Reach Your Goals Without the Excuses!

Proverbs 21:5 -Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

This verse of the Bible was written by Solomon, the second wisest man (Jesus takes the number one spot) to ever walk on this planet. Regardless of your religious affiliation, or lack thereof, we can all agree that there's a lot of truth in what Solomon is saying here. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Before we go any further, let's define our terms when discussing goals. According to Merriam-Webster, a goal is defined as "the end toward which effort is directed." In other words, a goal is something that we envision, set in our mind, make a plan, and do everything we know to do to achieve the end result. 

Are you a goal oriented person? Benjamin Mays, the mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. and critical instrument in the Civil Rights Movement, is quoted as saying "It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach." Reaching your goals does not happen by accident. You will meet very few successful people where their success simply fell into their lap. 

What's stopping you from reaching your goals? No one talks to you more than you do, so it's safe to say that many times your arch nemesis of goal setting and goal reaching is you... as I sit and type this, the date is March 1st, fresh out of New Year's Resolution season! On average, about 45% of us make a resolution for the new year. The most common resolution made is to exercise more (it is estimated that 37% of resolutions are this one!). Unfortunately, about 22% of resolutions fail after about a week, 40% after a month, 50% after 3 months, and 60% after 6 months. The number one reason for failed resolutions? Lack of a clear goal. 

Are you still smoking? Are you still putting off clearing out space in your basement to workout? What's keeping you from learning to play an instrument or learning a new language? It's you! I get it, life is busy! As a father of four beautiful children who are involved in everything, believe me when I say that the struggle to still find time to reach my own goals is a real one. But you have to come to the realization that you're worth every bit of the fight to become who you were meant to be. So today, I encourage you... set your goals. Have some realistic ones, have some absolutely crazy ones, and anything in your life that's not helping you to achieve those goals, let them go. Life is short. Attack each day as if it's your last and get out there and dominate your goals!