“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I find of it.” -Thomas Jefferson
"The formula for disaster is: Could + Should + Won't." -- Jim Rohn
In a study of 100 smokers, who
express desire to quit, 80 continued to smoke. Why do they continue to
smoke? According to the Journal of Marketing,
“Consumers tend to consistently fail to attain goals that require sequential
self-control” (Zemack-Rugar, 2012). While much has been
written on goals, and goal setting, as much as 80% of people fail to reach any
level of success with their personal goals. According to the Sports Science Review,
“Roughly 90% of the studies with goal setting
had a powerful and continuous effect on behavior” (Hvid, 2013). It seems
to be that when people are taught how to set goals, they often see more
success. To improve at goal setting, it is first important to understand what
exactly is a goal? There is a little-known American success formula that many successful
people employ. This little-known American success formula separates the top 10
% of income earners from the bottom 90%.
If you were to conduct a google search for the
definition of the word “goal” you would find that, “A goal is the object of a
person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” According to the Sport
Science Review Journal goals, “1) direct[s]
attention and action, 2) mobilize energy, 3) affects practice duration and 4)
develop strategies of action” (Hvid, 2013).
This explains why just having a desire is not strong enough to be a goal.
Eccentric and well known for his outlandish
political views, “The Donald” is one of best known real estate entrepreneurs in
the United States. Some of his biggest accomplishment are the Swifton Village apartment complex,
Penn Central, Commodore Hotel into
the Grand Hyatt,
Javits Convention
Center, Wollman
Rink in Central
Park,
Taj Mahal Casino, Trump
International Hotel and Tower – Honolulu, Trump
International Hotel and Tower – Chicago, Trump
International Hotel and Tower – Toronto, and
Trump Tower – Tampa.
Donald Trump never wanted to just be known as the
son of Fred Trump, a wealthy New
York City real-estate developer, he had a goal for
greatness; however, Donald did get his start from his father's firm, Elizabeth
Trump & Son. Donald worked hard in the real estate business while attending
the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania,
and in 1968 officially joined the company. He was given control of the company
in 1971 and renamed it The Trump Organization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump).
In Donald’s best-selling book The Art of The Deal he
starts by saying, “I don’t do it for the money, I have got enough, much more
than I’ll ever need. I do it, to do it. Deals are my art form. Other people
paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals,
preferably big deals. “ There is a lot to learn from this American icon. As a
matter of fact there is this Little-Known
American Success Formula every successful person employs and it is:
EFFORT + DESIRE = GOALS.
Desire without effort is a wish.
Effort requires a strong, healthy, and full of energy attempt. There
was a man in 1801 that was elected president of
the United States. He was the first United States Secretary of
State (1790–1793) serving under President George Washington. He
organized the Democratic-Republican Party, He was elected Vice President in
1796. He over saw the purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory from
France (1803), and sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806) to
explore the west (www.wikipedia.org, 2014).
Thomas Jefferson is an example of the Little- Know
American Success Formula. Jefferson is known for American expansionism;
According to the United States having doubled in size during his presidency. A
leader in the Enlightenment, Jefferson spoke five languages and was deeply
interested in science, invention, architecture, religion and philosophy. He was an active member and president of
the American Philosophical Society. These interests led him to the
founding of the University of Virginia. He designed his own large mansion
on a 5,000 acre plantation and the University of Virginia building.
Needless to say, Jefferson could set goals and accomplish them. In an expert
from Thomas Jefferson and Executive Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press:
“But
there is a remarkable unity to his thought over his entire career. Term limits,
unity of office, public opinion, strict construction, discretion by the faithful
officer, and declarations of principle were brought together by the executive
power. Properly understood, Jefferson’s transformation of the inaugural address
from oath-taking to principle-declaring, his setting of an informal precedent
for a two-term limit, and his refinement of the Electoral College all suggest a
deliberate and coherent project to attach presidential power to a majority
will. More than the struggle of an elected official seeking to maintain power,
these reforms reveal his effort to
further bind executive power with republican responsibility. It is significant
that he told a foreign observer that the execution
of laws was more important than the making of them” (Bailey,
2007).
