Goals in Writing are Dreams with Deadlines

Have you ever had that inspired, motivated feeling to make a change but end up continuing to do what you’ve always done?

• You watch a movie and you’re inspired by the characters,
• You read a true-story and you’re astonished at their determination,
• You hear a new musician and you’re amazed at their talent,
• You see an emerging fashion mogul and you’re impressed by their creativity
• or you learn about the next big business success and you’re stunned at their idea.

And instinctively you and your friend say:

“I wish I could do that”,

or “If I wasn’t doing X, I’d definitely be doing Y”.

or “I wish I had a talent”.

You feel you know how these epic stories go — they’re like something out of a Christopher Nolan film — they’re only reserved for the mighty few:

• The woman on the poverty line who couldn’t afford to feed her child who becomes a billionaire
• The man who has to work after school to help his parents pay the rent, constantly fails at his dream and then becomes a global superstar
• Or how about the middle aged guy from Kentucky, surviving off $105 per month who then creates a global chain of restaurants that become engrained as part of social culture.

However, all of these stories are fact not fiction (you may have guessed).
And none of them have come from inspired or privileged backgrounds.

In fact they were very normal people, like you and me. They simply became the sorts of people we admire:

1. J.K. Rowling — Harry Potter
2. Jim Carrey — Film star and Comedian
3. Colonel Harland Sanders — KFC

So, what helped them succeed?

Success is 1000 small steps

Yes, all these people have a relentless perseverance to follow a dream or pursue a passion and yes they are very talented, but you’re looking at the now and not the then.

Back then, all they had was a hope and a dream.

But they stuck to taking action. To do the things they felt they needed to, to achieve. And they endured plenty of failure along the way, but they kept going.

It’s a common misconception that motivation comes before action. It’s actually the complete reverse.

Svetlana Whitener (Chief Coaching Officer with over 10,000 hours helping people succeed) states,

The truth of the matter is that motivation is the result of action, not its cause.

Thus, you don’t need to wait to feel inspired before you implement a new behaviour.

Successful people get into a habit of taking action.

It’s not that they have divine abilities or they’re born with a superior personality to you. It’s that they understand why they’re doing something and then, overtime with patience and perseverance, they nurture their behaviour to relentlessly pursue the goal of what they want to do or become.

Brian Tracey famously said,

Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines

And he’s right.

Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting. She found that you are significantly more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.

And you’re even more likely to complete your goals if you work with someone who can hold you accountable.

Ironically, Jim Carrey actually wrote his goal down in the form of a $10M cheque to himself to be cashed in 5 years.

Needless to say, he did it.

Don’t wait for motivation

• Start now.
• Understand why you want to do something.
• Write down what it is you want to do.
• and then write down two or three actions to take by next Monday.

Remember, motivation comes after action. So stop waiting for it; it’s already here.