Power of Setting Goals - Kasey Johnson

How Bad do you want it?

The Power of Setting Goals

The Harvard MBA program is extremely competitive, and today admits approximately 15% of applicants.  In the 60′s the acceptance rate was about 30%, down to 25% in the 70s, and has fluctuated between 10-15%  ever since.  Students who make it past the application process are typically standouts, and already fairly successful by most traditional definitions – they have an undergraduate degree, typically three to five years of work experience and were considered suitable for acceptance into the Harvard Business School.

The average Harvard MBA graduate starts at $115K with a $20K signing bonus.  Nonetheless, some graduates of the Harvard MBA program end up being MUCH more successful than others in the long run.

So, Why Do 3% of Harvard MBAs Make Ten Times as Much as the Other 97% Combined ?

The answer is a simple question: “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” In 1979, interviewers asked new graduates from the Harvard’s MBA Program and found that :

§  84% had no specific goals at all

§  13% had goals but they were not committed to paper

§  3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them

In 1989, the interviewers again interviewed the graduates of that class.  You can guess the results:

§  The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all.

§  Even more staggering – the three percent who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.

"Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor." 
Brian Tracy 

"There is no achievement without goals."Robert J. McKaine 

Goals in writting are dreams with deadlines.  -Brian Tracy 

"If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." -Yogi Berra 

So How do I write effective Goals?

1.    Know what you want – You got to know what you want in life. Only through turning off the many distracters in today’s lifestyle such as the internet, cell phones, and the television can we truly sit down and think about what it is we truly want. You need to write in detail what it is you want. Clarity in this aspect is POWER. VISUALIZE what you want and BE SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE!

2.    Know why you want to achieve that goal – What is it that you’re going to get out of taking action towards and achieving this goal? Think of the outcome. Come up with as many reasons as you can as to why you want this goal. This will provide PASSION and PURPOSE in your life. VISUALIZE why you want that goal and AGAIN BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE!

3.    Break it into smaller goals – Once you find out what it is you want, break it down into smaller, more achievable goals. This will take a larger goal and help make it more attainable. Completing your smaller goals will keep you motivated, inspired, and passionate toward your final goal.

4.    Set a deadline – Setting deadlines forces people to take action, especially for procrastinators. Many people put off doing things, however, whenever a deadline is set, it helps people to move to action. Setting deadlines also helps you evaluate where you should be and help you with the later steps.

5.    Plan how you are going to achieve this goal – You need a plan on how your going to achieve your goals. This will act as a daily guide, which will fire your passion. An example goal could be to lose 15 pounds by March, one step in your plan could be get to the gym 3 days/week.

6.    Create positive affirmations – Write out a sentence or two of how you would feel having achieved that goal. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds by March and one of the reasons is because it will give you more energy, your positive affirmation could be “Now that I have so much more energy in life, I can keep up and play with my kids more.”

7.    HANDWRITE it down – This is important, do not overlook it. You need to handwrite your goal down on paper. Handwrite the goal, why, how, and when you are going to achieve that goal. This should not be a problem since you should have your computer, television, and cell phone off.