One of the deep connections you can draw out of this
reference is the word “execution.” At the deepest understanding of setting
goals, Jefferson knew that effort was the driving factor in reaching goals {Laws}
set forth. In addition to effort, reaching goals require desire. The stronger
the desire the more likely it is that you will reach your goals.
According to the Journal of
Consumer Research, “The process of enacting self-control can be broken into
three primary activities: setting clear standards, monitoring behavior, and
regulating behavior” (REDDEN, 2013). The Journal goes on to explain that in dieting you can overcome your
desire for bad foods with strong willpower or “self-control” (REDDEN,
2013). This suggests that if a goal becomes your
desire it aligns with your willpower, and you are more instinctively going to
make choices in effort towards your goals. Remember “The Donald,” he said I “Do
it, to do it” Doing deals is his art. This is the way he enjoys to express
himself. His goals are his desires + his effort.
Why would you constantly fight yourself? To me,
fighting myself to ensure “self-controlled” choices would be exhausting. You
can see that the difference between exercising self-control and having a desire
is what your internal feelings are about what you want. Zig Zigler a
motivational speaker and bestselling author says that, “Those who, know how and
what, will always work for those who know why.”
Do you have answers to the questions:
why am I doing this? Why am I setting this goal? Why is this goal, my
goal? Why must I not quit until I reach my goal? Each question is an introspective
questions that forces you to look at your desires?
If the introspective concepts such as effort and
desire are the internal functions of goals, how then do you actually reach your
goals? One on the reason that you must write your goals down is because they
are objects. An object is anything that is visible or tangible and is relatively stable in form.
To set a goal that is not tangible is a waste of time. There is a difference
between wishes, hopes, dreams, and goals. Don’t get me wrong, wishes, hopes,
and dreams (especially big dreams) are important. However, proper goal setting
moves you towards your wishes, hopes, and dreams. There is a RIGHT way to set
goals. To set goals the RIGHT way, the goals must be:
R
– Realistic, I – Individualized, G- Gaping, H – Helping, T – Targeted
R
– Realistic
To set the right goals they must be Realistic, Do
you believe you can truly reach the goal you set? If you do not believe you can
realistically reach your goal, maybe your goal is still a dream? Maybe your
goal should be much more tangible? Over the years I have managed a number of
sales professionals. One year I had a rookie sales agent set a goal to be the
top producer in the company. They failed to reach their goal miserably. Why is
this? It was still a dream for him. We discussed this and I recommended the
following; “Let’s change our goal from the top producer, to be more tangible
and believable for you,” I said, “If our goal was to set a number of calls each
day that you know you can make, you could dramatically increase your income.
You can realistically control the number of calls you make each day.” We did
just that. We set a new realistic goal to make 20 contacts with live people a
day. In no time his confidence grew and he was in the top 2 sales people in the
company. Setting realistic goals matters. In addition to realistic goals, the
more your goals align with your values the easier it is to reach them.
I
– Individualized
An individualized goal is a goal that
is set based on your values, your personal desires, and benefits you in the
long run. Without a personalized connection to the goal you will lack the
internal desire to preserver when things get tough. This is why goals are
personal and are not effective when they are set for you. One strategy that I
employ when coaching a professional or team member is to allow them to set
their own goals. I never set the goal for them. I help them uncover their needs.
This way I can hold them accountable to what they told me they needed.
Individualized goals that align with your values are not enough. Setting goals that
are too specific can lead to feelings of failure. You can over comes this if
your goals are gaping.
G-
Gaping
You know that your goals should be
realistic and individualized, but did you know that you also need to set goals
that are gaping. This concept is challenging to understand but critical in
understanding goal setting. The goal needs to be open to failure. You have to
put all your effort into reaching your goals, but you should be okay if you are
not able to reach them. Many people I
have worked with struggle to set gaping goals. Are the goals you set open
widely? Getting upset about not reaching your personalized, realistic goals
only pushes you further from reaching your goals. The negativity that is
released from the disappointment of not reaching your goals suffocates your
ability to attract more positive things in your life. One of the ways to ensure
that your goals are gaping is to take the focus off our personal success and
focus on helping others.
H
– Helping
Are your goals helping others? You know from reading
other books on success that your goals must benefit others. If your goals are
not in line with other people’s needs, goals, ideals, or dreams, than you are
out on your own. It is impossible for you to succeed on your own. You need to
find people that you can align with and then help them succeed. Success happens
for you, when you help enough other people. When you help others you are doing
the right things and thus generating positive momentum in reaching your goals.
Having completely selfish goals that only benefit you, will always backfire and
cost you happiness and success.
I found the following on tumbler: “Helping a fellow
human being, while it can be inconvenient, has a few humble advantages: It makes
you feel better about yourself. It connects you with another person, at least
for a moment, if not for life. It improves the life of another, at least a
little. It makes the world a better place, one little step at a time. And if
that kindness is passed on, it can multiply, and multiply”
(http://be-useful.tumblr.com/why_help, 2014). You can clearly see that the
RIGHT goals help others. In addition to helping other they must be targeted
T
– Targeted
Deer season opens and you decided to go hunting this
year. You are going to bag a buck this year. You get your licenses and pack
your gun, ammo, food, scent, and camouflage. You get into your truck and drive
to the woods. You set up shop very early in your deer stand around 4:30 am. You
wait for a deer. Two hours pass and you spot a buck 100 yards out. You lower
your riffle, and look through your sites. You take off the safety, and put your
finger on the trigger. You take a deep breath to focus. BANG! When did you have your target? Was the target
the buck when you set out to hunt the buck, or was the target the buck actually
in the site. ? You may say, I do not see
a deer I do not have a target until the deer appears, but I challenge that. The
target was there from the opening of deer season. A targeted goal is just like
this example. When you started you had an idea of the target, but when the deer
actually appeared you lowered the gun and fired. You did not shoot at a turkey,
or squirrel. You shot at your target. It becomes confusing for other when you
do not have a chief aim that your goals are aligned with. It becomes confusing
for others when your goals do not have specific connections or conflict with
each other. Make sure your goals are targeted.
In conclusion, the Little-know American Success
Formula is Effort + Desire = Goals. To become successful you have to set the
RIGHT goals. The RIGHT goals are Realistic, Individualized, Gaping, Helping,
and Targeted. I would suggest that you
take some time over the next thirty days and re-evaluate your goals based on
this essay. You will see a dramatic increases in your success.
Here is to your success!
References
Bailey, J. D. (2007). Thomas Jefferson and Executive
Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Hvid LARSEN, C., & ENGELL, C. (2013). The Art of Goal
Setting: A Tale of Doing Sport Psychology in Professional Football. Sport
Science Review, 22(1/2), 49-76.
Presslee, A., Vance, T. W., & Webb, R. (2013). The
Effects of Reward Type on Employee Goal Setting, Goal Commitment, and
Performance. Accounting Review,88(5), 1805-1831. doi:10.2308/accr-50480
REDDEN, J. P., & HAWS, K. L. (2013). Healthy Satiation:
The Role of Decreasing Desire in Effective Self-Control. Journal Of
Consumer Research, 39(5), 1100-1114. doi:10.1086/667362
Zemack-Rugar, Y., Corus, C., & Brinberg, D. (2012). The
'Response-to-Failure' Scale: Predicting Behavior Following Initial Self-Control
Failure. Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 49(6), 996-1014.
doi:10.1509/jmr.10.0510
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/object
http://be-useful.tumblr.com/why_help
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