BHAG it!

Sitting in the lounge of my Hotel relaxing with a nice cold glass of something I was watching

people.  I am a people watcher, and a people listener.  I study their body language and facial expressions.  Looking at all the people milling around laughing, smiling, walking with a bounce in their step, talking animatedly on their mobile phones, I wondered how happy they really were.  Was it just an act?  Had they achieved everything in life they set out to so far?

Goals are wonderful things.  They give purpose, they measure achievement, and they give us a feeling of accomplishment.

I write down my goals.  I write down my dreams.  Writing them down gives them a deadline. 

How we reference the outcome of those goals and dreams is the key issue.

Does success exist?  Does failure exist?

I have BHAG’s.  Big Hairy Audacious Goals.  When I look back at what I have set out to achieve and see the successes and failures I realise a cold hard truth.

I set out to work in as many sales environments as I could to get the most experience in what worked and what didn’t.

Within 5 years I had BHAG’d that goal.

I set out to be the best salesperson at Cable London.

Within six months I had BHAG’d that goal.  I continued to BHAG it every month for 10 months.

I set out to own a house without a mortgage, paid for in cash.

I didn’t BHAG that.  It took 18 months.  Eventually I BHAG’d it.

Some people would classify BHAG’ing my goals as success.  The goals I didn’t BHAG immediately, or the ones where I failed again and again until I got them, they would, I suppose, be classed as failures.

I was glad I succeeded and the failures just drove me on to continue or made me re-evaluate and do things differently.

I suddenly realised that those successes and failures were RESULTS!

It was a win or a learn.  Even so called failures, when they happen, have something positive inside them that you can pull out and use to help you get the WIN!

Small goals are safe.  Big goals mean taking a chance.

If you don’t TAKE a chance in life, you don’t STAND a chance in life.

If you want to make BIG changes, if you want BIG achievements….make your goals BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS!!