The Power of Goals

If you're bored with life—if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don't have enough goals.

—Lou Holtz,
football coach

Just as there are many ways to express the word "goal," there are many ways to get to one (some of which you'll find as you read on). But none of the things you read here, or in any other book or magazine, will work without one main ingredient. That ingredient is hunger—a burning desire—an intense longing to get to a certain place or do a particular thing.

I believe that human beings are born with a need to achieve. I believe that we are at our best when we're on our way to achieving a worthy goal. A worthy goal is something that you believe in, something that is challenging for you. It is the best way to get through the tough times in life. The easiest way to avoid depression is to always have some goal you're working towards that keeps you excited.

Success is always built on a strong sense of purpose—on the faith, belief and passion we have for the goals we set. We need goals that are set high. Whoever said that we should set realistic goals is unrealistic. We don't need to set impossible goals, but we do need to amaze ourselves—and we have the capacity to do that every single day.

The most successful people keep asking themselves, "Where am I now, and where do I have to go?" They keep working toward their goal. They live for it. And once they achieve it, they set new, higher goals. Think of yourself 25 years from now. Will you look back and think, "I could have done more"? Or will you recognize your hunger and desire and let it lead you to a goal you thought was beyond your abilities? As Kramer on Seinfeld once said, "Wouldn't it be hell if someday God showed you what you could have done with your life?"

We need passion to drive us forward. It's something that we look for in ourselves, but that others also look for in us. When managers, especially sales managers, are looking for new people, they look for attitude, effort, and passion. You can teach almost anyone the skills of a job, but you can't teach passion. Managers are not only looking for people who can sell, they are looking for people who can open up new business. It's a difficult thing to do.

When I first went into sales, I wasn't passionate about what I was selling, so it took great effort to open new accounts. Later on, I looked for jobs where I had a great belief in the product I was selling. I was passionate about the product and passionate about selling, and suddenly I found that it was 10 times easier to gain access to key people.

What had changed? Were my sales skills so much better at the later jobs? Of course, experience taught me some things about how to sell, but it was that burning desire that kept the momentum going later on. It's not so hard to figure out: If you hate what you're doing, you'll stop at the first sign of difficulty. If you love what you're doing, nothing can stop you. You must have that inner desire to cope with the obstacles to reaching your goal.

When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live.

—Greg Anderson,
basketball player