Have you ever wondered… wished… dreamed... but get nowhere really fast? What’s stopping you? What is really standing between you and your goals; your dreams?
If you really want to achieve your goals; cause your wonders, wishes and dreams to manifest, what is holding you back?
Many people believe that people who consistently achieve their goals are often lucky and/or inherently ordained with some magical success juice… aka “pixie dust.” Some people even believe that you must be born of a certain stature and in a certain environment to guarantee success in life. It seems all too simple when I put it like this; however, if you think about it, you will realize that you’ve either thought this way or know people who have (and do).
The truth is that there is no magic juice (pixie dust) and there is no genetic make up that dictates one person’s success versus another. Would it surprise you to discover that your success rests entirely in your hands? No matter what has happened in your past or what you might be facing at this very moment, your future is completely up to you and what you make of it.
The great Zig Ziglar put it this way and I often ask my audience before I begin a talk or workshop.
If you can answer yes to these 4 questions…
- Is there something specific that you can do today that can absolutely make your personal and professional life worse?
- Is there something specific that you can do today that can absolutely make your personal and professional life better?
- Do you believe that it is a choice?
- Do you believe that every choice has an end result?
…here’s what you’ve basically said whether you realize it or not.
I don’t care what has happened in my past; I don’t even care what is going on in my life right now. I know that there is something specific I can do today that will make my life better or worse and the choice is mine.
Now that is a beautiful feeling – wouldn’t you say.
In my experience, one of the major roadblocks in achieving goals has always been the lack of a good roadmap. I have mentored and coached so many individuals who simply could not begin to realize their true gifts and talents simply because they had no blueprint to guide them. The vicious cycle of frustration will always continue until you find the b-line that leads out of the disorganization and chaos.
Don’t underestimate the impact of disorganization and chaos; simply having disorganized and chaotic thoughts can send you down a circuitous path to nowhere very quickly.
The only difference between you and truly successful people is that they understand the significance of 3 key elements when it comes to achieving goals. They recognize the importance of Planning, Preparation and Expectation.
In order to consistently achieve the results you desire, you must endeavor to Plan, Prepare and Expect them to happen. Truly successful people are not lucky; rather, they create their own luck!
I have heard people say that prayer resolves all things but the real truth is that prayer without action produces exactly what you had before you prayed – NOTHING! Any kind of thought without deliberate action moves nothing in your favor. It all sounds great; however, if you don’t act, manifestation cannot occur.
Understanding the 3 key elements in achieving your goals and
how they apply will undoubtedly help you to consistently garner the results you
desire.
Plan
Without a plan, you will not know how to move, when to move or what to move towards. Even in broad daylight you would be no more apt than a bat if you have no map to guide you. If you truly want to achieve at the highest level, take the time to formulate a plan that is aligned with your goals.
If you know who you are and where you want to go, your next step has to be planning exactly how you will get there.
Have you ever heard “busy people” say I’ve got places to go and people to see? The difference between these people and truly successful people is that successful people also have places to go and people to see; however, successful people know exactly why they are going to see these people and why they are going to places they are going. There is nothing surprising or accidental about their actions – they are deliberate.
In order to remove frustration and chaos from your path, you must have a plan in place to guide you. Your plan is your roadmap – it tells you exactly where you are in your journey so that you know exactly what you must do next in order to achieve your goals.
Truly successful people don’t just plan for today or tomorrow, they put a plan together for the long term. Eventually, their plan evolves to include the next generation and perhaps a few down the road. In fact, I don’t know any truly successful people that aren’t always planning. Planning is the cornerstone of results; if you don’t plan for the results you desire, how can you achieve them? Certainly you may do it by default once or twice; however, without a real blueprint in place, your lucky days are numbered.
Simply put, if you fail to plan, plan to fail.
Prepare
If you do not prepare, your plan will count for naught. Planning alone is not enough because you can plan forever and if you never make a move; your plan becomes a theory.
In order to bring your plan to life, you must prepare and be prepared. Whatever your plan dictates, you must not only be prepared to take the actions but also to deal with the consequences of those actions. In fact, to the degree that you are prepared, your plan will succeed.
