Get Clarity: A Powerful 7-Step formula for success
“ And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” — Hab 2:2
Getting together with my colleagues in our Town Hall events is always engaging, entertaining and full of surprises. Our Q1 2019 Finance Town Hall was no different. It was exciting, and the team was full of energy and excitement.
While we have fun and interact in a relaxed environment, we also get serious. We talk about our performance for the past quarter and look ahead to the upcoming quarters of the rest of the year. We also recognise our best achievers for the quarter; those who made the biggest impact on our numbers, those who displayed the best of our company values, going over and beyond.
The time for recognition is also a time for serious reflection. We reflect on questions like, do we get paid for our time or for the value we bring. We get paid for the value we bring because if we being paid for our time, we will all be paid the same and recognised the same.
As our discussions went on, we reflected on what I consider an important phrase from the book I am reading — “Eat That Frog.”
“The number one reason why some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives, and they don’t deviate from them.” — Brian Tracy
If you are going to get things done and get them done faster, you must be clear on what it is that you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it.
Here is a simple but powerful seven-step “formula for setting and achieving” your goals in life, work and business according to Brian Tracy.
1) “Decide exactly what you want.” The first step is always important. Be crystal clear on what you must achieve and its importance. “One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all.”
2) “Write it down.” You cannot achieve if you do not see it. “Unwritten goals lead to confusion, vagueness, misdirection and numerous mistakes.”
3) “Set a deadline on your goal.” This step expresses the importance of your objective and gives it urgency. A goal needs to have a beginning and an ending.
4) “Make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal.” Here you make a map of the road that you need to travel to get to your objective. You cannot achieve your goals or objectives without a series of intentional and interrelated set of actions. Be clear on what are those actions and write them down.
5) “Organise the list into a plan.” Imagine if you are trying to build a house without a drawn-out plan. There will be chaos, waste of money and no end product. That will be the result of your life, work or business if you approach them without a written plan. Have an answer to Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s question — “What is your life’s blueprint?”
6) “Take action on your plan immediately.” Do not delay in executing your plan. The longer you delay to take action, the lower your chances of success because you will lose the motivation. Jim Rohn calls it the “law of diminishing intent.” Do not procrastinate.
7) “Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.” I realise that the one thing that is common among all the goals that I have failed to achieve in the past, is inconsistency. Letting a day pass by without doing something towards that goal. “Whatever it is, you must never miss a day” — Brian Tracy.
You can apply this seven-step formula in every area of your life. Use it in your work, use it in your family and use it in your business. It is a simple formula but following through with it will not be easy. However, once you lock into it, “keep pushing forward. Don’t stop.”
“Decision, discipline and determination.”
Make a decision to develop the habit you want. Discipline yourself to work towards your goal daily. And have the determination not to back out until you reach the end, until you win.
