Curious about Goals and Goal Setting

“You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands - your own.” - Mark Victor Hansen

Wow! I don’t know about you, but this year I have read and heard more about the importance of goals and goal setting than ever before. It might be the people I am hanging with on the Internet. Or, possibly the recent teleseminars I have attended. Or, the self improvement programs I am working on.

Interesting is the fact that what I have called goals - and sometimes at this time of year, resolutions - show up by different names. In my favorite marketing guru Robert Middleton’s Action Plan Toolkit you will find the description of working with “intentions.” In Mark Joyner’s program, Simpleology they are called “Targets.”

Also interesting is that as I perused quotations about “goals” I found several contradictory statements along with different feelings about goals and goal setting.

What I expected and have always believed is Mark Victor Hansen’s quote above. When I first became involved with the self improvement, motivational movement I was selling a goal setting program. Therefore, the following statements embody what I have learned and practiced as a goal setter:

• My favorite mentor Tony Robbins believes, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
• My other favorite mentor Brian Tracy stated, “People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”
• And, the late and great Og Mandino helps with the struggle, “The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams.”
• The successful Pablo Picasso pointed out that, “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”

However, as I read the many quotes, I must admit that I could relate to the contrary side of the belief in the importance of goal setting:

• Ayumi Hamasaki proposes life in the moment, “I don't set goals. Like, that's what I want to be doing however many years from now. I do what I love to do at the moment. If I wake up tomorrow and decide I want to dance, that's what I'd do. Or design clothes.”
• And so does Cassandra Wilson, “I know you're supposed to set goals for yourself. I see all that motivational stuff on television. ‘Think about the future, what's next!’ But I'm all into the journey. It's fascinating to me. So if I make certain what I want moment to moment, I'm cool at the crossroads.”

Next, I discovered there are different approaches to the size of your goals:

• David Joseph Schwartz wrote, “Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Remember this, too! Big ideas and big plans are often easier - certainly no more difficult - than small ideas and small plans.” This is what I have always thought.
• But Phil Long suggests, “When your goals seem too difficult to reach... move the posts closer.”
• While Bo Jackson proposes, “Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.”
• And, Michael Korda agrees, “One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”
• And yet, John H. Johnson brings it together, “Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don't do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals.”

When I was selling the goal setting program and meeting weekly to discuss goal setting, I was convinced - and still am - of the special importance of the journey and the person we become because of the achievement. Just a few more quotes with this in mind:

• Henry David Thoreau said it all, “What you get by achieving your goals is to as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
• Jim Bouton puts it succinctly, “Forget goals. Value the process.”

I will leave you with two more quotations that should keep you thinking about your goals, intentions, targets and resolutions:

• “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” - Confucius
• “Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.” - Denis Waitley

What about you? I am curious. Do you set goals? And, if so, do they work for you? And, if not, why not?

Curious about the Power of Questions - What Are You Asking Yourself?

“#12. What would I attempt if I knew I could not fail?” - from Michael Angier’s list of 101 Best New Year Questions

This is the time of year that we start asking ourselves questions - or at least I do - about the year that is just about over and the New Year starting. Did we accomplish all we planned and wanted to - or even more? And, what questions will be pertinent for the upcoming year?

Will we have some of the same goals (or resolutions) or brand new and lofty ones?

How about you? Do you ask yourself those hard questions, like “#10. What isn’t working that should be working?” Or, how would you feel about some questions that probe into who you are and that “confront ethical dilemmas in a concrete rather than an abstract form.”

Rediscovering (on my own bookshelf) Gregory Stock’s The Book of Questions (217 + further in the back of the book), I have been experiencing fun, discovery and lots of soul searching. Way back in the late 80s when I was an active Toastmaster, I often used questions from this gem for Table Topics.

• “206. Would you be willing to eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?”
• “132. If you went to a beach and it turned out to be a nude beach, would you stay and go swimming? Would you swim nude?”
• “121. Were you able to wake up tomorrow in the body of someone else, would you do so? Whom would you pick?”
• “79. For $20,000 would you go for three months without washing, brushing your teeth, or using deodorant? Assume you could not explain your reasons to anyone, and that there would be no long-term effect on your career?”

And then Stock has many deeper and life-direction questions, for example:

• “135. Which would you prefer: a wild, turbulent life filled with joy, sorrow, passion, and adventure - intoxicating successes and stunning setbacks; or a happy, secure, predictable life surrounded by friends and family without such wide swings of fortune and mood?”
• “68. When has your life dramatically changed as the result of some seemingly random external influence? How much do you feel in control of your life?”
• “35. Would you give up half of what you now own for a pill that would permanently change you so that one hour of sleep each day would fully refresh you?”

The copy of the book that I own was published in 1987, so I began to wonder about Dr. Gregory Stock and what he is now doing. A quick search on Google made it easy.

Dr. Gregory Stock currently directs the Program on Medicine, Technology, and Society at UCLA's Medical School, where he is a visiting professor. He is also a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life. He co-organized the first major symposium on human germ line engineering in 1998, and he continues to speak often on radio and television. His latest book, Redesigning Humans, discusses the impact of genomics and bioinformatics on future human evolution. He is also known for his thought-provoking value-clarifying questions. The Book of Questions, now in its 55th printing, has sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 17 languages.

I also checked on Amazon.com and he has other types of Questions books. So, treat yourself, and don’t forget during this busy holiday season to ask yourself some important - and also fun - questions.

