Josh Moore

30 days to reaching your potential day three: set your own goals

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photo courtesy of James Jordan

If you are not thinking for yourself then someone else is doing the thinking for you. It is often good to listen to people and heed their thoughts and opinions but don't let them choose your goals for you. Nobody knows your personal circumstances, strengths and insecurities as much as you do.

Setting goals is tough for a lot of people. Many people make goals that are not realistic. When they do not achieve their goals, they feel depressed. This is not ideal, and the way to get around it is to set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

What exactly are S.M.A.R.T. goals? They are goals that are:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Time bound
By making your goals meet the above criteria, you have a better chance of achieving them, which will push you further forward onto bigger and better goals.

What sort of goals should you set for yourself? That is entirely up to you. However, if you are unsure about what goals you should set for yourself, I would recommend setting a goal in each of the following categories (NB: the ones below are merely examples):

  1. A physical goal: Run a marathon in December, or to do gym three times a week for 10 weeks.
  2. A financial goal: Save $5,000 in the next twelve months.
  3. A social goal: To meet three new people this weekend.
  4. A learning goal: To do a short course in administration or to learn how to cook Thai food.
  5. A work goal: To write 100 blog posts in the next 12 months.
  6. A spiritual goal: To pray/meditate for 15 minutes a day three times a week.
Whether you set shorter term goals (3-12 months) or you set goals for the long term is up to you. Be as creative and as ambitious as you feel you are capable of being. If making $1 million seems reasonably achievable to you and you have the ambition, drive and ability to see it through, then by all means include it. However, it is often better to start with smaller goals and build momentum than it is to start big and not achieve anything.

Put these goals down into the front of your Moleskine or other new notebook. Check back on your goals periodically as you feel required to. Having them close by will keep them fresh in your mind.

Actions:
  1. Determine what you want to achieve and document it.
  2. Write down a goal for each of the major areas of your life.
  3. Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. goals.
  4. Review your goals periodically and analyse whether you are on track or not.

30 days to reaching your potential day two: buy a decent notebook

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photo courtesy of Amir K.

Yesterday we cleared a nice new workspace and today we are going to get one of the major tools in place for improving our results in life: the all powerful notebook.

The notebook is one of the most efficient tools that all entrepreneurs and successful executives seem to still use despite modern technology advances. Buying a notebook that is going to be both durable and made of a fine quality is important. You want to be able to capture your thoughts and ideas while showing to yourself that they are valuable.

How much do you value yourself and your ideas?


Have you ever had an idea that you thought was worth millions? I know I have. But what did you do with that idea? Did you write it down? If so, where? I used to write my ideas on loose sheets of paper or in cheap notebooks and most of those ideas are no longer with me. Why? There are two reasons:
  1. I did not really value my own thoughts.
  2. I did not keep the notebooks.
Buying cheap is not a good option for success. I remember years ago buying 30 pens in a packet to ensure I always had one that worked. The reality was however that most of them didn't work and the ones that did were painful to use. Nowadays I have two nicer pens and just buy refills when one runs out. It actually saves me money while allowing me to have a quality item I won't lose. This works with notebooks too. I used to buy several a year, now I buy only one or two. Although the cost is higher, they are a better quality and do not tend to get thrown out or misplaced.

The other benefit with better quality notebooks is the value associated with them. I am less likely to lose or dispose of a more expensive notebook due to the cost. It also makes me feel like my ideas are valuable. Can you image the looks you get when you try and present a business idea to someone that has been jotted down on a loose piece of scrunched up paper? If it seems that you don't value your ideas, then why would someone else?

The action for today is to go and buy a decent quality notebook. Whether you get a little pocket sized one or an A5 size is up to you depending on your needs. The next thing to do is figure out how you will set it out. I personally find that the more complex the system, the less likely it is you will use it. The system I use is:

  1. Leave a blank page at the front (Contact details page not included) to write down your goals and objectives (covered in day three).
  2. Leave two-three pages for an index at the start.
  3. Number every second page.
  4. Leave a blank two-three pages at the back for writing down recommended reading, videos, etc.
  5. If you are a contractor, leave about 15 pages to document your hours down either at the front or the back. Trying to track hours throughout the notebook is a little too difficult.
  6. Leave the rest of the pages for taking notes. Jot down the topics in the index at the start and group via page numbers. They don't have to be in order but rather they have to point you to related material.
Whether you use this system or not is up to you.

Actions:

  1. Buy a decent quality notebook.
  2. Set up your notebook to a style that will suit you for use.

30 days to reaching your potential day one: clearing your desk

photo courtesy of joelesler

There are a number of little things that an individual can do to help them to reach their potential. Having thought about this concept I have come up with a list of things that an individual can do to begin living a better life and have decided to create a 30 day guide around it.

When we reach our potential we begin to feel more fulfilled, more satisfied in our results and more content with our lives. However, to start on our journey to self improvement we need to begin by clearing some space to begin our operations.

