dykstraNet

Good evening toastmasters and welcome guests.

I’d like you to relax and use your imagination for a moment. I’m going to start by taking you through a short mental exercise. Think of a goal or some achievement in your life that you truly believe you are capable of attaining.

Perhaps it is writing a book,

or attaining a degree,

or getting a promotion.

Make it a big goal. One that you could not achieve tomorrow, but could be achieved with sustained vision and diligent follow-through for an extended period. The more specific you can be, the more likely you’ll succeed.

‘Write murder-mystery that takes place in Boston in the year 2020′ is better than ‘write a book’.

‘Get an MBA from MIT’s Sloan school of Management’ is better than ‘get a degree’.

‘Become General Manager for the Red Sox’ is better than ‘Get a promotion’.

For me, it’s running the Chicago marathon this October 10th in under 3:40. Take a moment and come up with yours.

PAUSE

Now consider the fruits of your effort. What rights and privileges will be afforded you after having achieved this goal.

Think of the admiration of your family… the esteem your peers.

Think of the financial benefits.

Think of your own sense of personal satisfaction from having done something extraordinary.

Now… don’t you feel a little bit inspired?

Ladies and Gentleman, this talk is about goals. Now I think we can all agree that goals are a good thing.

We’ve probably all heard the story about the study done at Harvard that took a look at one graduating class. 25 years after graduation, the top 3% of that class, in terms of wages, earned more than the other 97% combined. What did that 3% have in common with one and other: Goals.

Goals are good. Goals work.
Who here is going to say goals are not important? Yet how many of us have clear goals?

How many of us have a goal system that keeps us on track?

Well, my friends, you’ve just taken the first step. You have dreamed about an outcome. You’ve taken a look at yourself after having achieved something. You have pictured the benefits.

Hang on to that picture! That picture is the first tool in your tool box. That glory and inspiration is a cog in the machine of your goal system. Don’t lose it. You’re going to need it. Losing sight of the outcome is probably the number one reason that most of us fail.

Ok, now that our gas tank is full, we are ready to do some work. The next thing one needs to do is to begin deconstructing this large, seemingly insurmountable task into smaller pieces.

These are your milestones. These are the ledges on the way up the mountain that you can stop at… Look down and see all the ground you’ve covered so far. Look up and see how far you’ve got to go.

And also, you can look at the view. Milestones are a place to stop and appreciate what you have achieved so far.

In fact, let’s consider the word ‘Milestone’. It is quite literally a stone on the ground that marks the mileage you have covered so far. And not only does it mark how far you’ve come, but it also ensures that you are on the correct trajectory. Not only have you covered a certain distance, but you’ve covered that distance in the proper direction. Achieving a milestone means you’ve measured your progress and you’ve proceeded along the correct path.

Deciding what those milestones are involves work. Taking time to think of the intermediate steps involved in attaining a large goal can be tricky, difficult, and subject to change.

What is necessary?
How will I measure my progress?
What if circumstances change?

This is hard. This is where many people fail. They already have enough work in their lives without having to take time to figure out milestones. The extra effort is worth it though. Remember your picture of success… your bottle of inspiration?

For me and my marathon goal, there are milestone races in my 18 week schedule leading up to the marathon. From a 10K or half marathon race time, I can extrapolate a likely marathon time and see if I have improved and if I’m on track to finish in time.

Let’s not be too ambitious here, but let’s stop for a moment and see if you can identify what might be the next milestone necessary to achieve your goal that you originally came up with.

Next comes another difficult stage in your goal setting framework: identifying the individual tasks necessary to get you to your next milestone and, here’s the kicker, putting them on your schedule. Can you see now why most people fail? This stuff is hard. But doing this last step is the most important. You need to wake up in the morning and know exactly what you need to accomplish that day. The name of this talk is “Setting Goals Can Set You Free” and it is this step that “Sets You Free”.

You see, one of the added benefits to setting goals… besides all those fruits you identified earlier, is the stress relief that comes from having already decided what needs doing and merely having to execute your plan. You will be surprised at the mental burden that is lifted when you can play the role of worker-bee in your goals framework. No longer do you have to do this work on the fly, and no longer do you have to be stressed wondering if you are doing the right things moment to moment.

For my marathon goal, there are a series of running cycles than intertwine rest weeks and intensity weeks. On any given day, I know my mileage and route. And I know if I should be resting. I no longer have to consider the plan, I’m free to mindlessly go execute. If it happens to be a rest day, I don’t feel guilty… I know its part of the plan. Execute the plan day in and day out and that insurmountable goal falls in your lap as if by magic. I have experienced this, having run marathons in the past… being barely able to run 5 miles at the start, and crossing the finish after 26 miles at the end.

Think again about your goal. Think again about your next milestone for that goal. Now, if you were not here right now and you had the next hour to accomplish some small task that would move you toward that milestone, and thus that goal, what would that be?

PAUSE

Let’s think about this one more time and go over the important bits.

ONE: Be results oriented, picture the end result, and hang on to that vision for the long haul ahead.

TWO: When listing your goals, be as specific as you can. It will make it easier to deconstruct your goals into bight size and nibble size chunks and make it easier to figure out how to measure your progress.

THREE: Identify your milestones. Figure out when you can pick your head up, evaluate your progress, and see if you are on the right track.

FOUR: Identify the tasks that make up your next milestone and put them on your schedule. This allows you to relax and work the plan. When you wake up, you know what you need to do.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ve always thought that goals were a good thing but never quite realized the benefits goal setting promises, I hope you’ve found this short talk useful. Without a framework for achieving our goals, the potential we all have to succeed may never be realized..