When it comes to accomplishing personal goals, everyone has his or her own style. Some people like to tell the world what they’re determined to achieve; others quietly commit plans to the pages of journals they’ll never reveal to another human being. Many more simply put their heads down and get after it allowing results to speak for themselves.
Now, some people are “perfect preparers” who spend months carefully laying the groundwork for future progress; others dive right in with a “damn the torpedoes” attitude figuring determination will guide them through whatever challenges occur.
All these approaches can work incredibly well or backfire horribly! It depends on the depth of internal commitment one makes. It is never the weather. It is never the fact all of the stop lights did not align. Your personal internal commitment defines all success or failure. We are all a product of choice. Dream a Big Dream and Go Big!
This mindset encourages us to develop an ambitious and expansive enough vision to get excited! Boring goals tend to make for dull and uninspired efforts. Aim Small, Miss Small!
This mindset saves us from getting overwhelmed by what we have taken on. It affords the opportunity to start today with daily actions that are easier to accomplish. Each day brings the opportunity to reconfirm priorities. You see, the weather may change, you may not have a ton of energy on day ten, but if you keep is simple you can reconfirm what is vitally important and make one small step forward. In fitness, on day ten of a personal goal if the simple movement is to make a right turn away from the snack aisle at the grocery store, you made a good choice for that moment! It also takes you one step back in the right direction building momentum for tomorrow. In business, placing focus each morning on what is vitally important today, not tomorrow, will place you in a more compassionate mindset. This will no doubt helping the entire team arrive where they need to be eight hours from right now. What’s good for me is not always good for the whole. Aim small, miss small each day with great heart and best business practices. Make a Decision and Get Moving Fast!
“A good plan violently executed right now, is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.” -George Patton. This gets us focused on making continual progress while maintaining energy and enthusiasm. It prevents us from getting so bogged down in the daily “to-dos” that we lose focus on the big prize! Research indicates when pursuing dreams or goals that make you happy, you feel immediately good or happy after doing whatever you could to make another step forward.
Getting after it and moving fast will keep all of us honest. Often, the best rewards are found by doing, after all, it’s during the climb we find out what we are truly made of. But it is important to pace yourself, create balance and set a series of miniature goals helping you to arrive to an ultimate destination. In business and life, benchmarking is a worthy endeavor and needs to be ongoing in nature. Benchmarking provides constant feedback about the progress we are making. It also helps us to recognize where adjustments need to be made. Rapidly citing and correcting errors is an essential component of business management and life management. Ultimately, even the best plan can fall short of perfection. If you have been working tirelessly on a good plan for a long time and still not quite making headway, it may be time to slow down for a few days, step back and reflect upon why you have arrived at this specific point. It may be time to stop pushing for a little while and to also consider you are pushing forward the wrong way and/or at the wrong time for yourself or the team around you. Giving Makes you Bigger than You Are!
It has been very natural for me to give without need of return, reward or recognition. I have always found great worth and value in knowing I did the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. Giving makes all of us bigger than we are without question, after-all, the more you pour out, the more life and happiness will be able to pour in. When setting a personal or business based goal, remember to include "giving back" in one fashion or another. Knowing you did something special for someone else truly builds a greater capacity for success and happiness. Don’t Wish it were Easier, Wish You Were Better!
Sometimes, despite our best thinking and most earnest efforts, things just don’t come together. Average people look for ways of cutting corners or getting away with it; successful people look for ways of getting on with it. When we are slowing down or faced with rough waters, maybe it’s karma or the divine plan of life, maybe it’s some internal wisdom telling us our energy is better spent elsewhere. Whatever it is, when we encounter unpredictable forces placing a kibosh on our goals, it is a sign to slow down, regroup and balance the system be it personally or without a leadership team. Now, don’t wish for fewer problems or challenges, place the focus on gaining more knowledge and skill. Wish for more awareness and life wisdom. In life you must get really good at one of two things: Sowing the seed in the Spring or learning to beg in the Fall. The truth is we never get exhausted by what we had done today, we only get exhausted by what we haven’t done. Give Up?
Never! If "Plan A" didn't work, you still have 25 chances left in the alphabet!!! Failure is never an option! Quitting is not what I am expressing. We should be willing to take a moment to rest, rethink, and then recommence best efforts with a different energy, a new outlook, a positive consciousness, or a new plan, one that perhaps sets our heart, soul and mind on fire again! The best athletes and top CEOs in the world all regroup, assess and adjust their priorities daily, weekly and monthly. The best of the best seek outside support, coaching, mentors and consultants. Nothing on this planet is more powerful for your future than being a gatherer of great ideas and more information outside of what is known right now. The more we learn, the more we must honestly realize we do not know. This very thought should inspire more learning and growth.
Don’t Join an Easy Crowd:
Don’t join an easy crowd, you will never grow. If it aint “broke” then sometimes it is good to break it to discover things you just can’t see right now. Some experts call this “shaking it up.” If everyone is singing the same song, the one you like, something is wrong! Human ego loves comfort and is hard-wired to “like” people that say the same things and do the same things you do. In short, go to where expectations are high and the demands to perform are high if not superior. Constantly ask yourself:
Who am I around?
What are they really doing to me or for me?
What have they got me reading or learning?
Where do they challenge me to think more or do more?
What have they got me saying?
Where do they have me going?
What do they have me thinking?
Simple Fact: You are the sum average of everything and everyone you surround yourself with.
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” – George Patton.
Be careful of “kiss up” cultures in the workplace. Furthermore, be mindful human ego will move you personally toward comfort and the “easy” route is often a trap. Yours in Success, Peter D. Bouloukos Close To Open Consulting Restaurant, Bar & Nightclub Consulting Personal Mentoring & Coaching