doug smith training

Your goals matter to other people when other people matter to you. -- doug smith   

Ever set a goal that you didn't achieve? Of course, we all have.  What went wrong? It was probably either a) you didn't have a plan, or b) you had a plan and didn't follow it. Goals need plans that we act on relentlessly. To achieve your goals with certainty, identify where and when you will work on them. Set a plan. Follow the plan. Adjust and repeat. Think about a time when you DID achieve your goal. You set a goal, designed a plan, then followed that plan.  Do that. Do more of that. -- doug smith  

No matter how important goals are to us, we get busy and if we're not careful the urgent outflanks the important. Schedule time to work on your goal to make sure that you do work on your goal. The urgent stuff will still be there. It's the important stuff that you'll be remembered for. -- doug smith  

Great goals are tough. We don't remember the easy goals, but the tough goals change us.  Set a tough goal and then run with it hard.  The pursuit of a tough goal requires relentless dedication. Isn't that what you've been preparing for? -- doug smith  

You can organize a team around your goals and you can also organize your goals around your team. Both are essential moves to your team's success. -- doug smith  

Work your goals but make your goals serve you. No one needs a goal that makes them cranky. -- doug smith 

I remember getting a big let-down after a show would close, or a project would end, or a movie would wrap...anything really important that I'd been working on. All that work. All that focus. All that energy. And, then suddenly it's done. But that was then. That was too much focus on the outcome and not enough on the process. Because the end comes and goes, but the process can continue. The process of creating, of learning, of growing.  The best part of achieving your goals is enjoying the journey, and then you avoid any big left-down at the end. The journey, the process -- that's the joy. -- doug smith  

Have you ever gotten resistance to a goal that you really wanted to achieve? Maybe someone told you that you weren't capable. Maybe someone told you that the goal was wrong for you, or unachievable.  What do they know? Your goals are important no matter what anyone says. Get started when you're ready. -- doug smith  

Ask someone about their goals. You'll be doing them a favor. -- doug smith 

Maybe your goals are assigned to you from someone else. If you have a job, that's probably true about many of your goals. But in the end, isn't it really up to you? What you do, when you do it, how you do it, no matter how formalized the process you are still involved and deciding. You define your goals and you define when those goals are done. Finish what you started, or kiss that goal goodbye. -- doug smith  

  I'll keep this short. Distractions are expensive. No need to list them here because you already know, don't you? Some things and some people will try to distract you from your goals but it's up to you if you let them. Design your plan. Act relentlessly on that plan. Keep going until you hit that beautiful four letter word: done. -- doug smith

  Goals are not created equally. Some we plow thru because they are necessary or even assigned. But some that we choose challenge us so strongly that we grow no matter what the outcome turns out to be. Some build new skills that we will use forever after. The best goals bring you growth and joy even when you don't achieve them. Select your goals carefully. Feel the joy. -- doug smith

Have you ever worked so hard on something that it made you miserable?  Major goals do take hard work. When we set a goal if we're serious about it we must be ready to work hard to achieve it. But only if it matters. Only if we know that achieving that goal will make us better and happier or perhaps perform a noble good in the world. If a goal doesn't do that -- if a goal doesn't make you happy -- let it go. -- doug smith  

A few years ago there was a lot of attention on a personal development technique known as "the secret." I'm not here to debunk the secret or throw shade in its direction, because if you've heard about it you've probably already made up your mind. Like many of other methods, if it works for you, enjoy -- and if it doesn't, choose. This is not nearly so lofty a concept I'm about to share, and it's nothing that I've made up. It's been known forever. But just because it's known doesn't mean that it's easy. Just because it's simple doesn't guarantee success. Like anything worth working for, we've got to work for it.  The magic ingredient to achieving your goals is discipline. That's it. Whatever your course of action, you've got to put in the work. Whatever great habits will propel you forward, you've got to sustain the discipline to keep doing them. Is that the real secret? You decide. -- doug smith  

Goals are important. We should always be working toward meaningful goals. While we're doing that, we sometimes stumble. We even miss or must delay great goals.  When we pay attention, we learn valuable lessons from working on our goals, even when we miss.   Sometimes the learning is worth more than the goal. Go for the goal, and be sure to catch the learning. -- doug smith

How much time do you spend keeping score? Our clients, our customers, our employers, even our families expect us to keep score. At this point there probably isn't any stopping it. But, it's not always the most important thing.  What if you stopped keeping score when you're enjoying something just for what it is: a sunset, a low tide, a bird on the wing, a team member who smiles when they see you...we are not always competing with each other. Sometimes, we're all in this together. What if that could happen more often? As a leader, what kind of world are you trying to create? How about a world with more smiles? -- doug smith  

Missing a goal can still have a positive result if it sets you up for your next goal. Take what you learned, forget what you burned, and earn another achievement. -- doug smith 

Goals without discipline are like fire without fuel. Stopped.  Fuel the fire. Equip your goals. Develop the discipline to act relentlessly on your plan. Your potential is unlimited, but relies first on the discipline that you develop. -- doug smith  

Who else will be happier because of your goal? No matter how important that goal is to you, once it becomes important to someone else as well it becomes far more powerful. You become more powerful, too. Before launching a goal determine who else it will help in addition to yourself. It could change everything. -- doug smith 

Have you ever completely forgotten about a goal? Honestly, I have. Those kind of goals have a built in resistance that is trying to tell us something. It's not the same as a goal that makes you uncomfortable because that could be a good thing. Rather, it's a goal that does not even seem to interest you. Pick goals you can't stop thinking about -- those are the ones you really want.  -- doug smith