Achievement - Setting Goals

    It's not too late to set your goals for this year!

*Audible groans*

The Problem

    Alright I get it.  Setting goals is not the most exciting activity you can complete.  It can be mind numbing work and half of the things you write down are not achieved anyway so why bother to do it at all!?  I was once very much against setting goals and having the new year new me tribal mindset.  I thought that the process of setting goals, sticking with them for 2 weeks, and then never looking at them again for the rest of the year was for wannabes.  Too many times I have been around people that would say things like, "my only goal this year is to be happy" or "this year things are going to be different", yet I never saw these people truly improve their lives in any significant way.  Why would anyone set goals with results like that all around them as constant reminders of the (allegedly) ineffective pursuit?  

The Truth

    Over the years my resilience was worn down and I finally gave in and started setting goals.  At first, just as I expected, I ended setting the goals, pursuing them for about 2 to 4 weeks, and gave up or forgot about them.  In fact, it wasn't until about my third year of setting goals that I started to notice I was pursuing them with a little more rigor.  What changed?  Well, let me tell you.  I believe, just like in all things, that the more time and effort you put into a skill, the better you become at using that skillset.  I started setting goals and slowly over the years I started to read about setting goals, how to set better goals, how to develop systems that help to achieve goals you set and the list goes on.  I spent more time working through these tangent activities that are all related to setting goals and I got better at it!  It turns out that there are more to goals than the goals themselves.  There are a couple different skill sets involved with setting and achieving them.  To name a few there is vision, organization, critical thinking, communication, task management, prioritization and self motivation.  What a list!  I will not be covering all of those skills in this post but I will show you how I personally set goals and maybe it will help you achieve yours.

The Process

    My process has been refined over the years but here is a quick checklist of how I set my 2023 goals.

        [ ] I review company and departmental goals
        [ ] I review my goals from previous years
        [ ] I look at the trends in my project work (10,000 ft. view)
        [ ] I list skills I might need to acquire to help me achieve success
        [ ] I write down things that bother me about my current state
        [ ] I consider CONSTRUCTIVE criticism or feedback others have provided
        [ ] I write a draft of my goals
        [ ] I finalize my goals
        [ ] I create action items each month to push me towards my goals

    Here is a look at my goals for this year:

    If you are wondering what program I used to create these, it is a free tool from Microsoft called OneNote.  I personally love this tool for taking notes and keeping track of projects and I would highly recommend it.  It is like using Word but with "tabs" similar to Excel but on the sides of the application rather than the bottoms of the sheets.

    You will notice something almost immediately.  THESE GOALS ARE NOT EASILY ACHIEVABLE!  These goals are also pretty generic in nature almost akin to "gut feelings".  These are areas in my work life that I strongly feel I need gain a handle on but, and here is the key part, I do not know how to handle yet.  You see, addressing these goals this year will require me to GROW myself so that I can ensure my success in completing them.  That is the beauty of setting goals.  Goals do not need to be achieved, it is the pursuit of achieving them that makes you better so that someday you might be able to achieve them.

WHAT!?!?

    "So what you are saying is all this time that I have spent writing down goals and not achieving them, I was not supposed to not actually achieve them anyway?"  Well yes, but no.  You should set goals that stretch and challenge you so that you are forced to change in small incremental ways.  Goals are simply a "compass" that directs you towards north.  You can travel East or West or even South but if where you want to go is North you should follow your compass.  So what are my goals saying about me right now?  If I break down each one it becomes obvious that

1. I am struggling to focus on key tasks critical to my primary role responsibilities and that I need to invest in my team so they can take on tasks that I no longer have time for.
2. I need to develop a plan or trajectory  for my team so that not only do I have a compass, but my entire team has one as well!
3. That I believe my team can play well with others and that I should encourage it to better meet organization goals.
4. That I want to fix big problems that will help everyone else achieve more.  See a previous post of mine to better understand my motivation with this goal: Leadership - How to become a Leader
5. I feel that I have more to offer my team and those around me and I want to make it a priority to invest my valuable time in others to help them grow.

So I essentially I did a gut check, put into words what I felt and my list was born.  I like to add a little flair to my goals as well.  I will add inspirational quotes from books I've read, thoughts I've had that mean something to me and also quotes from my leadership team.  Why do this?  Because it inspires me to reach for these goals each time I read them.  These are quotes and descriptions that draw me in and that stir my emotions in a way that makes me want to get stuff done!  It reminds me that the journey is worth the pursuit.

The Call to Action

    Writing goals is an important part of achievement and leadership.  I would encourage anyone reading this blog to take the time and set goals.  Setting goals is the important first step to realizing you want a little more out of life.  Acknowledge that there is a gap between where you are today and where you want to be in the future and take that first step towards conquering the unknown!

For an interesting article I stumbled across on goal setting while doing a homework assignment check this out 7 Tips for Setting More Effective Goals

For those of you that have stuck around this long, start writing those goals down and be ready because I will be posting on this topic again in the near future.  Look for: Achievement - Making Goals Actionable

Leadership - How to become a Leader

This Post

• Intro
• The Secret Sauce
• Conclusion

Intro

You are a hard worker. You put everything you've got into everything you do because for you, apathy is not the answer. You cannot accept that everyone around you has such a dour view of the bright beautiful world that we live in.  Let me tell you something, you are unique in todays world, someone who believes that hard work is rewarded.  Someone that sees a hill and thinks, I SHOULD RUN UP IT!  Someone who is not scared to try their hardest knowing there is more to life than Instascrolling and TikTok while on the pooper.

