Setting Goals - Why

Setting Goals - Why

I am all for setting Goals and Panning!  It gives me direction and a purpose to do the things that I want to do and do it in a timely manner.

I have also realized that the goals or plans you set must have a meaningful purpose. If you set goals, make sure it is the right one, as it can take you to the wrong path or the wrong direction. There are two questions to ask when you are planning or setting goals.  1. What am I missing today?  or 2. What is important to me today? 

The most significant things in your life are the people and opportunities before you right now, because the future is not guaranteed. The only thing you can be sure of  are the things you can hold in your hand today, and what you do with them determines how successful you can be tomorrow.

If you set goals from the point of view of scarcity mind-set, " I don't have this, or I don't have that" than you have imbalance in your life.  You can also have the point of view of abundance mind set, "I already have this and that'. Instead of looking for the more, the better or different of tomorrow, learn to embrace the good of the present or the now.

Here is a secnario that may make sense when setting your goals, or looking at your current situation and what you think of your current situation.

A very successful Investor stood on a pier of a small village  while on vacaton in Mexico. He was watching this fisherman fishing. He noticed the fisherman had caught some fish so he asked him how long it took him to catch the fish. The fisherman said it did not take that long. "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the investor asked. The fisherman said he had enough fish for now for him and his family. So the Investor asked what he would do the rest of the day? The fisherman replied that " I sleep late, fish a little, play with my kids, take a siesta with my wife and then stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full life"

 The investor laughed and said he had an MBA degree from Harvard and told the fisherman that he Can help him be more successful, you should spend more time fishing and sell the fish your family doesn't need. With the money you could buy a bigger boat, hire other fisherman to bring in more fish. Eventually with your profits, you could buy several boats so that you could send out a fleet every morning and bring home hundreds of fish to sell. Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control your product, processing, and distribution. This would allow you to expand to other major markets and you would have an enormous enterprise!

So the fisherman asked, "But how long would this take?" 10-15 years the investor answered! "And then what?" asked the fisherman. The investor giggled. " That's the best part- at just the right time, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become extremely rich. You would make millions!"   "Millions"? the fisherman repeated, "and then what?"  The investor thought for a moment. "I suppose you would retire to a small village on the coast where you could sleep late, fish when you wanted, spend time with your family, take afternoon naps with your wife, and spend evenings sipping wine and playing guitar with your friends."

What are you fishing for?

  Ideas taken from the book,"life On The Wire"