Here’s a simple question: “Do you want to be successful in life?”
When faced with this question, I don’t know too many people who say, “No thanks. I’d prefer to sit here on the couch and watch reruns of Mama’s Family. I’m good.” I’m going to go under the assumption that if you’re here and you have a pulse, you want to be successful.
This leads to a question that’s not so simple: “What does success mean to you?”
If you ask somebody that question, you’re more likely to hear a few “um…”s and “well…”s. (Go ahead and try. I’ll wait here.) It’s an age-old conundrum. You want to be successful, but without being clear about what success looks like in your life, you’re putting our chances of being successful and happy at risk.
So what’s an attractive, achievement-oriented person to do?
Well, you could start with the mountains of self-help books, research, blog articles, and other helpful resources that examine the subject of personal success and life aspirations. Unfortunately, you probably don’t have enough time to read and absorb this information. You have a job, a family, a busy social agenda, and other commitments that keep you on the go. (Plus, Mama’s Family starts in 20 minutes.)
You need something small and simple to get you started. I’m going to try and distill 50 years of success research into a simple notion:
Define a goal > pursue the goal > be happy
Sure, we could make things more complicated, but why bother? If you do nothing more than “start at the beginning”, you’ll have already increased your chances of being successful in life.
So let’s start at the beginning. Let’s each declare an important personal goal. This is important for several reasons:
- Writing out your goal will ensure that it becomes tangible and not just a distant thought
- The process of defining the goal automatically leads to your development of task strategies and solutions in achieving it
- Your personal accountability – a key ingredient of success – will be increased by the semi-public declaration
- Putting your goal in this format opens a door for social support from other like-minded KAED fans
- Reading the goals submitted by others may increase your motivation and inspire you
That’s some pretty cool stuff!
So in the spirit of “keep it simple”, take a few seconds below and leave a comment telling the KAED crew what you’re working to accomplish right now.
Show us your goals!
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I figure I should get us started. One of the personal goals that I’m currently pursuing is to complete a marathon. Specifically, my goal is to complete the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC on October 25th.
I’m not a runner, but I’ve always aspired to the challenge of a marathon. I think it’s going to be difficult, but I think that with the proper training I can meet the challenge. I chose the Marine Corps Marathon for a few reasons. 1. I’m a former Marine, and I wanted to recapture some of the discipline and motivation I experienced during my service. 2. This is noted as a good marathon for beginners (which I obviously am). 3. Oprah did it.
So, I’m excited about my goal! I have a daily training plan leading up to my goal, and I’ve connected with some experienced folks for advice and support. I’ll be booking my tickets/hotel this weekend for added accountability. I’ll share my progress on KAED, of course, so don’t bogart the support – I need all the help I can get!
KAED!