I started using this open-ended statement a few years back as I pondered what progress in my life looked like and where I wanted to go. Knowing there is much in life that is undoubtably out of our control, I looked to better understand and therefore control the focus of my efforts.
If I knew what I wanted, how could I get a roadmap to get there? Who would know and who walked a similar path?
What followed was a pretty simple exercise of fill in the blank.
If I want to be _____________ ,
Then I must do, what _____________ people do.
Choose MUST DO > Want to.
If I want to be ____________,
- Healthy
- More Christian
- Physically Fit
- Wealthy
- Great Parent
- An Owner of Multiple Businesses
- Well Read
- Less Anxious
- More Flexible
- Real Estate Owner
- Financially Free
- Well Traveled
Then I must do what _____________, people do.
By refocusing my efforts toward a more well-defined target, mentors and examples became abundant. I found there’s nearly a 100% chance, where I want to go…someone asked a similar question and walked a similar (if not the same) path.
Does this make achieving a goal any easier?
Not sure. If you believe information is hard to come by, then yes, this would be a step in the right direction of making the process easier.
That said, we almost all have access to the same information in the palm of our hand. So action is undoubtably the winner here. MUST DO > Want to.
Now the hard part. The mentors I’ve found didn’t happen upon their skills and they didn’t luck into their existence. It was earned.
Once you define, don’t forget to ask, “How did you do that?”
Here’s to defining and earning!
