Concepts of Accomplishment
Reaching goals so we can achieve our dreams typically boils down to doing a few simple things well. To illustrate that point, I’d like to tell you a story about coffee and avocado toast.
If you were taking the course right now, I would ask you to take out your pen and paper and take some notes. While I enjoy writing these posts, and I hope you enjoy reading them, the fact is that as much as I try, I cannot give you all the information you will receive in the course in this format.
Ideally, I’d want you to read these posts each week to reinforce what you have already learned by taking the course and then share them with your friends and family. Remember, we live in a world of abundance. There is no limit to the amount of knowledge we all can have. The total sum of everyone's knowledge is limitless. And here is an important point. There is a saying in the investment community that a rising tide lifts all boats. It’s the same with learning. It’s alright for everyone to learn; we are not competing against each other. Sharing what you learn and your knowledge with others is a beautiful feeling. And then others share, and others share, and it goes on and on. So, as you are enriched on your journey to achieving your dreams, share that knowledge with someone you care about.
We’ve spent a lot of time learning about learning, but we are not finished yet. However, I do want to pivot a bit. We’ve established that our ultimate end goal is to achieve our dreams and live our best life. To get to that point, we will need a vision of where we want to be and a series of steps and tasks to get us there. We call these steps and tasks goals.
A word about goals
I’m going to be honest with you for a minute. The word “goal” can be a turn-off for some people. Yes, I know you find that hard to believe. I’m kidding, of course, because I know it to be true. As we've mentioned, that “some people” number is about 97% of the general population. Setting goals, much less achieving them, is about as popular as some medical tests we need to take to catch diseases and illnesses early, which can save our lives. So yes, we already know that setting and achieving goals is not popular with the average set, just like getting a colonoscopy or a mammogram is not. The World Health Organization reports that in 2020, more than 1.9 million new cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related death (Note 1). In the US, over 50,000 people die of this disease every year. One would think that if more people knew this, then more would seek the screening early as many with early diagnosis can be successfully treated. Similarly, more than 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022, and 670,000 die each year globally. In the same way that if we want to diagnose and treat serious diseases, we must discover them early; we all know that if we're going to achieve and enjoy success, we must set goals and achieve them, and the sooner, the better! I scream as loud as I can to as many people as possible about the importance of all three crucial actions everyone should be taking.
As you may have noticed from past posts, I like to use bullet points to highlight important concepts. When you see a bullet point, it stands out and demands attention. I encourage you to ponder carefully when seeing something in a bullet point. For now, I will leave you with a couple of bullet points that require careful consideration if you hope to achieve your goals and live your best life. Let’s look at them, shall we? Here they are:
As you consider what goals you want to set for yourself, understand it’s quite simple:
• Your goals should be challenging AND cause YOU to stretch, but…
• They should be realistic, tempered to your situation, very specific, AND time-bound.
Let’s dissect these points for a minute. A phrase that has become common in the past few years goes, “Let’s unpack those points.” Hello? It’s not a Christmas present; it’s a phrase that needs further discussion. Well, I guess you can tell I don’t like to unpack…
For the first point, we want to set goals that cause us to be uncomfortable and cannot be completed without some work. That means doing more than we are doing today. If you engage in physical fitness or play sports, you are familiar with the term “no pain, no gain.” That’s a universally good saying, and if you hope to achieve it, you will have to set goals that will make a difference in your life and cause you to work and grow. It’s the hard that makes it good, that satisfaction you get after a good workout or doing something significant that makes a difference. So, as you ponder the goals you need to set to achieve what you want, remember always to challenge yourself. I’ve told the story about stretch goals before. When I was into LEAN, continuous improvement, and Six Sigma, a stretch goal was a common term that meant that if you wanted real improvement, you had to challenge yourself. It’s the same with self-improvement. No pain, no gain.
Regarding the second point, it’s popular to say you can do anything or be anything you want. I say it myself. Depending upon what you want, that in and of itself may be a stretch goal. But we need to be realistic as well. To say you want to be the King of England is not a realistic goal unless you are part of the family or marry into it. If you are 60 years old and clerk in a retail store, to say you want to be the CEO by the time you are 65 is probably not realistic either. Setting unrealistic goals that are not tempered with your current situation will set you up for failure. Have you set a date to achieve your goal? Unless you have, it’s just an objective, and an objective is not the same as a goal. Some people have a knack for this sort of thing and can come up with realistic, challenging, yet achievable goals. What if you struggle to do this? Is all lost, and you relegate yourself to the 97%?
