Fact: If you don’t have goals and aspirations for yourself, you will be destined to live everyday of your life helping others achieve their goals and aspirations at the expense of your own. Said differently, if you do not have passionate and exciting goals for you and your family, you will live your entire life settling for less and underachieving.
Neale Donald Walsch, best selling author of Conversations With God, wrote, “Somewhere between the ages of 40 and 50, most people have given up on their grandest dreams, set aside their highest hopes, and have settled for their lowest expectations… or nothing at all.”
Become a Possibilitarian! 
So, what’s possible for you? How will you ever know what is possible for you until you have identified worthy and meaningful goals? The late Jim Rohn, an internationally respected business philosopher and motivational speaker said, “You’ll never know what’s possible for you until you are willing to attempt the impossible. And no one will attempt the impossible until he or she has a reason for doing so. That reason must be compelling, meaningful, and exciting.” The message I received from Jim was this: Become a “fearless possibilitarian” and discover all that is possible for you by attempting the impossible; because the impossible is actually very possible (like going to the moon and all the technology today that was seen as impossible years ago). Your limitations are merely self-limitations.
No goals and too many goals result in underachievement
As I travel the country and speak to audiences who want more out of life than they are getting, I find that most have either no goals or too many of them. We can all understand the consequences of having no goals. But you might ask, how can someone underachieve having too many goals? Well, in most cases, when you have 10, 20, 30, or more goals – both long and short range ones – your mind is unable to focus on all of them. Everyday events and stresses; all the voicing vying for your attention, and unexpected interruptions get in the way of your ability to focus on so many goals. You become overwhelmed and paralyzed and wind up pursing and achieving nothing worthwhile. So the key to living an extraordinary life and achieving fortune, fame, influence, power, success, and an abundance of happiness is to ask, what I call, The Life Changing Question.
The life changing question
The Life Changing Question is indeed life changing! But the question must be asked with high emotion and with a relentless desire to seek out the answer, even though the answer is still a mystery. When The Life Changing Question is asked, the “why” must not be compromised by the “how.” In other words, the cliché “where there’s a will, there’s a way” must take center stage in the theater of your mind. First comes the will… and when the will is strong and undeniable, the way will show up! Napoleon Hill, author of the timeless book, Think and Grow Rich, said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.” You see, The Life Changing Question must be asked with the unconditional desire to seek the answer, even though the answer has yet to appear.
If there were 1 or 2 goals that I could achieve in the next 12 months that would totally REVOLUTIONIZE THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER; and that I would COMMIT to… what would they be?
You see, if you can identify one or two goals that would totally transform every aspect of your life for the better; where you can muster the courage and conviction to pursue them because you refuse to settle for less than you can be, your mind and heart can easily focus on seeking the answers – the “how.” You will find yourself having trouble sleeping because these goals become so exciting. You will think of them while you drive to work, take a shower, walk the dog – at the most unexpected times. And because the focus is now on just one or two BIG and MEANINGFUL goals, everyday events and disruptions won’t impede your pursuit of them.
You can’t achieve something you can’t define or can’t get excited about
Life is about passion and purpose. Very few people take the time to define what it is they really want; what they would pursue at all costs regardless of adversities, barriers, and obstacles that might (and will) stand in their way. The miracle of life is discovering what miracles you want to manifest. And when you identify just one or two of them (throughout your life), and unconditionally commit to them… you will achieve them!
Author:
Jay Block is an industry pioneer and the nation’s leading motivational career coach. Jay is a best-selling author of 15 books, including his latest blockbuster: 101 Best Ways To Land a Job in Troubled Times (McGraw-Hill). He has a 20-year record of success for creating and recreating the career management industry. His website is: www.jayblock.com
