Where Do You Want To Be?
When did you last sit down to think about what you wanted out of life?
If you’re like most people, you can’t remember a time besides the obligatory New Year’s Resolutions that are set and forgotten just as quickly.
The true power of goals is in figuring out where you want to be in a year, three years, five years, or fifty years.
And constantly working toward getting there.
Goals change, though.
They take on a life of their own. As you plot out the path to your destination, things will pop up that alter your destination.
There is something SO powerful about focusing on a goal. Its resolve is unmatched by any other force.
When you find a focused person, you’ll know.
They are calmer than ordinary people.
They are quick to turn down anything that deviates from their focus, and their allusiveness makes them attractive to others who are open to it.
Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, once wrote a blog post:
“If I’m not saying ‘Hell Yeah!’ to something, then I say no.”
Not to mention, when you have an obvious path laid out, you will ALWAYS be able to check yourself. Every new idea, thought, and opportunity can be weighed according to your path.
It’s like having a personal mission statement (part of the Daily Log in the GSD Apex Journal).
You weigh everything coming and going from your life according to that mission statement.
Is this thing – this opportunity – something I agree with?
Will it get me where I’m going?
Will it stand in the way of my desired outcome?
These are all internal dialogues that you will begin to have once you choose a goal—once you pick your destination…
The first thing you need to do, no matter where you’re at at this moment, is to set goals for yourself.
And if you don’t like the word ‘goal’ because you’ve got a specific affliction thanks to New Year – that’s ok too.
The word ‘goal’ is pretty cliché anymore. You’ve set goals for yourself in the past, right? Maybe you made it a goal to pay off your car early. Or to lose 15 pounds by summer.
Did you achieve that goal?
Maybe yes.
Maybe no.
But it’s ok, right?
It’s just a ‘Goal.’
In our fast-paced world, goals are easy to leave unachieved.
My preference is the word “Destination.”
A destination is something that you get to.
If you’re planning a trip, you get to the destination because it’s mapped out. You know where you’re going. There are detours along the way – but you’ll get there if you’re on the road long enough.
Now, there is a specific process I use when I am planning. I set long-term goals and short-term goals. Often, the short-term goals are considered milestones or action steps. As those milestones are ticked off, they lead toward long-term goals.
For instance, let’s say you’re trying to grow your business online…
You might break the long-term/short-term down like this:
Long-Term: General $55,000 online by selling my photography as prints through Shopify
Short-Term:
- Create and list all photography on the site
- Integrate print-on-demand options with Printful for fulfillment
- Integrate merchant and bank accounts to take payment
- Mail offer to my email list
- Share finished photos of my art hanging on the way on social for friends to buy
Once these short-term things are mapped out, all that’s left is figuring out where to put them in your calendar…
And that, my friend, is the next section in the GSD Apex Planner!
One important thing to consider is this…
If you knew how to achieve a goal, it’d already be done, right?
It’s important to understand that you will not know every step to get to where you’re going. You’ll be forging a path into the unknown for big chunks of your journey.
So, if your goal is to live in a big, beautiful house in the best school district in your city, it’s safe to say that you don’t know how to do that just yet…
You’ll be holding that goal in your mind and discovering the steps it takes to get there at the same time.
In that way, your goals will unfold before your eyes.
You have to trust that the path will be presented to you AND that you’ll be able to see it.
For me, the best way to ensure that I see the right opportunities is to map them out and then write them in the GSD Apex Planner every day.
Click here to see the Get Shit Done Apex Planner >>
Inside the Apex Planner is a full breakdown of how to step through goals and habits by accomplishing them in your day-to-day life.
Talk soon!
Jason