“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
I Like Cars…
I like cars. I think they can be fun, exciting, some are really cool looking, and all definitely show personality.
I guess it’s because I grew up in a family of all boys – five (wow, what were my Mom and Dad thinking?!), with a father who was very mechanical and talented.
But even more than that, some of my early memories growing up were of admiring pretty awesome muscle and exotic cars that I would often see on my street.
Now if you’re thinking I’m out there building cars and repairing ball joints and replacing tie rods and cam shafts and whatever, um, no. I just think they’re cool. Yeah, if I could have Jay Leno’s garage full of cars that would be pretty amazing – and I don’t think he’s pulling motors and adding oil either.
Today I still get that excitement build up when I see a beautiful car. When I can, I watch documentaries, and Jay Leno’s Garage, and those kinds of goofy car-build shows. Those guys and gals are totally talented – taking a beat-up ‘ol Mustang, or Challenger, Camaro, or even a Porsche or McLaren and transforming it into a work of art, or even just driving and admiring the history and engineering.
“The 24-Hour War”
One recent example was a Netflix documentary I watched titled “The 24-Hour War”. In the early 1960’s Ford CEO Henry Ford II (“The Deuce”) was approached by Enzo Ferrari to buy his Italian exotic car company (yeah, that Ferrari). As much as Ferrari dominated the European race circuit, financially they were struggling. With his personally tailored Italian suit that was imaginably too tight, and with his famous arrogance, Enzo Ferrari teased Ford with an offer to buy his proud company.
Ford took the bait. “The Deuce” pictured cash rolling into Ford dealerships with a Ferrari purchase, but more importantly a real break into the European car market, and wins in international racing.
Following months of pretty intense negotiations, and what Henry Ford II thought was a done deal, Enzo Ferrari, in his staunch Italian way and with the Italian people yelling “Niente americani! (“No Americans!” – well, they could have shouted this…), Ferrari turned Ford down. Wow, talk about a rebuff. That’s almost like asking a date to the prom and getting shut down in front of all your friends. Man, that’s tough.
Mr. Ford didn’t take this rejection lightly. He now had a dream, a goal, and a strong determination to beat Ferrari. He challenged an elite team of engineers to build a car that would beat Ferrari at the famous Le Mans race.
Ford GT40
That car will ultimately be called the Ford GT40.
Elite may be a strong term as the GT40 team was made up of a lanky and proud Texan and former Aston Martin Le Mans winner named Carroll Shelby (yes, that Carroll Shelby ultimately of Shelby Cobra Mustang fame), an ornery Brit named Ken Miles, who himself was a U.S. racer and now the GT40 competition director, and even Lee Iacocca, who ultimately fathered the Mustang.
Henry Ford challenged his team that, “You’d better win!”. Now that’s an accountability partner.
Ford’s big dream and goal to win at Le Mans, and his even deeper mission to beat Ferrari and Enzo, was accomplished in 1966. Not only did they win, but all three Ford GT40’s placed first, second, and third in front of Ferrari.
So how does this relate to your goals for this year? What does a silly car story from over 50 years ago have to do with me, you may be asking?
So, here’s the inside scoop. You’ll be one of the select few in knowing this now, so be very careful with how you use this secret.
Shhh, and Listen Good…
Every dream, every goal, every determination begins with a thought, a mental picture, a hope. Everything we have in our world, from planes that cross continents, to books we read for knowledge and pleasure, to our favorite restaurants that serve delicious entrées and fabulous drinks, even phones and devices that listen in to our conversations and bombard us with advertisements (yeah you Alexa and Google!), and certainly Henry Ford’s goal to win at Le Mans – they all began with a dream and a vision!
Yes, it’s true! We wouldn’t have anything, nothing, notta, if it weren’t for a dream, a vision, a goal that someone, sometime, had.
But you know what separated them? They acted on this dream and goal. Yeah, really, no kidding! I told you this would be good. We all dream and imagine. Those who act on their dreams are successful. Or at least they pursue their passions and find success along the way.
