Only five percent of all people have goals and only one percent writes them down. Why don’t the other 95 percent do the things they know they should to be successful? Are they afraid? Lazy and have no follow-through? This month’s article reviews the factors that hold us back.
“Successful people are successful because they’re willing to do all the things that unsuccessful people are not willing not do.” True statement, but let’s review some habits that can help reverse unsuccessfulness.
Know what I think holds us back? Balance! Even though most people recognize the importance of determining goals and creating a balanced life, most people don’t do either. A friend of mine, Dick Briggs, said it best in his book, “If Life is a Balancing Act, Why am I so Darn Clumsy?” There are reasons why people don’t act. In fact most people react vs. act upon what they know they need to do in order to be successful.
The two major reasons behind this inaction are, first, fear of failure and second, our own bad habits.
Fear of failure is normal and natural, but it shouldn’t stop us. We can’t be right all the time. Unfortunately, fear of failure stops more people than anything else in the world. It’s okay to be afraid; what’s NOT okay is to let fears completely stop you. Because we fear the unknown, change can be frightening…even positive change i.e.: getting married, buying a house, building a new career or buying a large, tow truck can be scary.
Fear of failure has conditioned us to avoid taking risks because we’re afraid we might fall down. It can discourage us from setting goals we fear we cannot reach. It can also encourage us to make contingency plans for failure even as we try to set our goals.
A bad habit is the second factor that prevents people from clarifying, setting and making plans to reach their goals.
That’s because we often try to set and reach goals the way we set and strive for our New Year’s resolution and with the same level of success. We set a goal to change a habit and then attack it like an addiction—we try to stop cold turkey, instead of modifying it the same way it was developed—a little at a time.
There’s a 4 letter word that you should NEVER, EVER use. “QUIT”. Do yourself a favor. Take the word “quit” off your lips and from your vocabulary and you will see how quickly you’ll start to succeed. It’s a small word that carries a huge punch.
Don’t forget that a goal is the emotional manifestation of the results of your dreams and aspirations. A person with a goal speaks and thinks in positive terms such as “I AM” or “I WILL.”
Your goal should be an obsession. An obsession is an idea you keep fixed in your mind and you can’t get away from it no matter what you do. You put yourself in the picture of the end results so vividly that you can feel it…see it…smell it…AND TASTE IT. Your goal is your obsession and your obsession is your goal. There’s nothing better than building a great towing business to pass on to your heirs. What comprises a goal and how long should it last? Totally up to you!
There are three characteristics of any goals:
1.Meaningful and measurable ends. Your goals mean something and can be measured.
2.Established steps and increments. You know what you have to do and what order is needed to achieve it.
3.Time limits are set. Without it, you might not reach your goal.
There are also three types of goals:
1.Long range. Five years maximum.
2.Intermediate. One to two years.
3.Short range. Weekly or monthly.
Years ago in a conversation with my daughter, I told her that a goal is an obsession when you do the following. First, set the goal and then picture it in your mind exactly. Second, have a method of reaching your goal. When you first set your goal, try to envision how you will reach it. If you set your goal with sincerity and purpose, it will happen. Third, set a time limit. Without a time limit, you have an objective, not a goal. “I’ll get there someday”, is merely an intention. I can still hear my daughter say, “Okay, Dad, I get the point.” After all it is hard to be excited or obsessed with one idea with an uncertain future.
Please learn from your negatives and work toward your positives. A professional is not over-sensitive to their failures. Instead of dwelling on them, they realize they’re going to have failures but are not stopped by them. They’re able to learn from their failures and build upon their successes.
When you analyze your achieved goals and understand how and why you were successful, you’ll be able to repeat your success. Ask yourself…. What kind of picture do you put on the screen of your mind? How do you picture yourself as a tow boss or driver or a mom or dad?
Remember, DREAM BIG DREAMS and make them come true!” Set your goals, create a method of reaching that goal, and set your time limit so you can complete it.
A very wise speaker and friend of mine once said, “If you’re always working in your business and not on your business, you will soon be out of business.” ~~ Bill Brooks Bill was right about lots of things in life and he’s greatly missed!
