Goals! is a simple book written by self-help guru Brian Tracy. The principles in this book are not new, in fact a reading of this book after reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People showed me just how many of these concepts Brian lifted from the ideas of Stephen Covey. Goals! is a slick packaging of a lot of common principles, and it includes some simple tools which are handy for implementing goals in your life. I actually like this book quite a lot, probably more than I should. There are some principles which resonate with me, and Brian is the king of pithy sayings which stick. I mostly find the book to be motivational and a good reminder.
Summary
It is a commonly stated fact that those who set written goals achieve much more than those who don't. (Some of the studies which claim to show this correlation have been questioned, but that is a discussion for another time.) Most of us would agree that setting goals and then working to achieve those goals can help us accomplish more. Brian believes the principle of consistently setting goals then working to meet those goals every single day will lead to a quantum leap in our success. He states his belief with such passion in this little book, it's hard to disagree with him.
10 Personal Development Lessons from Goals!
1) You will get what you think about most of the time.
Brian believes strongly that what your mind is on is what you will achieve. The interesting thing is, even if we are thinking of something negative, such as "I hope I don't fail at this speech", the mind doesn't understand the negative and you will end up with exactly what you feared. So focus your thoughts on the positive, and put in your mind what it is you want to achieve and think about it most of the time.
2) Pick a goal, make it clear, and work on it every day.
This statement sums up the book pretty well, and it's a reminder many of us need. If we first pick a goal. Then work hard to make extremely clear in our minds what we want to achieve. And if we work on that goal every single day, then there is no limit to what heights we can soar. Pretty simple formula, but how often do we follow it? If you are writing a book, do you write every single day? What about focused work on a key relationship. Is it occasional or do you work on it every day? Today is all we have, if we aren't working on it today then we aren't getting any closer. Living by this one principle will bring great success in meeting your goals.
3) Accept where you are, so you know where you need to get.
Fairly obvious point right? But how often do we do it? How often do we get truly honest with ourselves about where we are today? Taking the time to consciously evaluate our current state pays great dividends. If I want to run a 20 minute 5K, but am currently running 10 minutes per mile, I can't start working out at 6:20/mile. I can get there, but I have to start from where I am, and that requires honesty.
4) Practice Zero Based Thinking
Zero based thinking says "If I could start completely over, knowing what I know now, what habit, relationship, or item in my life would I remove?" Then eliminating those items from our lives. It also asks the questions "If I could start completely over, what habits, relationships, or items would I put into my life?" and then adds those items to your life. This can be a cool exercise. If you could totally start over, what would you get rid of, and what would you add? If you have a clear answer, make it happen. This activity also takes great courage by the way. What if you realize that what you would remove from your life is your current career? That might be scary, or it might be exhilarating.
5) Put in place deliberate measures.
Measures are good for you, and they are good for your sub-conscious mind. Develop benchmarks, goals and deadlines. Without measuring it is so easy to put things off and claim we are succeeding. There is a huge difference between completing 95% of the task and completely 100%, so measure what you complete. Become addicted to completing things. Items which are incomplete bring a lot of stress into our lives. Keeping an accurate measure of progress can build confidence, and it makes it difficult to kid ourselves about how we are doing. A simple example is writing down every time you exercise. The record doesn't lie. Are you REALLY exercising 5 times a week, or is it actually 3? On the other hand, when you succeed there is a record right in front of you of your success, and success leads to more success.
6) Write down obstacles
One of Brian's greatest strengths is suggesting exercises which can be extremely helpful in applying principles into our life. There are several excellent exercises in Goals!, and these exercises may be the best reason to read the book. The next three items are my favorite of his suggestions. I have applied them all and I love the results. The first exercise is to select one of your goals, i.e. "I make $150,000 a year". He then suggests that you write it on top of a piece of paper, and then write every reason you can think of that you have not reached that goal yet. Don't just give up at 5-6 thoughts, push yourself until you have a thorough list. Then go to work on eliminating those obstacles. This can help focus your efforts on the very areas which are holding you back.
