Mar 29, 2016
Entrepreneurs, Goals, Learning, Think and Grow Rich, Time
Summary
When an entrepreneur decides to go into business for himself or herself, or a salesperson decides to reach a higher level of production, how important is it to set goals? And how is goal-setting related - not just to business but - to living a happy and successful life? We’ll discuss that in our Thought of the Day. And later in our interview segment, we’ll be joined by John Lee Dumas, who overcame post-traumatic stress disorder and a stalled career, and now credits his remarkable success to the power of goal setting. He’ll show us how to utilize goal setting for our own success as well. That and more on today’s show.
Bob's Thought of the Day
- When you Google the word “goals,” in less than one second you’ll have access to 654 million results. Clearly, there is a lot of interest in the topic. Nearly every successful person will tell you that setting goals has been a major part of their success.
- Wikipedia partly defines a goal as “a desired result that a person or system envisions, plans and commits to achieve …” Many people push themselves to reach goals within a set amount of time by setting a deadline. You’ve probably heard the saying, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
- Ray Dalio is the billionaire founder of the venerable Bridgewater Associates. He has accomplished so much because he has provided so much value to so many people. He is also just as much a philosopher as he is a successful businessman.
- Mr. Dalio has shared a substantial document of over 200 leadership principles that you can read right online. The link to his Principles is in the show notes. I cannot recommend highly enough that you make time to read and absorb them.
- Early in his document he suggests that the sequence of 1) seeking new things (goals), 2) working and learning in the process of pursuing these goals, 3) obtaining these goals, and 4) doing this over and over again … is the personal evolutionary process that gives most of us meaning and moves society forward.
Interview with John Lee Dumas
- The most successful entrepreneurs of the world are setting and accomplishing goals. The ones who are struggling are not setting and achieving their goals.
- SMART goals are: (S)pecific, (M)easurable, (A)ttainable, (R)elevant, and (T)ime-bound. If you don’t use these principles in setting and achieving goals, you’re only setting yourself up for failure.
- John Lee Dumas refers to the highly successful Entrepreneur on Fire podcast as “an overnight success ten years in the making.” EOFire had a fast rise to success but it was built from ten years of struggle through various experiences--going from the military, to law school, to commercial and residential real estate, then finally starting the EOFire podcast.
- In his interviews with well over 1,000 entrepreneurs, the most recommended book is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
- If you’re not having the type of success you want in life, it’s because you’re not hanging around with the right people. It’s up to you to choose who you spend your time with.
- John’s, The Freedom Journal focuses on achieving your most important goal in 100 days. When he thought about the most important things he has accomplished, he realized that most of them took about 100 days. This is also a recurring theme with many of the entrepreneurs he interviews.
- Tasks expand to the time you allot for them. If you give yourself 365 days to accomplish a goal, it will probably take that long. But focusing on just 100 days gives you enough time to accomplish something meaningful, while also applying enough pressure to make it urgent.
Resources