out of Sight

The subtle wit and wisdom of Dennis Waitley demonstrates the dichotomy of goal setting in a highly poetic and beautiful manner.  Goals should be set just beyond our current abilities and achievement to force ourselves to stretch.  The process of growth requires that we push beyond our current limitations to do things that we previously thought to be unachievable.  This phenomenon also plays itself out in the natural world as well.  Body builders know all too well that muscles grow by breaking down the existing fibers so that they grow back larger and stronger.  In this way, training to achieve new heights means that we must constantly break down what has already been achieved so that it can come back even stronger than before.

In keeping with the metaphor of personal training, it is also important to avoid over training.  Many aspiring athletes fall into the trap of attempting to build their strength and endurance too quickly, and incur injuries.  In regard to our goals and ambitions, setting goals that are too ambitious and too difficult will generate injuries to our drive and ambition.  Thus, goal setting is fundamentally about striking a balance that is ‘just right’ between being too easy and too hard.

Now that You Have a Goal, How do You Stick to It?

Once a person has set their goals, the next step is to continue pursuing that goal throughout the difficulties and temporary failure that frequently accompany worthwhile achievement.  The process of growth and development is frequently uncomfortable, since it involves simultaneously stretching beyond our current limits and temporarily failing to reach our desired goals.  This make sit very easy to become discouraged and possibly even give up on achieving our goals.

The answer to this natural tendency is to find a goal that naturally holds our attention, without consistent conscious effort.  This is the motivation behind David Schwartz’s book: The Magic of Thinking Big.  The insight that David Schwartz unfolds in his book is the transformative effect of setting goals that are big and inspiring.  Of course, this philosophy runs the risk of setting a goal that is too ambitious and results in discouraging failure.

So what is a person to do?  Goal setting is supposed to be about something that is both meaningful and achievable, but sticking to a goal is easiest when the goal is big and inspiring.  These two concepts appear to be in conflict with one another.  So how can we possibly set a realistic goal that is simultaneously big and inspiring?  To answer this, we need to think outside of traditional thought patters.  The first idea to wrap our mind around is the notion that there is no limitation to the size and scope of goals that we can set or undertake.  Thus, it is quite possible (and even recommended) that we select a large, inspiring goal and break that big goal into many smaller steps that are each sequentially achievable.

One Big Goal and Many Smaller Goals

The combination of a single big, inspiring objective, and many smaller goals that are sequential, achievable, and all lead to one single motivating objective.  It is likely that these smaller goals will build upon one another until they result in the single large goal that you set out to achieve in the first place.  The big goal serves to motivate our efforts and keeps our mind on the goal when progress slows and prospects become discouraging.  The small goals serve to systematically grow our achievement and abilities with small, achievable steps.

Thus, the ‘secret’ of goal setting is neither to set “realistic” goals, nor to set “big” ones.  The answer is to do both.  Motivation and ambition are deeply personal and individual sentiments.  The first step in keeping your mind on the goal is to find a primary goal that is inspiring enough to hold your attention without conscious effort.  Once this goal has been selected, break it down into small, achievable steps.

Ultimately, keeping our mind on the goals we seek to achieve is really about making sure that the goal we are pursuing is sufficiently inspiring to hold our attention naturally.  Keeping your mind on the goal is really about finding a big goal that is always on your mind, and consistently reminds of of the smaller goals that are a necessary part of its acquisition.

It is not possible to consistently focus our minds on everything.  Life is a serious of increasing and decreasing focus.  The wealth of information we live in the midst of creates a deficit of attention.  The power of a big, inspiring goal is that it regularly pulls our attention in the direction of our specific goals, and only requires a small amount of incremental focus.  In the end, holding to your goals requires both the existence of an inspiring end-goal, and many smaller goals that all contribute to the single, larger objective.  By keeping the power of inspiration and achievement in balance, it will allow you to steadily move toward achieving the goals and ambitions of your life.

 

It is difficult to walk through a bookstore without encountering numerous books about achievement.  Some are general, concentrating on what it takes to be a winner, while others are specific to certain types of business or certain types of investments.  Sprinkled throughout these shelves at regular intervals will be biographies and autobiographies of highly famous or highly successful people.  Implicit in all of these stories is the ‘formula’ that these people used to achieve success.

