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Goals Gone Wild
Issue #118: Ask and Ye Shall Achieve (Part I)
April 13, 2007
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Ask and Ye Shall Achieve
(Part I)
Matthew Poepsel, LeftBrain/Co-Founder
It's that time of year again - time for millions of Americans to root through boxes of crumpled receipts and fill out endless forms so that Uncle Sam can fill the income tax coffers. (It's all about the Benjamins, baby.) Tax codes have become so complicated that it's easy to become completely overwhelmed. It's easy to spend hours reading IRS publications and still be hopelessly confused.
Perhaps you're like many people who've turned to online or boxed tax preparation software to ease the pain of this cumbersome process. The creators of these whiz-bang programs have developed a nifty system that presents you with simple questions to determine your tax situation and appropriate calculations.
"Are you married or single?" OK, that wasn't so bad.
"Did you have any gambling losses in 2006?" Boy, did I! (Stupid baccarat.)
"Are you a foreign diplomat?" Ummm, not really.
"Is your occupation related to animal husbandry?" Whose isn't in some way?
The questions and answers keep coming, and then *poof*, you owe the government some money. See you next year!
I like the approach of using questions to simplify the discovery process. Rather than present you with screens of endless and unstructured input fields and diagrams, the question/answer thing feels more natural for some reason. There's tremendous power in a question. When fired at you, a question mobilizes your brain cells. (Even those damaged ones from your college days.)
In many ways, the brain seems specifically built to seek answers to questions that come its way. Fortunately, we can use the brain's natural answering capabilities to our advantage when it comes to life goals and success. The problem many of us have is that we don't really know what we want in life or who we really are. This is certainly understandable, since no one really taught us how to go about this process of self-discovery. Still, from a goal achievement perspective, we're going to need that critical information.
If you feel that you need a little help in painting a picture of what your ideal future looks like, grab a pencil and paper and ask yourself these key questions:
- What do I need to have in my life to be successful? Do you need more free time or more financial security? Do you need a loving relationship or more creativity? Need a house on the water or a shiny Maserati? Don't be bashful, just write it all down.
- What do I need to do in my life to be successful? Would you like to travel the world or volunteer your time? Would you like to windsurf or learn to play the violin? Would you like to do both at the same time? Make a note of those ways you'd like to spend your time.
- What do I need to become in my life to be successful? Would you like to be a more thoughtful listener or to develop a higher level of spiritual awareness? Would you like to be more supportive of those close to you or a more loving spouse? If you were 100% guaranteed to be successful, what would you choose to become? (And no, "a Mouseketeer" is not an acceptable answer.)
The answers to these critically important questions amount to your personal definition of success in life. The best news? There are no wrong answers! If you give maximum effort and answer in accordance with your instincts, you will end up with a very clear picture of success. That clarity will set the stage for your future success by empowering you to achieve some really great things in your life.
You need to find the courage to ask the questions and the discipline to capture the answers. If you're ever having trouble painting a picture of the success you want in life, kick off the dialogue by asking yourself these clarifying questions.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my accountant about some "questionable" deductions I've claimed. (Doesn't everyone write off Julia Roberts movie rentals as a business expense?)
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