If you only remember one thing remember this: A dream pulled down from the clouds and acted on with precision will no doubt become reality.
It will!
So, what are your big dreams for 2020 and beyond?
The Seven Big Areas
There are seven important areas to think about as you define your 2020 goals:
- Personal goals
- Relationships/Social
- Health and Body
- Business/Career
- Recreation
- Money/Financial
- Spiritual/Contribution
Why?
To achieve your goals, you must tie a strong emotion to its accomplishment. This is your mission or “why” you want to achieve the dream and goal. Having a deep passion for your goal will create a drive that will propel your success when you are tired, or don’t feel like it, or are tempted.
Why do you want to lose 15 pounds? Maybe you are self-conscious of your look at the beach, and your clothes are too tight. Why do you want to earn $10,000 more annually? You can’t pay your bills, and are embarrassed when you have to call the creditor that the money will be late, but is coming.
Your why is vital for success.
Behavioral Shift
To achieve your dreams and goals you must be diligent and persistent. Ultimately you are seeking to create a pattern and a behavioral shift that will become a second nature to you, kind of like tying your shoes or eating cereal with your dominant hand.
How Much?
If I say to you one of my goals is to be happier, how will you know if I am happier? Is my happiness level similar to yours? It could be, but likely not. And if you were to look at me to see if I were on track, how would you know? You wouldn’t.
To be successful in achieving your goals you must have specific measurements of success. I could turn the above into, “Each day this year I will write down three positive statements of gratitude every night from the day’s activities and reflect on how much I am grateful for in my life.” Is this measurable? Absolutely! I will write three statements and will do so each night for the entire year.
By When?
OK, so you want to lose those 15 pounds. It’s measurable – 15 – pretty easy, right? So, when will this happen? In six months? Six years? Um, unless you include a specific timeframe it’s worth really nothing.
It’s definitely attainable and realistic to lose those 15 pounds, that’s not the question. The question is by when? As I alluded to above, one of the best ways to keep us on track with our goals and dreams is to look at it from another’s perspective.
If a friend were to read my goal how would he or she know I’ve achieved it? They wouldn’t, unless I tell them when in a specific, measurable time frame.
If you write your weight loss goal on January 1st with your starting weight, state that you will lose 15 pounds by May 1st, will I be able to verify this on May 1st? Without a doubt! I will drag you to the scale, see the numbers, and doing some pretty quick math in my head (or fingers in some cases), be able to confirm or deny your 15-pound weight loss. Yeah, really, it’s that simple (except for the math part for me).
Write Them!
Social scientists and psychologists are pretty smart people. They know us pretty well, almost like my Google home and iPhone. One thing these researchers have discovered is that we are pretty interesting beings. And when I say interesting I mean weaselly. When we can we’ll try to do whatever we can to get out of something.
Oh yeah, I took out the garbage honey, as I’m scurrying out the garage with bags full of left overs and trash was never said by me…
To hold ourselves accountable we need to write down our goals. Yes, with paper and pen or pencil or on your laptop or iPad or whatever electronic device that may one day be invented. These scientists know that success rates rise tremendously when we write down our goals.
So, you must, you have to, you are obligated to write down your dreams and goals. But don’t just write them down, read them, and read them often, like every day. Write them including the “How much, and by when?” perspective.
Questions to Ask
As you create your goals, ask yourself the following questions:
- When you achieve your goal and dream, what will success look like? Make this as specific and detailed as you can as it will create a desire to achieve that no one or nothing will be able to stop you. Writing down, drawing a picture of yourself, or cutting out an ideal image of you jumping out of airplane, with the date written on it, will remind you daily of your plans and ultimate goal.
- What will enable the successful implementation of your action plans? Will you create specific, actionable steps and measures to be successful?
- What will inhibit the successful implementation of your plans and dreams? Will having a tub of chocolately chocolate creamy ice cream staring at you each night cause you to dive large-spoon first into the freezer and bounce you away from losing those 15 pounds? Then throw it out!
