Now, this is not going to be your typical Q&A because all of these questions are coming from YOU! I posted a poll over on the gram a few days ago so I could hear directly from you on some of the questions and comments you had about goal-setting and we stored them in a google doc! This means, if your question is not answered on this episode, it will get answered on a future episode! So keep your eyes peeled!
Now before we jump in, I’m going to give you an opportunity (like right now) to put your phone on DND (do not disturb), open up a note-taking app, and find somewhere to sit down to get cozy. In this episode, I’m answering YOUR questions. This means, that once you get clarity and I walk you through your question you no longer have an excuse for why you can’t make the next 6 months of the year the best 6 months of your life!
I’m talking about real transformation. Taking inspired action. Being courageous and going for what you want. Give yourself space to change. Allow yourself to be exposed to new ideas and challenges in things you’ve been avoiding. Real, tangible, growth! So I hope you’re as excited about this as I am! Because the next 25 mins is all about helping you level up!
And by the way, I won’t be sharing the names of anyone who submitted a question (for the sake of confidentiality) and it doesn’t matter who asked the question. Statistics show that when one person asks, many others are thinking it. So this person is just the one who was brave enough to submit the question! Let’s go!
I’d like to hear what your perspective on goal-setting is and & why it’s important
So I know, this is a very basic question but it’s worth answering because we’ve all heard different things about it, have had different experiences with it, and have come to a different conclusion about it. So for the sake of this episode, we can agree that goal-setting is about attempting to accomplish something you’ve never done before. Whether that be a
does goal-setting work?
This is like asking if dieting works? We both know the answer, right? It works when you work it and it doesn’t when you don’t. Now in this, we find a principle. Anything you work 9put effort into) works! There is a proverb that says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
What is hard work? It’s not talking about physical labor and working yourself to death. Staying up all night and waking up before the crack of dawn because you have a belief that you can “sleep when your dead” which, having an unhealthy work ethic will cause you to die early, but that’s another conversation for another episode.
Hard work means diligent effort. Anything you do consistently leads to a result. This principle works with healthy practices and unhealthy practices. It works with personal goals and business goals. It works whether you’re in North America or in a third-world country. Whether you’re intentional about it or ignorant of this principle. It works whether you were born into a wealthy family or were found abandoned in a garbage dump. It’s a universal truth that is working in your life right now whether you’re aware of it or not. It’s like gravity.
Our lack of awareness doesn’t change the fact that it exists. So we can lean into it and work with it or we can ignore it and work against it but either way, this principle is working!
So to answer the question again, goal-setting works!
Hey Tee, thanks for doing this. I know you are really driven and have accomplished some things that I aspire to do one day so I’m curious
what is your goal-setting process and how do you know it will work?
I like this question! Thank you for the compliments I appreciate it. There are many ways I can answer this but I’m going to keep it simple because one of my favorite mentors often says, “If you want to confuse someone make it complicated. If you want to help someone, make it simple”.
So, my goal-setting process I think is not as important as the principle you want to know while creating effective goals. Because what works for me, as a mom of young kids, running and growing an online business. May not work for you at your stage in life. So I’ll give you the principles for effective goal-setting and then I’ll share an overview of how I apply those principles to create strategic goals in my life and business.
The Principles of Effective Goal-Setting:
So what are the principles for effective goal-setting? Every successful goal-getter has
- Vision: Where are you going and why?
- Clear action plan: How will you get there? What is your strategy?
- Wise counsel: People who have gone before you
All of this results in character development and success in your desired endeavor. How do I know this? There are several reasons and I’ll tell you all of them.
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Think about get-rich-quick schemes. People who get caught up in that stuff have an overnight success mentality. They are looking for quick gains and pleasure rather than long-term fulfillment. They want things now without going through the process. This always turns out ugly. We never win playing this game.
But on the other hand. Having a clear picture of your future and knowing what you want your life and business to look like gives you energy, motivation, and the fuel to get it done no matter how long it takes. This is vision and action working together.
Wise Counsel:
Now the value of having wise counsel is reflected in what Jim Rohn the personal development teacher said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with“. A wise proverb also says, “bad company corrupts good morals”. When we are intentional about the company we keep our relationships and the environment can make us better. Just like iron sharpens iron so a friend sharpens a friend.
This is why I’m careful about who my friends are and who I spend time with. I have many people that I love and have an absolute blast spending time with and we go out and chill. However, just because I love and enjoy them, doesn’t mean they get to join my circle of wise counselors and it doesn’t mean I’ll spend every waking hour with them.
I’m very intentional about surrounding myself day in and day out with people and ideas that are wiser than me because I understand that in a multitude of wisdom there is safety. Without wise counsel plans fail, but with many advisers, they succeed. So the way that I implement this principle is by having:
1. Deep relationships
with people who know me and I know them. They are in my life because they genuinely care about me as a person not because of what I do or the things I’ve accomplished. They celebrate me whether I have $100k in the bank or $1. They love and value me whether I have 10k followers or 1. Their not here for the flashing lights. Their here for me and I can trust their wisdom because it’s not perverted or tainted and often times they help me see things I have not been aware of.