I have always felt that way as well.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't consider myself a hyper achiever or anything but I have always valued hard work and those that do it.  Most of the successful people that I have met in my personal life are the hardest working.  I believe there is something to that tenacity that these individuals have inside them.  That spirit of taking on challenges that others shy away from or refuse to participate in.  I am constantly baffled by the amount of people I meet that do not want more for themselves.  They hate the thought of stepping outside their comfort zone and risking doing something amazing.  Consider what that means, not only for you, but for the world as a whole.

There are soooo many people out in the world that are totally content and do not really expect more out of their lives and are not willing to work harder to get more.  For those of us that want more out of life and are willing to put in more effort, something becomes quickly apparent.  Success is pretty darn achievable.  I mean think about it, there really is not any competition, ESPECIALLY if you are working up from the bottom of the barrel.  People in America are comfortable at the bottom!  Whenever you turn on the news or jump on social media we are constantly bombarded with people more successful than us.  We LOVE to hear stories about the hyper successful, the one percenters we hear them called.  We can live vicariously through those super wealthy super rich leaders and we don't have to lift a finger.  I think it is sad that so many people live vicariously but never try to find a way to become a one percenter themselves.

What if I told you that I have the secret sauce, that special formula, that mix of 12 herbs and spices to become a leader?  Read on to stop living vicariously. 

The Secret Sauce

To the person reading this, let me just say, WELCOME!  You have made the first step to achieving something more for yourself.  Everyone starts at the same place, a fire, a desire, a calling to reach for something higher.  So here is the secret to working your way up the ladder in any activity you want to excel at, become the problem solver.

"Well thanks for the great advice there, I never would have thought of that on my own!"

Okay, okay, I get it but stick with me here.  Seriously contemplate this for a second, anyone that is successful is able to solve problems.  Let's start small here.  Your sink clogs and backs up and now you can't use it.  Who do you call?  A Plumber.  Why do you call the Plumber?  BECAUSE HE HAS THE SECRET SAUCE!  He knows how to fix your problem which is why you give them $300.00 each time they fix your sink.  That Plumber has the secret sauce and can sell it to anyone with that problem and that makes them a leader, at least when it comes to plumbing problems.  If you have an electrical problem the Plumber wouldn't be much help and so they would not be the problem solver in that situation.

"Okay, so I just need to become a Plumber, got it.  You give great advice Continuous Learning Journal..."

NOPE!  I'm not done yet, there is more to this illustration.  That Plumber probably works for a company right?  If he works for a company then there is probably an owner that once started out as a Plumber.  What separates this old business owner that was once a Plumber from his employee that just fixed your sink for 3 big ones?  HE LEARNED TO SOLVE BIGGER PROBLEMS.  "What?" - YES!  Starting a business is no joke.  I would argue that all business owners are just excellent problem solvers.  This Plumbing business owner had to figure out how to start the company, file taxes, be in compliance with governmental regulations, market to customers, host a website, stay competitive in a highly saturated market (no pun intended), keep customer satisfaction high and the list goes on and on!  

"Okay, great speech, get off your soap box.."

Oh the list goes on.  Who do you think makes the tools and supplies for the Plumber?  Someone somewhere started a company that manufactures drain augers, the bread and butter of every plumber in the world.  I am willing to bet the person that invented drain augers is quite wealthy.  They are wealthy because they solved a problem at a whole new level.  Good reliable drain augers cost thousands of dollars.  It took someone looking into this niche market and asking the question, how could I make this job easier for Plumbers and the people they work for?  The bigger the leader, the bigger the problems that need to be solved.  Alright now I will get off my soap box with the plumber analogy.

"Maybe you have a point..."

Your task is to set out each day with the intension to identify and solves problems.  It doesn't matter if the problems you are solving are small ones to start.  I once had a journal and my entire goal with this journal was to identify 100 ways to save myself time during my work day.  I didn't get to 100, but I did get good at finding ways to improve my effectiveness.  I solved a problem for myself which made me more competitive with those around me.  It made me stand out in a crowd.  The great thing about the laws of attraction is this, leaders attract leaders and as I already spelled out above, leaders are simply problem solvers.  When someone in leadership is around you, whether its a business or a church or even a non profit one thing will always be truth.  They want to have the best on their teams!  They know who solves the problems on their team and they are willing to invest in those people because they are critical to keeping the business afloat.

When I started to truly take this to heart, I can tell you that the leaders around me took notice right away.  They started to invest more time in me and helped to grow me as I continued to step up and take on larger problems.  They would even give me guidance on solving big problems when I didn't even know where to start!  My plan moving forward for my career is to further develop my knack for problem solving.  I want to solve big problems because I know the world is so desperate for hard working people that can fix things.  I would encourage you to take up the torch with me and become a problem solving master!

Conclusion

During the intro I asked you to consider the consequences of there being little competition to solve problems in todays world.  On the bright side we identified that there really is not that much competition to start.  There is a darker side to this coin though.  With there being less and less problem solvers in the world we are going to start to see bigger and bigger problems compounded by the lack of caring at the bottom.  I believe it is our duty to not only ourselves, but to everyone around us to start working hard to solve these problems before they fester and compound.  Become a systematic problem solver, set a good example for everyone around you.  Tell them the secret sauce.  Surround yourself with the best problem solvers.  The larger your crowd of problem solvers and the larger the problems you solve the higher you will work yourself up the leadership ladder.

The higher and higher an individual works into the "achievement index" i.e., working towards the top to become a one percenter, the stiffer and stiffer the competition.  With you setting out to solve problems and building and inspiring a group of problem solvers with you.  You will slowly build an empire of problem solving that will compound your efforts to the TOP!  Look for a future post where I will guide you through how to become a systematic problem solver.

BOOM!  Congratulations, you are now a problem solver, go forth and prosper!

-John