I must admit it.
I thought setting and achieving goals is the answer to all personal development problems.
But of recent, I’ve discovered that goals are simply like the roads we take to a destination.
Goals in themselves are good… but if they are not backed up with a clear vision then it becomes difficult to stay motivated in the long-run.
Earl Nightingale did say that goals are what differentiate failure from successful people.
And he was right.
He was right because those without goals have no hope whatsoever.
They simply shuffle along.
They follow other people’s goals.
And they haven’t grown old enough to know that helping other people achieve their goals is of no value if at all it doesn’t help them achieve their own goals.
But as I said, having a goals is like travelling on a road to some destination. And so unless we have a destination, the whole journey is pointless.
Without a clear vision of where we are going, soon or later we are going to lose the motivation to keep going.
Without a clear purpose for the journey, a BIG ENOUGH WHY, there’s no point to go anywhere.
For years I struggled to find out why some people never seem to have the drive to go anywhere, to achieve anything, to become somebody of value to others.
Why some people easily settle for whatever shows up. And that, no matter what you tell them, they are never motivated to move beyond their comfort zones?
I have always wanted to know why some people, even if they live along with very ambitious people they never develop any lasting habit that could reset their lives from ‘same last year, same this year, so same next year’ kind of mindset to, ‘last year I was shit, this year I’m better, and next year I’m going to smash it’ mentality.
Now, one day when I was listening to Jordan Belfort – the real Wolf of Wall Street – talking about his Straightline Method in selling, the answer came clear in my mind:
People who simply shuffle along in life have no idea where or what they want out of life.
At times they even set goals… but after three days, they don’t even remember what the goals were all about.
Give them the best personal development advise this week and next week they don’t even remember they spoke to you.
These people have no clear vision.
And in my own experience, it’s a very obvious thing that actually, most people have no idea what they want out of life.
That’s why there will always be these ratios like: 90/10, 80/20, 95/5, 20/1, etc.
But what do I mean by having a clear vision?
Well, it means you know exactly where you are going, in details.
I’m talking about the colour, the place, the standards, the general feeling and even what you could compare that with in this very minute.
In other words, it’s being able to live your future dreams even before they are a reality.
Once we have a clear vision we can set goals and stick to them no matter what or how long it takes to achieve them.
Once we have a clear vision we can persist longer to make sure that we eventually are going to make it.
As you are reading this, the question is…
Have you got a clear vision of where you are going?
Are you setting your goals in line with your vision, or simply goals that conform to what others expect of you?
And lastly, do you visit your vision on a daily basis?
Oh, and one more question…
Are you prepared to do what it takes to bring your vision to reality?
Are you ready to push the boundaries all year round just to achieve one goal that bring your vision closer to you?
Remember, if you embrace the path of continuous personal progress, then your job is to remain on the path every single day.
All the best!
JoshProgress 