Goal setting is the first step of successful goal achievement. It marks your first point toward success. It’s when you switch from a passive state to being involved in life.
Why do 3% of Harvard MBAs make ten times as much as the other 97% combined?
The answer is simple. They had written goals for their future and made plans to accomplish them. In 1979 (yes a while ago but the statistical results haven’t changed greatly) interviewers asked the graduates from Harvard’s MBA program about the goals they had set and found that:
- 84% had no specific goals at all
- 13% had goals but they weren’t committed to paper
- 3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them
Ten years later in 1989, the interviewers again quizzed the graduates of that class. You might guess the results:
- The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all.
- Even more staggering – the 3 percent who had clear, written goals were earning on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” Dalai Lama
Have you ever considered what it is that cause’s one person to succeed and another person to struggle? It is because high achievers take 100% responsibility for their life and it has been proven they make a concerted effort to write life goals and take action to follow through.
Jill Koenig the Goal Guru has suggested the following list of benefits of setting goals.
- Greater peace of mind
I don’t know about you but one of the best ways for me to ensure a solid night’s sleep is to have peace of mind that I’ve invested time working towards my goals that day. Goal setters realise that you create your life goal by goal. Jill suggests that if you want a better life, you set better goals.
- Clarity of purpose
Having carefully chosen goals gives your life greater meaning. People who actively and systematically pursue meaningful goals feel a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment of life.
- Greater productivity and focus
People with goals direct their day, instead of their day directing them. People with goals know their desired outcome and are less likely to waste time on unimportant matters. When you know your outcome, you avoid distraction on unimportant matters.
- Greater personal growth
Each time you pursue a new goal outside your comfort zone, you contribute to your own personal growth and advancement. Pursuing goals causes you to stretch and learn about yourself. What was once difficult often becomes easy.
- Higher quality of life
Quite simply, people who have goals get more out of life. The more life you give your goals, the more your goals give life to you. Having goals means you value your time and make the most of it.
- You attract a higher quality peer group
People who have goals and are moving towards them are energised and full of life. When you have goals for your life, you attract other people who have goals of their own. It is easier for you to build rapport with other high achievers.
- Increased confidence and self-esteem
Each time you make a commitment to a goal and invest the very best of yourself towards its attainment, you gain more confidence and self-esteem regardless of whether or not you achieve the goal. Your subconscious mind knows that you gave your all and that strengthens your confidence muscle.
- Contribution to others
Whether or not you know it, someone looks up to you. Your behaviours serve as model to the people around you. Whenever you pursue a goal, you inspire others to do the same.
- Goals help you become a better person
Don’t set goals for what you can get. Set goals for what they make of you. Set goals for who you become along the way. People who set goals and follow through, develop the skill of overcoming obstacles.
- People who follow through on their goals and commitments develop an inner strength and unshakable character.
For the benefits each individual goal will bring to your life. As you begin to master the art of goal setting, every goal you set brings its own unique positive result or benefit to your life. When you do this, you give yourself the clarity and motivation you need to fuel you beyond obstacles, all the way through to the goal’s completion.
Once you master the art of setting and achieving a goal by taking action, you can have everything you want in life.
There are plenty of entrepreneurs who are capable, who have good intentions but just lack the organisational skills to put plans of action in place to get the job done. And by not doing so, miss out on creating a bigger and better business.
Structure and systems come easy for some of us, and not so much others.
Like in business, being organised, and having systems provides a framework for action. Being aware of why you procrastinate in areas and then knowing how to move to a state of action is vital to growing your business. You can’t afford the luxury of procrastinating around selling if you want a flourishing business.
Once you have set your goals, you will be able to develop a framework for a plan of action which you can repeat over and over with great success.
An extract from ‘Good Girls do Sell’. Purchase your copy today.
