I have a confession – I despise setting goals. I read somewhere that you should set goals beyond what you think you can achieve. And if you reach 70 or 80% of that measurable goal, you’ve succeeded. HUH? In my brain, that means I am constantly striving for the unattainable or I haven’t pushed myself enough. Why would I want to run a race I cannot win? Consequently, goal-setting has always felt like pie-in-sky wish-setting.
Recently, I was listening to a podcast by one of my favorite authors, Hal Elrod, and had a eureka-moment about this very subject. Geoff Woods, the vice president of The ONE Thing was his guest.
Goeff states that: Most people think that the only reason to set a goal is to achieve a desired result. Yep – I’m right there.
But, then he had this to say:
“The purpose of a goal should be a dictator of your actions. They should inform the person you can become so you can earn the right to achieve those types of results. And this goes hand in hand with the biggest mistakes. Most people, because they believe that the purpose of a goal is to achieve a result, they only set goals based on what they think is doable. So they look at their skill set, comfort zone, and they set a goal that they believe is doable. The challenge is that when you live in a realm that’s doable, you never explore what could be possible.”
Wait, so I’ve been doing this all wrong?!
It’s more about who I need to become, and less about what I want to achieve? Ok. Now I’m intrigued.
Let’s say my goal is to reach 7-figures within 2 years. Instead of putting all of my focus on the attainment of the money or clients, I could better serve the process by determining who I need to become in order to be the leader of a $1M business. That’s not to say that the steps I need to take to achieve certain things in the business are no longer necessary. I can take all the steps I want, but without this mindset shift, those steps – those things on my to-do list – won’t matter nearly as much.
Eureka! That puts a whole different spin on it. Because the leader of a $350k business does not possess the same skills, or mindset, as the leader of a $1M business.
- What habits do I need to form or change?
- What skills do I need to learn?
- Am I spending time with people with similar aspirations?
My take-away: It’s not about climbing the ladder, and working harder and harder toward an achievement. It’s about climbing the ladder to reach the next level of who I am as a person – and who I am as a leader.
If you are seeking a $1M business mindset and want to possess the skills needed to achieve your next level, the Profit First cash management method is a great way to start and AccountSolve can help. Here’s how you can get in touch.