The reason why these types of books are so popular is because people want to achieve success themselves.  Everybody naturally wants to do better than they are doing today and acquire more than they already have.  This fundamental desire is what drives the constant improvements of a capitalist economic system.  This desire for achievement is fundamental to the human condition, and is worth studying.

This concept is explored deeper by two books that were both published in 2008.  One is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and the other is  Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.  Both of these books explore the science of achievement in much greater depth than the traditional beliefs that most people have come to accept.  The fundamental thesis communicated throughout the book was that aside from physical characteristics, talent or ability is principally a function of dedicated, targeted practice.  The people who are hailed to the world as “child prodigies” frequently begin a regimen of intense practice at a very young age.  This means that by the time they reach adulthood, they will have practiced far more than their peers.  This is what serves as the foundation for the skills of great musicians, and other people who are regarded as being highly talented at a young age.

Another important characteristic of most child prodigies is that they specialized in an area where their parents possessed considerable knowledge or ability, and their parents were willing to make extensive sacrifices for the sake of their training.  Within the social circles of high achievers, this secret has never been a secret.  All people who achieve great heights and develop exceptional skill are aware of the time, effort, energy, and practice that is required.  As more people are becoming aware of what really creates great achievement, it has spawned a new question that is equally important to answer.  Namely, whether singular focus on a particular line of achievement and mastery is the best way to live your life.

In keeping with this train of thought, what happens when the dreams and ambitions of a highly skilled and practiced artist are realized, but their personal and financial life are ruined because of neglect in pursuit of greater artistic prowess?  What happens when the corporate executive receives multiple promotions, and then is divorced and re-married multiple times?  What about when a championship caliber athlete incurs a career-ending injury and is unprepared for a career that is not playing sports since their education, personal life, family life, and financial skills were all sacrificed to gain greater sports prowess?

In response to these tales of caution, most people will reply that people should live a balanced life.  And this is where the point hits home.  Becoming a great achiever requires that your life be markedly un-balanced … otherwise there is no possible way that you can acquire enough practice and experience to develop elite skill.  Thus, the question becomes more than a simple one of how I can achieve great things, and develops into one of whether I should make the sacrifices that are necessary to achieve great things.  Fundamentally, there are two paradigms at work.  One is the paradigm involves the relentless pursuit of achievement, and the other paradigm is driven by the priority of your achievements.

Relentless Pursuit of Achievement

This is the “ends justify the means” school of achievement, and is the implicit pre-requisite for most people who have biographies written about them.  Under this paradigm, nearly all other aspects of your life are subordinated to the one singular goal upon which your mind has been fixed.  An example of this may be to be a world class pianist, or to be President of the United States.  In order to reach what most consider to pinnacle of achievement, there will be many areas of your life that must be sacrificed.  If you aspire to be President, you must attend many campaign functions, you must associate with many people whom you would otherwise prefer to avoid in order to raise funds, you must place the acquisition of political objective above your spouse, family, friends, and most other associations not directly tied with your goal.  If your goal is achieved, the office must come before everything else in your life.  When you finish your term of service, you will never have the option of becoming anonymous.  The consuming desire to achieve a great goal will eventually result in becoming consumed by that which you originally sought, once it is achieved.

It is important to note that this is not intended to be a “hatchet piece” that rips apart great achievers.  Rather, it is intended to highlight the sacrifices that are necessary to reach very high goals, and understand that the effort spent in pursuit of a single magnificent obsession is effort that cannot be spent on other aspects of your life.  Thus, in order for one to be “great” it is necessarily impossible to be well rounded.  Similarly, if one is to be well rounded it will be exceedingly difficult to become what most consider to be great.

Priority of Achievement

An alternative paradigm to the relentless pursuit of achievement is placing a priority on your achievements.  In this mode of thinking, each aspect of your life has a separate priority weighting.  In some cases, family may be the top priority and in others it may be finishing your degree, or achieving the next step in your career.  The important aspect of these priorities is that they are consciously decided, and they are fluid.  What this means is that your priorities should drive your decisions, and those priorities are likely to change over time as your personal, professional, and financial life evolves.