Curious about the Core and Its Innumerable Attributes

“There is a need to discover that we are capable of solitary joy and having experienced it, know that we have touched the core of self.” - Barbara Lazear Ascher

How about that almost overused word, “core?” It pops up in an incredible number of ways. And yet, they all do relate in fundamental strength and meaning. In this blog, I am going to discuss the core of our careers, our physical cores and mental cores.

Last week I was being interviewed about my “Portfolio Career” (many careers at the same time) and I shared that a well-known marketing guru had suggested that I pick one (career) to be the “best in the world at” and keep the others as hobbies.

Just as those of us who pursue a variety of avocations experience similar advice, I found myself on the defensive. We have been told that generalists are not valued. We should specialize, specialize, specialize and focus, focus, focus.

The refreshing part of last week’s interview was that my interviewer suggested that my core approach is portfolio careering and I answered that I plan to be the “best Portfolio Careerist in the world.” Yes, I am excellent at focusing on the career or task I am pursuing at the time. And, I have a heck of a lot of fun doing it, too!

• “Human beings crave freedom at their core.” - John Ensign
• “You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and be true to your core values.” - Alastair Wood
• “The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” - Max Lerner

And then, there’s the physical core. If you have been involved with any kind of physical fitness, you know that one of the latest trends is to build and establish “core strength and stability.” I teach a class called Resist-A-Ball where we work on our cores - our “powerhouses” - to build strength, stability and proper alignment. Yoga and Pilates classes also stress and work on these same goals.

• “My athleticism was really the core to social acceptance, because in those days the overwhelming number of students came from more of a public school background than I did.” - Roger Bannister
• “1. Optimize potential. 2. Facilitate empowerment. 3. Implement visioning. 4. Strategize priorities. 5. Augment core structures.” - Connie Willis

Finally, our mental core. We have been told over and over again that attitude is everything. As you may have gathered by now, I am a self improvement junkie, so own and consume a plethora of self improvement programs. They may state it in different ways, but they all agree that our core mindset determines the outcome of every goal, project, task and relationship.

I believe right down to my core that optimism and a positive mental outlook prove to work in our favor. Yes, we do need to couple them with action. But, I submit to you that even with action, if we have a bad attitude, we won’t get very far.

Here are a few more quotes for you to chew on and think about:

• “Above and beyond having the social life, to have a core group of people that you work with and spend time with and learn how to work with is a nice thing.” - Shawn Ashmore
• “Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today - but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.” - Isaac Asimov
• “There has always been a small core of people in this world who migrate to the outside, or to the fringe. I'm painfully aware that I am one of those people and that I have to surround myself with those people if I'm interested in any sort of social interaction, not to mention, education.” - Trevor Dunn

What do you think? I love receiving your feedback and comments!

Curious about Strengths - Are You Soaring with Yours?

“Why do we continue to focus all our energies on fixing weaknesses while ignoring strengths? Why do we continue to work at some activities without getting much better at them? Why do 80 percent of our New Year’s resolutions stay n our lists year after year?” These questions come from Donald O. Clifton’s and Paula Nelson’s book, Soar with Your Strengths.

Last February, I wrote a blog about the book, Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. So, I was delighted to find the Soar with Your Strengths book mentioned on Amazon.com and immediately ordered it. I haven’t finished reading it completely, yet, have been pleased to be reminded of the philosophy, “Find out what you do well and do more of it. Find out what you don’t do well and stop doing it.” I feel that revisiting this philosophy - especially at this time of year - is important.

Interesting to note that the Discover book - which I found usable and right on target - was published in 2001; while the Soar book - which I am finding to have some ideas I don’t completely agree with - was published in 1992.

I agree with the original premise that organizations, schools, parents, and even all of us tend to focus on fixing our weaknesses rather than embracing and working on achieving excellence in our strengths. One glaring example is that when I looked for quotes, there were quite a few more listed for the word “weaknesses” than the word “strengths.”

A couple of quotes that combined both:

• Ray Lee Hunt went so far as to suggest, “It's more important to know your weaknesses than your strengths.”
• And Lois Wyse observed, “Men are taught to apologize for their weaknesses, women for their strengths.”

You may be wondering what ideas in the original book I don’t agree with, since I do advocate knowing and working on our strengths. If you know my background and beliefs at all, you realize that I have several careers at the same time - thus my “Portfolio Career.” I thrive in this environment and feel that I use my strengths in all of them.

That is the difference. In the more recent book, Buckingham and Clifton - using their StrengthsFinder assessment - acknowledge five signature strengths. In the earlier book, Clifton and Nelson agree that we all have several strengths, but suggest strongly that we focus our energies and time on one - and only one - to become successful. Since February I have used and improved upon my five signature strengths. My business, with all of its parts and what some would call digressions, has grown and I have soared.

How about a few quotations to support the theory:

• I agree with Barbara Bush when she said, “If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.”
• Lee R. Raymond got it when he proposed, “We should seek a system that provides outlets for those skills and talents so that everyone can find a way to work and serve in a manner that best suits the strengths of each individual.”
• And William Pollard summed it all up with, “In examining the potential of individuals, we must focus on their strengths and not just their mistakes. We cannot be limited by what they may have spilled in the kitchen.”

So, as we work on our resolutions and/or goals for 2006, I suggest we consider and plan to enhance our strengths. We will achieve a place to which we will soar!

Note: if you would like to revisit the February 2005 blog about strengths, click HERE.