These universal principles are time tested and guaranteed to work, but even though these steps are simple, they are not necessarily easy. Let’s go!
Step One: HAVE A CLEAR VISION
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” -Proverbs 29:18
Just as it impossible to hit an invisible target, you are not likely to reach undefined goals. Be crystal clear and write out exactly what you are working towards and include a deadline.
Step Two: HAVE A STRONG WHY
Why must you reach your clear vision? If your reason WHY is strong enough it will drive you to accomplish it, but if your why is lacking you’ll most likely forget all about your goal long before you reach your deadline.
Let’s say for example your clear vision is to own your own private jet and date a supermodel before you turn 35. This is pretty clear for sure, but if the “WHY” to back it up is simply, “because that would be so rad!”, I wouldn’t bet on it. If, however, your clear vision is to spend well below your means and invest 40% of your income into low cost index funds so that you can retire by age 35 and your “WHY” is so that you can spend 10X more time with your children and share your passion of traveling the world with them, you are far more likely to succeed.
If you have a “WHY” that can make you cry, you know you are on the right track.
Step Three: BE BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF ABOUT WHAT IS HOLDING YOU BACK
The first two steps are fun and don’t take too much effort relatively speaking, but step three is where the real work begins! I suggest getting out a sheet of paper and numbering it from 1 to 50 and do your best to come up with every single obstacle that stands between you and your clear vision. If you are brutally honest with yourself you will list everything and I mean everything that is in your way including intangibles like limiting beliefs or simply a lack of knowledge in a given field.
Step Four: SYSTEMATICALLY OVERCOME EACH OBSTACLE
If you have done the first three steps correctly you now know exactly what you want, why you must succeed and all that stands between you and success. Think of this final step as a game of classic mario brothers where you must defeat one level at a time to save the princess at the end. Sometimes you will get lucky and warp past certain levels, but regardless you need to keep conquering the obstacles to make it through each level and conquer each level till you reach the end. Sometimes we struggle with a specific level and sometimes we have to pick up some skills at the lower levels before we are ready to advance to the more difficult higher levels. Keep at it and hold fast to your “WHY” and it will see you through the challenges on your path to your clear vision!