Attitude #2: Set Goals—Daily Destinations

The second attitudinal characteristic found among top achievers is that they set goals. They take advantage of the numerous benefits goal-setting offers. Most of us view goal-setting as a laborious exercise fraught with uncertainty. Did you know that only 5% of North Americans are committed to written goals? [3] I'm not talking about writing a to-do list scribbled on a Post-It-Note or a napkin. I mean a clear, concisely written goal. The to-do list simply represents a shopping list of activities, chores to be performed throughout your day. As a sales entrepreneur, you must get into the mental habit of thinking in terms of end results rather than being satisfied with "busy work."

There is a parade of excuses as to why people do not set goals. The most common one is, "They don't work," or even worse, "How do I know what I'll be doing in five years?" Instead of creating our future, we have been conditioned to react to the present. Too many people today seek the quick fix, hoping for some rescue fantasy to magically appear and salvage them from their boring life of routine and occasional luck.

In fairness to the goal-setting exercise, recognize there are two sides to every story. On the lighter side, I offer you the top ten reasons why you may choose not to set goals.

Reasons Not to Set Goals

1. No forward-thinking is required.
2. You will always be successful—no accountability, no disappointments.
3. Your week is already full. Maybe you'll set goals next week.
4. You have already reached your destination. Life has little more to offer.
5. It gives you a good reason to keep buying lottery tickets.
6. You can hang out with other aimless drifters. Like-minded people love company.
7. The 95% of North Americans who don't set goals can't be wrong. They may be mediocre or very average, but not wrong.
8. You'd rather live by other people's goals. It's easier if they set them.
9. No goals = no failure.
10. To-do lists work just fine for me.

Now, of course, I am being silly, but these reasons to not set goals are scarier than you think. I certainly hope you didn't highlight any of them. Unfortunately, many people do buy into this mentality.

Goals offer a host of benefits and the one that impresses me the most is that goals provide a destination. How do you know where you are going in life if you don't have a destination? Most of us spend more time planning our weekend, holiday, or party than we do our own lives. We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan. You have probably heard or read these ideas many times before. That's because they are true. Once again the path of least resistance and the pain of regret prevails.

I recently visited my brother in Toronto and I noticed an advertisement in the apartment building elevator that I'm sure you will appreciate. The ad was posted by a financial services company and in bold print asked the question, "Where will you be in five years?" It then offered four choices: (a) Driving a new car? (b) On a vacation? (c) In a new home? (d) In this elevator? I cracked up. Not only was the ad amusing, it delivered a powerful message. Unfortunately, given that only 5% of us have written goals, financial or otherwise, I'm sure "d" is the answer in most cases.