Everything you learned about goal setting is…

Everything you were taught about Goal Setting is wrong.

You have been told to set “SMART Goals.” (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.)

Yeah, that’s a bunch of baloney.

You have also been told to make a list of your goals and to review it every day, week, and month for progress.

That’s a bunch of bunk too.

The truth is the modern process of goal setting is a bunch of fluff that actually creates the opposite of what it was intended to create.

You see... Goal setting is supposed to fuel your greatness, empower you to excel, and motivate you to achieve more.

Instead, it leaves you in a constant state of discouragement, depression, and anxiety.

In fact, when you peel back the curtain, you soon realize that modern goal setting is actually designed from the ground up to fail.

And it’s quite easy to see why.

When you set a goal, you intentionally focus your mind on something you don’t have. As your mind settles in on the new goal, it automatically locks onto the distance between you and that goal. You want something, but you don’t have that something. So the longing that is supposed to create greatness instead trains your mind to live in a constant state of lack. 

The (so-called) law of attraction is even worse. As a part of this “law,” participants are told to simply think about something long enough with the promise that it will eventually (or perhaps instantly) appear. But once again, if the thinking is just thinking, it ends up with you focusing on the thing you don’t have which further reinforces the lie that you’ll never get what you want.

It’s like going on a strict diet and then somehow gaining weight.

Been there. Bummer-Town. 

Traditional goal setting feels great because it initially breeds hope. But that hope works more like illegal drugs when the good feeling eventually confronts reality. Soon the huge distance between you and the goal creates something quite the opposite of hope. It creates discontentment. Eventually, discontentment leads to discouragement and eventually apathy. Lather, rinse, repeat, and you have a lifetime wishing for something you’ll never have.

And it’s all because you spent your time thinking about what you didn’t have.

Meanwhile, the actual key to accomplishing great things was (literally) right in front of you all of the time.

You see, the key to accomplishing huge goals isn't to spend your time thinking about things you don’t have. 

It’s to spend your time thinking about things you do have.

To put it simply, the key to unlocking unlimited success is Gratitude. It’s the Goal Fuel that sets everything else in motion. 

That’s because...

• Gratitude creates Contentment
• Contentment creates Energy
• And Energy transfers your Potential into Success

Sounds easy right? That’s because it is easy.

The fact that the self-improvement crowd has missed this for so long is near-scandalous. But never fear, we’re going to fix all that right now.

So let’s talk about how to really accomplish big things…

Step #1) Start with What You Have

Most goal-setting starts with what you don’t have. This new approach starts with something you do. The funny thing is it doesn’t even matter what you’re thankful for; just that you are thankful for something. This is your fuel, so the process is more important than the object.

For example, right now I am typing on my MacBook Pro using a wireless keyboard on a standing desk. I am really thankful for this desk. It’s designed so I can work standing up or sitting down. It’s a clever invention that has created more productivity in my business and more health in my life. I have had this desk for about 5 years now and it’s always worked. In fact, the only time it didn’t work was when my kid stole the key. I’m thankful for that kid too (now that I think about it). Even though he rips off my desk key from time to time, he’s a really good kid. Fun to have around. Keeps me on my toes. Anyway, this desk is pretty neat and I’m thankful for it. When I think about it, it makes me thankful for “now” too. I mean, back “in the day,” people had to use rocks and sticks to write and here I am with a stand-up desk typing into “the cloud.” Very cool.

Now, are you ready for your own magic?

Do this right now. Spend just 30 seconds to a minute being thankful for something right in front of you...anything. I can be your desk, your fingers, your windows, or your pet Chihuahua. (Yo Quiero Taco Bell.) It can be your health or world peace or the President (or not...whatever). This little drill works just fine with big things, but it really shines when you pick the most mundane thing right in front of you - like your floor, your toilet, or a tree that’s falling down in your yard.

Your temptation will be to immediately pick the most significant thing in your life: like your spouse or your Corvette, but that’s not necessary. It can literally be anything and sometimes the smallest most insignificant things do the trick quite nicely.

Ok, now that you have your item in mind, spend a bit of time engaging with your item and being thankful.

Do that...right now. Then come back to this email.

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(No, seriously, do it now...as is now, now. I will wait.)

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Now, if you are like me and the thousands of people who I have led through this exercise, something amazing just happened.

You smiled. In fact, you may have even laughed.

I did. 

Think about it! You’ve been sitting there working on that desk for years and you never stopped to notice how great it is.

And in that very moment, you captured the magic and in the process created what I call Goal Fuel. You just autonomously generated the exact opposite of what modern goal-setting creates. And that, my friend, is the key to fueling greatness.

Now, that was just Step #1 and we have 5-Steps to go.

The good news is that I am going to teach all 5 over the next few articles.