My mother never went to Europe.
She talked about it, dreamed about it – even opened a travel agency at age 55. Never got there. She died 15 years later, never achieving the goal. Oh, she achieved plenty of other goals. But not that one.
I went to Europe for the first time at age 20. One of the things I wanted to do there was study French. Never did. I’ve been to Europe 30 times, France 20 times. Never learned the language. Oh, I know a few hundred words, but can’t converse or understand conversation.
Got unmet goals?
Personal goals start as thoughts and dreams. Business goals may have those attributes, but often business goals are handed to you by a superior. Sales goals, sales plans, sales numbers and various benchmarks for you to achieve for them.
You then make a goal to achieve their goal. And many salespeople do. But many (most) do not. Management will refer to those who did not meet their goal as “weak.” That way they don’t have to take any blame or responsibility for their weak people.
Meantime, you have your goals. Whatever they are – visit Europe, speak French, go on a vacation, buy a house, loose weight, stop smoking – you have your own personal goals.
In the shower this morning, I came up with a thought as to why goals are met and unmet. It centers on the old definition about goals that has always bugged me: “A goal is a dream with a plan.”
That statement is not only wrong; it’s dangerous. It tells you you’ll never achieve your goals unless you make a plan. I make very few plans, and I achieve tons of goals.
There are lots of goals that are not “dreams.” Did you dream your sales quota? No, you were sent an e-mail or given a sheet of paper. My first trip to Europe wasn’t a dream. It was an opportunity that I took advantage of. No dream, no plan – just an airplane ticket, a passport and some money.
Here are the elements that make up the dream, goal and achievement process:
• Thinking. Ideas pop into your head. Write them down.
Dreaming and daydreaming. Thoughts make (let) your mind wander to desire, possibility and “what if.” Don’t confuse daydreams with pipe dreams. You will never win the lottery.
• Observing. Looking closely at the world and your world to see what it is you really want to be, do and have.
• Opportunity. Recognizing it. Seizing it. And taking advantage of it.
• Risk tolerance determines outcomes. If you perceive the goal is too “risky,” you’ll pass. If you wanna achieve, you gotta risk.
• Coulda, woulda, shoulda. The words of people unwilling to risk. “I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody,” said Marlon Brando in his role as Terry Malloy in “On The Waterfront.”
• Desire. Your level of desire will determine the length of time to achievement.
• Want. Like desire, your “want” level will determine the length of time to achievement.
• Need. Need is a stronger circumstance than desire or want. Your need-reality will generate your level of achievement-action.
• Intention. Intentions precede actions. If you don’t intend, you won’t achieve.
• Dedication. You have to dedicate the time to study and prepare.
• Persistence. The sister of dedication, it’s the stick-to-itiveness that pushes you to achievement.
• Action for the day or moment. Plans change, actions are in the now.
• Skill set. Maybe your skills preclude you from achievement. Maybe you need to study, practice or enlist the aid of others.
• Love of what you do. Love breeds passion. Passion breeds action. Action breeds achievement.
• For who? Why? If you have a motive, it may provide additional motivation. Don’t be a martyr. Do it for yourself first.
• Self-belief in every aspect of the process. You must believe in yourself before you can believe in the achievement of your goals.
• Mission. If your goal is different from your mission, it will lack the passion to become a reality.
• Visibility. Post it where you can see it. I tape my goals on my bathroom mirror.
• Support and encouragement. When others are cheering you on, and encouraging you to achieve, it’s a mental miracle.
• Serendipity. I have defined it before as “God’s way of remaining anonymous.” But it’s more than that. Serendipity is that moment when chance and opportunity collide. Successful. Fulfilled. You reached for the brass ring, and you caught hold.
If you need more information on how to post your goals in plain sight, go to www.gitomer.com, register if you’re a first-time user and enter POST IT in the GitBit box.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.” As president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at (704) 333-1112 or salesman@gitomer.com.
Building a Strong Data Foundation in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key priority in the boardroom and across management —…
Learn More
