Let's get one thing straight. You've got goals; I've got goals. What matters is the path to reach them.
This guide is written in a step-by-step format; you're meant to take action as you follow along. Make sure to complete each step before moving onto the next one.
Enough talk, let's dive right in. Here's how you can reach your goals.
Step 1 - Visualize Yourself As You Want To Be
Do you want to become productive, efficient and earn lots and lots of money? You're here, reading this, so I'm going to take a guess that you at least answered yes the part with lots of money in it.
Well, as silly as it may sound, visualizing yourself as these things can indeed increase the likelihood of them becoming a reality. Your mental picture of yourself has a POWERFUL effect on your behavior, and it is your behavior, i.e. decision-making, that is going to get you where you want.
All the improvements in your outer life you're about to make in the coming years start from the inside, from your mental picture of who you are.
So get to it, visualize. Once you feel ready, move on to the next step.
Step 2 - Write, Write, Write
You have goals, right? Have you written them down? Have you written down what obstacles you have to overcome in order to achieve them? In what timeframe are you going to be working towards these goals and when will they be achieved?
Clarity. You need it.
The number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives, and don't deviate from them. The greater the clarity you have regarding your goals, the easier it will be to achieve them.
A great rule for success: Think on paper.
Well, my friend, you're going to have to prioritize. I suggest you write down a list of goals, then decide on one that would have the most positive impact on your life and pick that one.
Step 3 - Apply The 80/20 Rule To Everything
Let's be real, the most valuable tasks are usually the hardest and most complex.
But the thing is, nobody really wants to put in the work on these, and so they end up stuck in mediocrity. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with being average, but that's not where either of us aims to be.
The payoff for completing these valuable tasks are often multiple times those of lower value, and so you must utterly REFUSE to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.
Before diving into any task, always take a moment to ask yourself, "Does this task fall within my top 20% of priorities, or is it part of the less important 80%?"
Resist the temptation to clear up small things first.
Step 4 - Consequences, they're everywhere
Always think of the consequences. If I do X, what will happen? And also, if I don't do X, what will happen?
If your goals are important to you, then by definition, they're going to have long-term potential consequences.
Time is always going to pass; plan it carefully. Consider your highest-value activities. What will be the potential consequences for these activities?
Make it a habit to continually review your activities—are you staying on the right track? Are you on schedule, or do you need to go back to the planning stage? There is nothing wrong with starting at an earlier step again. What would be wrong is living in denial that you've deviated a bit. It happens; move on.
Step 5 - Don't get stuck in perfection valley
How did you learn to ride a bike? Was it by reading ten books, planning a riding schedule, and consulting with professional cyclists? No. You got on the bike, you started moving then you fell on your ass.
And then you got up, started moving, and promptly fell on your ass again. And again, and again.
But each time, you got a little bit closer, a little bit more skilled.
Eventually, before realizing it, you felt the wind in your hair -- if you have any, I don't -- and you were riding your bike.
The point is, you weren't concerned about perfection then, and you shouldn't be now. I bet you know lots of people who've said to you "I'm going to start X company and become the next X thing"
Well, where are they now? Are they stuck waiting for perfection to magically happen, or are they out there doing the work? You'll notice, the ones doing the work are the ones who are successful.
So don't wait for perfection. Start TODAY.
Step 6 - Investing in yourself
Make it a personal goal to invest in yourself. What do I mean by this?
Be brutally honest. Write down a list of your core skills—what are you good at? What are you not so good at?
What, if any, of these skills will have the greatest positive impact on your goal? What if you were, say, 10% better at that one skill? How would that impact the timeline of you reaching your goal?
As before, write. Write down a list, an action plan, on how you are going to hone that skill.
Taking a class, reading a book, trial and error experimenting, and iteration are some examples.
Step 7 - Start by failing
You: "Master Stani, what do you mean by starting by failing? I'm meant for success!"
You've got the spirit! I knew the visualization would work!
But let's be real. You're going to fail. It's going to suck, like majorly suck. You're going to feel like the world is against you, like you can never catch a break.
And that's okay.
It's not going to happen once either. It's going to happen multiple times, you're probably never get to a stage where you don't fail at some point.
What's important is that you keep going.
One of my favorite quotes is from the one and only Rocky Balboa:
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that. – Rocky Balboa
And simply because of how awesome he is, have another one:
“Going in one more round when you don’t think you can. That’s what makes all the difference in your life.” – Rocky Balboa
So don't ever give up, be single-minded in your goal, and focus on what's important to you. I believe in you.
I'll see you in the ring.
-- Stanislaviski34
This guide is written in a step-by-step format; you're meant to take action as you follow along. Make sure to complete each step before moving onto the next one.
Enough talk, let's dive right in. Here's how you can reach your goals.