Only through preparation can you realize the full potential of your plan. This is not as easy as it may sound so I’m going to share a few examples with you.
A man says he intends to run the New York City Marathon in the next 8 months. Although he is not a trained long-distanced runner, he has challenged himself to finish in record time. He puts a plan together that outlines the resources he needs and actions he needs to take in order to prepare for the marathon.
Let’s say that he finds a sponsor, starts an appropriate diet, buys all the neat gear but he does no training whatsoever; what do you suppose will happen when it’s time to run?
Do you think he will be prepared?
Of course not! He did everything – except – the most important thing – he didn’t train for the race. If he didn’t train and he is not a runner, his body will not be able to withstand the physical ardor of the marathon. The record, I can assure you, will elude him.
In another scenario, let’s say a career woman intends to find the man of her dreams. She looks deep within herself in search of the qualities that she desires in a mate. Focused, driven, ambitious, loving, devoted, honest and romantic are just some of the characteristics that come to mind.
Now suppose she continues to devote most of her time to her career, dates multiple men every once in a while and fills her network with mostly on-the-job colleagues; what do you suppose are her chances of landing the mate she desires. That’s right, almost nil. Sure, some women may eventually land that special someone under these conditions but at what cost?
The fact is, at this rate, she would not be prepared to find let alone receive such a mate. Simply saying you want a mate without making room in your life and preparing to receive one is just not enough. It won’t happen.
Preparation requires that you make the necessary changes and
take the necessary actions in order to execute your plan. If you want to
improve upon your personal growth but yet have no desire to change, there is
simply no point. You cannot grow personally unless you change something you are
currently doing. In order to do that, you must first plan and then prepare by
making choices and taking actions to that end.
Expect
If you don’t expect it to happen, it won’t. Unless you are expecting the results you desire to manifest in your life, they absolutely will not – at least not at the level you want them to.
The truth is that you reap more than you sow and that goes both ways.
If you have any doubt about the results you expect, you will half-ass your plan which will cause you to take half-assed actions which will consequently produce half-assed results. Once you have a plan in place and you prepare by making choices and taking action, you must expect to get exactly what you planned and prepared for. It is natural law that the universe returns to you in abundance and more than what you put out.
If your plan is sound, your choices are clear and your actions are deliberate, I guarantee you will produce a result of equal or greater value.
Look, if I write a check knowing I don’t have the cash in the bank to cover it, I expect it to bounce – plain and simple. The same holds true for the other way around. If you stick to your plan and consistently follow through in the preparation, your goals will manifest as long as you expect them to.
This doesn’t mean that things always go as planned – that would be naïve thinking. I am simply saying that you cannot expect a particular result if you have not planned or prepared for it. Expectation follows planning and preparedness.
If you do not have a roadmap, your thoughts are in disarray and your moves are disorganized then you should realistically expect the results you achieve to resemble that picture.
Do not be unrealistic with your expectations; just because you expect something doesn’t mean it will manifest. If you have not put in the appropriate time to plan and prepare accordingly, don’t expect much. If your expectations are not in line with your actions, prepare to be disappointed.
When you do not plan and prepare yet you expect great things to happen, that’s called imposing on others. If you expect others to deliver what you want without any work on your part, your expectations will be unrealistic.
Growth by
Design
There is nothing accidental about what happens to truly successful people who achieve at a high level. It is a deliberate result of a sound plan, thorough preparation and realistic expectation.
If you are creating and delivering value in any way, you can realistically expect a correlating or exceeding reward. This is natural law – this principle does not change.
Achieving your goals requires a specific design of a plan in order to take the first step. The results you desire in your personal growth and your life will not show up in a Cracker Jack box; you have to plan and prepare for them. Only then can you realistically expect them to manifest.
Successful growth occurs through design and if you want to guide and control what happens as you grow, I strongly suggest you begin designing your action plan right now. If you don’t, I can guarantee you that the results you desire will become fantasy and never see the light of day.
Successful people are not special simply because they are successful; they are special because of the road they walked to get there. They put in the work; they plan; they prepare and they expect – CONSTANTLY!
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