Jolt! (6 page)

But in spite of that desperate situation, young Booker dreamed of an education. His goal was learning—real learning. Not just the ability to read a newspaper or dime-store novel, but a desire to learn science, mathematics, history, and more. Years later, working deep in a coal mine, he overheard some of the miners talking about a school five hundred miles away called the Hampton Institute. He immediately decided that one day he would attend the school, in spite of the distance.

His dream simply would not die. As a result, he not only attended the school but was later asked to lead a new program in Alabama, called the Tuskegee Institute. He eventually built Tuskegee into a major college campus with more than fifteen hundred students and a faculty of two hundred professors.

There was not one single thing in Booker T. Washington's life that helped him except the power of a dream. Starting out, he had no money, no education, no training, no influence, and no future. He was just another slave among thousands, with no potential other than living out his life working in obscurity on a forgotten Southern farm.

But the power of his dream opened doors, filled him with motivation, and revealed his true promise. Millions of Americans have been directly touched or indirectly inspired by his story, and this nation is a better place because he never gave up on his dream.

If you feel that your situation is hopeless, just remember Booker T. Washington and start dreaming again.

How do you do that? The key is to realize that goals are born in dreams, and dreams are simply the great what-ifs of life.

What if . . .

I could run a marathon?

we could make our marriage work?

we reorganized the company?

I went back to college?

I could write a novel?

we could double our sales?

I could get that promotion?

I could find the right career?

I could change my future?

I could be a better leader?

I could make a difference?

Goals are all about “what if,” so begin thinking about the great what-ifs of your life. No limits, no lids. You're not a beauty pageant contestant, so I'm not necessarily looking for “world peace” here—I'm looking for goals that you personally dream about.

In the next chapter, we'll look at the keys for getting the right goals down on paper. A list will help clarify your life. For years you've thought about dreams and goals, but few people actually get them into a realistic list. This is the foundation for your life change because it will jolt you from dreaming to creating a map to your destination.

» JOLT #5
The Power of “What If?”
Expanding Your Vision

Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.
—GEORGE SHIN, PROFESIONAL SPORTS FRANCHISE OWNER

T
he first stage of goal setting is the “blue sky” approach. Nothing is off-limits, out of bounds, or impossible—not one thing. This is your creative time, when you can dream about anything, and nothing is too strange or too crazy. Let yourself go, just as if you were that small child again, dreaming about what you'd be when you grew up.

I always encourage people to begin this way because as adults we get caught in too many hang-ups when it comes to our potential and possibilities. We put too many boundaries and restrictions on what we believe we can do. It's something that happens because of a lot of issues, like our misplaced idea of maturity, our education, or our perception that adulthood is about reality, restraint, and responsibility.

But this is your time to dream again. I recommend you start by finding a place where the phone won't ring, the TV is off, and the lure of e-mail or Facebook can't tempt you. You don't have to find a mountain cabin, but I do recommend you find a place that's relaxing and will put you in a creative mood.

Next, get a journal, or at least a blank piece of paper, and jot down some of your thoughts. Remember, write anything that comes to mind—goals to achieve and changes you want to make. Is your dream to be a barber or beekeeper? Real estate agent? Movie star? Store manager? Better mom? Game-show host? Company vice president? Screenwriter? College graduate? Stronger leader? Devoted father?

From a corporate perspective, you might want to double your sales, increase the staff, become number one in the marketplace, or rethink your global strategy.

Write it down. What about becoming an Olympic athlete? Put it on the paper. Think of any goal that might come to mind. New house? New city? New wardrobe?

And don't limit yourself to words. If drawing or even scribbling works better for you, then by all means do it. There are no rules or limitations here. Our purpose for the session is to get down your immediate thoughts, goals for your life, and areas you want to change. You don't have to be terribly specific either. This is big-picture time, and I'm more interested in the first thoughts and ideas that come into your head.

This is an occasion to expand your vision and stretch the muscles of your imagination. Millions of people are trapped in a self-imposed prison. They believe they aren't good enough, talented enough, or smart enough to accomplish much in life and are resigned to spending the rest of their days settling for second best. As a result, they limit their dreams and live within the borders of a second-class world.

» “DARE TO DREAM” IS AN OVERUSED PHRASE, BUT I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO IT.

The only real limitations in your life are in your mind, so break those shackles and look for a farther horizon. Write it down and don't let your past, other people's opinions, or the limitations of your experience hold you back.

It's important that you do this exercise a number of times. In fact, I recommend this become a regular creative workout. It will open up your thinking to new possibilities and force you to question all the old assumptions that have kept you from considering new options and choices.

I use this type of thinking in solving numerous problems and frustrations in my own life. Whether I have a challenge at work, in my family, or elsewhere, my first step is to look for solutions without any rules, restrictions, or boundaries. Forget reality for a moment and start thinking of potential options and choices out of the blue. Don't worry about budget, time limits, schedule, or whatever has or hasn't been done in the past.

Some of my students and clients consider this a waste of time. “But we have realistic budgets and time schedules,” they moan. “What about company policies?” they plead. “We have to figure our company limitations into the solution.”

Not at this point. This is the place where anything could happen and we start with a blank slate.

Why? Because this is where the most innovative solutions come from. You don't solve existing problems with existing rules. To do something new, you can't keep doing something old. Thinking in old ways will never solve new problems. You'll never be innovative unless you start with the greatest number of possibilities. Of course, many of your ideas won't work, but you'll never know unless you write them down and address them.

And you'll discover that very often the most creative and unusual solution will jump right out of that list, and it will be a solution that never would have been considered by someone whose thinking was restricted and bound.

