| | Inspire
Me (April 2009)True stories, quotes and information
on inspiration, leadership and kindness to provide hope and direction in your
life.
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Column
By Bob Proctor
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The Little Things Make the
Difference
It has often been said the line which separates winning
from losing is as fine as a razor's edge - and it is (I am talking about winning
in a big way and in all areas of your life)
One person "just about"
starts a project, the other person starts it. One individual "almost"
completes a task, the other does complete it. One person sees an opportunity,
the other acts on it.
One student "nearly" passes the exam,
the other does pass it - and although the difference in their marks may be only
one percentage point out of a hundred, it's that one point that makes all the
difference.
In 1947, ARMED - the first race horse in the history of United
States' racing to win over one million dollars in prize money over the duration
of his career - had earnings of $761,500. But the horse which finished second
in earnings that same year - a horse which often lost races a mile long
by
only "a nose" - won only $75,000.
Now, if one were to look at
their winnings alone, it would appear that ARMED was thirteen times better than
his closest competitor. However, when you compare "the times" that were
actually registered by those two horses in their races, you discover he really
wasn't even four percent superior!
Think of how your results would change
if you improved your performance by just one or two percent.
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Column
By Kevin Eikenberry
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Four Ways to Accelerate
Your Goal Achievement
Most everyone has goals. And even if you don`t
have them clearly defined and written down (if that`s you, why not?), you likely
have some sense of where you want to go.
If you have neither, this article
isn`t really for you. But if either of the first two things is true for you then
this article is absolutely for you; because if you have goals, I`m guessing you`d
like to reach them faster.
The sole purpose of setting a goal is reaching
the goal, and in most instances, getting to the goal faster would be a good thing!
It doesn`t matter if you are behind on your goal plan (or the deadline is coming
up quickly), if you are overwhelmed by the amount you have to do, or whatever
your
reason is for wanting to "pick up the pace", the four actions
that follow will accelerate your progress and move you towards your goals faster.
1. Remind Yourself Why
You set the goal for a reason. There
is some purpose or series of benefits that will come to you when the goal is reached.
You know what these reasons are, right? If you don`t, stop here and determine
them before you do anything else.
Here are some examples.
Your
goal is to lose weight so you will have more energy, feel better about yourself
or attract a mate (or wow them at your class reunion). Your goal is to complete
the project on time in order to better serve Customers or earn a bonus (in order
to take that Mediterranean cruise). Your goal is to
complete the reorganization
so that Customers will be happier, productivity can be improved and people can
get settled into their new jobs quickly (so the lives of those you lead can become
more normal again).
There may be many "reasons why" for any
goal you set. You must know them, you must remind yourself of them, and you must
recognize that all "whys" aren`t created equally. Notice how powerful
and personal the above ones in parentheses are? Those are the why`s that will
keep you
moving forward towards your goals when you are frustrated, tired or
discouraged.
Keep your whys clear, and if you are leading others, find
ways to keep the whys clear and top of mind for them too.
We can achieve
much more and achieve faster when we have a clear and compelling reason why.
2. Take Daily Action
I really can`t say it any clearer than
this. If you want to accelerate your progress towards your goals, you simply must
take more of the actions required to reach those goals. Take
at least one tangible
action towards the ultimate goal every day. Cleaning your desk or organizing your
files doesn`t count. If you need to do these types of things, great, but
that
isn`t progress towards your goal (unless your goal is a consistently clean office).
Forget the busy work, and get to work. One task every day.
Want to move
even faster? Take more action! Do two or three tasks every day. Make them tangible
and directly related to the goals. As you take action, and see progress and have
success, you create more energy. The greater energy you create allows you to take
more action and have more success. This virtuous cycle is a major key to accelerating
your progress towards your goals.
Want to reach your goal faster? Take
action today, and every day. Start now.
3. Learn Something
There is a complete and direct linkage between goals and learning. The achievement
of every goal requires learning. If you already knew everything required, chances
are a goal wouldn`t be needed. In fact there are two major components to the achievement
of your goals - action (which we just
talked about) and learning (which we`re
talking about now).
When you choose to learn things required for achieving
your goals, you create:
* New abilities and skills you need for success.
*
New insights or mindsets that create success.
* New information that causes
you to be inspired and creates energy.
All of these things create speed
in goal achievement.
When you combine steps two and three you have even
faster achievement. Note: One of your daily tasks could be to learn something.
This is a great daily action. But be forewarned, learning something every day,
by itself, isn`t enough.
Learning is a cornerstone to goal achievement,
so as you learn more you accelerate your progress.
4. Get Help
There is no such thing as a self made man (or woman). We all need help and
support to reach our goals, if even indirectly. Even if you could reach your goals
completely alone, why would you want to? Get your ego out of the equation and
you will speed up your progress. Other people can provide:
* Support
*
A pair of hands to help
* Knowledge
* Experience
* A referral
* Encouragement
*
And a thousand other things.
There is no need to go it alone, to do so
is silly and non-productive.
To reach your goals faster, get help and
build a team.
These four steps will help you reach any goal faster. They
also will help you as a leader in helping teams and individuals do the same.
Start today by looking at any current goal you would like to achieve faster,
then put these ideas in place. Rest assured your future success will come much
faster than if you don`t.
Potential Pointer: If you want to accelerate
progress towards your goals, remain clear on why you want to reach the goal, take
daily action towards it, continue to learn things that support your goal and enlist
the help and support of others. When you take these four steps, you are on your
way to greater success sooner!
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