focus, goal achievement, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Michael Johnson, prioritisation, success tips
Einstein is reputed to have said that insanity is
‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. Therein lies a very valuable lesson for goal achievement. You cannot sit back waiting for things to happen for you. If you have set a major goal, it is because you want something to change in your life. If you want something to change; you have to change something. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the size of a new goal. When viewed as a whole, it can seem daunting and unachievable. The key to achieving such goals is to break them down into bite size chunks. That way, you can take daily action to help bring you closer to the goal. When you focus on daily action, you are able to move closer to your objective, one step at a time, without being distracted by the enormity of the task.
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Daily action is the silver bullet
When you see people achieve great success, it is tempting to believe that there was one big thing which they did to achieve that success. You may then set about trying to discover what that silver bullet was. Everybody wants to be successful, but not so many want to accept that success is achieved by hard work rather than one specific act. In his book
‘Slaying the Dragon: How to Turn Your Small Steps to Great Feats'; American sprinter Michael Johnson discusses the trials and tribulations which he endured on his path to becoming an athletics legend. He discusses the winning mentality he developed and how he had to deal with setbacks on his way to glory. Johnson had worked for years to give himself the best opportunity for success at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Unfortunately, it did not go to plan. Rather than feel sorry for himself Johnson identified the daily actions which he could take to recover from the setback. In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympics, Johnson wrote his name into the history books as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, 200 & 400 metre runners of all time. It wasn’t one big act which ensured Johnson’s place in history; it was his focus on daily action.
Daily action is consistent and persistent
When Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen wrote their first
‘Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit' book, they sought a great deal of advice on how best to market the book. In
‘The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be' Canfield tells how they settled on
‘the rule of 5’. This meant that every day they did 5 things to promote the book. Some of the examples which Canfield provides include:
- 5 Radio interviews
- Send a copy to 5 book reviewers
- Send a copy to 5 celebrities
These were all simple things to do but over time they add up. It took over a year but eventually
‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ began to appear on the best sellers list. It was all down to Mark and Jack’s focus on daily actions.
You can learn more great strategies to improve your productivity and focus with
The Modern Professional's Guide to Organisation and Focus.
The term, ‘overnight success’ is used too often and is rarely accurate. There are very few people who achieve success quickly, due to one or two actions. Those who do achieve success quickly rarely hold onto that success. In reality, the old saying ‘It takes a long time to become an overnight success’ is true. A lot of work goes into achieving a major goal. Much of this work goes unnoticed but without it, success would not be possible. The most successful people have big goals but they know that if they are to achieve these goals, they need to turn them into daily action which they can take to bring them closer to the goal. At the end of each day, ask yourself one question
‘What action can I take tomorrow to bring me closer to that goal?’ The answer will be your daily action. Schedule that action and make sure that action is completed. You will soon be progressing toward your goal.