Tag Archives: Goals

Never mistake a clear view for a short distance

Posted on by

“Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.”

—Mark Spain, top Real Estate Broker

illustration of the distance between earth and Mars

Image from SpaceNews

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen Mars without a telescope?

If you have, you were viewing the red planet – which won’t appear red – at a distance of about 34 million miles, when at its closest to Earth.

Although the math is complicated, and there is no way to travel to Mars in a straight line – which, if you could, would take 39 days – here is a list of a few missions and the time it took for the journey:

  • Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars (1971): 168 days
  • Viking 1, the first U.S. craft to land on Mars (1995): 304 days
  • Mars Science Laboratory (2011): 254 days

EXERCISE:

To what degree are you fully prepared to go the distance on one or more personal or professional goals, that you can clearly see ahead?

Anybody who is not pulling his weight

Posted on by

“Anybody who is not pulling his weight is probably pushing his luck.”

—Adi Da Samraj, 20th Century American spiritual teacher

Image of a man tugging a thick rope

Image from Unsplash by Stijn Swinnen

Consider the following three aspects of your life, and determine your level of effort, success, and satisfaction:

  • Career
  • Relationships
  • Health

Examine how often you put in the time, focus, and heavy lifting to achieve your goals in each area.

Consider those around you with sluggish careers, failing relationships, and poor or diminished health. What do you observe regarding their efforts?

EXERCISE:

Where would pulling more of your weight bring you greater luck and good fortune in these are other important aspects of your life?

What actions will you take today to put on some more muscle, to tone up your life?

Well Arranged Time

Posted on by

“Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well arranged mind.”

—Sir Isaac Pitman, developer of the Pitman method of Shorthand

Image of a silver pocket watch

Image from Unsplash by Isabella Christina

Time management is almost always one of the top goals of my coaching clients.

They describe their desires with wording such as:

  • Life Balance
  • Stress Reduction
  • Personal Freedom
  • Independence and Autonomy
  • Peace of Mind
  • Spending time and energy on what’s most important
  • Work less and make more

All too frequently the tyranny of the urgent, or the pervasiveness of digital distractions, leaves us stressed and exhausted, with less than stellar results and satisfaction.

EXERCISE:

How can you more fully plan your days and work your plans to realize the life you sincerely desire?

Consider downloading a copy of my Time Management Strategies and Tactics Workbook, to help rearrange your mind and time. Please use the password BarryDemp if prompted to do so.

Don’t Wait Until You are Lost

Posted on by

“Don’t wait until you are lost to evaluate where you are going.”

—Brendon Burchard, American Motivational Author

Image of a hand holding a compass

Image by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Are you a goal setter?

At this time of year, many of us take time to reflect over the past months to determine what we have achieved relative to our plans from last December.

If you are like many, you may have found yourself taking numerous detours or getting completely lost at some point along the way.

What are some of your own thoughts on ways to not wait until you are lost to evaluate where you are going?

EXERCISE:

Imagine you somehow could install your own goal-focused GPS system. How can you establish far more frequent check-ins and touch points to reach your most sincerely desired destinations in the year ahead?

Are you following a path or blazing one

Posted on by

“Are you following a path, or blazing one?”

-Michael Bungay Stanier, Sr. Partner of Box of Crayons

Image of a path in the forest

Image from Flickr by Vinoth Chandar

We are all creatures of habit. Just take a look at a typical day to explore all of the routines and rituals that engage your time.

The good news is that habits are often extremely helpful in that they usually provide us the necessary momentum to pursue and achieve many of our goals.

On the other hand, new goals that we passionately desire rarely come to fruition because we continue to follow our current path, using familiar strategies and tactics.

EXERCISE:

Where and on what personal or professional goals is blazing a path the thing to do to achieve what you most desire? What new and different behaviors and attitudes will be required to do so?

Remove a Mountain

Posted on by

“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

-Chinese Proverb

Image of a boy carrying stones

Image from Flickr

Where are you today in regard to some of your most ambitious personal or professional goals for the new year? Are you in full stride, ahead of schedule?

Perhaps you are stalled, have lowered your sights considerably, or have stopped completely.

Today’s quote points to the small, consistent efforts we can all make on a daily basis to begin again, make progress, and eventually move mountains.

EXERCISE:

What are the “small stones” you will move today, to make progress toward your most desired personal or professional objectives?

The new year stands before us

Posted on by

“The new year stands before us like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”

-Melody Beattie, American Self-Help Author

Image from Flickr by Babak Fakhamzadeh

Who doesn’t like a good story filled with excitement, adventure and extraordinary accomplishments?

A challenge for many of us is that we are often listening to the tales of our friends and colleagues rather that creating and sharing our own stories.

Let’s flip this challenge on its head by dedicating ourselves to being more prolific story-tellers in the new year.

EXERCISE:

Answer the following questions, and put a plan of action into place that makes you the main character in far more stories throughout 2017:

  1. What new and exciting places will you go to in the new year?
  2. What great professional achievement will you pursue and accomplish?
  3. What significant personal achievement will you realize?
  4. What community-based contribution will most benefit from your unique abilities and talents?

Friday Review: Goals

Posted on by

FRIDAY REVIEW: GOALS

How high do you set your goals? How diligently do you pursue them?  Here are a few goal-related posts you may have missed. Click on the link to read the full message.

qc-1165a

“A good goal is like a strenuous exercise. It makes you stretch.”

 

 

 

qc-1165b

 

“The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.”

 

 

 

qc-1165c

 

“It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”

 

 

 

 

finite number of heartbeats

Posted on by

“I believe every human being has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

—Neil Armstrong, American Astronaut; First person to walk on the moon

Image of Neil Armstrong

Image from pics-about-space.com

As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. The idea of great adventure, testing oneself, and having “the right stuff” was right up my alley.

A highlight of this dream was to watch Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon in 1969, going where no man had gone before (I stole that line from Star Trek!).

For me, Armstrong set a strong example of using each and every heartbeat to accomplish something extraordinary. He continued to contribute in many ways until he passed away in 2012, at the age of 82.

EXERCISE:

What important and energizing personal and professional goals are you working on or plan to begin? Make sure they pass the “get your heart pumping” test.

Why You Started

Posted on by

“Remember Why You Started.”

-Author Unknown

Image from family-180.com

Image from family-180.com

We are now almost two months into the new year, which is a good time to check in, revisit resolutions and key goals, and your most desired intentions.

How are things going?

See if you are exceeding expectations, are satisfied, somewhat satisfied, a bit stalled, or even at a dead stop.

Did you do what many people do by simply taking on too many things at one time? If you did, consider paring down the list to the one thing you most desire, and remind yourself why it is your top priority.

Examine this goal with your head, your heart, and your gut, to rekindle its importance and value. Some might suggest “your why should make you cry.”

EXERCISE:

With this renewed commitment in place, please devise an unstoppable and fully guaranteed plan of action in which you will use all the resources and support structures available to remember why you started, and to finish strong.