My mother never went to Europe.
She talked about it, dreamed about it and even opened a travel agency at age 55. Never got there. She died 15 years later, never achieving the goal. Oh, she achieved plenty of other goals. But not that one.
I went to Europe for the first time at age 20. One of the things I wanted to do there was study French. It’s a beautiful language – romantic, expressive and cultural. Never did. I tried but never did. I’ve been to Europe 30 times; France 20 times. Never learned the language. Oh, I know a few hundred words but can’t converse or understand conversation.
Unmet goals. Got any unmet goals?
Personal goals start as thoughts and dreams. Business goals may have those attributes, but they often are handed to you by a superior. I’m talking about sales goals, pipelines, sales plans, funnels, sales numbers and various benchmarks for you to achieve for them.
You then make a goal to achieve their goal. And many salespeople do. But many (most) do not. Management will refer to those who did not meet their goal as weak. That way they don’t have to take any blame or responsibility for their weak people.
Meantime, you have your goals – visit Europe, speak French, go on a vacation, buy a house, get a new car, take off weight, stop smoking, get married, get divorced, have a child, get your child out of the house. Whatever they are, you have your own personal goals.
I came up with a thought as to why goals are met or unmet. It centers on the old definition about goals that has always bugged me: “A goal is a dream with a plan.”
That statement is not only wrong but also dangerous. It implies you’ll never achieve your goals unless you make a plan. I don’t get it. I make very few plans, and I achieve tons of goals.
There are lots of goals that are not dreams. Did you dream your sales quota? No, you were sent an email or given a sheet of paper. No dream there. My first trip to Europe was never a dream. It was an opportunity that popped up, and I took advantage of it. No dream or plan, just an airplane ticket, a passport and some money.
Here are the elements I believe define and comprise the dream, goal and achievement process:
Thinking. Ideas pop into your head. Write them down.
Dreaming and daydreaming. Thoughts let your mind wander to desire, possibility and “what if.” I love to daydream. Don’t confuse daydreams with pipedreams. You will never win the lottery.
Observing. Looking closely at the world and your world to see what it is that you really want to be, do and have.
Opportunity. Recognize it. Seize it. And take advantage of it.
Risk tolerance determines outcomes. If you perceive the goal is too risky, you’ll pass. If you want to achieve, you’ve got to risk.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. These are the words of people unwilling to risk. “I coulda been a contender,” or “I coulda had class and been somebody.” Think Marlon Brando in his 1954 role as Terry Mallon in “On the Waterfront.”
Desire. Your level of desire will determine the length of time to achievement.
Want. Want it bad? Similar to desire, your level of want will determine the length of time to achievement.
Need. Need is a stronger circumstance than desire or want. Your needs will generate your level of achievement action.
Intention. Intentions precede actions. If you don’t intend to, you won’t achieve it, even if you want to. What are your intentions?
Dedication. If it’s a business goal, you have to dedicate the time to study and prepare. If it’s a personal goal, you have to dedicate small amounts of time to steadily achieve.
Persistence. The sister of dedication, it’s the stick-to-itiveness that pushes you to achievement.
Act for the day or the moment. Plans change, actions are in the now. Take some.
Skill set. Maybe your skills are precluding you from achievement. Maybe you need to study, practice or enlist the aid of others.
Love of what you do or what it is. Love breeds passion. Passion breeds action. Action breeds achievement.
For who? Why? If you have a motive, it may provide additional motivation. Don’t be a martyr. Do it for yourself first. Understanding for who and why will help you achieve as much as any other aspect of this process.
Self-belief in every aspect of the process. You must believe in yourself before you can believe in the achievement of your goals. Think you can.
Mission. If your goal is different from your mission, it will lack the passion to become a reality.
Visibility. Post it where you can see it. Keep your goals top of mind – top of mind’s eye. I have my goals on my bathroom mirror. Do you?
Support and encouragement. When others are cheering you on and encouraging you to achieve, it’s a mental miracle.
Serendipity. I have defined it before as, “God’s way of remaining anonymous.” But it’s more than that. Serendipity is that moment when chance and opportunity collide. And it’s at that moment when you are challenged to grasp it, and make yourself and your loved ones better off, successful and fulfilled. You reached for the brass ring, and you caught hold.
Now, if you get what you want, you better be ready. Be ready to capitalize, to grow, to take advantage of, to share and to enjoy – but not overindulge.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and 11 other titles, is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at Gitomer.com. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
