Most people tend to try to set their goals in a hap hazard manner.  That is they think that they are setting a goal when they are really dreaming and doing some wishful thinking.  I touched upon this in my last article but I am going to review this because it is very important!

Your mind is an amazing thing and once you set it in motion with a serious goal you will achieve it!  That being said; you must utilize your whole being in setting your goal; completely immerse yourself in all the steps that you think must be taken to reach your dream.  Do not set a goal without completely thinking it through to the end.

If you are not careful you might reach your goal but fail in the end!

I am going to share a short story about another friend of mine and his journey in pursuit of success.  His name is Sid and he wanted to be a successful construction contractor.

He told me that he wanted a construction company that targeted government projects.  He reasoned that the money was guaranteed even though he would have to do a lot of paperwork.  He wanted to have estimators, superintendents and secretaries.  He thought by having all the main areas covered that his company should be successful.  One part of his dream was to have a million dollars in the bank with a lot or work on the books.

Sounds like a good substantial goal doesn’t it?

It was; as far as he went in his goal setting plan.  The problem was; he didn’t consider everything that goes into a successful construction company.

There are systems that must be developed and implemented.  A good team needs to be gathered and they all must be sold on the dream.  How far does the business go and what are the plans for the company’s long term growth along what exit plans are established?

Within a short time Sid did have his construction company going and it was successful.  He assembled his basic team; he had a secretary, an estimator and several superintendents along with a core crew that he could count on to enlarge as needed.

He trained his team and while the company was smaller it was very successful, however, as the company grew he found that he was spending most of his time solving issues that occurred in the field.

After a while it became apparent that Sid had lost sight of the where the company was going.  Soon some of his older superintendents left and went to work for other companies and his new superintendents were not as good as his older ones.  They failed to get the training that he had given his original crews.

His company continued to grow but he was spending more and more time on the road because the territory of the company had spread across several states.  Sid found himself on the road visiting the jobsites three (3) to four (4) days a week.  This time should have been used to examine the systems and restructure them as needed.

The money going through his bank account far exceeded the millions of dollars that he had set his sights on but very little was sticking!  Most of the money was going to pay everybody else and very little was accumulating.  He failed to emphasize that in his original plan and goal.

Everybody thought that Sid was extremely successful but he felt like he had a tiger by the tail.  He had to keep hustling because he had no real exit plan!

After a time Sid completely burned himself out.  He closed his business and sold his equipment.  By the time the dust settled he had very little for himself and his family.  During his pursuit of success his wife had divorced him and took the kids.

The last time I saw Sid he left the state and found work somewhere else.  I was sad to see him go because he had put his heart and soul into his company.  He just failed to complete his plan when establishing his goal.

He did reach his goal!  He had a good sized successful company and had all the employees that he had wanted.  There were millions of dollars that were going through the bank account.  As I said before, very little of the money he made went into profit.  He was always one step ahead of the tax man and the bill collectors.

In setting your goals you need to be very thorough and think of all the contingencies.  Then as you are on your journey you must constantly be aware of the changes and you must be flexible enough to meet the changes that you will encounter along the way!

Sid was too busy dealing with issues and didn’t have the time to change his course.  This is an example of somebody working too hard making a living and not having the time to make his fortune.

Be careful before releasing your mind in pursuit of your goal!  Make sure you know what you are going after!  I have found that if you take care of the little things; the big ones will take care of themselves!

Dare to dream but when setting your goals make sure that you do a thorough research about where you intend to go along with what you must learn and how you may have to change!  Be flexible and be willing to change with the times and circumstances.