Brian Tracy lays out a seven-step formula for goal-setting: decide what you want, write it down, set deadlines, list tasks, organize a plan, take action, and do something every day. He argues that written goals drive outsized success and offers a practical exercise to write 10 goals and pick one to pursue.
Hello, I'm Brian Tracy and today I want to talk to you about how becoming a goal oriented person will be one of the best things you can do for your life. Write down every goal you could want to accomplish in the next 10 years. Then choose the most important one. Perhaps the most important single word in achieving great success in your work and personal life is the word clarity. Clarity requires that you become absolutely clear about who you are, what you believe, what you are or could be really good at, and the goals you want to accomplish. People who have clear written goals and who know exactly what they want to accomplish in each area of their lives achieve vastly more than people who are unsure or unclear about what they want. Perhaps nothing can help you to be paid more and promoted faster than for you to become an intensely goal oriented person. Your ability to set and achieve goals is often called the master skill of success. Fortunately, all business skills are learnable and this is one that you can learn quite quickly and and then improve through practice day after day. There are many approaches to goal setting. You can even attend multi day seminars on the subject. The great truth, however, is that any method is better than no method at all. Here is a simple yet powerful seven step formula that you can use to set and achieve any goal. Step 1 Decide exactly what you want. Decide what you want to achieve in your career. Decide your ideal income. How much do you want to earn next year and the year after? Decide on your desired lifestyle. How kind of a home do you want to have? Your perfect family situation, Your level of health, Your weight and level of physical fitness is very important. And your goals in every other area that is important to you. If you can decide upon your goals, you can achieve them, but if you don't decide upon them, you can't. It's as simple as that. Most people never do this, by the way. When you know exactly what you want, you separate yourself from the majority of the population. You join the top 20% of high achievers. Step two write it down. When you write your goals down on paper, something amazing happens between your head and your hand. The act of writing actually programs these goals into your subconscious mind. They then begin to take on a power of their own, attracting people and possibilities into your life. Every person I have ever spoken with who began writing their goals down on a regular basis was absolutely amazed at how rapidly those goals were achieved. Step number three Set a deadline. If it's a large goal, set sub deadlines as well. If you miss your deadline for any reason, set another deadline. Your subconscious mind needs a Clear forcing system or specific time target to aim at. When you set a deadline, you activate more of your superconscious powers. You will feel yourself internally motivated to take those actions that are necessary to achieve your goal. On schedule. You'll start to see possibilities all around you that you would not have seen if you hadn't written your goals down. Step number four. Make a list. Write down every task you can think of that you will have to complete to achieve your goal. As you think of new tasks and activities, add them to your list. Keep developing your list until it is complete, until you can't think of anything else that you could possibly do. This is very important. Step 5 Organize your list into a plan. A plan is merely a list of activities arranged by time and sequence. What has to be done first, what can be done later, what is more important, what is less important? Once you have a goal and a plan, you will have a blueprint for success. You will be ready to achieve your goals at a more rapid rate than than ever before. You'll accomplish five or ten times as much as a person without goals and a plan. Step number six. Take action on your plan. Do something, do anything. But whatever you do, get busy, get going, don't delay. Select the most logical first step and get started. It's amazing how many great goals and plans die for lack of implementation. Don't let this happen to you. Step number seven is do something every day that moves you toward your major goal. Take specific actions that move you in the direction of your most important goal every day. This is perhaps the most important step of all. By doing something every day, you develop the power of momentum. With this power, you will move faster and faster towards your goal. And at the same time, your goal will move faster and faster toward you. It's absolutely amazing. The more goal oriented you are at work, the more focused you will be. The more focused you are, the less time you will waste and the more you will accomplish. The more you accomplish, the more valuable you will be to yourself and to your company. When you become intensely goal oriented, you will stand out from the other people around you. You will attract more opportunities for greater responsibilities. By becoming intensely goal oriented, you will inevitably get paid more and promoted faster. Take out a piece of paper right now and write down 10 goals you would like to achieve in the next 12 months. Write these goals in the present tense. For example, I earn X number of dollars per year or I earn X number of dollars by December 31st in the coming year, exactly as if a year has passed and your goals have already been achieved. Select the one goal from your list that could have the greatest positive impact on your life and career. Transfer this goal to a clean sheet of paper, set a deadline on it, make a written plan to achieve it, take action on your plan, and then resolve to do something every day to move you toward your most important goal. This powerful goal setting exercise alone can change your life. It changed mine, and it's changed the lives of thousands and maybe tens of thousands of my graduates now. I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is what is the one goal that you want to accomplish by the end of the year? The one goal that, if you accomplish it, would have a greater impact on your life than any other single goal? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to follow up with you. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action. And take action now. If you enjoyed this video and feel it was valuable in teaching you about how to set and achieve your goals, subscribe to my channel like this video and share this video with your friends. Don't forget to click the button on the screen for a free gift. Thanks again for watching.
