The Goal Formula

Get a Clear Picture of your Goals! Perception is everything. How you perceive something directly impacts how you accomplish something. Too often, people set out to accomplish goals, and that’s it. They jot down items they wish to accomplish, get off to a strong start, but quickly fizzle. It’s unfortunate, because many of these unaccomplished goals would have been life-changing. People easily give up on great goals, like losing weight, making more money, switching to a better career, and creating a happier family-life. When trying to accomplish your goals without having the right perception, you can lose focus and stop prematurely. Has this ever happened to you? It happens to a lot of people, every year. Each year, millions of people set New Year’s Resolutions, but never resolve anything. Next year, they set the same resolutions. The year after that… well, you get the picture. I accomplish goals because I view them as a piece of the puzzle to my Big Picture. With that in mind, developing your bigger picture will help to accomplish your goals. Every goal you set is a necessary piece of an important puzzle; one that will help you to experience a greater life when the pieces are connected. When I was enlisted in the Marine Corps, graduating boot camp was my goal, but becoming a Marine was part of my big picture. Connecting your goals will allow you to gain a complete picture of the life you desire and deserve. In addition to constantly working on achieving greatness in my life, I also work with many others who want to accomplish life-changing goals. Although each goal is unique, they all fall somewhere into five distinct categories. Accomplishing goals in one or more of these areas will help you to have a life that is remarkable in magnitude and degree. For most people, their definition of greatness can be found within the Fantastic Five. FAITH – Goals that allow you to pursue spiritual growth. Accomplishing Faith goals will allow you to rise beyond the purely material world and find a truer balance in your life. FAMILY & FRIENDS – Goals that enhance the meaningful relationships in your life. Accomplishing Family & Friends goals will give you a deeper feeling of love and belonging. FINANCIAL – Goals that involve building a career, increasing income, eliminating debt, and building financial security. Accomplishing Financial goals will allow you to build stability and have peace of mind. FITNESS – Goals that involve improving your health through nutrition and exercise. Accomplishing Fitness goals will allow you to live a longer, more enjoyable life. FUN – Goals that involve your personal interests. Accomplishing your Fun goals will add a new level of excitement to your life. Imagine how empowered you would feel to accomplish goals within one of these categories! Now imagine accomplishing goals in all of them! When you improve your life in one of these areas, it always gives you the confidence to start improving the others. When Gina was battling cancer, I was constantly on appointments trying to sell. I met with clients later in the evening and was always on the go. I rarely ate at home because the mere smell of food made Gina sick. I found myself skipping meals or grabbing some unhealthy fast-food. Over time, I had gained a lot of weight. The Marine Corps would not have recognized me. I used The GOAL Formula to accomplish my weight loss goal (Fitness). In 90 days, I had dropped 42 pounds! Accomplishing this goal gave me the energy to accomplish the goal of writing my first book (Fun). I had more energy to play with my daughter and spend quality time with my family (Family & Friends). I performed better at work and hit more sales goals (Financial). There were so many benefits that came with accomplishing my one goal of losing weight. My life was greater because my Big Picture was taking shape. There is just one purpose for accomplishing goals; to experience the positive impact they have on your life and the lives of those you care about. Many people stop trying to accomplish their goals because they never create the big picture of what a greater life would look like. Can you put together a puzzle without looking at the picture on the box? Sure, but it is much more difficult. I always look at the box cover. Why? Because I want an edge. By creating the big picture of your life you create an edge for accomplishing your goals. By not painting a picture of the life you need, you limit your ability to accomplish your goals. Accomplishing one goal always increases your chances of accomplishing another goal, just as I did through my weight loss goal. Based on where you are in your life, your big picture may change as time goes by. When Gina and I were going through her first battle with cancer, our big picture was about gaining a sense of control in our lives. Our goals focused on building financial security and family stability. Today, our big picture involves helping others to accomplish their goals. As our big picture expands, we make sure that our goals are in alignment with that image. Creating your big picture is an amazing experience and will empower you to set and accomplish life-changing goals. Here are three powerful components that will help you to develop a crystal-clear Big Picture: Your definition of Great Your definition of a Greater Life Your Greater Purpose There’s a big difference between good and great. There are a lot of definitions of great, but I have always used one that helps me to add clarity to my Big Picture. My Definition of GREAT: Life-changing and remarkable in magnitude and degree. What is your definition of great?