So get your goals down first. Anything, everything, whatever you can think of or want to accomplish.

NARROW YOUR FOCUS

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
—DENIS WAITLEY, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER AND AUTHOR

After a few of these blue-sky sessions, you should have a list of interesting possibilities about where you want to go with your life and issues you want to change. Keep these notes because you'll find yourself coming back to the list from time to time.

Start by exploring the possibilities from the list and begin focusing on the goals that match your personality, gifts, and passion.

» FIRST, LOOK THROUGH THE LIST AND TOSS OUT GOALS OR CHANGES THAT SIMPLY CAN'T HAPPEN.

For instance, if you're fifty years old, chances are you've missed your chance for an Olympic gold medal. It was a good dream, but that one's out of reach. Perhaps you can get a job working with the U.S. Olympic Committee or help mentor or train a local athlete, but short of a miracle, your competing is pretty much out of the question.

Other goals might be unattainable for a variety of reasons, such as geography, finances, or education. Don't toss those out yet, because you never know what can be achieved with a little creativity and someone determined to change. (Remember Booker T. Washington.)

» THE NEXT STEP IS TO SPEND TIME THINKING ABOUT YOUR GOALS IN TERMS OF YOUR PERSONAL GIFTS, TALENTS, PASSION, AND WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE.

Nearly every week, I meet people who spend enormous amounts of money and time dreaming of a career they simply don't have the talent or ability to do well. All the passion and desire in the world will not make me a successful NBA walk-on or Super Bowl MVP. At some point, we have to realize the limitations of our abilities and not continue wasting our lives in the pursuit of an impossible goal.

On the other hand, there are millions of people with lofty goals who have simply not made the commitment it takes to achieve them. Being in the entertainment business, I am constantly meeting people who have written screenplays, and I usually have a stack of scripts on the edge of my desk. To be honest, 90 percent of the scripts are simply awful pieces of writing. Many producers and studio executives use the “ten-page rule” in reading these screenplays: if it doesn't capture our attention or impress us with compelling writing within ten pages, it hits the trash.

Many of these writers have great passion for their work and have sometimes put years into the process. I often get very emotional and passionate cover letters from writers who believe very strongly in their potential. Some believe they have an almost divine purpose in writing and desperately cling to the hope that a producer will eventually see the brilliance in their scripts and give them a shot.

While passion and desire are important, so are training, education, and preparation. Far too often I find writers who tell me they just don't have time to take classes or work with a writing teacher. They're convinced passion is all they need to become successful.

» WOULD YOU HAVE BRAIN SURGERY BY A DOCTOR WHO HAD GREAT PASSION FOR HIS WORK BUT WHO DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO ATTEND MEDICAL SCHOOL?

I doubt it. In the same way, we have to realize the importance of laying the groundwork and building the right foundation to make our goals and dreams happen.

Perhaps that's a change you need to make right now. Maybe your dreams have been frustrated because you haven't made the commitment of preparation. Want to be a pastor? Enroll in seminary. Want to be a doctor? Head to medical school. Want to be an architect? Get the training. Find an internship, volunteer, or develop a mentor relationship with someone with expertise in the area you want to pursue.

We'll discuss this in a later chapter on personal growth, but for now, I urge you to put in the preparation it will take to achieve your goal. Penicillin wasn't the culmination of a vast research project, it was the result of an accidental discovery. But it never would have happened had those scientists not had very definite goals in mind.

Chance favors only the prepared mind.
—LOUIS PASTEUR

You are different from every other person on the earth, and there are abilities and talents you were born with that will help determine your ultimate career, goal, or calling.

I'll use the word
calling
from time to time, which means “a sense of destiny and spiritual purpose.” In the Christian sense, it means that God has called you for a specific purpose and that divine purpose is your reason for being. People of different faith perspectives have similar feelings about this area, and it's something I recommend you explore further. Some people have a calling to help inner-city children, some feel called to expand medical care to needy countries, and others feel called into the ministry.

A calling is the highest form of life purpose because it transcends the need for fame, financial success, or status. Calling drove Mother Teresa into the slums of Calcutta, compelled writer and Harvard professor Henri Nouwen to spend his life with the mentally handicapped and physically disabled, and persuaded Dr. Paul Brand to give up a prosperous medical practice to spend his life caring for lepers.

In a world absorbed in the reckless pursuit of riches and fame, you could do no better than experience a calling that would cause you to make a genuine difference in the world.

MOVING FROM THE GENERAL TO THE SPECIFIC

Now that you have a list of possibilities and are starting to narrow down those possibilities, it's time to focus on specific destinations. Start matching your goals to your own personal gifts and talents. Take a serious look where the match is the strongest.

First, a word about skills, gifts, and talents. People often have enormous difficulty determining what they are really good at doing. It should be quite easy, but many people spend their lives without thinking about their talents and therefore lose touch with their greatest strengths.

What do you find easy? Are you an exceptional leader? Do you make friends easily? Do you love numbers? What about financial advice, networking, decision-making skills, or managing in a crisis?

Draw two columns on your paper. List your goals on one side and your skills on the other. Don't be shy—this is the time to focus on your strengths, not to be modest.

There are formal evaluations that indicate personality types as well as strengths and weaknesses, such as the Myers-Briggs evaluation and the DISC profile. Some resources are low-cost or even free on the Internet—an example is Tom Rath's
Strengths Finder
. But if you don't have access to a professional evaluation, talk to some friends you respect and ask their advice. Show them the list of skills and talents you feel you possess, and get their feedback. Sometimes others see things you can't see, and might point out additional areas of strength.