Goals
So, I have this problem: I’m not happy with the status quo. I’m always looking at situations, experiences, what’s available… and I dream of how I can make it better. Sometimes my ideas are silly and the solutions I come up with are far-fetched, but I love thinking them up.
At the age of 23, I was a young entrepreneur and I attended a goal setting workshop hosted by a time management company called Franklin. I remember it as clear as day: They taught all of us about SMART goals. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. I thought that was RIDICULOUS! (I still do.) That’s not goal setting: that’s creating a to-do list. As soon as you put parameters on goal setting, it’s not what I believe to be true goal setting. Realistic? Timely? Attainable? Seriously?!?
Anything that has ever changed any part of society, technology, medicine, or social behaviour was hardly“Realistic” at the time! Most good goals rarely seem truly “Attainable” in their beginnings. They seem crazy — as they should!
When Steve Jobs created the iPod, he told people they would shift from 17 tracks on a CD Walkman to 1,000 songs in their pocket, on a device half the size. People laughed in his face. It didn’t seem “Realistic” and surely wasn’t “Attainable” to these people who laughed. Thank goodness that he didn’t use the SMART system. If he did, we may not have the technology we do today.
I recall my former business partner’s dad saying to us, “The internet is a fad. No one really wants an email address. People will always want letters delivered by mail!”
Everything evolves over time. The world is changed by those who set Fearless Life Altering Goals (FLAGs) for themselves and their organizations or schools. You need to dream BIG. Let go of what has been done, where you are from, and what you currently know. Create the next BIG thing.
Your FLAG could be anything:
- Get 80% or more in all of your courses this year.
- Make a team, start a club that didn’t exist before.
- Say something new and risky.
I decided to start a
summer camp because I wanted to to create a different place for youth to go. I started a
Canadian speakers bureau because I wanted to celebrate Canadians — our own stories and people. I took a HUGE risk to launch the
Global Student Leadership Summit because we need to be something this big for our next generation. The world needs more hope!
So, don’t be afraid to Dream, to Dare yourself to follow your dreams, and then Do it! Take the leap. It may not work out but you won’t know unless you try!
In leadership and gratitude,
