Monday, October 5, 2009

7 PERCENTERS

A study published by a training and publishing organization, ThinkTQ, revealed how infrequently people develop strategies for achieving their goals.

Here is what the study revealed:

"-26% focus on specific, tangible targets for what they want in life
-19% set goals aligned with their purpose, mission and passion
-15% write down all their goals in specific measurable details
-12% maintain a clearly defined goal for every major interest and life role
-12% identify related daily, weekly, and long-term goals with deadlines
-7% take action daily toward attainment of at least one goal."

Where did your strategic planning take an exit on this list? It is fun, exciting, and motivating to set goals or talk about what we would like to accomplish. We say and sometimes even write down our goals. But the long road between stating (verbally or written) and doing lies a morgue of unrealized dreams and unused potential.

The rest of this article shows how each goal and dream gets progressively picked off in that journey.

Seventy-four percent fail to make it past the idea stage Goals and dreams are just that, a good idea, until they are breathed or written into reality as specific and tangible targets.

Continuing down the road, 81% set goals that lead us to a dead-end. This happens when our goals are not properly aligned with our purpose, mission, and passion. This happens when we are a) living for someone else's expectations, b) have not been honest with ourselves in our talents, skills, beliefs, and passions, or c) are too fearful to get our of our comfort zone. Many people set goals to try to appease their parents. Many people set goals way outside of their skill or talent level. Many people, once challenge, either make excuses to take another path or just quit all together. The show American Idol would not exist if this were not true.

Eighty-five percent of us getting past this point begin to write out clearly defined goals and dreams in specific measurable details. Doing this helps define the pathway for which we will follow. Specific measurable details include things such as step by step process, who can help you, identifying financial resources, identifying problems and solving them before they happen, identifying forks in the road and setting up alternate routes, and a detailed time line. But even this, still, may not be enough.

Moving past this stage the numbers really start to drop as 88% of us fail to identify goals for all the major interests in our life. We are usually great at setting goals in one are of our life. But we fail to remember that to live a truly successful and significant life, we must have balance and maintain perspective on all thing important. Focusing all your attention in one area of our life starves and eventually destroys the others.

The top 12% set personal goals, professional goals, family and relationship goals, health goals, financial goals, and contribution goals. All of these categories are important and must be taken into consideration to live a healthy, balanced, successful, and significant life.

Now on to the 7 PERCENTERS. Ninety-three percent of us fail to do this. "Take action daily on the attainment of at least one goal." Think about that. If you take action daily on only ONE specific, meaningful, and purposeful GOAL, you will be in the top 93% of the population.

If you do this consistently. If you have identified a specific goal or dream, if you have aligned it with who you are and what you are passionate about, if you have given time to thinking and planning out how you will accomplish this goal, and if you take action on it daily, you will be at a 93% advantage over anyone you know.

YOU WILL BE A 7 PERCENTER

This week put yourself in another category. You want to be different? You want to be successful? You want to achieve your dreams? Stop talking and start taking action.


And if you ever feel like quitting, feel discouraged, or need some perspective, just watch this hilarious clip.

Don't Quit

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