7) Write your goals every single day.
Probably my favorite portion of this book is Brian's suggestion on writing down your goals every single day. If we get what we think about most of the time, then the work we do to think about achieving our goals more often is useful. Brian suggests that every day, either first thing in the morning, or just before bed, you sit down with a blank piece of paper and write down your top 10 goals. Use good goal writing language (start with I, use present and positive language, etc), and write them without looking at what you wrote yesterday. The goals will likely shift and change day by day as you refine your thinking, but they will become imprinted on your brain and will be top of mind through all of your endeavors. I've tried this, it's powerful.
8) Mindstorming
The final exercise I would recommend from the book is the practicing of mindstorming. It's Brian Tracy's take on brainstorming, and is again a simple, effective method for improving focus. Start again with a blank piece of paper, put one of your goals on the top of the paper, then write down 20 actions you could take to meet that goal. Don't stop until you get to at least 20. There is real power in this practice, it can lead to a jolt of creativity.
9) Importance of relationships in meeting goals
Fostering relationships is a key part of nearly any goal. The bigger network you have, the more likely it is there is someone who can help you reach your goal. So work on relationships, and then talk to the people you in your network about your goals. Just like everything else, build an effective plan to create and strengthen relationships, don't just let it happen. If you don't plan it, you will get someone's plan, and they were planning what they want, not what you want.
10) Get to it and stick to it
Brian's final words are simply get started on your goals, and then stick to them. Starting builds momentum, and then when the emotion and excitement of starting your goal has passed, have the moral fortitude to stick with it. You may read this advice and laugh at the simplicity of it. Of course you have to start a goal to complete it, and you won't finish if you don't stick to it. But think about it, how many of your major goals do you not start because of fear or laziness or procrastination? And of those you do start, how many do you stick with long enough to complete? Fix these two things. Start your goals, and then stick with them through all difficulty, and you will realize the promise of Goals.
Should you read it?
Goals! is a bit of a hard book for me to judge. I can't point at anything groundbreaking or innovative in it's pages. It is mainly a rehashing of principles taught by so many others. Yet it is packaged in such a way that I personally find it motivating. So perhaps my best advice to you would be, if you need a quick lift to get moving or to stick with some of your key goals, grab this book and pour through it. It's a fast read, and the motivation you will get from a few hours investment is worth it. If you are looking for some fresh new insight, then this book probably isn't the place to get it. At the very least, read this book to understand the tools and exercises Brian suggests, I really like his design and explanation of them.
Personal Development Score: 83
Brian believes strongly that what your mind is on is what you will achieve. The interesting thing is, even if we are thinking of something negative, such as "I hope I don't fail at this speech", the mind doesn't understand the negative and you will end up with exactly what you feared. So focus your thoughts on the positive, and put in your mind what it is you want to achieve and think about it most of the time.
2) Pick a goal, make it clear, and work on it every day.
This statement sums up the book pretty well, and it's a reminder many of us need. If we first pick a goal. Then work hard to make extremely clear in our minds what we want to achieve. And if we work on that goal every single day, then there is no limit to what heights we can soar. Pretty simple formula, but how often do we follow it? If you are writing a book, do you write every single day? What about focused work on a key relationship. Is it occasional or do you work on it every day? Today is all we have, if we aren't working on it today then we aren't getting any closer. Living by this one principle will bring great success in meeting your goals.
3) Accept where you are, so you know where you need to get.
Fairly obvious point right? But how often do we do it? How often do we get truly honest with ourselves about where we are today? Taking the time to consciously evaluate our current state pays great dividends. If I want to run a 20 minute 5K, but am currently running 10 minutes per mile, I can't start working out at 6:20/mile. I can get there, but I have to start from where I am, and that requires honesty.
4) Practice Zero Based Thinking
Zero based thinking says "If I could start completely over, knowing what I know now, what habit, relationship, or item in my life would I remove?" Then eliminating those items from our lives. It also asks the questions "If I could start completely over, what habits, relationships, or items would I put into my life?" and then adds those items to your life. This can be a cool exercise. If you could totally start over, what would you get rid of, and what would you add? If you have a clear answer, make it happen. This activity also takes great courage by the way. What if you realize that what you would remove from your life is your current career? That might be scary, or it might be exhilarating.
