Goal Setting Season
Olga had a goal — to be the best athlete possible. She reached her goal by breaking over 30 world records in a dozen different track and field events.
Here’s the kicker. She didn’t start competing until age 77.
In my book (Replace Retirement: Living Your Legacy in the Exponential Age), I describe how Olga Kotelko won 750 gold medals in her age category. She died at 95, just a few months after winning 10 more golds at the World Masters.
Setting Goals in Every Season
Setting goals has no season. No age limits. It’s never “too late” to stop searching out the next adventure, challenge, or opportunity for growth. When we stop setting goals and taking risks, we relinquish our future.
If you’ve never set goals before, now is the season to begin. Setting goals later in life is ideal because you have the wisdom and experience to know your strengths and limitations. That means you’re less likely to chase frivolous “wishes” and more likely to pursue worthy goals. You’ll be drawn to more socially conscious goals that are less self-centered than you might have chosen earlier.
Perhaps as a parent or grandparent, you have goals for your extended family. Or maybe there’s a trip on your bucket list. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to be an author. I had long dreamed about writing a book, but didn’t become committed until I set a goal and scheduled time to write. (Hint: I found it less overwhelming when I contracted an experienced writer to help me with the project.)
Goal Setting Sets off More Positive Events
The act of actually setting the goal of writing my book set off a series of positive events: It gave me a large and worthy project to complete. It focused my energy and demanded introspection. It created value for my editor Karl, both financially and intrinsically by his personal engagement and strong attachment to the content.
As my book progressed, I had to reach out to family, friends, and business peers to read drafts and make recommendations. Finally, I had to determine how best to publish, distribute, and promote the work. Beyond learning new skills myself, every step meant making new connections and adding value to others.
That is the power of a worthy goal.
Three Steps to Setting Worthy Goals
Setting goals is a simple three-step process:
1) Set a worthy goal with intention.
2) Take specific action to execute the goal.
3) Measure your progress.
Set a Worthy Goal with Intention
When you take Step One, be sure to write it down! Over many years, I’ve found (for myself and my clients) that the mere act of writing a goal down with intention will result in an 80% success rate. This is a simple but critical action.
Take Specific Action to Execute the Goal
Step Two virtually ensures success. When I schedule specific time and take definitive action steps that move me toward completing my goal, I invariably reach it. In my experience, every goal that I (or my clients) set with definitive scheduled action steps, does get accomplished, even if it takes a bit longer than planned.
But the biggest payoff is what I gain by following through on a personal commitment towards a desired goal. In essence, I am reprogramming my brain (by doing repeated actions and habits) to be more committed, disciplined, and intentional about my life and goals. This is the opposite of being wishy-washy. I am reinforcing healthy behavior and habits that ensure my success.
Reread that last sentence; it is key.
Our brain is like a computer hard drive. The ability to “erase” bad data, “write over” past failures, and “reprogram” our minds is a powerful mechanism.
Measure your Progress
Step 3 is simply measuring how well I’m doing and then making appropriate corrections to increase success if necessary. I make sure to reward myself for achieving each goal, reinforcing the belief that I can create my future.
Back to the seasonality of life. The traditional mindset (left over from the Industrial and Agricultural eras) is that we sow when we’re young — and then reap as we get old. In western society, that’s around 65. This paradigm is outdated and unhealthy. Thanks to exponential growth in communications and digital technology, people of all ages are increasingly being rewarded for thinking and problem solving on multiple planes — and being paid to do it!
Today, the ability to apply our practical entrepreneurial skills worldwide is resulting in unprecedented growth and expansion of opportunities. Our ability to think creatively and express ourselves is the greatest gift we have been blessed with. I argue this is the best time in history to apply your God given wisdom and lifelong experience in meaningful and financially rewarding ways.
Your Second Season
Bottom line? This is your season to set goals and add value. And the season never ends. Be a lifelong goal setter (like me). The relationships that matter most to us are best served when we continue to set goals throughout our entire life.
Your ability to contribute intellectually does not decline at age 65. In fact, it increases — if you can carve out your unique contribution. My mentor Dan Sullivan calls it “knowing and capitalizing on your Unique Ability.”
Another reason our “second season” is optimal for goal setting is that medical advances mean we’re all living longer. Much longer. New studies are constantly discovering behaviors and regimens that slow or reverse the aging process.
Breakthroughs in gerontology will allow many of us to live a healthy and fulfilling life past 100. However, there is one all-important key to unlocking the longevity and brighter future I’m writing about. And that is “what you think.”
If you think you will die at age 85, you will. If you think your value declines after 50, it will! Our thoughts dictate more about our success and failure than anything else. Our thoughts influence our health, prosperity, lifespan … everything.
Baby Boomers, Now is the Time
And that is your greatest advantage. If you are a Baby Boomer like me, now is the season to set your next goal. So get moving. Like Olga. Take a risk. Like Olga.
In her biography, the nonagenarian wrote, “I’m a warrior, not a worrier. I’m an optimist who moves forward with focus and determination. I don’t think the past is better than the future. I don’t do nostalgia. Life is meant to be an adventure.”
That is solid gold.