How to Know When You Have Arrived

Alice came to a fork in the road.  “Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Without a well-defined goal, how will you know you have reached it? This may seem like a obvious statement.  However, more often than you would think people make no real plans for success. I recently spoke with JimBob a recent College graduate who was job hunting. Quite naturally I asked the type of job being sought, the answer was astounding, “just a job”.

With no definite plan for success, it is doubtful this youngster will be successful. There must be a plan! Does this mean that by developing a plan JimBob will find his perfect job and stay there until retirement, probably not. However, without a plan it is assured that JimBob will never reach that goal.

You may be asking what is a goal and how do I set one? A goal is a well-defined target that gives you clarity, direction, motivation, and focus. In the example of JimBob, I recommended that he first decide what his dream job was. This gave him clarity and focus. Next, we discussed the skills he needed to develop to effectively perform this job. This gave him direction for jobs he could pursue now to develop the necessary skill set. Lastly, we talked about his monetary needs, both currently and in the future (and yes, we gave them specific amounts). The combination of setting goals for the job he wants, the skills he needs to develop, and how he wants/needs to be compensated created a specific and well-defined goal for JimBob.

These same steps can work for you with anything you wish to accomplish. Once you know your goal, you can act decisively and be on the road to success.