In a tangential way, relentlessly pursuing a particular achievement is a variant of priority based achievement.  The only wrinkle is that the one singular goal stand by itself as the top priority, and the priorities never change.  The hallmark of priority based achievement is to decide what things (plural) are most important in your life, and pursue them simultaneously with the understanding that some of them will have to wait until later, and that it is extremely unlikely that you will develop world class skill in any of them.  It should be noted that one can be far short of world class skill and still possess exceptional skill.  One can be far from the best and still be very competent.  One can pursue many priorities and be successful at them, even if they are not the best at any.  The point that is most important for us to consider is whether we are living the kind of life that we want to.

This is where a bright ray of sunlight shines for all the ‘normal’ people of the world.  Most people in the business world make very minimal efforts to improve their skills and abilities as they go throughout their career.  This means that it is very possible to develop a substantial competitive advantage with a modest amount of carefully focused practice on the key skills and competencies that will allow you to succeed in your career.  The key is to ensure that your practice is very  careful, very focus, and very concentrated in key competencies that are critical to success.  For those who are willing to learn the focus and discipline necessary to hone and develop the specific skills that are critical to success in their career, it is quite possible to achieve a level of success that is vastly greater than what is considered to be ‘normal’ while still maintaining the balance that is necessary for a complete life.

The real world is a place where we all need to make choices.  Every choice that we make represents a different choice that we cannot make.  Every hour that we spend doing one thing is an hour that cannot be spent doing something else.  Reaching the pinnacle of accomplishment for world class achievers is a goal that requires much more effort and energy than most people imagine.  Each person must decide where their personal priorities should be placed, and adjust their decisions accordingly.

 

There are many people throughout the country who have experienced considerable financial difficulty in the past few years and are looking for an opportunity to regain some lost ground.  For these people, it is important to think like a warrior.

The defining characteristic of a warrior’s mindset is their determined focus on the next challenge that needs to be overcome.  The key difference comes from the way that these challenges are defined.  Some choose to “Major in the minors” and focus on small problems.  These people frequently find that many big things move past them while the objects of their focus are being attended to.

There are other people who consistently move their bar of personal achievement to higher and higher levels.  Some people view life in terms of what they ‘can’ or ‘can not’ afford while others think in terms of what trade-offs must be made to achieve their goals.  Some view their circumstances as the result of events that are beyond their control.  (Frequently blamed on “The Man”)  Others view themselves as the master of their fate and the captain of their destiny.

The ultimate realization that warrior minds come to is that their success must be built on a sequence of progressive challenges that move them to higher levels of achievements.  Another key insight is that the warrior mind will not be satisfied by “taking it easy” once their previous vision of success has been achieved.  This is what drives many highly successful people to continue their endeavors far beyond the point where their financial needs are satisfied.  These people are not working for the money anymore, but the challenge of greater achievement.

Once the warrior mindset is understood and internalized, it becomes quite apparent that the key to living a full and complete life is to undertake challenges that span both personal and professional endeavors.  Many people have fallen into the trap of excessively focusing on their career and excluding their family.  The opposite extreme of giving up on professional achievement and simply ‘marking time’ to earn a paycheck is no less appealing.  Both produce imbalance, and neither are desirable.

Fully embracing a warrior mindset requires the realization of a driving passion that will motivate our actions and inspire achievement.  Fully understanding the importance of new challenges leads the truly successful to approach their lives as a broad spectrum of challenges in both the personal and professional context.  Ultimately, it is the challenges that we choose to pursue and the way that we choose to prioritize them that will create constructive success or destructive failure.

 

When engaged in the regular news cycle, it can become very easy to develop a cynical demeanor.  After all, there are so many problems in the world, and nothing seems to be getting better.  People who read “The Business of Life” are well aware of my concerns regarding the future of our financial and political wellbeing.  However, all of these concerns must be placed in the context of tremendous opportunities that exist, even in spite of problems and difficulty.

Consider that even the most downtrodden and poverty stricken among the people in America (or the entire western world for that matter) have more opportunity at their fingertips than approximately 80% of the world’s population.  This is not to diminish the difficulty that people experience in their lives, but rather to emphasize the magnitude of opportunity that is afforded to people by the simple nature of where they live.

