Goals, most of us have them in one form or another. Your goal today could be mowing the lawn, getting out of bed at a reasonable hour, eating healthier, making a sale or any other thing you have in mind. Goals can be tiny or life changing. Goal setting is easier said than done.
What you need with any goal is determination and action. Without action you won’t accomplish it. I need to lose weight. I don’t just want to lose weight, but I really need to. I’ve done it before, but gained it back. It’s easy to gain a few pounds in a week, but takes a week to take a pound or two off it seems. I need to workout, eat better and get healthy. You sometimes feel like you are taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back when trying to accomplish your goals and it sure does get frustrating. You have to have a goal in mind and see it clearly. Make a vision board with photos of how you want to look, a picture of your dream house or car you want to own someday. This might just help you with your goal setting. Having a clear vision in mind is very important. In the photo to the
right it’s how I probably look now and what I dream of looking like. It’s not a nice reality, but a great looking future ahead. It’s more than looking good, it’s about feeling good and being healthy. It’s about being able to shop wherever I want for clothes, being able to run without feeling like I’m going to fall over, but most of all getting healthy. Use some “I am” statements on paper to reprogram your brain to know your goal is possible. Instead of “I really want to lose 80 pounds.” say “I am 150 pounds and at a perfect weight.” as you look in the mirror and continue to exercise and diet. I also find the word “try” is negative, too. You aren’t going to try to lose weight you ARE going to lose it! Try it usually means you are just going to sample it or not give it 100% or something you are going to try, but not stick to. Use positive talk in your head and get motivated. Everything starts in your mind and it’s up to you to put it into action.
I have a relative that made some wrong choices when she was a teenager and dropped out of school. She told me one day that she wanted to go back to get her GED and asked if she should tell her mom. She talked about getting her GED many times before and never did. I explained to her that talk was cheap and if she was determined to put actions behind her words, she’d accomplish that goal. I suggested she only tell her mom she was going back to school when she actually was, so she wouldn’t disappoint her. A story I’d heard many years before popped into my mind and I 
told it to her. One sunny day 4 birds were sitting on a wire. They were basking in the sun, watching the world from high above the ground, chirping, singing and having a great time. Although they were having fun just sitting on the wire, they realized they weren’t getting much done. Their nests weren’t complete, they hadn’t found food or water and they didn’t get any exercise that day. Three of the birds decided to fly away. “How many birds were left?” I asked my relative. “One!” she said. When I told her she was wrong, she looked confused. In all reality four birds were still left sitting on the wire. Deciding to do something and doing something are two different things. The birds could say they decided to fly away all day long, but until they spread their wings and took flight, they’d still just sit there. I explained the same went for her in her quest of going back to school. She could decide all day that she was going to go back, but until she took action and flew off that wire she’d been sitting on for years, she’d never accomplish that goal. Take action on your goals. Even if it’s only taking a small step towards your goal … START! Spread your wings and fly!
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals”
– Zig Ziglar
- Have a clear vision of the goals you want to accomplish.
- Write down your goals.
- Make a vision board with photos, words and drawings on it of your finished goal.
- Don’t give up.
The more steps to your goal you accomplish the more your brain wants to get to the finishing line. Starting something is half the battle. Finishing your goal is the victory to that battle. Having a good support team helps. Even if you have one person that will keep you on track, it helps. Search for online support groups, a mentor or a family member or friend to keep you on track. Reward yourself for accomplishing your goals. Little rewards for large steps to your goal will motivate you to continue until you reach the main goal. Want to lose 50 pounds? Get a massage after losing each set of 10 pounds. Reward yourself. When we were children we’d get a gold star sticker or our teacher would draw a smiley face on our A+ paper. So many little rewards as we worked our way to graduating school. Graduation was the main goal and everything else working up to that were steps to get there. As we grow older we don’t seem to get the little mental pats on the back that we used to until we accomplish our goal. Reward each step along the way with a mental “Good job!” or gold star sticker in your mind.
From a young age I knew I wanted to entertain people for a living. I took classes, practiced and did everything I could to accomplish those goals. Now, 30+ years later I’m still motivating and entertaining people at corporate events around the world. I always having goals in mind. I don’t think I’ll ever be content. Throughout my career I always had a new goal in mind. I went from being a professional clown while in my teens to a magician to a mentalist in my 20’s – 30’s to a television host in my 30’s to a motivational speaker and now combined both entertainment and motivation into the presentations I offer. Now at the age of 47 I’m in the process of working on a book so I’ll add author to the list of credits. In each career step I take it took months or years or work to make the next step perfect. Nothing happened overnight. Opportunities, like the hosting the TV shows and series for The Discovery Channel, came about because of all the hard work I put into everything else in my life. Great things come to you if you look for them and try your hardest to get them. The things you accomplish along the way can all add up to being ingredients for something great down the road. Losing 70 pounds, writing at least 2 books, hosting another national television series, speaking at a national TED event, hosting a television talk show … these are just a few of my goals currently. Some of the goals are easy and others might take years. Some people have retirement as their main goal. I love my job and my reward is working more and being able to entertain and inspire as many people are I can.
As a motivational speaker that combines entertainment into my presentations, I help companies motivate their employees to accomplish their goals. Keeping motivated to accomplish your personal or work goals is a must. If you need to motivate your employees, let me know.
I wish you the best of luck on accomplishing your goals. Don’t just try to accomplish them … accomplish them. I know you can do it. You need to realize you can!