This is my last article for a while, so I really wanted this one to make an impact and stay with you. Even though the amazing CMI editorial team wanted me to write about marketing, I wrote this instead (ha).
Occasionally, I’ll do an interview where someone will ask: “What’s the one thing you did that made the greatest impact to where you are at now?”
It’s my favorite question, both because it’s the easiest to answer and something that almost no one does. The answer is about setting goals. I’ll get to the specific formula below, but first, let’s take a step back.
Do you have goals?
How many people do you know that set goals for their life and career? In my experience, it’s a low percentage.
Of that low percentage, how many of those people write those goals down? Also, a low percentage.
Of those people who write down their goals, how many review them on a regular basis? An even smaller number.
I’ve found that the majority of people just exist. They follow some daily pattern that they accidentally fell into. They get up, work, do some things, go to bed, repeat this process, and are generally unhappy with their “chosen” life. Now, there is nothing wrong with this, but it’s not how I would choose to live.
I’ve also found that these same people believe the majority of life is out of their control. Someone is always to blame for the circumstance and nothing can be done (again, this has been my experience).
If you believe you can’t, you’re right
“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
I have the professional opportunity to meet with people from all over the world. Sometimes I give advice, and sometimes people listen (crazy, right?). What I’ve learned through these meetings is if people believe they cannot do something – for whatever reason – they are 100% correct.
If a person believes he or she didn’t get the job because of where he or she went to school or the chosen hire had the inside track, that person is correct. The only way that person will ever get the job he or she wants is to first change the belief. Easy to say, hard to do … but it must be done.
How can this be fixed? Don’t focus on why something cannot be done, begin at the end.
Beginning with the end in mind
“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.” – Brian Tracy
I went through a long period of not feeling successful, though, in hindsight, it’s more accurate to say I didn’t really know what success was. I graduated from Bowling Green State University (just south of Toledo, Ohio) with a degree in interpersonal communications. My major had been “undecided” until the beginning of my junior year. The only reason I chose interpersonal communications was because it was the only degree I could pursue that would allow me to graduate on time.
As I came close to graduation, I felt like sports marketing was something I’d be good at. I was lucky enough to get an internship with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the professional basketball team, after graduation. But after finding out that all the money went to the players (the operations team works very long hours for very little pay), I decided to go to graduate school.
With two weeks left before fall semester, someone dropped out of the teaching assistantship program at Penn State University, leaving an opening for yours truly. I taught four semesters of public speaking and ended up with a master’s degree in communications.
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