Here’s a great article I’ve come across and wanted to share with you.
Very few people define “the good life” in terms that are unique or difficult to achieve. Most of us want healthy, happy families, and enough money to be comfortable and secure. We want to travel or perhaps have a second home in the mountains or at the beach. Whatever your dreams, most of us want the ordinary things that millions of people have already achieved.
For most of us, these things are tantalizing close. People around us achieve them every day, and yet many good, hard-working people are no closer to “the good life” that they were a year ago. What’s going on?
The problem is that too many people use ineffective strategies. They work hard, but make little progress. I believe it was Peter Drucker who first said that the ultimate failure is doing very efficiently that which ought not be done at all!
Similarly, Stephen Covey talks about climbing the ladder of success, only to find that it’s leaning against the wrong wall! (Hint: Don’t do that to yourself!)
What are your strategies for reaching your goals? Do you have a carefully designed, well-thought-out strategy, or are you going along day to day, working hard and hoping for the best?
Highly successful people have a plan. They create a strategy or road-map, and follow it to their ultimate goal. They know what their most important tasks are today, what they will do next week, and they can tell you where they will be a year from now. They have a strategy and a plan!
It’s often been said that even five minutes of planning can save hours of wasted effort, and I think that’s true. “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”
If your definition of “the good life” is something thousands of other people have already achieved, and you are not making adequate progress toward it, review your strategies. Something’s missing or mis-calculated, or you’ve gotten lost in the swamp of everyday distractions. If you’re working hard and not getting the results you deserve, STOP! Step back, re-calculate. You need a better plan!
Highly successful people do certain things, and for the most part, they are simple, ordinary things that we can all copy. Here’s a short list:
1. They have the courage to choose specific, concrete goals. They know they cannot do or have or achieve everything, so they make choices.
2. They focus on personal development first, external achievement second. They know that to have more, they must first become more.
3. They learn from experts. They study and use techniques that have worked for others, even if at first they seem difficult or uncomfortable.
4. They take time to plan and have the discipline to follow their plan to completion. They are not easily distracted and they never quit.
5. They work smart. If they aren’t getting the results they anticipated, they consult and review and devise a better plan. Never keep hitting your head against a brick wall!
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