A goal that is not written down is not really goals at all; it's a fantasy. Likewise a so-called goal that lacks an absolute definition of success and includes a specific time for completion is also just a fantasy.
"Make more money" is a fantasy.
"Double my current income by July 15th" is a goal.
The difference between a goal and a fantasy is crystal clear and undeniable.
The problem is, many people have an aversion to committing themselves to clear goals. This is understandable for a variety of reasons.
First of all, writing down a concrete objective tends to diminish some of the excitement. When we sit and daydream about what we hope to achieve with a given venture, we are able to tap into a wonderfully abstract sense of unlimited potential. But a goal that has been put to paper represents a more grounded, and often not-so-sexy reality that somehow has less appeal than the fantasy version.
Such is life. For instance:
The concept stage of any project is a lot of fun. You can ride around in your car with the radio on thinking about how many people you'll help with your new product, how much money you'll make, etc. But when the time comes to sit down at your desk and draw up the actual outline, well that just seems like work!
It's almost always more fun to think about all the "what-ifs" than it is to actually roll up our sleeves and get to work. But the choice is simple:
We can drift through la-la land with no tangible direction and lose money until we go broke. Or we can organize our desires into rock-solid goals, take action on those goals and realize a profit.
Of course there is more to life than business and money. This article was written from a professional perspective but the same discipline needs to be applied to our objectives in all aspects of life.
If I wanted to lose weight, improve my relationship with a family member, or learn to speak Spanish, I would use the same concrete goal structure illustrated with the make money example above. As motivational guru Zig Ziglar says we simply cannot "hit a target we don't have".