Today you are going to begin the 30 days to reaching your potential by clearing your desk. You will need to have some space to work for the next four weeks and having a clear space is important to do this.

If you don't currently have a desk or home office, find something that will suit as an alternative. You can use the lounge room and coffee table, a dining room table, etc. The main thing is this: The desk needs to be clean.

Having a clear desk gives you a place where you can have a clean slate. You do not want to be working in a stressful environment and feeling extra tension because of the mess around you. Figure out where you will use as a desk and make sure the tabletop is spotless. Eliminate everything; no paper, no desktop computer (laptop is acceptable if it gets put away), in/out boxes, no to do lists, etc. The goal is to have nothing on the your work bench.

If your desk has drawers (either real or makeshift) then go through them and ruthlessly eliminate everything you do not use. Keep a few pens and maybe a calculator, but try and eliminate as much paper and other material as possible. The goal is not to have more stuff taking up your thoughts, but rather to focus only on one task at a time, so that you manage to get more completed. With less stress (visually and mentally) you will have the ability to focus and to get more done.

A person's desk also says a lot about their character. For example: If you see a desk covered in stuff, do you think the person is organised and efficient, or messy and stressed? Your perception may be inaccurate, but you still make assumptions nonetheless. What would someone say about you if they saw your desk?

Actions:

  1. Eliminate everything from on top of your desk.
  2. Go through the draws and reduce as much as possible.
  3. If you have time, consider reviewing any filing cabinets and eliminating old papers.
  4. If you have the money, but a little rubbish bin for your office to help keep it tidy.

Learnings from 2009

2009 has been both an interesting and challenging year for me. I've had to deal with a lot of personal demons and face the cold hard facts in regards to a lot of situations. Although 2009 has been tough for me in a lot of ways, there have been a number of useful learnings that I will be taking with me as I move into 2010...

Remember the importance of Cash Flow. Since the GFC a lot of business owners have realised that although their businesses are long term focused, they are not bringing in the cash needed to fund the startup period. They also fail to provide cash flow for their lifestyles. I have found this with my own involvements. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and where you plan to make the cash that you need to support your lifestyle.

You never starve. This point is a good reminder to the one above. Realising that no matter how tough my cash situation has bee, I have always seemed to manage to scrape through and come out better off for the process at the end. If you are worried about cash, think back to the last time you couldn't find a way with or without money to feed yourself. Did you starve to death? Chances are it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be.

Without expectation there is no fear. This is something I learned from reading Stoic philosophy (in particular Seneca). Most of us end up fearful or worried about what the future will hold, merely because we have an expectation of what our future should look like. The minute we eliminate our expectations and embrace uncertainty then we are free and life becomes much better in the moment. Also if you expect nothing then your chances are high that you will exceed your expectations.

Only listen to people who encourage you. This is especially true when trying to impress people. Most people will criticize what you do. It's the ones who support you and give you the positive encouragement you need that matter. Be prepared to take criticism, but only when it is due and the person can propose a solution that will get better results.

Going back to old bad habits is costly. I learned this from smoking. After getting back into the habit in January, I quit by Feb and have been off ever since. The effects that single month had on my health and motivation set me back twelve months of good progress, to a point where I am now still getting back into positive habits I was once into before (ie: daily exercise).

Experiment. A lot of people don't know that for years I have been a fussy eater. Although it's taking time to improve this year I have tried a number of foods that I haven't eaten for 17 years. Although I have a long way to go, without changing my attitude I wouldn't have got as far as I have. I've also experimented in business and other aspects of life. Not all experiments are worthwhile, but I wouldn't have known if I didn't try it out in the first place.

Favourite books for 2009: The Game bye Neil Strauss, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. These three books have impacted my life. The first helped me to see that there is more to life than money and business once and for all. Fight Club made the movie seem so much deeper and also has a lot of philosophical points which really need to be applied by my generation. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations reminded me of the turmoil I went through in depression and also showed me that some of the questions I have had in life have been asked by and confused several people thousands of years before my time. It also showed me a new way of compiling my thoughts.

Saving is so hard but reaps huge dividends. This is especially true for entrepreneurs. If I had not developed my savings account then I would really have struggled through some of the difficult times this year. It has also allowed me to know I have some cash reserved to be able to embrace opportunities I would otherwise have missed out on.

Drinking water makes me feel better than other alternatives.

Test driving people makes for interesting results. This one may offend some of the girls I've met this year. One thing I learned from Tim Ferriss is the importance of test driving people (and the benefits of pissing them off). Pick Up Artists do this by using time to make a hyper-reality. This essentially means that they can spend seven or so hours with someone and make that person feel they have known them a lifetime. You as an individual can quickly find out things about people in a matter of days or weeks that would usually take a lot longer and cause a lot of emotional investment in the process. So rather than spending years with a potential partner (either personal or in business) you can elicit certain 'triggers' that will bring out certain character traits from them due to their guard being down. If the reaction you get does not , you can pull the plug before the relationship goes any further and causes too many problems for you both.

It will be interesting to see the learnings that 2010 bring.