Step 1 - Visualize Yourself As You Want To Be
Do you want to become productive, efficient and earn lots and lots of money? You're here, reading this, so I'm going to take a guess that you at least answered yes the part with lots of money in it.
Well, as silly as it may sound, visualizing yourself as these things can indeed increase the likelihood of them becoming a reality. Your mental picture of yourself has a POWERFUL effect on your behavior, and it is your behavior, i.e. decision-making, that is going to get you where you want.
All the improvements in your outer life you're about to make in the coming years start from the inside, from your mental picture of who you are.
So get to it, visualize. Once you feel ready, move on to the next step.
Step 2 - Write, Write, Write
You have goals, right? Have you written them down? Have you written down what obstacles you have to overcome in order to achieve them? In what timeframe are you going to be working towards these goals and when will they be achieved?
Clarity. You need it.
The number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives, and don't deviate from them. The greater the clarity you have regarding your goals, the easier it will be to achieve them.
A great rule for success: Think on paper.
- Decide EXACTLY what you want. Down to the minute details.
- Write it down, give it tangible form.
- Set a deadline and subdeadlines. What has to get done and when?
- Make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal.
- Organize the list into a plan.
- Lay it all down visually, draw boxes or circles or whatever floats your boat -- draw arrows to show the relationship between everything.
- TAKE ACTION - do something, anything really, just start.
- Resolve to do something each day towards your goal, no matter how small. Stick to the plan.
Well, my friend, you're going to have to prioritize. I suggest you write down a list of goals, then decide on one that would have the most positive impact on your life and pick that one.
Step 3 - Apply The 80/20 Rule To Everything
Let's be real, the most valuable tasks are usually the hardest and most complex.
But the thing is, nobody really wants to put in the work on these, and so they end up stuck in mediocrity. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with being average, but that's not where either of us aims to be.
The payoff for completing these valuable tasks are often multiple times those of lower value, and so you must utterly REFUSE to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.
Before diving into any task, always take a moment to ask yourself, "Does this task fall within my top 20% of priorities, or is it part of the less important 80%?"
Resist the temptation to clear up small things first.
Step 4 - Consequences, they're everywhere
Always think of the consequences. If I do X, what will happen? And also, if I don't do X, what will happen?
If your goals are important to you, then by definition, they're going to have long-term potential consequences.
Time is always going to pass; plan it carefully. Consider your highest-value activities. What will be the potential consequences for these activities?
Make it a habit to continually review your activities—are you staying on the right track? Are you on schedule, or do you need to go back to the planning stage? There is nothing wrong with starting at an earlier step again. What would be wrong is living in denial that you've deviated a bit. It happens; move on.
Step 5 - Don't get stuck in perfection valley
How did you learn to ride a bike? Was it by reading ten books, planning a riding schedule, and consulting with professional cyclists? No. You got on the bike, you started moving then you fell on your ass.
And then you got up, started moving, and promptly fell on your ass again. And again, and again.
But each time, you got a little bit closer, a little bit more skilled.
Eventually, before realizing it, you felt the wind in your hair -- if you have any, I don't -- and you were riding your bike.
The point is, you weren't concerned about perfection then, and you shouldn't be now. I bet you know lots of people who've said to you "I'm going to start X company and become the next X thing"
Well, where are they now? Are they stuck waiting for perfection to magically happen, or are they out there doing the work? You'll notice, the ones doing the work are the ones who are successful.
So don't wait for perfection. Start TODAY.
Step 6 - Investing in yourself
Make it a personal goal to invest in yourself. What do I mean by this?
Be brutally honest. Write down a list of your core skills—what are you good at? What are you not so good at?
What, if any, of these skills will have the greatest positive impact on your goal? What if you were, say, 10% better at that one skill? How would that impact the timeline of you reaching your goal?
As before, write. Write down a list, an action plan, on how you are going to hone that skill.
Taking a class, reading a book, trial and error experimenting, and iteration are some examples.
Step 7 - Start by failing
You: "Master Stani, what do you mean by starting by failing? I'm meant for success!"
You've got the spirit! I knew the visualization would work!
But let's be real. You're going to fail. It's going to suck, like majorly suck. You're going to feel like the world is against you, like you can never catch a break.
And that's okay.
It's not going to happen once either. It's going to happen multiple times, you're probably never get to a stage where you don't fail at some point.
What's important is that you keep going.
One of my favorite quotes is from the one and only Rocky Balboa:
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that. – Rocky Balboa
And simply because of how awesome he is, have another one:
“Going in one more round when you don’t think you can. That’s what makes all the difference in your life.” – Rocky Balboa
So don't ever give up, be single-minded in your goal, and focus on what's important to you. I believe in you.
I'll see you in the ring.
-- Stanislaviski34
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