The one concept you must always remember when setting a true long term goal is…would you literally chop off your arm to achieve it? Would you “Burn your boats!” Is it something that means that much to you that you would sacrifice things that you currently have in your life to be able to obtain it? You must become emotionally attached to the outcome.
I think that the reason most people never ever actually get to live their dreams is the fact that they just don’t know how to see that far. Some common goals you might hear in others is the desire to get out of debt, replace their income, have a little extra money, become filthy stinking rich or just find a home business that works. In this business, most people set income goals. “I want to make $100,000 in the next 6 months. When I do that I will be rolling in success.” Great! That’s a good mark to hit, but what about the how, what and who of your goal. Meaning, HOW will you feel when you reach that goal, what will be different in your life when you do and who is going to be there to share this moment with you. When setting goals or visualizing your future self, people don’t really attach themselves emotionally to the outcome because they leave out the details. The big, fat, juicy details are the ingredients that make these things real. The details are the things which inspire emotion and emotion inspires a solid connection.
It is a pretty simple concept. Think about the last time you caught whiff of a smell that reminded you of something you had experienced in the past. Whether it was a perfume, a fresh baked turkey, a nasty smell or a baked apple pie, that smell brought up a powerful emotion that triggered something in your brain that wanted to have whatever it was that you once had in the past.
As people, very little of the things we do are done in the absence of emotion. When shopping for the new home, the car, the LCD TV or the new girlfriend, they all involve a degree of emotion. The less emotion involved, the less desire there is to achieve the goal.
Most of the time, the ones who fail in business, relationships, hobbies or anything of this nature, it’s because they weren’t really emotionally attached to the outcome, they were only emotionally attached to the short term results. For example, in my business, I place advertisements throughout the internet and interview people who are looking to earn income from home. At times, everyone I interview fits the profile of who I am looking to mentor and at other times, nobody seems to fit the mold and I get nowhere that day. I could dwell on that, get depressed and possibly become stagnant in my business. That’s being attached to the short term results. But if I am emotionally attached to the outcome, the thing way up there that is an accumulation of all my short term results, then I have the willpower to carry on and move upward and onward.
So how do we emotionally attach ourselves to the outcome? It’s simple….it’s the BE-DO-HAVE concept. Become the person you want to be, you will then do the things that person does and have the things that person has. It’s all in the emotional connection…..the BIG FAT JUICY DETAILS. If you want that $100,000 income, what will that income provide for you, IN DETAIL. Okay, so you want a new Ferrari, what does it look like? Have you driven one yet? NO?! Why not? How does it feel, in my case, when the wind rushes across your bald head in that new convertible? Can you see the look on everyone’s face as you drive down the street? How does your wife look in the passenger seat? These are the things that connect you to your future self. The BEING.
Emotionally attached to the outcome
So here are some easy action steps to assist you in becoming emotionally connected to your outcome:
- First, set aside time every single day to visualize the outcome, not the short term results, but the outcome. Example: You don’t just want to get out of debt, you want to live in a 5 bedroom 4 bath cabin in Durango Colorado, have a Denali in your 4 car garage, a pair of snowmobiles and 5 acres of land to ride them on. Getting out of debt is a short term result of this vision for your future self.
- Get a taste of your future, a smell or something to connect you to it…something physical that inspires emotion. Example: Remember the smell example? Take a trip to Durango, rent some snow skis, tour a 5 bedroom home, take a deep breath while out amongst the pines. Make it real! These smells, the memories, they will all come back to you when you visualize and it will become real.
- Now just work in reverse. What must you do to make this happen? What are the short term results that will stack up on top of each other and ultimately land you right where you want to be?
The process of attaching yourself emotionally to your goals is simple and natural….but just like everything else, it requires immediate action!
This is a perfect example of one of the biggest Losers of all time! Many of you will know exactly who this is at a glance. Check out the amazing record of failures this guy had in his life compared to the amount if wins. It’s pretty shocking. I bet he was made fun of quite a bit by his peers and was told to give up on his dreams….
One of the beauties of being self employed is your ability to literally dictate your schedule as the day goes. This weekend is going to be a busy weekend for all of us parents. Today happens to be my oldest daughters birthday and this morning, my second daughter received her very first award in her school today. It’s nice to have the freedom to just go. No approval from the boss, no worry over losing paid work hours….just the freedom to go and do.
Since this blog is all about Entrepreneurship, I figured that Entrepreneurship tools would also fall into my overall theme. I know that I am always on the lookout for cool tools to use online that will make it easier for me to do my business and to train others in my organization to better do theirs as well. And if you’re anything like me, I am all into visual learning….especially when it comes down to internet marketing.