As part of the Setting Business Goals program we’re running in our Facebook Group this month, we chatted to successful entrepreneur and author Matthew Michalewicz on our podcast Be The Drop.
Matthew spent two decades researching the steps people need to take to achieve business success; his inspirational book Life in Half a Second was the result.
Goal setting allows you to gain the clarity you need to attain success; to know what you’re working towards and set achievable steps in place to make it happen.
In this blog post, we go behind the first “door” in Matthew Michalewicz’s book and share some powerful tactics behind his goal setting strategy for success…
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Before we begin, a few words of advice…
Hold your horses! Before we dive into Matthew’s research, let me briefly explain why we’re here.
We’re currently running a Setting Business Goals program in our private Facebook Group for Brand Storytelling Superheroes. The program runs over six weeks. Each week covers a new topic. We set a challenge each week; the resources and content supplied that week help participants to complete it.
So, in order to get the most out of this blog post, join the program!
It’s a program designed for “doers”. In other words, the resources and advice supplied is a starting point only; the real benefit comes when you apply those tools to your own business. Do the challenges. That’s how you’re going to see results.
Click HERE to join the Facebook Group. You can’t participate in the program unless you do!
Door 1: The importance of setting business goals
Matthew explains the premise of his book by beginning with the extraordinary story of an archaeological discovery National Geographic described as “one of the greatest fossil finds of all time”. Matthew reflects on this discovery:
“There’s no question that life is but a moment, a snap of the fingers. The real question is: what are you going to do with that moment?“
The shortness of life is motivating, Matthew says. So we must be clear about what we want in order to make the most of our time here. And there you have the first door you need to walk through, Clarity.
Your first task is to define what success means to you. What do you want from life? Define this as a goal, then success is simply a case of achieving that goal.
The key to success is therefore goal setting. As Matthew says, “people fail in life not because they aim high or low, but because they don’t aim at all.”
Your goal can be big or small and anything at all. It could be, to spend more time with your children. Or it could be, to get your product in supermarkets nationwide. But you will be successful if you achieve it.
So why is goal setting to powerful? Well, as Matthew writes, “once you have a clear goal, you begin thinking about it, and by thinking about it, you narrow your attention and efforts to activities related to the goal. You start moving towards the goal.”
Essentially, goal setting allows your mind to focus. An interesting exercise that illustrates the power of focus is to stop reading, look around the room and memorise everything red. You can even list them on paper. When you’re finished, close your eyes again and try to recall the green items in the room. Find it difficult? Of course! You were focussed on the red items.
Three tactics for defining and setting business goals
The trick with goal setting is in defining your goals. They must be specific or precise. For example, to buy a house in 2018. Or, to lose five kg before March 13th.
What does your goal look like? Visualise it. Visualising something is an instruction to the neurons in your brain to do that something. Bring your goal to life in your mind’s eye and it will be easier to attain.
Now, tell someone about your goal. Shout it from the rooftops! By telling someone you’re going to do something, you create commitment and accountability. Tell the rest of our Brand Storytelling Superheroes Facebook Group. Simply by telling them, you’re more likely to succeed.
There you have it. Three completely free and simple tactics that are demonstrably powerful for achieving goals. Do these three things and achieve success in 2018.
✔️ a connected business support network;
✔️ Q&A with business and marketing experts;
✔️ valuable program resources to help you achieve your goals;
✔️ discounted marketing and communication services.
With the support of others, we can achieve unimaginable success! Oh and if this has whetted your appetite, you can buy Matthew’s book Life in Half a Second HERE. Trust me, it’s a fantastic read!
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