No way! This is precisely why we have mentors, family, and others we trust to bounce these ideas off of. Have you ever heard the term, “You can’t see the forest for the trees?” This means that sometimes, we are too close to a situation to assess it accurately. As a leader, I liked to bounce ideas off my managers for their input. Besides the fact that they could sometimes see things I could not and offer sound advice, involving them in the process helped them have ownership. As a result, success was much more likely. Sharing your goals with those you trust will result in better goals, and this is important; these caring folks can help keep you accountable for achieving them, which is good for you!
Traits required to reach goals
Let’s move on to the second set of points I want to make about goals. There are some necessary elements you must either possess or obtain if you want to be successful in your goals. Let’s look at those:
· Self-discipline
· Accepting delayed gratification, or “not keeping up with the Jones”
· Self-sacrifice
· Daily habits
Now, I want you to ponder these points carefully. Honestly ask yourself if you possess these traits or not. Let me give two examples of what I mean. This may be painful for some to read. That’s not my point, but my point is to get you to examine your lifestyle and habits to ensure you can achieve what you want to. Do you stop and buy coffee or other drinks or snacks on your way to work or as you go out every day? How about buying lunch out every day? Later, we will go over the compound effect of spending 12 or 15 dollars a day on these activities on your financial future, and the point will be shocking to you.
Regarding daily habits. Are you always late? Are you on time? Are you early? I think I will stop because I don’t need to discuss this daily habit. You already know what you should be doing and keeping up with the Joneses is probably not it. We discuss this point during the course, and I provide examples of my friends all buying houses while I was investing my time and money in furthering my education. It's the same with everyone’s new car; we still have a 2006 model with over 278,000 miles on it. Are you getting the idea that you may need to be a little bit different? This is different from 97% of the people who do not have goals, much less have a plan to meet them. If you are, I’m successfully challenging you and making you uncomfortable. Hooray for me!
And then there are these points to consider:
• How much pain are YOU willing to endure?
• Are YOU committed? Or just Interested? Do you have grit?
• The coffee and avocado toast test
These questions and comments build upon the precious points and reinforce them. As you set goals to achieve you will be a little bit out in left field, perhaps by yourself. Practically, this means you may not go out on Friday night with your friends. You may miss a few lunches at work or not join others at the local Bar Stucks for coffee. As you transition from “want” to “achievement,” you may find it painful. Perhaps you will have to assess the crowd you hang around with. I can tell you I’ve had to make these very decisions myself. Remember, birds of a feather stick together. What kind of bird do you want to be?
Are you interested or committed? If you need to learn the difference, I challenge you to find the answer today. Click on the link in Note 2 and watch the video.
The famous coffee and avocado toast story
I want to tell you a story about a young man I was discussing this course with as an illustration to drive that last point home. He habitually stopped at a particular coffee shop on the way to work and ate lunch out every day. Now, this discussion was pre-pandemic, so the numbers I tell you now are likely vastly inflated today. I asked how much he spent on coffee each day. Answer: about $5.40. Lunch? About $8.00 for some avocado toast. I then asked him if, instead of purchasing these items every day, he brought them from home, how much money would he have, assuming about 10% interest if that money was invested in an S&P 500 index fund, he would have over his 40 or 45-year career. Click on the link in Note 3 and plug in the numbers yourself. When you have finished, ask yourself if you have any habits you need to change.
I’ve driven the point home several times now that people who set and achieve their dreams do so through a series of purposeful actions and do so consistently over a long time. That is why the people who achieve their dreams and live their best life are only about 3% of the population. Do you remember when you were a child in school? You studied hard for a test and when you took the test, you knew you did well and when the score came back, how good you felt? Your efforts were rewarded! With life goals, it’s the same thing. Only on steroids!
What’s in it for Me
As you’ve read today’s post, pondered the bullet points, watched the videos, and run the numbers, you are starting to see what goal achievement is like. I’ll bet you want it and are willing to work toward it. Congratulations, that’s what’s in it for you this week!
Call to Action
Study Maslow’s needs pyramid. You must satisfy levels one through three before you can achieve levels four and five. Have you satisfied those levels yet? If not, figure out what you need to do and do it!
Recommended Resources
Buy and read the book “Focal Point” by Brian Tracy (Note 4).
Up Next
Pause for review.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/colorectal-cancer
Are you committed or just interested? https://youtu.be/Nrl0YLC-KtM
Moneychimp calculator: http://www.moneychimp.com/features/cheapskate_calculator.htm
“Focal Point” by Brian Tracy: https://www.amazon.com/Focal-Point-Simplify-Productivity-Achieve/dp/0814472788