MY mother never went to Europe. She talked about it, dreamed about it; she even opened a travel agency at age 55. Never got there. She died 15 years later, never achieving the goal. Oh, she achieved plenty of other goals, but not that one. I went to Europe for the first time at age 20. One of the things I wanted to do there was study French. It’s a beautiful language. Romantic, expressive, cultural. Never made it. Tried, but never made it. I’ve been to Europe 30 times, France 20 times. Never learned the language. Oh, I know a few hundred words, but can’t converse or understand conversation. Unmet goals. Got unmet goals? Personal goals start as thoughts and dreams. Business goals may have those attributes, but often business goals are handed to you by a superior. Sales goals, sales plans, sales numbers, pipelines, funnels, and various benchmarks for you to achieve for them. You then make a goal to achieve their goal. And many salespeople do. But many (most) do not. Management will refer to those who did not meet their goal as ‘weak’. That way they don’t have to take any blame or responsibility for their ‘weak’ people. Meantime, you have your own personal goals. In the shower this morning, I came up with a thought as to why goals are met and unmet, achieved and not achieved. It centres around the old definition about goals that has always bugged me: “A goal is a dream with a plan.” That statement is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. It tells you you’ll never achieve your goals unless you make a plan. I don’t get it. I make very few plans, and I achieve loads of goals. There are lots of goals that are not dreams. Did you dream your sales quota? No, you were sent an email or given a sheet of paper. No dream there. My first trip to Europe was never a dream. It was an opportunity that popped up, and I took advantage of it. No dream, no plan – just an airplane ticket, a passport, and some money. Here are the elements that I believe define and comprise the dream, goal, and achievement process. Thinking. Ideas pop into your head. Write them down. Dreaming and daydreaming. Thoughts make (let) your mind wander to desire, possibility, and ‘what if’. I love to daydream. Don’t confuse daydreams with pipedreams. You will never win the lottery. Observing. Looking closely at the world and your world to see what it is that you really want to be, do, and have. Opportunity. Recognising it. Seizing it. And taking advantage of it. Risk tolerance determines outcomes. If you perceive the goal is too risky, you’ll pass. If you wanna achieve, you gotta risk. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. The words of people unwilling to risk. “I coulda been a contender, I coulda had class and been somebody,” said Marlon Brando, in his role as Terry Mallon playing in On The Waterfront. Desire. Your level of desire will determine the length of time to achievement. Want. Want it bad? Like desire, your level of ‘want’ will determine the length of time to achievement. Need. Need is a stronger circumstance than desire or want. Your need-reality will generate your level of achievement action. Intention. Intentions precede actions. If you don’t intend to, you won’t achieve, even if you want to. What are your intentions? Dedication. If it’s a business goal, you have to dedicate the time to study and prepare. If it’s a personal goal, you have to dedicate small amounts of time to steadily achieve. Persistence. The sister of dedication, it’s the stick-to-it attitude that pushes you to achievement. Action for the day or the moment. Plans change, actions are in the now. Take some. An apple a day. Skill set. Maybe your skills are precluding you from achievement. Maybe you need to study, practice, or enlist the aid of others. Love of what you do, or what it is. Love breeds passion. Passion breeds action. Action breeds achievement. For whom? Why? If you have a motive, it may provide additional motivation. Don’t be a martyr. Do it for yourself first. Understanding ‘for whom’ and ‘why’ will help you achieve as much as any other aspect of this process. Self-belief in every aspect of the process. You must believe in yourself before you can believe in the achievement of your goals. Mission. If your goal is different from your mission, it will lack the passion to become a reality. Visibility. Post it where you can see it. Keep your goals top-of-mind – top-of-mind’s-eye. I have my goals on my bathroom mirror. Do you? Support and encouragement. When others are cheering you on, and encouraging you to achieve, it’s a mental miracle. Serendipity. Serendipity is that moment when chance and opportunity collide. And it’s at that moment when you are challenged to grasp it, and make yourself and your loved ones better off. Successful. Fulfilled. You reached for the brass ring, and you caught hold. Note well: If you get what you want, you better be ready. Ready to capitalise, ready to grow, ready to take advantage of, ready to share, and ready to enjoy – but not over-indulge. If you need more information on how to post your goals in plain sight, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first time user, and enter POST IT in the GitBit box. By Jeffrey Gitomer
