Its The Journey, Not The Destination
Don't you just hate clichés like the one illustrated in the headline of this article? I know I do. But love them or hate them, most of us must admit that such adages and clichés are often grounded in truth, and this one is no different. Many people view goals in a one-dimensional manner: you either succeed or you fail. It's understandable why people view goals in such a black and white manner, because as humans we tend to be very results-oriented, and it's this single-minded tenacity and critique that has allowed us to develop from cavemen around a campfire to modernized individuals living in a world with satellites, computers and medical miracles. But this strength can also be a weakness when you close your mind to the big picture and instead focus purely on the end result. For example, let's say I wanted to develop a secondary income stream to help pay some extra bills. I decide that since Internet marketing is a relatively "cheap" way to enter the business world, I'll develop a website that offers dog training books to dog owners via an affiliate program. Three months go by and my site receives little traffic, and the traffic it does receive is so unfocused that my sales conversion is horrible. Did I fail? In a black and white world, absolutely - I'm not making any money, thus I failed. But let's look at the big picture a little closer, shall we? During those three months while it's true that did not make any money, here's what I did do:
- I learned how to build a website. Perhaps it's not the fanciest site in the world, but it gave me a solid foundation upon which I can build better websites in the future.
- I developed a better understanding of what I need to do to promote a website in the various search engines.
- I learned how to locate and join various affiliate programs that complements the theme of my site.
- I learned that because my traffic was not targeted enough (I received too many non-pet owners or non-dog owners), sales conversions were minimal.
- And most importantly of all, I took a step forward in the right direction rather than just sat back and dreamt about my goal, which is more than most people do.
My initial failure is in some ways a success, because I gained invaluable knowledge that will better help me tweak my website and promotions, or build more solid foundations for future sites and projects. Failure does not have to be the end of the road ? it can instead be an essential lesson that guides your hand through continued attempts at goal achievement.The above example uses a business-oriented website, but surely you can see how this would apply for any task or goal. If after a week of dieting you lost no weight, you know you've done something wrong and should tweak your formula. If after a month of studying a foreign language you still don't have any of the basics down, you know you're too distracted or undedicated at your current pace and thus need to up the ante a bit. No matter what your goal may be, failure is never the end of the road ? it's a lesson that will lead to future success. Copyright 2005 Goals and Motivation.com Jeffrey Rolo is an experienced human resources manager, business owner and also the owner of Goals and Motivation.com, a website offering a free 20+ page guide on goal setting. Visit http://www.goals-and-motivation.com to view this guide as well as other articles about goals and management.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Motivation and Inspiration: Illusions 101
Q: I was wondering if you could recommend any books on motivation and change that are fun to read and that aren't all rah rah, if you know what I mean. Could there even be such a thing as a book that's like a novel or short story that's about motivation?
Life Lessons I Learned from My Cat
Even if you are not a cat person, bear with me, as this story goes far beyond cat mania. Our little tabby cat was frightened and highly-sensitive from the day we rescued her from the SPCA, two and a half years ago. No doubt being jailed there for four months messed her mind. As we came to learn "Shylo's" nature we renamed her "Shybaby."
Create Your Own Self Esteem - Part 2
The good part of this story is that there is now hope to end and effectively reverse the effects of all negative emotions that we individually and collectively experience in our lives. Now we come back to the word reversal I spoke about earlier. The process of choosing to end and to reverse the effects of negative emotions is what I call having Esteem for the Self! By this I mean that as you engage the contents of this book from a sincere and real desire to accept what it has to offer you are choosing to "love" your Self. And loving the Self is really the same as having the highest form of Esteem for the Self, which is You.
The Eyes of the Clown
There are few enough miracles in life, God knows. I think perhaps the circus is one of them. We pay our money, braced for boredom, and are bombarded by noise, bewitched by beauty, awed still one more time by elephants that, yes, are smaller every year. Yet something happens when we enter the big top. If we let it, we will be carried back to hopes and dreams long surrendered: hopes that something wonderful really can happen, dreams that will happen to us, maybe even now.