- How committed are you to achieving your goals and dreams – on a scale from 1 – 10? Are you fully invested in accomplishing this goal? If you are not, or if it’s a goal that someone else is pushing you to achieve, you will not be successful. If your spouse tells you to run in a marathon by year’s end and you aren’t aligned with that goal, the farthest you’ll run is away from the starting line and back to the couch.
Remember, “How much, and by when?”
- Write it down.
- Put a date on it.
- What are the obstacles.
- Who do I need to help me?
- What will it take for me to accomplish this goal?
Guidance
How will you be successful? Did you create a strong emotional tie – the why? – to your goals and dreams? Who are the coaches, advocates, and support network that will encourage, guide, and push you on your journey? What specific action steps do you have in place to hit milestones? What will your response be if you hit an obstacle or have a misstep?
Below are just a few ideas to keep you motivated and on track. These are some that I have found helpful; you may have others that work well for you too.
YouTube Videos, books, podcasts
“Start With Why” – Simon Sinek (Book and YouTube)
“School of Greatness” – Lewis Howes (Podcast and YouTube)
“The Four Hour Workweek”; “The Four Hour Body”; Timothy Ferris podcasts – Timothy Ferriss (Books; podcasts; YouTube)
Mentors, Advocates, and Mastermind Groups
Find a mentor, someone who can teach you and encourage you toward achievement of your dreams and goals. You never know, they – and a strong advocate – may even open doors that lead to some pretty awesome things.
Mastermind groups are excellent ways to join like-minded individuals to share, grow with, challenge, and provide insight and guidance in your journey.
Coaches and Accountability Partners
Isn’t it great when our spouses or partners, and even friends and family remind us how great we are no matter what we do, how well we do it, or even if we don’t accomplish it? Um, no! If you really, honestly want to achieve your goals and dreams sometimes you need a kick in the butt. Well not a physical kick, but a push to move you farther than you’ve imagined and farther than you could have on your own.
A coach will help hold you accountable to your own achievement, encourage you at the right times, push you to achieve more, and even clarify your direction. Coaches are invaluable to everyone who wants to expand and grow.
Vision Board and Gratitude Journal
Those same social scientists and psychologists and researchers that know that we need to write down our goals also know that since we are visual beings, and one of the most impactful ways to see our goals as already having been achieved is to create a “vision board”.
A vision board is a pictorial representation of what we want. You can draw this out or pull pictures from magazines and other sources that show clearly what you want to achieve. When our subconscious mind sees this, we begin to act and move toward that picture and goal. This is so true that athletes and executives and work teams produce vision boards. If you are a visual person this can be an excellent way to help you achieve your goals.
Success breeds success. I read this years ago. When we achieve something significant, celebrate the achievement. A gratitude journal reminds us what we have accomplished and reinforces the positive behavior. Not only are gratitude journals a way to remind, but just as important a way to create a positive vision and picture of future events.
There are very clear ways to create an effective gratitude journal (for an outline of this send me a message and I will send a copy to you).
An attitude of gratitude will help us achieve our goals.
Act As If…
If one of your goals is to complete a 5k race, practice running across the finish line in your home, with banners waving, a clock to document your time, and even cheers from the crowd playing through your computer. Our minds like to follow the images we create and the messages we tell ourselves. Act as if you’ve already succeeded, and your chances of success will increase substantially!
You Will Be Successful!
So, remember two important points:
Firstly, “How much, and by when?”
And second, to achieve your goals you must:
- Write it down.
- Put a date on it.
- Anticipate and ask what are the potential obstacles?
- Look for coaches and a support network: Who do I need to help me?
- Imagine success: What will it take for me to accomplish this goal?
Recall that the one thing you can take away from this reading is this: A dream pulled down from the clouds and acted on with precision will no doubt become reality.
It will!
For more goal setting and other resources, including a goal setting template, email me at: bill@peakcareersuccess.com.
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