First, I want to congratulate you for investing in yourself. By the end of this book, you will know more than 95% of everyone else in the world in how to do effective, strategic planning that will allow you to reach your personal goals. Now how does that feel? Youre already part of the few who are on their path to success, congrats!
In this book I have broken down the simplest, but also most powerful techniques all successful people I know use to constantly produce results every single time. Theyre actionable, in plain English, and lacking the mainstream self-help woo-woo. I hope that the tools you find in this book help you set goals, reach them, and make you win every time.
Theres one last thing I want to say before starting: dont underestimate what youre about to read. Goal setting is powerful- definitely not something you should take lightly. Because the amount of self-help books that go out into the market is so high, people have come to see goal setting as a customer would see a commodity- something that can easily be replaced, re-purchased and can be found anywhere. Ive challenged myself to change this view of goal setting throughout this book. I have personally experienced the power goals have to change your life. I went from somebody with no goals and 0 belief in himself, to becoming a public speaker, Amazon best-selling author and online marketing coach. Goal are fun, exciting and, if worked correctly, can also change your life.
A Brief History of Gerald
So why should I care about you, Gerald?
Good question.
Stories are fun, so I thought I may start this book off with mines. But, more importantly, I want to show you what happens when you dont have any goals and how shitty life can get as a result.
A few years ago, I knew nothing about goals (or any of this personal development stuff). Life wasnt that bad though- at least thats what I thought. After doing some introspection I came to realize how wrong I was.
I think we can all agree that somebodys life can be divided into different areas, and that the quality of ones life is how good theyre doing on average in each one of these areas. So, I will do with you the exercise that I accidently came across that made me realize that my okay life was actually very messed up.
Quick Exercise:
Evaluate Gerald on each one of his lifes areas and rank each one of them on a scale from 1 to 10.
Career/Business:
I was in my 20s, had already graduated college and lacked a sense of direction. Part of me wanted to move to a farm abroad and work for food (WWOOF anyone?), the other wanted to keep drinking and partying until I got my shit together.
Your Score: __/10
Love and Relationships:
This is not the easiest thing to admit but I had recently broken up with my girlfriend and decided it was a good idea to start dating other girls with boyfriends.
Your Score: __/10
Spirituality:
Anxiety ridden and a lot of me, me, me energy. Too self-absorbed to even consider doing things for others.
Your Score: __/10
Recreation:
This I had plenty of- but not in the healthiest way. Drinking and smoking were my goto for some Saturday night fun and for nearly every other day of the week.
Your Score: __/10
Family and Friends:
Friends were a bit on the negative side and family was something I always avoided.
Your Score: __/10
Body:
Went to the gym and always got a few reps in every other day. Now if only my eating and drinking habits were up to par
Your Score: __/10
Money, money, money:
Very elusive and ephemeral at this point of my life.
Your Score: __/10
Mind and Emotions:
Limiting beliefs plagued my mind and prevented me from finishing anything I ever started. Did I mention the anxiety?
Your Score: __/10
Now, bear with me here. Take all the scores you jotted down and average them out. You got it?
Average Score: ____
Yeah, thats where I was at in life. And to be honest, I thought I was having a pretty good life. To a degree, I guess ignorance is bliss. See, had anyone told me I was losing the life game, I wouldve just disregarded their comments. You only live once, and you might as well live as you want to, right?
Yes, to a degree. Like me then, many people are having fun and doing things to distract themselves while passively going through their day to day. But, can you really call a life
like this your best possible life? Can a life like this really make you happy? Leading personal development coach Tony Robbins says that happiness can be resumed into one word: progress. Cheesy or not, there is some truth to that. Youve probably felt it too- that its when we see ourselves proactively working towards something that motivates us that we feel the most alive. We should all lead lives with a healthy sense of purpose or mission. Thats what this book was designed to help you achieve.