doug smith training

How often do you set goals? While goals do come in all sizes, from task level to life-changing, I set a few goals each day. Honestly, most ARE task level: "follow-up with Kellie..." "Send syllabus to Holly..." "Invoice client XYZ by 3:30..."  but they are still goals. Finding the right number (fifty is too many!) and prioritizing the order is and essential part of planning and it all starts with setting goals. Write it all down, and defer what does not matter. Focus on what you care about now. Setting goals for each day keeps your days productive. Even if (especially if!) one of those goals is "take a walk and rest..." -- doug smith

How do you know if that idea is brilliant or not? When faced with plenty of possibilities, how do you decide? Evaluate carefully, narrow the long list down, and then what? Some ideas lead to dead ends. Some notions lead to break-thru. Actions and learning decide.  Act relentlessly and learn constantly until you achieve your goal. -- doug smith

I don't like rejection, yet it's a part of life. I don't like it when people don't support a project that I'm working on, and still there are usually people who don't see the value in a new change. How about you? We could take that personally and stop doing the thing that matters so much to us -- or we could do something else. We could improve that thing. We could make that thing shine. We could make that thing irresistible. We could use that feedback to find new ways to achieve our goal.  "They" as we so often like to call "them" don't know what's best for you -- and still they can be seriously helpful.  When they tear down your plans, build something better.  Won't that feel great? -- doug smith

Circumstances influence how we act. While we all do have limitations, we can all also exceed and overcome many of those limitations. To be honest, we can all be amazing when we need to be. Whatever is going on, that capacity, that ability awaits. Push that button. Ignite that fire. Step on the gas. We can be amazing when we don't have any other choice. Remove the other choices because they are not for you. Instead: be amazing! -- doug smith    

Every goal is a project. Manage that goal accordingly. -- doug smith  

Sometimes resistance to a goal is evidenced of its need. If it wasn't important, it wouldn't catch any heat. Keep going. Act relentlessly on your plan. -- doug smith

Goals are important and when we focus on them intensely can impact not only ourselves, but also other people. We'd like to think that those impacts are all positive. We'd like to believe that what is good for us is also good for other people. That's not always the case. It is possible to focus so much on a goal that others around us feel short changed. It's a side-effect of sharp-edged focus to forget what's on the fringes, and sometimes what's on the fringes matters. We should always consider what effect our goals have on other people. We might still pursue those goals, but sometimes it's worth checking. How does your biggest goal impact your closest friend? -- doug smith

Do goals make you happy? Goals are important. Think about some of the goals that you've achieved and you probably associate some happiness to them. But what about the goals that you do not achieve? What about the goals that you work hard on and when you DO achieve them feel a sense of let-down? It happens. Goals might not make you happy but they can help you identify and support what does. It's a process. Moving from one goal to another helps us narrow down the endless possibilities to those opportunities most likely to bring us joy. Goals do not equal happiness. They do, however, help. -- doug smith

What comes first, building character, or achieving goals? I've seen people achieve their goals at any cost. Their dedication is unlimited, but the cost is too high. If achieving a goal changes who you are in ways that you would not have chosen or in ways that would alarm your friends, maybe the goal was too much. Character -- who you are -- matters.  If achieving your goal subtracts anything from your clarity, your courage, your creativity, and your compassion, that's too much. If achieving your goal diminishes your character -- how you live and treat other people -- that's too much. Achieving goals is important but so is building character -- and without character your goals don't matter. Character comes first. -- doug smith

We've all set goals that we did not achieve. It could be that the goal was too large. Maybe the goal was beyond our control. Or, maybe we just decided it wasn't worth the bother. If work feels like bother, we may not bother to work. If the goal doesn't excite us, it's hard to see the point. Focus on the goals that DO matter, and make the difference from there. When the goal matters enough to you, you'll do enough for the goal. Both silence, and action, represent prioritization.  -- doug smith

  What's your goal? Is what you're doing achieving that goal? Once in a while I need to check my plan because it's just not up to the goal. There's no shame in it, but there's no game in it either to stay with a broken plan. If what you're doing isn't working -- you know what to do: something else. -- doug smith

  Where does YOUR motivation come from? It's worth checking in on that occasionally. When your motivation is energized, you can do so much more. When you really want what you're working on, you work that much harder. Maybe it's the goal. A great goal can energize you.  Maybe it's the motivation: getting you going to FIND and then achieve a great goal.  The goal can bring the motivation and the motivation can bring the goal -- you might need both. Why not get both going right about now? -- doug smith

Is your big goal bold enough? Does it make you sweat? Does it make you nervous? Does it make you excited to think of the possibilities? Here's how I know that it's big: I can't possibly completed it yet until I have worked my way up to it with smaller, incremental goals. Think of it as training. Think of it as development. A bold goal prods action. Go bold! -- doug smith

  Your work environment has probably changed in the past two years. Mine certainly has. Have you used those changes as opportunities to make your work environment more conducive to the work you want to do? Do you have things arranged in ways that help you think, help you create, help you achieve your goals? You will benefit by designing an environment that supports your goals. Music...water...coffee...art...a notepad...? It's up to you, just like everything else. -- doug smith

What if your biggest goal is not your most important goal? It's natural to think that your priorities are always determined by size: which goal will produce the largest revenue, save the most money, or give you the biggest impact. And, yes that's important. But should it determine what goal you work on today? I guess that it depends on whether you ask yourself or your boss, but I like to ask myself "which goal brings you the most joy right now?" Happiness matters. What if the purpose of achieving your goals is to make you happy? What if while you are working om your goals you felt great joy?  If the joy is missing, maybe the goal isn't so big after all... -- doug smith

It's a step outside of your comfort zone. It's a move you've previously not taken. It is a stretch. One scary thing about achieving a goal is that it will change you. Don't be scared. -- doug smith  

Do you have any secret goals? My temptation with ambitious goals -- a temptation I'm working to overcome -- is to keep them secret. There's no pressure on me then, if no one knows about them.  But if a goal matters, people should know about it. We should talk about it. We should energize ourselves and others toward that noble goal. You don't know how much help  you might get on your goals until you talk about them. If you don't get any help, well that tells you something about your goal. If you do get help, then your goal just got easier.  Get the help. Talk about your goals. -- doug smith  

Long range goals should get closer everyday. Design your plan and then work on it relentlessly. -- doug smith  

Whatever your hopes and dreams are, you'll get there faster with goals and action. -- doug smith  

Proposition: Goals are rewarding enough that we shouldn't need rewards for achieving them. Rebuttal: you'll feel better after the reward AND it will often spur you on when the going is rough. (PS: the going is usually rough.) How will you reward yourself when you achieve your biggest goal? Figure that out, and the goal gets easier. You deserve it. -- doug smith