2. Investing in mentors, coaches, and counselors
Listen! From the beginning of this entrepreneurial journey, I’ve invested in myself. I started out with an online mentor who helped me build up the courage to get started. Then I invested in a business coach to help me start my business because I had no idea what I was doing. Then I invested in a multi-million dollar coach to teach me how to scale my business to set up a money-generating machine within my business and now most of the coaches and counseling I invite in is for myself, my marriage, and financial education.
So I’m surrounded by experts who not only have the experience and can teach me what I don’t know but they also have compassion because they know what it’s like to walk in my shoes. These are the top 2 things I look for when choosing to work with someone among other things. They aren’t the only things, but they are the top 2 things!
What is your biggest goal-setting failure and what did you learn from it?
Lol, to be honest with you, I can’t think of one goal-setting failure so to think of the biggest is even more of a challenge! Have I made mistakes? 100%. Is there anything I failed when it comes to my goals? Absolutely! What are some lessons I’ve learned from these mistakes? I can spill the tea on that one because I have a ton! So I’ll give you 3.
Lesson 1: The time it takes to accomplish a goal depends on you
Really understanding this changed how I approach goals. We often hear that accomplishing something big no matter what it is, growing a business, losing weight, developing your mindset, and seeing transformation in your life takes time. I always interpreted that as if I want to be successful it will take years. In the past, that was discouraging. I wanted results. I wanted evidence that I was on the right path. I wanted a small dose of instant gratification
What I’ve come to learn from my mistake of interpreting it takes time to mean it will take a long time is I didn’t prioritize my goal. I postponed and delayed doing what I knew would help me accomplish my goal because I didn’t want to waste time trying if it was going to take long. And I know, it sounds illogical but this is what I did.
Now having checked off many of my big life goals and with much more to complete I understand that the amount of time it takes to get to the finish line of any goal is up to me. I don’t have to rush and I don’t have to postpone. I can walk at the pace of grace, my sustainable flow of success of entering into what is already mine instead of overworking to achieve something that is out of my time or season.
Lesson 2: Having goals does not interfere with God’s plan
This was HUGE! I’m God’s girl. My deepest desire is to make Him proud. So at the beginning of my journey, I would wrestle with the question, “are my goals getting in the way of God’s plan? Should I even have goals? What does God think about goals?” And if you have a desire like me then you probably have the same questions.
We’re often taught to go with the flow, let God lead, follow God’s plan, and so on, but what does that look like? Because in the good book God also tells us to have a vision, make plans, and be diligent. He even goes as far as to say watch the ant, you sluggards. They have no king or leader and they gather all summer preparing for the winter. In wisdom, God teaches us to prepare, have a healthy work ethic, and do our best.
So where do goals fit into this? Well the word goal as far as I’ve seen, only shows up in the bible once. If I missed any verse, holla at me on the gram to let me know. I’d love to see them! Now the way it’s used Paul, someone who is working on finishing his assignment and doing his best with what God has given him says his only goal is to “Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
So what does this mean for us? Does this mean the only goal we can have is to press on toward the prize of the upward call? No. Does this mean that if we set goals to be healthy or to align our life more with our purpose and grow wiser in spiritual and natural things we are out of God’s perfect plan or getting in the way of what He is doing in us? No
Because if our goals align with His vision are we not working with Him? If our deepest desire is to please Him then are we not goal-setting with Him? Do you think God is limited by our goals or big life vision? Do you think God can be restricted by a heart that is open and ready to move at His every word? Lol NO! When we stay humble, open, and prayerful our goals align with His heart and we walk right into the vision He shows us.
Now, this brings up another question. Does this mean that if we have goals that align with God’s heart that accomplishing them will be easy? Lol NO! Think about it, what is the purpose of a goal? A goal is something we’ve never done before. So if we’ve never done it before, doing it God’s way leads to success and the biggest success is in our maturity. We become masters. We graduate from being undisciplined people who lack self-control to being established, trusted sons ruling and reigning with our Father.
Now, this is a whole other conversation for another episode that I’m down to create if you want it, so let me know! Hit me up on the gram if you want to talk more about this kinda stuff but as I said, when we stay prayerful and open to God all along the journey how can our goals conflict with His plan?
Lesson 3: Setting goals doesn’t make you a better person than people who chose not to
Now here’s the final lesson. Setting goals is a choice. Having goals makes life easier and allows for progress to happen at a faster rate because we’re intentional about it but it doesn’t mean that people who choose not to have goals are lazy or unmotivated. Do I think everyone should have goals? 100%. Goals cast a vision far out into the future enough to challenge and inspire you to take action in the present! Do you need goals to create a successful life? No. Can goals help you create a successful life? You know they do!
Every fortune 500 company sets goals.
Every trailblazer including Oprah, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, and so on. Set goals
Anyone who has ever made a difference in the world set a goal!
So if you want to maximize your personal potential, create intentional progress in your life and business, and make deliberate strides at a healthy pace. Goals are your best friend.
I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed answering your questions! We will have more episodes like this and I will answer even more of your questions so if you have any send me a dm on the gram and we’ll make an episode answering them! Love you and I mean it!
