Corporate Coach

Why don’t people achieve their goals? (part II final)

Justin Cohen, Professional Speaker, Trainer, Author

In setting your goals, don’t underestimate what you’re capable of. Maybe you think you don’t have the intelligence? Well, both Einstein and Edison were kicked out of school because they were thought to have learning disabilities. Maybe you’re concerned that you don’t have enough formal education. Of the world’s top ten richest people, they have three degrees between them. Let’s face it, the world is run by dropouts. Bill Gates of Microsoft, Larry Ellison of Oracle and Richard Branson of Virgin are just a few of the worlds’ business leaders who never completed their formal education. Maybe you’re concerned that you don’t have enough experience. Neither do first presidents of great nations. Think about it, when someone is first elected president of a country, they arrive with zero experience of leading a Nation, yet most of them manage; they draw on the expertise of the people around them and they learn as they go along.

Maybe your goals seem too ambitious, or perhaps even impossible. Well, the impossible is only impossible until somebody makes it possible. Few people thought that a flying machine was possible. I n 1903, the New York Times implied that an attempt to create and fly such a machine would be a waste of time and money; that such an invention would most likely take the combined efforts of thousands of the world’s top scientists and as many as quote: ‘ten million years.’ Yet, months later, Orville and Wilbur Wright – uneducated, unknown, and unfunded – flew their plane ‘Flyer 1’ over the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, flying right through the smoke screen of impossibility.

How did they do it? They were clear about what they wanted and they developed a plan to achieve it. What do you want? What kind of body, bank account, business or relationship do you seek? On what great adventure do you want to embark? Get a clear objective and a plan and you can have it. The size of a building depends on the size of the foundation. A great life needs a great foundation. Your goal achievement plan is that foundation.

Goals are the vision around which great organisations rally. Sadly, one study shows that just 15% of people can identify their companies’ top goals. If staff at grass roots level talk about the share price, they surely know what the goal is and it informs everything they do. It also increases their sense of purpose.

During the Middle Ages, a traveller came upon a large building site. He asked a couple of workers: ‘What are you doing?’ The one grunted back: ‘I’m cutting stone. It’s hard, boring and my back is killing me.’ The other responded, with shining eyes, as he pointed up to the heavens: ‘I’m building a cathedral!’

What is your cathedral?What is your great, big hair-raising goal?

A group of people over the age of 90 were asked what they most regretted about their lives. The two most common responses were ‘I didn’t take enough risks’ and ‘I didn’t reflect enough’. Why not take out three hours of your life to reflect on the calculated risks required to sew the seeds of your greatness?

Justin Cohen is an international speaker. He is the author of Life Coach, a series of nine audio books on different areas of personal development, available at bookstores country-wide. This article is based on Life Coach 3: How to achieve great, big, hair-raising goals (and why most people don’t).

web: www.justinpresents.com