Following through on your goals

Welcome to February. Yup. January. It's a thing of the past. So many of us sat down on January 1st and did that old thing, New Year's resolutions. That time when we get excited. It's the one time in the year when we get excited about changing some things in their lives, good or bad for many. Some of the most popular New Year's resolutions are to stop smoking, to reduce some debt. For others, it is to get healthy and get fit. So many of us set these goals with massive excitement, massive aspirations to follow through and get those results. So why is it that 92% of humans who do set those resolutions, they forget about them, they drop the ball, they move on to different things just one month later. Yeah, so it's February. Most of us are moving on, forgetting about those goals, the gym membership. Yeah, we're maybe going once a week instead of the four times a week that we promised ourselves all that debt reduction. We're going to eat out a little less and we're going to pay down a little bit more of our home loan. Yeah, those things have kind of gone awry because we find something that we want to invest in or we just want to go out and party and enjoy time with our friends. So so many of us do that. We go off on tangents. The question is why? In today's session, what I'd like to talk about is what is the difference between those who continue to continually move through the year and crush those goals and those of the population that decide to give up on those goals? What is the defining difference? I'm going to teach you three ways to actually set up these goals and create a system that allows you to crush it every day, single time. So why is it that so many people give up on those resolutions? Why is it that so many of us humans have dreams that we just don't follow through on? Well, a couple of things. One, people generally don't reflect enough. Right. You know, and I've been guilty. And over the last four or five years, I've tried to be more reflective. So, you know, just sitting down and reflecting on your day, sitting down and reflecting on your week. Sitting down and reflecting on your month and your year. Reflection reveals so many amazing insights into your life. Reflection allows you to stay accountable to yourself. Reflection is you policing your commitments. Nobody else is going to police those commitments, just you. So think about reflection as one of the reasons why most of us follow through on our goals. So important. Another thing, most people that don't achieve the goals that they set is because they don't have a plan. I was once told this. I was told, look, James, if you have a plan, you're going to be so much more likely to fall through. But also I was told that, James, an idiot with a plan is going to be way more successful than a genius with no plan. So I took that on board. I think I was the idiot and I was taking that on board and I was going to get that plan and move forward and start that business and write that book. It really helped. It helped to have a plan. And yes, as we know from 2020, plans can change, the world can change. But at least when you've got a plan, you're really, really clear on where you're headed. Why else do we not follow through? Well, why the word why itself, that's the clue. You know, I feel like when you don't have purpose, when we don't have a reason why we're doing something, it's so easy to go for the next best thing. It's so easy to put your hand up when your friend says, hey, let's go for drinks. Rather than work towards your dream with passion, having your why is so important. In fact, this year, this past year, I decided to take on a challenge, right? Crazy, crazy challenge. A 365 day challenge by a company called One Year no Beer, right? And the challenge was that I wouldn't drink alcohol for a year. Being an Irishman who loves his Guinness, that's a big commitment, right? So I started back in April. So I'm several months into it now. I really enjoying it, really loving it. But the first thing I did when I committed to that challenge, because I knew there would be distractions and temptations along the way. Birthdays, New year celebrations, launches of products celebrating family and friends and clients and their different successes throughout the year. I knew there would be distractions and many temptations. So I wrote a massive page of why this challenge was so important to me. And I'm proud to tell you I haven't touched the drop in many, many months. I do enjoy Heineken zeros zero alcohol, but I haven't touched the drop. And that why page that's so important to me. So I wrote down why. I mean, many reasons. Not just, oh, because I want to get healthy or I want to challenge myself, yet they were part of my why, but writing down so many reasons, you know, to leave a more positive legacy, to have more clarity, to serve my clients better, to have more energy, to get up and run around with my toddler Write a list of all the whys to have more health at the end of life. Yeah, I'm not at the end of life right now, you know, 80s and 90s. If I get the privilege to live that long, then I want to be able to actually live a vibrant life and a life full of joy and excitement and mobility. I know that alcohol is not going to support me later in life. In fact, it's probably going to hinder my freedoms. So I wrote a massive page of why. And it's so much like it's helped me so much to really follow through on that commitment, that goal. I know for sure, 100% I'm going to make it to the 365 days, and I'm pretty damn confident that I'm going to continue on because I feel very good. So I'm challenging you guys to think about what is it that's in the way that gets in the way between you and your goal? And do you continually change your goal? Do you constantly change direction? Oh, yeah, I don't want to do that anymore. I'll do something different. Or do you follow through? Do you always follow through and complete that project, complete that course, buy that book or read it to the end before you buy another one? Or are you more likely to do the opposite? Right. Just be honest, reflect on that for a moment, and if you are dropping the ball, so to speak, then think about, hey, what am I not doing that might help me to follow through on these badass goals and not be part of the 92% who don't. As with anything, there's a cost, right? So what's it going to cost you to not follow through? What's it going to cost you in life if you don't follow through on your dreams? Well, there's a high possibility you're going to get to the end of life and have major regrets. You may even feel really unfulfilled. There's that feeling of, wow, what if I had have started that business? What if I had have asked that girl out on the coffee date? What if I had started the first page of that book? What ifs, Right? So it's about you thinking, okay, there's a cost for me to be indecisive. There's a cost to my life to not take action. There's a cost in life to not follow through on your goal commitments. There's a cost in life to not even setting goals. So I want you to write down what the costs are. Take a moment to think. What's it going to cost me if I don't actually dream big, develop a plan and a vision, get clarity, know why I'm doing it, and then move towards it. What is your cost to that? So now I want to share with you three ways to follow through on your goals. Number one, this is the most important one. Grab a pen, write this one down. Number one way to follow through on your goals, to not be part of that 92% who gave up on them, is to reflect. Grab yourself a journal, get your iPad out, get a piece of paper, get a little post it, note whatever it might be. But every single day, every single day, endeavor to reflect. Now, does that mean you have to do this fancy journaling? Not at all. I'm very pragmatic with my journaling. I don't sit and pontificate about things. I ask myself questions. So in that reflection, ask yourself some questions. Did I follow through today? Am I on track for my monthly outcome? Did I bring my best today? What did I learn today? Create some questions that really encourage you to go within and hold yourself to account. Hold yourself to a higher standard. That's essentially what we're trying to do, right, as high performers. And when you're trying to reach a goal is hold yourself to this higher bar. And each day you're holding yourself accountable. When you don't hold yourself accountable, I would say it's willful blindness. You know, you're not really moving towards it. You're happy to distract yourself with Netflix and maybe a couple extra glasses of wine and some cigarettes and some toxic relationships perhaps. Hopefully not. But I think it's really important to realize that when you're not reflecting, you're not holding yourself accountable, that there's an avoidance there. You're distracting yourself from where you could be going. So take the time to reflect, get a journal. Or I just use my iPad. I have a. A reflection in my boss planner. I use a little Boss Planner in there and it's awesome. Just keeps me accountable every single day. Now does that mean every single day I'm moving forward and I'm doing amazing things? Hell no. I am human. I. Some days I don't move forward in all my areas. Other days I have massively productive days. Other days I do too much and I feel overwhelmed. So we're all human. I think it's important.