The elusive aspect of this opportunity is the fact that it does not come to find you.  It will not stop you in the alley and mug you.  Nobody will randomly walk up to you in the street and hand you a bag of money.  (Or if they do, you should be very concerned about what will happen next.)  The opportunity waiting for discovery underneath your feet must be actively pursued.

This is the step in our path to prosperity where most people fall down.  Many are unwilling to put forth the effort that is necessary to achieve success.  Some are willing to expend the effort, but are afraid of working toward a goal whose achievement is uncertain.  In addition to this, there are others who become so obsessed with success that they sacrifice other meaningful and fulfilling facets of life, simply for the sake of greater material achievement.

The trick with seizing opportunity is to understand that success is much more holistic than simple material possessions, fame, or other external symbols of status.  In this way, the point of emphasis shifts from what ‘can’ I achieve to what ‘should’ I achieve?  Specifically, what am I willing to sacrifice for the sake of achievement, and what is so important to me that I will accept a lower level of material achievement for the purpose of preserving it?  In many cases, people who have families will pass over opportunities for career advancement because of a desire to avoid spending too much time away from their spouse and children.

Thus, we see that a ‘real’ understanding of success must be inclusive of both what we can accomplish with the opportunities before us, and what we choose to pursue, because of the conscious decisions that we have made about the course of our lives.  The real secret that most people fail to grasp is that our lives are evaluated by standards that we create.  Many people unconsciously adopt the standards used by their associates or the mainstream media, but that does not change the fact that each person is ultimately accountable to themselves.

We see that a world of opportunity is really set out before our feet.  The only relevant question is whether we are willing to take the necessary action to turn that opportunity into reality, and whether we have developed the intellectual and emotional maturity to direct our achievement toward a definite end and purpose, instead of a blind lust for ‘more’.

In the end, life comes down to a competition against ourselves.  The thoughts of our minds manifest into actions and circumstances.  The ability to shape this reality has always been in our grasp.  If there is one thing that any of us can do to positively impact our lives, it is to train ourselves to think and act in a manner that consistently pushes us closer to our personal vision of success.

 

One of the greatest questions that mankind has dealt with over the years is that of determining what causes success.  There have been many notable authors such as Napoleon Hill, Dennis Waitley, and Zig Ziglar who have tackled this subject, and produced spectacular works.  A common theme among all of the success literature is the notion that success is something you must go out and achieve.  One cannot expect success to come and find them in the middle of the night and announce its presence.  This analogy may sound silly, but it seems to be the strategy that many people pursue in regards to their own well-being.

The main thing that cripples most people’s chances for success is inaction.  Sometimes this inaction comes from genuine apathy, but many times it is the result of discouragement over past failures.  Feeling the sting of temporary defeat is both the ruin of many otherwise successful people and the “winners edge” that propels others to great heights of achievement.

The difference between the ‘winners’ and everybody else is that winners view temporary failure as a necessary stepping stone to their eventual success.  This creates the drive to keep going in spite of setbacks, defeats, or outright failure.  Entrepreneurial biographies are full of people that tried something, failed, tried something else, failed, and eventually realized success beyond their wildest dreams that was the direct result of the experience that was gained during all of their accumulated failures.  Unfortunately, the spirit of many people is crushed by the first setback and the seeds of success are not allowed to mature.

It is well known that Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times while he was attempting to perfect the incandescent light bulb.  In is research, Edison viewed every failed trial as an accumulation of knowledge that led him closer to his goal.  The thing that makes vision like this remarkable is the fact that these entrepreneurs do not know when the ‘overnight success’ will actually happen.  The setbacks could last years, decades, or even longer.  It is the rugged determination to keep going that generates the ‘winners edge’ for great achievement.

As each of us go through our lives, it is important to ask whether we allow temporary setbacks to destroy our ambition.  Will we walk with the crowd and find comfort in tales of difficulty and defeat?  Or will we develop the ‘winners edge’ and use every setback to propel us closer to success?  The choice is there for each of us to make.  One is made by our emotions and the other is made by our reason.  Which will you pick?