Ever wonder why some people seem to be more successful or achieve more?

The ones who are always on their way to reaching a new level in life?

Maybe you watch them on YouTube, and see all the books they’re publishing, and the places they’re traveling. This entrepreneur lifestyle is big right now, and if you keep watching what others are doing, it seems like everyone has figured out the key to success.

What is it about them that makes them special? Why do things just seem to come easily to them? You probably know at least one person you’d put in this category. They’re always sharing their results and talking about what they’ve learned and their next steps. Amazingly, the next time you catch up with them they’ve made it to that goal and they’re on to a new one.

How do these people do it? It can be frustrating when it looks so easy for others.

Do they have less going on in their lives than you do, and therefore more time? Less responsibility, stress, pressure at work, family drama, etc.? Do they just have some magical natural talent that lands them this success without trying?

Most likely not.

The difference between reaching goals and simply thinking about them is simple.

Mindset and action.

 First, mindset.

1. When you treat a goal like an option, it stays an option.

To make any changes in your life, you need a big enough WHY.

Why do you want it? If you don’t get it, what will happen? Are you uncomfortable enough with your current circumstances to do what it takes to get there?

If you don’t know exactly what you want and the reason behind it, you won’t stand much of a chance of getting it. Your goal needs a “why” that is compelling enough to motivate you into ACTION, not just THINKING. Your goal is just a dream without a motivator that you can’t shake.

Your “why” needs to be at the forefront of your mind at any given time, ready to refer to in those moments where putting in the work is hardest.

If your goal is well thought out, your “why” is all the reminder you will need to get back on track when you lose momentum. You might need to take a day off or get wrapped up in a requirement of your current responsibilities, but your desire to reach this new goal in your life will keep you from stopping altogether.

Pablo Picasso captures it quite eloquently:

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso

This statement presents the two major components of goal setting:

1. Picasso’s term to “Fervently believe”is the equivalent to having a compelling “why.”
2. To “Vigorously act”upon a “vehicle of a plan”is to put our goal into action, not just think about it.

Sure, you’ll need to spend some time in the beginning doing a little research on your goal in its idea phase, to see if it’s achievable within your scope of abilities, or whether additional training or education will be needed. Things like that. But a lot of people get hung up here. You can spend a TON of time researching and thinking about how to do something. Too much time.

Nobody achieves anything just by thinking about it. If it takes some thought at the beginning to be sure you have a compelling enough “why,” then take the time to figure that out. Once you know that this desire is not going to go away, and you spend every free waking moment thinking about this goal, it’s time to take action.

Here’s the action piece:

2. Without action, a goal is just a wish, a dream, or a vision of what could be.

 (Paraphrasing of a Japanese Proverb.)

 None of these do you any good if they don’t leave the idea stage, no matter how passionate you might be.

Even without having the whole plan of action figured out, because no one ever does, take the first action step of writing down your goal.

Get very clear about what it is you want and WHY. Here’s an example of what it could look like:

“My goal is to ___________ so I can ____________.”

Make sure you have a compelling enough “why” to keep you motivated through the frustration and challenge of attempting something new and life changing.

–> Writing Down Your Goal is the first action piece you can take. It’s simple, and it’s imperative to making sure you know exactly what you want and why. If you haven’t quite figured out the next step yet, keep writing down your goal every day. At the very least, this will solidify the goal in your mind and propel you in the right direction.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that writing down your goal isn’t just a method of trying to pump yourself up mentally or get organized. The process activates a part of your brain that puts urgency and importance on what you are telling it, through the action of writing it out.

It also forces you to “strategize, to ask questions about your current progress, and to brainstorm your plan of attack,”says bestselling leadership and business author, Peter Economy.

Speaking from experience, I agree with Peter’s statement. I’m a big fan of writing, in general, so my instinct is to write anything and everything down. I don’t even feel like I can begin to consider an idea or plan of action unless I’ve got a writing utensil in my hand and some form of paper. It’s part of my process for thinking and it leads me to the type of clarity that I’m looking for. If you’re not a writer and the idea of getting your thoughts out of your head in a way that inspires you is far from appealing, don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be an award-winning feat of poetic wordplay, but the success rate of putting your goals on paper should be enough to convince you it’s worth jotting a sentence down and putting it somewhere you’ll see it.

It’s worked for millionaires like Grant Cardone, best-selling author of “The 10X Rule,” who writes his goals down twice a day.

This is his method:

“I want to wake up to it. I want to go to sleep to it and I want to dream with it…I want to write my goals down before I go to sleep at night because they are important to me, they are valuable to me and I get to wake up to them again tomorrow.”

 If you’ve got a goal that’s important enough to you that you’re researching and soaking up all the advice you can about how to reach it, you are most like already consumed by obsessive thoughts morning and night anyway. Following Grant Cardone’s advice is just putting your existing thought process down on paper.

Life coach and personal development expert Mary Morrissey explains that writing down what’s in our mind is the step that joins the power of the right and left hemisphere of our brain together; and this is where the magic happens.

Thinking about your goal only uses the right hemisphere, the imaginative part of your brain.

Writing it down activates the logic-based left hemisphere.

Using the two parts together brings the imaginative and the logical components into your subconscious, telling yourself at a deep level that this is what you want. The subconscious mind also allows you to be more aware of your goal and notice opportunities to act on in your everyday life, that you might not see if you were stuck in the thinking phase.

Summing it Up

Before you can get to a point of knowing whether you are setting achievable landmarks for reaching a goal, you need to be clear about what exactly you want and why. When your reason is compelling enough that it will keep mentally harassing you day in and day out, then you’re ready to start with the action steps.

Here are a couple tips to get you started:

1. Be obsessed about your goal.

Get excited. See yourself achieving it and visualize how you feel and act and what your life looks like. Then, keep taking the daily steps toward creating this reality for yourself until the vision and the reality meld together.

In his book, “Be Obsessed or be Average,” Grant Cardone encourages readers to nurture this obsession with our goals by “Writing them, reading them, and imagining them all day long.”

 The practice of doing this will start to integrate what you focus on into who you are, and it will get easier to take the necessary steps and to believe you’re capable of reaching your goal.

2. Do one thing every day.

Before your day has a chance to sabotage your goals with all the uncontrollable aspects, be intentional about doing one thing each day that will move you in the direction of your goal. If you also choose to be a morning person  for the purpose of achieving your goals, you will have checked this item off your list before you even start the rest of your day. Getting up at 5am when it’s dark and cold and you probably haven’t had enough sleep? Not pleasant. Once you’re up and have your coffee in hand and you’ve achieved the tough step of creating time entirely for yourself? Speaking from experience, this feels pretty good, and it’s the most reliable way to make sure you check that one thing off your action plan for the day.

If this is an area you could use some extra tips in, you can read about how to be a morning person to achieve your goals here.

EXTRA BONUS: For a practical how-to guide, download my FREE printable worksheet (Found under the blog tab labeled, “Freebies”), “How to Hustle Like a Mother.” You’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals!

In the meantime, keep refining your goal or goals so that you are very clear about why you’re taking the steps you’re taking. Make sure it’s something that aligns with who you are, not a passing phase that isn’t compelling or obsession-worthy.

You got this!

Go be obsessed and successful today.

~Dani