5) Put in place deliberate measures.
Measures are good for you, and they are good for your sub-conscious mind. Develop benchmarks, goals and deadlines. Without measuring it is so easy to put things off and claim we are succeeding. There is a huge difference between completing 95% of the task and completely 100%, so measure what you complete. Become addicted to completing things. Items which are incomplete bring a lot of stress into our lives. Keeping an accurate measure of progress can build confidence, and it makes it difficult to kid ourselves about how we are doing. A simple example is writing down every time you exercise. The record doesn't lie. Are you REALLY exercising 5 times a week, or is it actually 3? On the other hand, when you succeed there is a record right in front of you of your success, and success leads to more success.
6) Write down obstacles
One of Brian's greatest strengths is suggesting exercises which can be extremely helpful in applying principles into our life. There are several excellent exercises in Goals!, and these exercises may be the best reason to read the book. The next three items are my favorite of his suggestions. I have applied them all and I love the results. The first exercise is to select one of your goals, i.e. "I make $150,000 a year". He then suggests that you write it on top of a piece of paper, and then write every reason you can think of that you have not reached that goal yet. Don't just give up at 5-6 thoughts, push yourself until you have a thorough list. Then go to work on eliminating those obstacles. This can help focus your efforts on the very areas which are holding you back.
7) Write your goals every single day.
Probably my favorite portion of this book is Brian's suggestion on writing down your goals every single day. If we get what we think about most of the time, then the work we do to think about achieving our goals more often is useful. Brian suggests that every day, either first thing in the morning, or just before bed, you sit down with a blank piece of paper and write down your top 10 goals. Use good goal writing language (start with I, use present and positive language, etc), and write them without looking at what you wrote yesterday. The goals will likely shift and change day by day as you refine your thinking, but they will become imprinted on your brain and will be top of mind through all of your endeavors. I've tried this, it's powerful.
8) Mindstorming
The final exercise I would recommend from the book is the practicing of mindstorming. It's Brian Tracy's take on brainstorming, and is again a simple, effective method for improving focus. Start again with a blank piece of paper, put one of your goals on the top of the paper, then write down 20 actions you could take to meet that goal. Don't stop until you get to at least 20. There is real power in this practice, it can lead to a jolt of creativity.
9) Importance of relationships in meeting goals
Fostering relationships is a key part of nearly any goal. The bigger network you have, the more likely it is there is someone who can help you reach your goal. So work on relationships, and then talk to the people you in your network about your goals. Just like everything else, build an effective plan to create and strengthen relationships, don't just let it happen. If you don't plan it, you will get someone's plan, and they were planning what they want, not what you want.
10) Get to it and stick to it
Brian's final words are simply get started on your goals, and then stick to them. Starting builds momentum, and then when the emotion and excitement of starting your goal has passed, have the moral fortitude to stick with it. You may read this advice and laugh at the simplicity of it. Of course you have to start a goal to complete it, and you won't finish if you don't stick to it. But think about it, how many of your major goals do you not start because of fear or laziness or procrastination? And of those you do start, how many do you stick with long enough to complete? Fix these two things. Start your goals, and then stick with them through all difficulty, and you will realize the promise of Goals.
Should you read it?
Goals! is a bit of a hard book for me to judge. I can't point at anything groundbreaking or innovative in it's pages. It is mainly a rehashing of principles taught by so many others. Yet it is packaged in such a way that I personally find it motivating. So perhaps my best advice to you would be, if you need a quick lift to get moving or to stick with some of your key goals, grab this book and pour through it. It's a fast read, and the motivation you will get from a few hours investment is worth it. If you are looking for some fresh new insight, then this book probably isn't the place to get it. At the very least, read this book to understand the tools and exercises Brian suggests, I really like his design and explanation of them.
Personal Development Score: 83
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