Hit Your Targets and Maximise Your Potential
Have you set a revenue goal for the year? Have you prepared a cashflow forecast for the next quarter, six months and twelve months? Whether you’ve formalised your revenue goal or not, you would have by now a number in your head for where you want to be at the end of the year.
Its very important to start the year off knowing exactly where you finished last year and exactly where you want to be by the endof the year . Without knowing this number if will be almost near impossible to deliberately set your course of action on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.
When we speak of goals we at Vision Alliance speak holistically, so that you include your business and your life. There are six areas in your life for which you must define goals:
- Finances
- Relationships
- Contribution
- Health
- Spirit
- Business
Most people don’t achieve the goals they set not because they lack motivation, but because they don’t know how to define attainable goals and keep working consistently to get there. As every successful business coach will tell you, that’s the difference between successful people and the ones who must struggle to survive. Successful people know how to define and attain goals. Surround yourself with successful people and you will see the patterns unfold before you. I am forever remind people that over the past two decades of helping businesses grow, I have found there are two types of people in this world. Those who are committed and those who are just interested. Which one are you? If you haven’d heard me speak of this let me expand on this a little. Those who are interested will do what is convenient to them. Those who are committed will do what ever it takes to achieve their outcomes. So are you interested in success in 2011. or are you truly committed?
Goals setting starts with setting SMART –A Goals. Im sure you have heard of SMART goals but how many of you have heard of a SMARTA goal. A SmartA goal is one that is
- Specific
- Measureable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time Bound and
- Actionable.
That’s right it’s absolutely no use setting SMART goals if you don’t take the necessary ACTION to get you closer to where you want to be.
It’s always a good idea to start off small. Remember you eat an elephant the same way – in bite size chunks so don’t start with increasing revenues by 200% when you haven’t yet reached a 25% increase. Once you get to 25% start reaching for 50% and then 100%. Most of us think we have to increase our results by 100% overnight. You can no more double your revenue this year by simply saying you’re going to work harder and sell more than you can lose 10 kilos in a week or two by saying you’re going to eat less and exercise more.
You need a plan and you need to follow that plan daily. By focusing on the small bite size chunks and on improving just 1% every day, you will dramatically increase your overall results over the course of one year.
As a friend of mine always says, nothing changes if nothing changes. Keep doing the same things you did last year and you will be guaranteed to produce similar results. Do something different, take consistent action, test and measure your results, make changes when and where necessary and you will be guaranteed to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be in a shorter period of time.
Here are the six requisites one of my mentors taught me that every successful person meets to attain his or her goals:
- Know Your Why I added this one in here as it’s so important. Without knowing your why it will be more difficult to align yourself with your overall vision, values and product and or servic offering. Start speaking a different language by communicating Why you do what you do rather than What you do. You will be amazed how quickly you can affect change in your business.
- Dream big
Think out of the box and establish ambitious goals. Do not set goals thinking that there is a limit to what you can achieve. The only limit is yourself and the past conditioning you allow to stop you from getting what you want. - Write down detailed goals
Successful people know that writing down their goals initiates the process. This is why you have to be specific, because what you write down is what will begin to happen. Your achievements will be as accurate as what you wrote, because you are appealing to the universal laws and are setting your mind to work as focused as possible. So don’t write down that you want a new car; explain that you want a new full extras, silver BMW, with black leather seats, a full warranty and full service for life. - Your goals must be in harmony with your values
You will attain your goals easily if you are working on something you value, because it means you are aligned with your purpose in life, your WHY. First, define your WHY, then define your values and thirdly, base your goals on and around them. - Your goals must include two things:
a. A specific plan to attain each
b. The correct beliefs and mindset
Without these, you will never attain your goals, thus, clarify your beliefs and think about what actions will lead you to attaining your dreams. - Check your goals daily
Before you get out of bed, before you eat your breakfast, review your list of goals. Visualize your life having attained them: how does it feel? It’s always a good idea to review your goals also before going to bed at night. What you are doing is programming your brain to work on your goals subconsciously, and to expect them to become a reality. - Never lose hope- remember everything is possible if you put your mind to it and then take action.
You never lose, even if you don’t get what you wanted. In case your dream doesn’t become a reality, remember that you still have what you learned in the process. Experience is crucial to advancing in life. As long as you focus on what you want, you will find the way to get there, in spite of the challenges or setbacks you may encounter along the way.