The Million Dollar Lab

2010 has been upon us for a couple of weeks now and for most of us the year is well and truely started. Today is the last day of my holidays and I am just taking a moment to review my goals for the year.

Kevin's Personal Goals
1. Start a business in my spare time (rental management company)
2. Double my sales volume at Xerox (from 4 Copiers a month to 8)
3. Buy my next motorbike (possibly another Black Bird CBR-1100)
4. Have the best first year married possible, make Tania the happiest wife in the world.


Quote
"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms carry out your plan" - Paul Meyer

Why Set Goals?

So, why do "3% of Harvard MBAs Make Ten Times as Much as the Other 97% Combined" ?

The answer is a simple question: “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” In 1979, interviewers spoke with new graduates from the Harvard’s MBA Program and found that :

84% had no specific goals at all

13% had goals but they were not committed to paper

3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them

In 1989, the interviewers again interviewed the graduates of that class. You can guess the results:

The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals at all.

Even more staggering – the 3% who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% put together.

(Source: from the book "What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School" by Mark McCormack)

Defining Your Personal Goals

Everyone will have a different set of goals; we all value different things! The important thing is be honest with yourself about what you intend to achieve, and give yourself permission to aim for those bigger things that people around you might not understand. It's your life, making the most of it might not mean to you what it does to someone else!

My Method

1. Brainstorm - Write down everything and anything that comes to mind. We can often forget what we truly want and it takes some time to bring our purpose back into focus.

2. Focus - Go through what you have brainstormed and cross out the ones that don't truly resonate with you heart, dreams, and passions. You won't be able to do everything written down in a focused way; cut the list down to what's really important.

3. Create a plan - Goals are one thing but we must also have a plan of attack. On the same account, don't worry if you can't see a clear method or path to get to where you want to be. Start now, the answers will come.

Quote
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth; that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events arise from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

BEGIN IT NOW

Feel free to make a comment and share your journey and/or goals.

Kevin