The end of one year is upon us. As the holidays kick-off and work tends to slow down, now is the time when many people start to set goals. How many people actually take time to set goals that stick past January 15th, however? Very few.
At HIRE YOURSELF, we are big believers in taking stock and looking forward in our lives and businesses. We have set yearly goals for years but recently have expanded our views to decade goals.
We have a few tips for you as you look to set your goals about how to be successful and copy successful people-like billionaires-and seize the opportunities ahead of you.
Hear pete and nat talk about how they set goals on the podcast
Goal Setting Tip #1: Keep Your Goals Positive
Setting goals is easy. Follow-through is difficult. Phrasing your goals in an aspirational way can help you commit to them more fully. Instead of using words like "don't," use words like "will." A good example would be saying, "I will grow my customer base by 10% by the end of the year" instead of "I won't let customer grow be less than 10% this year." The latter is constrictive and harsh; the former is more inviting.
It will also help if you focus on your strengths with some of your goals. Don't seek to work on things you struggle with exclusively. Your goals should be a mix of improving what you are already doing well and building new opportunities.
Goal Setting Tip #2: Decide What You WANT to Do
It is a mistake to set goals by random projection haphazardly. Before you select a single goal, you should decide what you want to do. Why are you setting goals? What are the outcomes you search for? Think about not just tomorrow, but at the end of the week, month, year, decade, and career.
Doing this will focus your decisions and goal selection to a defined point. It will also allow you to decide what not to do. Saying no can be painful, but it makes following your path easier.
Goal Setting Tip #3: Start at the End and Work Backwards
Once you know what you want, start at the end. If you don't start with the end in mind, you may never get to where you want to be.
If your goal is to retire by 60 and live in Europe, then make that the end goal and keep that in mind. There are a few points along the way you will also have to plan for, whether it is purchasing a franchise or getting your kids through college. Mapping these out will help them fit into your end goal and what you want to do.
Billionaires time travel. They start at the end. To capture the essence of their success, you should do the same.
Goal Setting Tip #4: Look Ahead Ten Years
Most people only look into the next year, with some lofty long-term goals. If you are only planning a year ahead, you drive a car on a busy highway only looking ten feet in front of the vehicle.
You might make it to your destination. You might also crash. Why leave it up to chance?
Once you have your end goal in mind, figure out where you need to be in ten years to put you on track to hit that goal. These goals may feel distant and unachievable, but if you keep your eyes on them and build the rest of your plan around meeting them, you will have a good chance of getting there.
Goals Setting Tip #5: Make Sure You Have (and Track) Daily Goals
Wait!? Make ten-year goals and tomorrow goals? Yep! Most people we talk to are outstanding about setting annual and quarterly goals, like a business. The problem is that it doesn't give you much guidance in the day-to-day of getting there.
It would be best if you ended each day before you begin the next one. Having SMART goals for each day will help you wrap a bow on each day and move on. If you don't hit all your goals for each day, that is okay. You always have tomorrow. But even going through the process will help you.
Daily goals are not a checklist of tasks. Your plan should move you towards your end. If calling X customer moves you to getting to Europe, that's fine. But, let's be real. It probably doesn't in a meaningful way. Find at least one thing every day to get you to that great big end goal because...
Goal Setting Tip #6: Compounding is Key
Moving a boulder is hard. Moving a pebble: simple. Move enough pebbles, and the boulder is gone. When you set daily goals to move the needle, which will develop into weekly goal achievement, you will find crossing goals off for the month and quarter more manageable. You might even attain your yearly goal before the year is up!
We have talked before about the compound effect. It happens! Whether it is building muscles or building financial freedom, every small step towards the goal will make the next step easier.
Goal Setting Tip #7: Find a Tool to Help You
Blindly setting and tracking goals can be daunting. Breaking down the barrier to entry and increasing your success can be done with something as simple as a tool. If you like to write things down, there are a myriad of great goal planners out there. As technology becomes more pervasive, you may find that an electronic tracker helps.
It is important to note that you may not find the one that fits your style immediately. You may cycle through two or five or twenty before finding the planning tool that works for you. Don't give up, though. Your success could depend on it.
Goal Setting Tip #8: Block Time Out for Yourself
As we look to our future, we often forget our very real and tangible present. Focusing ahead often makes us lose focus on what we need to bring with us: health, friends, family, etc. Singular obsession with your end goal or annual goal can cause you to overwork, become distant, and burn out. When that happens, you definitely won't be retiring on that Italian villa of your dreams.
Make your goals. Then block out time for you and what is important to you now. Don't let yourself erase the me time. Force yourself to take it. It is one of the things that will contribute to reaching your goals.
