Recently a friend of mine and I were talking. He's been out of work for several months. He admitted to me that he was having a difficult time focusing on either finding or job or finding something else that appealed to him. We talked for awhile and it dawned on me that perhaps the root of his problem wasn't any lack of ambition; it was his lack of purpose or lack of a clear goal. After losing his job he simply didn't know what or where he wanted to go next. He knew where he didn't want to go, but he didn't yet know where he wanted to go.
Vague Goals Get You Nowhere Fast
His problem is what afflicts many people. They have a vague idea of what they want their life to be like but have failed to set a goal to get there. Think of a ship moving on the ocean without a rudder. There's no real direction but it keeps moving.
I've found throughout my career that the best executives are often the most focused. They know where they want to go and have a clear direction in which to proceed and communicate it to their team. Each day is like a football game. They want to move the ball down the field a little each day to get closer to their goal. They're focused and driven by it.
Focus Each Day on Your Goal
Our lives can be the same. Without getting up every morning with a clear goal, it's hard to set a course in our life and head in a particular direction. Without knowing what you want out of life it's difficult to know where to focus your efforts. With a goal, a goal that we are totally focused on, whether it's the reason why we want to make more money (don't confuse making more money with your goal, money is only the vehicle to get you there) the odds dramatically increase that we will achieve our desired goal.
The reason is simple. Our goal, whether it's getting our kids through college, driving around town in a Jag or having second home in Costa Rica, is what we focus on every single day, every single morning. It is the thing that motivates and drives us. It's what provides our incentive every day to get out of bed, get moving and to remaining focused on our ultimate goal.
Ask yourself right now what your purpose is? What drives you and where do you want to be in a year or two years? What do you want out of life?
Regrets?
Recently, a group of seniors were polled about their regrets. The number one biggest regret wasn't the things they did in life, it was the things they hadn't done. The places they hadn't gone, the risks they hadn't taken. The times in their lives when they settled for the status quo in favor of the unknown and adventure.
How Fear Can Rule the Day
The other problem many people have that often crush their purpose or goals is fear. Fear of failure. Most people won't ever admit it, but their fear of failure prevents them from even trying to step outside the box.
Example A: the co-worker who frequently complains about their life or job, but a year later has done nothing to change. They are stuck in neutral by their fear of the unknown which frequently outweighs their concerns over what they complain about.
One trait I have discovered about many of my most successful fellow entrepreneurs is their willingness to fail while trying something new. Recently, a friend told me about how she had invested $200 in something risky. She admitted it was risky, said she could afford to lose the money but made the play because the potential upside was huge. The downside was that she would simply lose $200. That, in short, is the key ingredient in any successful entrepreneur. The willingness to risk something you can lose, (and not be afraid to do do) in return for a larger reward. Failure to them is just part of the larger game.
And that friend of mine? He finally settled on clear goal, has a new purpose and is working daily on a plan that will get him there. I suspect he's much happier now that he has the beginnings of a roadmap.
Scott Grigg is a former Emmy winning television reporter who has also worked as director/supervisor of public affairs for a number of Fortune 500 companies. He now makes his living exclusively online. One of the companies he highly recommends is this opportunity which both newbies and veterans alike can easily make six figures a year.
http://wealthanywhere.com/
And for more for more information on Scott, please visit his blog at: http://onlinewithscott.com/
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