Dan Gordon: ANY Goal is 100% Achievable if You Do it the RIGHT Way!
So this little guy walks into a gym. He looks around, walks over to the biggest weight, and says to the gym owner, “I want to lift this weight.”
The owner looks at the little guy and says “Okay. Let’s start with a few sit-ups. Then we’ll try some barbells and–.”
“Didn’t you hear me?” The little guy says, “I want to lift this weight. Now!” With that, he grabs the weight and starts tugging at it.
After a few minutes, he is exhausted. He turns to the gym owner and says, “I’m such a failure. I’ll never be able to lift this.” Discouraged, he walks out of the gym, never to return again.
Why do we give up?
In the same way, you probably have experienced the same kind of discouragement; giving up after you didn’t achieve an unrealistic goal. Why do we do that to ourselves? The answer might surprise you. We set those lofty goals to prevent ourselves from experiencing failure.
But wait. Isn’t not reaching our lofty goal a failure? Not exactly!
Let’s say that little guy in the gym dedicates himself to months of hard work. Then, after a year, he tries to lift that gigantic weight again but he still can’t do it. Imagine how much worse he would feel then!
It’s a little subconscious trick we play on ourselves.
We fail at our lofty goals to experience a small amount of discouragement now which in turn prevents us from experiencing a huge amount of discouragement later.
Psychologists call this atychiphobia; the fear of failing. In the U.S., 35 percent of all entrepreneurs give up on their business dreams way before putting in their full effort just to avoid the feeling of failure.
Using Your Goals to Beat the Fear of Failure
I help all my clients retrain their brains when it comes to goals and success. I tell them that the key to beating the fear of failure is to follow the advice of the gym owner.
Start small. Go slow. Be kind to yourself while pursuing your highest entrepreneurial vision for yourself.
Most people use the same old goal-setting systems you can find in any Google search. They rarely work. Using my plan, my clients always achieve their goals!
Here are my Five Tools of Success I teach my clients for achieving ANY goal they set for themselves:
TOOL 1:
Start with your loftiest of lofty goals. Want to be a millionaire? A billionaire? Live on the moon? GREAT! Tape a piece of paper to your wall and write that goal down in big letters. Under your goal write TIMEFRAME: INFINITY.
I know. It seems crazy. After all, if you don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself you’ll never achieve your goal, right?
Hummm, how did all that pressure work out for the little guy in the gym?
Remember, we’re tricking your brain to avoid falling into the trap of fear of failure. But don’t worry. We’re only at TOOL 1!
TOOL 2:
Break down your lofty goal into the smallest of small subgoals. If you want to be a billionaire, maybe your first subgoal is to find a billionaire to mentor you. How do you do that? Create another sub-goal of reaching out to people you know who have access to billionaires to get a list of potential mentors.
Will that really move you any closer to being a billionaire? The only thing you know for certain is that doing nothing has a 100% rate of failure.
TOOL 3:
When setting your subgoals, use S.M.A.R.T. Technology. That means making them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. For example, let’s say you want to find a billionaire to mentor you.
Here’s how you would run the mentor goal through S.M.A.R.T. Technology:
- Specific: I will call potential mentors starting on Monday at 9:00 am
- Measurable: I will ask at least 20 people to mentor me.
- Achievable: Better make that just 5 people.
- Realistic: Is it likely I can do that? Yes!
- Time-bound: I will complete all 5 calls by 11:00 am
TOOL 4:
If you don’t achieve a sub-goal, does it mean you didn’t try hard enough? Not at all! Just like the little guy at the gym, you inadvertently set a goal that was too big.
Instead of simply trying again, cut your goal in half. If you still don’t achieve it, cut that goal in half. Keep halving your goals till you start achieving them.
For example, if your goal was to run four miles every morning and you didn’t achieve it, cut it down to two miles. Didn’t achieve that? One mile. Then maybe a walk around the block or perhaps just getting out of bed and putting on your shorts.
You build momentum through small successes, not by beating yourself up.
TOOL 5:
Instead of judging your progress as success or failure, celebrate every achievement no matter how small!
Most entrepreneurs are quite unique in that we are used to being good at a LOT of different things. When we come up against something we have a hard time mastering it can feel frustrating.
This is when you need to go slow, be kind to yourself and remember that every new challenge is a direct pathway to achieving your loftiest goals
No matter what goal you want to hit, following my Five Tools of Success will get you there. You not only achieve your greatest aspirations but you destroy your fear of failure along the way.
Let me help you move into your goals, take ACTION, and set your business on a path to unlimited success.
If this has been helpful, you can download this and all my tools for success by just texting the word SUCCESS to my personal cell phone 213-409-8366.
Or CLICK HERE to schedule a no-catch, no-cost, 15-minute consultation.
Listen to my free audiobook Success Mindset to access your inner superhero: Stream it HERE.
See how good it feels to close more deals!