To use that reflection to figure out where you're at, where you're headed. The second tip for you to really follow through in those goals is to connect. Connect with your purpose. So once a Day, read your why. So draw up that why sheet or your purpose sheet. Get a whole page and write down why each of those goals. So if you have 10 goals for 20, 21, that's a lot. If you've got 10 goals, you should have 10 pages of whys. Okay, so let's say you want to get into the best shape of your life. Why not Just because I want to feel great, I want to look sexy, that could be part of it. But expand upon that, a page of why. Go deep, you know, get really internal. Think about what it means to you, to your family, to your loved ones, to your future kids and grandkids. Have a page of why's and then have a reminder on your phone each day to read that page. Every day, single day. You're 365 times more likely to achieve the goal if you read why you want to achieve it. Every day. Every single day. Don't skip a day. You will see some massive, massive changes in your life and particularly in your daily habits. So the third part of moving towards getting your goals is to direct your focus. You got to direct your focus, right? And I've actually got some tools there to help you guys. So if you want to head on over to the link in the description and grab that free book, or I've got a free book that helps you plan, get clarity on where you're headed with your legacy, with your impact on life, your fulfillment, your business, all of that. So feel free to go and help yourself and grab that in the link in the description. So the third aspect is to direct.

Your focus. Okay, so direct your focus towards a plan. Direct your focus towards accountability. Write up a plan. What's 2021's plan? Where do I need to get to and how am I going to get there? Okay, what's January's plan? Okay, yep, that's what I need to do. Okay, I've done that. What's February's boom? Let's move towards that. Be really specific on a monthly basis. Where you need to be at. That's your 12 stepping stones, completing that 12 month goal. It might seem mundane, it might seem really simplistic, but honestly, it's those simple strategies and plans that help you execute on these epic, epic goals. So have that plan, then bring it down to a weekly basis. I spend an hour or so on a Sunday looking at what my monthly outcomes are, reading why they are so important, and then making a plan for Monday through Sunday of the following week, how I'm going to get there, what are my simple seven little simple steps to get me towards that weekly outcome. So have a plan and accountability. Have yourself a coach. Have someone external that can call you out on your excuses. Have someone that can say, hey, you said you were going to do this, but you did this. What's going on? Like you, do you want it bad enough? Are you hungry enough? Have someone that you, you know, can hold you to account, preferably not your partner because that will probably end in disaster. Get someone that's outside of your everyday life that can just give you that accountability. It could be a coach, it could be a mentor, it could be someone that lives overseas that you connect with every now and then. You'll know who's right for you, but have that focus and that direction, okay? So you reflect, you connect and you direct. That is the three step process to really following through and achieving any goal. Reflect every day. Connect with your purpose and your passion every day. And direct your focus with a plan every single day. I want to wish you the very best for an amazing year ahead. Do not become one of those statistics in February. And if you feel like, hey, I'm starting to become, that's okay. It's not too late to get some infrastructure in your life in place. Get out there and do it. And guys, if you want to come and join me, I've got an amazing community, a monthly membership where I go live and I connect with them. I answer your questions, I present strategies on mindset, on manifestation, on business planning, everything you can imagine. So please come and join us. And if you, if you want more information on that, visit my website or check out the links below and you'll get more information. But please do come over and join us. Come check it out and take your life to that next level. And guess what, guess what time it is. It's that time to get out there and live your life on purpose. Hey guys, if you enjoyed the content today, please smash that subscribe button below. And if you want to become part of my community, I've got an amazing free Facebook group. Please come and join us. The link is in the description below. And also if you've got any questions about today's session, I'd love to know. Just comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you guys. Have the most amazing day.