By Goke Ilesanmi
Dreams, they say, are only dreams until you really believe in them and have an action plan to realise them. So, a dreamer with a vision will create an action plan to move forwards towards his or her goal. Some people have dreams that go astray and when that happens, their plan gets messed up, and their goals are never realised. This means that the seeds of our dreams need to be regularly watered with a well-laid-out plan so that our goals can be reached.
Goal
A goal is a dream in action. You need to know that your goals do not start in the brain; rather they start in your heart. As regards scope or geography of your goals, the six major areas of your life where you can set goals are career, financial, physical, mental, family and spiritual. Dr. Robert Anthony, a popular motivational speaker says if you set goals from a personal perspective in these areas of your life, you will find your purpose will be tied into your career and all your daily activities. You can break these goals down into long-term and short-term goals, and priorities can be set by knowing your values and purpose. Then ask yourself the following questions: How will I feel when I achieve these goals? What is keeping me from achieving these goals today? What are the times and dates I want to achieve these goals? What resources do I need to accomplish these goals? What is my plan B, or secondary route, to achieving these goals?
Visualisation
Once you have created your goals, take time to visualise your achievements. Take some minutes just before you go to bed or wake up in the morning and do the following: Meditate and slow down your breathing. Visualise that you are already achieving whatever goal you want to accomplish. Do a self-analysis to find out how prepared you are today in relationship to your goals and what resources and skills you need to acquire to achieve your goals. What sacrifices are you willing to make so that you can achieve your goals? If it is promotion, find out what skills, education and resources are required to obtain that position. If it is a six-figure income, what sacrifices are you willing to make to realise it?
Belief
To achieve your dreams, you need to have firm belief. Ed Sykes, a motivational speaker says, “If you want something…enough, act like you already have it. That’s what champions do. They already believe that they will win a championship, a title, a gold medal. They have a positive, self-expecting attitude and set the bar for others to try to aspire. I love tennis. One of my favourite tennis players is Roger Federer…. When watching him play, I can see he owns the court. In his quiet, yet confident manner, he says to his opponent, ‘I am number one, I am the best!’ Then he goes out and wins. With his positive attitude, he expects to win every time.”
Dear reader, how can you apply this principle in the course of the achievement of your goals? The answer is this: for example, if you are a general manager and want to be promoted to the position of the managing director/CEO, act like that today. That means dressing like one, making decisions like the managing director/CEO, leading people like one, etc. Also what it means is delegating certain tasks so that you can learn the required skills of the managing director/CEO.
Creating a mastermind group
To achieve your dreams and goals, you need to create a mastermind group. There is a saying that a wise person learns from his own mistakes, while a wiser person learns from other people’s mistakes. That is what a mastermind group will do for you. A mastermind group is an assortment of people dedicated to give you the best advice, feedback, training, etc., so that you can achieve your goals faster.
The mastermind group also gives you encouragement when needed. In your situation at work, it might be the following: A mentor that has intensive corporate knowledge and can manoeuvre you around “corporate landmines”.
But be very careful about whom you allow in your mastermind group. “Ask yourself, ‘Who can help me achieve my goals through skills, knowledge, and honest feedback?’ Honest feedback is the key. You don’t want ‘yes’ people around you; you want people that will give you positive feedback that will set you back on course for success,” submits Sykes.
World-class athletes
Behave like world-class athletes who embrace all challenges as a way for them to move to the next level. They have a “bring it on” attitude and you can read the impression in them. They realise that the spotlight is on them and they relish it. They are bold in their actions and are not afraid of making mistakes. If they make a mistake or have a defeat, they “own” them. By taking responsibility for their mistakes they take ownership for their actions. By taking ownership of their actions, they take ownership for improving their performance. They take time to learn from any setback. What challenges are waiting for you at work? What challenges await you at home? Face them, embrace them, learn from them, and grow with them.
Never ever give up
There is a great story about how Sir Winston Churchill was once asked to address a graduating class at Harvard one year. After a long introduction of him, he got up, walked to the microphone, took a deep breath, looked around at the lecturers, the dignitaries, the students, their families and their friends and said: “Never, ever, ever, ever, give up.” He turned around, walked to his chair, and sat down. In the words of Ross Perot, a billionaire businessperson, “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success, they give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.”
Last words
Did you watch the 2007 Uefa Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool? If you did, you saw how the Liverpool side that was already three goals down in the first half came back and eventually won the match? That was the power of resilience, the power of “Never, ever give up!” You can apply this philosophy to the achievement of your goals in life. Do you believe in yourself, your dreams and your goals? Take a hard look at your dreams and goals and say, “I believe in myself and my dreams and goals. No matter what obstacles get in the way, I will not give up!” You are already successful.
NOTE: The duration of the public speaking seminar has been greatly reduced as requested, in addition to other adjustments. You will find the programme on the right side at the upper part of my website. Click on the text and see details. I appreciate your suggestions and requests.
GOKE ILESANMI, Editor-in-Chief/CEO of https://www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng and Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is a Certified Public Speaker/Emcee, (Business) Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker, Career Management Coach, Renowned Book Reviewer, Corporate Leadership Expert and Editorial Consultant.
Tel: +234(0)8056030424; +234(0)8187499425
Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com; info@gokeilesanmi.com.ng
Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng