Russ Dalbey's Blog

Yup – I’m going to talk about setting goals again. You might have already read articles about goals and resolutions lately. But know this – I wouldn’t bother bringing it up if it wasn’t so important.

You see, I’m a big believer in setting goals to achieve success – in business, as an athlete, or life in general. It’s one of the three simple things that are absolutely essential to creating your destiny:

• Set Goals
• Work Hard
• Get a Coach

Back in February of 2006, I wrote a couple blogs about goal setting (“One Minute Guide To Achieving Anything” and “Dental Heath and Goals for Wealth”) and followed up with “It’s March – Do You Know Where Your New Year’s Resolutions Are?” a month later.

Take a look at the March “New Year’s Resolutions” blog for a refresher on my easy-to-follow steps for creating, affirming, and following through on my own goals.

But what if you set goals for 2006 that didn’t quite pan out? Does that mean you’re a failure?

Absolutely not. Here’s why.

Some of the goals you may have set – achieving a certain profit level for your business, losing weight, or improving your personal relationships – are not always easy tasks. These things can swing up and down, even with constant effort on your part. Don’t be too hard on yourself – it’ll only hold you back.

Your mindset plays a huge part in your ability to create success. And if you interpret the fact that you fell short of reaching one or more of your goals in 2006 as defeat, that will only make it harder to get to where you want to be. Instead, acknowledge both your “wins” and your “losses.”

Odds are, if you made a consistent effort to achieve your goals, you achieved a lot of smaller accomplishments along the way. Perhaps you’ve laid the foundation of your marketing to build your entrepreneurial success. Or, if you set a goal to improve your health, you’ve successfully made significant changes in your diet and behavior, even if you aren’t running marathons or buying clothing that is four sizes smaller just yet.

You must allow yourself to acknowledge and celebrate these smaller steps towards achieving greatness in order to keep moving forward and make your dreams reality.

Here’s one last idea that proves that missing a goal here and there is par for the course.

One of the undisputed best baseball batters of all time is Babe Ruth. “The Great Bambino” was named #1 by The Sporting News to their list of Baseball’s Greatest 100 Players of all time. Babe was the first player to hit 60 home runs in a single season – a record that stood for 34 years.

Still, for all his success, Babe Ruth missed his mark a lot more often. Babe blasted 714 career home runs, but he also struck out 1330 times – almost twice as often as his successes.

So here’s to a new year: new goals, some setbacks, and a whole bunch of new successes.

Warmly,
Russ

Founder of Winning in the Cash Flow Business