Life Inspiration: 12 Tips for Successful Living
1. Constant affirmation without accountability is a sure-fire way to cripple a child. In other words, belief in yourself without responsibility leads to a sense of entitlement.
Everyone Has Been Hurt ....Part 6
Continued....
Care And Maintenance Of The Human Hard Drive
The human brain is very much like a hard drive. If you stop to think of it, they are both filled with billions of tiny bits of information, stored in the memory cells just waiting to be accessed. They both use electrical energy to find those bits and put them together to recreate something that we have placed there. They work on demand, and we expect them to instantly give us what we want.
Heart
Direct Answers - Column for the week of May 24, 2004
The Memorable First Days!
The first few hours in this world, when we as babies drop out to mingle with the natural beauty and wonders, the first day in our life is the most important day of our life.
Love the Opportunity
Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that's not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity. The opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune.
Energy Work Basics Part 1: So What is Energy?
Everything is made of energy. Atoms, molecules, light, sound and color have energy. Our bodies are made of energy. Thoughts, emotions, actions and environments have energy.
Crossing The Line Of Fear
Oh, this is a great topic! I remember when I was younger and in school, fear stopped me from asking out a girl I wanted to date. I can remember all the thoughts of different things I wanted to say and how I would ask her out. But as quickly as the thoughts to ask her out popped in my head, I came up with all the reasons why she might say no. I remember the "feeling" of rejection and embarrassment even though I didn't even pick up the phone! It's as real in my mind right now as it was then.
Are We There Yet?
In a recent disaster, a man was asked why he would
keep searching for a loved one, even when he knew
there was little hope of any survivors. He was told
repeatedly, the chances of finding anyone still alive
were very slim.
The Women At The Cross (Reflections On The Death And Resurrection Of Jesus)
The women at the cross. Have you ever thought about them?
Charge Your Imagination (3)
As we progress into the year, it is necessary for professionals to really put their Imagination to work as they plot strategies for business excellence this year. To help them do a good job, IMAGINATION (as a person) started an inspirational message on Vision 2030. Here is the conclusion of the message.
The Power of Inner SELF
I am sharing one of the great insights.The fear that we have about venturing into anything new is our past memories and darkness. There is a way out to walk in the darkness. It's to seek active guidance from within and trust deeply that we are guided from within. The intensity and accuracy of the guidance dependence on our contact with inner teacher/leader/light. In fact the fear is nothing but fear of being alone. Some day, we deeply and experientially understand that we are not alone but intimately and moment to moment guided by the inner teacher. Seek to be guided and your trust will never be faltered, you got to remove the thought that you are alone.
Anamchara - Living a Meaningful Life
At some stage of living your life you will ask the question "What does it mean to be here?"
Lewis And Clark Pay Attention
As I write this Southern California has just ended its second week of triple digit temperatures. The intense heat changes the way we live and alters the rhythm of our days. We are up earlier to walk the dog while the park is still cool. We spend a lot of time indoors in the air conditioning. We've been eating better. We don't want to heat up the house with the stove ? so it's salads and chicken from the grill. And, as I don't want to head out in my black car two or three times a day, I find myself thinking more about what I need to do and combining trips and make lists.
Blessings and Art of Living
My perception is that universe infinitely blesses us every moment. Why we do not acknowledge is that we are not consciously aware of it. For example you start in the morning to the office, the breeze that touches your body; the surrounding climate, the ambience of office etc are all the ways that universe conspires to bless. What we need on our part is to simply be conscious of it and the doors for infinite blessing of the universe opens. Simple things have enormous capacity to bless us, heal us but we not open to the vast in and around us and get caught in our own hypnotized worlds. What opens the blessings is awareness. Hold loose of yourself from your self created reality and simply be aware of every little thing that you come across.
An Extraordinary Person
I am not going to tell you the story of an extraordinary person, who did remarkable things in life. Why should I? Are you not an extraordinary person? What do you think about yourself? You possess all the assets of an extraordinary person but, unfortunately, you are not an extraordinary person because you don't think so.
|
