The 3 G’s of Success is the Seventh in a series of articles to help you reach your goal. What are your goals? I know you thought about it! You know, it is your dream, wish or resolution you made! Before you can get to where you want to be, you need to know where you are going. You wouldn’t get on a bus, train or plane without knowing where it was going.
Background
Goals have been a big part of my life. Goals like good grades, savings, a car, college, home, a good career and financial freedom. Those are just a few, but important ones. Everything I wanted turned into goals, although I did not know it at the time. I just wrote down something and created a plan to achieve it. It started early, but I will give you the most interesting one. When I was in college, I wanted to meet this girl.
Of course, my friends encouraged me! I had my doubts because I did not have a car or money. I was and still rather shy, although I overcame most of it. I wrote her name down on a card and put it on my mirror. I went out of my way to run into her. I thought if she got to know me, she would like me. Keeping her name in front of me was a way to stay focused. To make a long story short, I met her and we dated for a while, but nothing came of it. This small experience taught me I could do anything!
My parents lived through the Great Depression which influenced their attitude on money. My mother’s first credit card was when she was in her 60s! When she opened her store, she did not take out a loan, she saved for it. My father started his business in a tailor shop and it evolved into a coat factory. My parents were very careful with money and influenced my thinking. The only debt they ever had was a mortgage. They bought a second (country) home with cash. Yes, parents influence their kids!
What separates successful people from unsuccessful people is simple. I adopted a phrase that I have made my own which is “Impossible is just an opinion”! My immigrant parents were not supposed to be successful, they just worked hard. They beat the odds! I saw that first hand, but I didn’t realize it at the time. I later realized, they didn’t know they were not supposed to succeed. They just did it! I am definitely like my parents and I don’t know that I am not supposed to succeed. I just keep trying and never give up.
Goals
One of the most important steps of success is goals. What are you trying to achieve? Setting a goal is the best way to focus your efforts and motivate yourself to achieve it. Goals range from saving up a down payment for that first home, losing weight, earning more money, starting a business, or going to college. You can use SMART goals to establish your goal. Take your goals and break them down into daily tasks. Monitor your progress daily/weekly/monthly and adjust your effort to achieve your goals. Put together a plan that details what steps you will take to achieve your goal. What are you going to do?
Get Out of Debt
Getting out of debt can be a goal or a lifetime journey. I am talking about consumer debt vs. mortgages. The very first thing to do is to stop adding to the debt. So spend less money! The next thing you can do is find additional money to reduce the debt. So you can lower your expenses or earn more money. Next, you need to reduce the debt. You can negotiate better terms, lower interest rates or transfer the balance to a lower interest rate credit card or other loan. Last, pay off your debt.
Many people talk about good and bad debt. Some debt may be better than others if the debt is paying for an asset that increases in value. Some think of real estate as an asset that increases in value, but in the last few years that changed. Debt for education is an asset that increases in value! Do you really want to make those payments for 10-20 years? Car loans and most credit card purchases are not assets and usually go down in value. The interest adds up fast! Do you want to make payments after the product is worthless or useless?
Go for It
Many of us think about our dreams, wishes and goals for a lifetime! You know what I mean, it is that great career, car, home or future. Everyone dreams of riches, but not many actually turn it into something. It takes a decision to “go for it”. Most successful people set goals and execute their plan. What stops you? Success is never the dream it is the result of planning and hard work to make it happen. There is a risk in trying to achieve great things, it is failure! The other side is if you do not try, you already failed.
Going for it means putting together goals and plans to achieve it. It also means you are putting everything into it. All the motivation, energy and enthusiasm to make it work and to keep trying to succeed when it doesn’t work. What do you do? Most people who do not succeed give up too soon or never try to begin with. Many people never achieve their dreams because they let fear of failure stop them. If you put enough effort into a goal, you can achieve anything. I know I did!
Final Thoughts
This is the seventh article in the series about success; I expect to publish throughout 2012. There will be twenty-six (26) of them, one for each letter of the alphabet. The 3 G’s of success are goals, get out of debt and go for it. I think everyone wants success in life; business and career; however it takes a concerted effort to reach success. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” Tommy Lasorda sums it up much better than I can!
I started this series because I run into so many people who have difficulty reaching success. They want to know my secrets! So I thought I would share them in a format that will be most helpful. I also think this format may make it more interesting and easier to use. My goal in these articles to provide useful and interesting information that will help you succeed. The 3 G’s of Success is now a series.
Photo by: stevendepolo
I like the Lasorda quote. It is so true. So many people simply give up before getting to the point of success. It is only those who can get through the valleys that can make it to the top.
Quiting too soon can be after the first, second or third obstacle! It can also be stopping when you get you first “no”. I have often heard of writers that had 20-30 rejections and now they are best selling authors. There are million stories like this.
The G’s are getting tougher. Go For It – I’m embracing this more as I age, perhaps realizing my mortality. If anyone is going to try it then why not me…that’s the mantra I keep repeating in my mind. I find I try more things this way and learn along the way. Defensive living is boring anyway.
I find I am getting more creative! Usually, we do not do things because we are afraid of failing. Doing nothing is not a safer choice. In my very long life, I managed to do everythinng I wanted and achieved mch more than I expected. What stops you from trying new things?
Wow, that’s a tough question. Not sure I can answer that in a short paragraph or two.
If you try a few inconsequential things, you start to feel better about attacking larger issues. For example, change is difficult for me. I put things on a list and knock them off as I can.
Yes I love to prove people wrong who say that something isn’t possible. They can have their negative beliefs, but they won’t pass them on to me!
Usually people who say it is impossible are the ones who never tried doing anything. The doers in the world know that almost anything is possible. I try to surround myself with doers.
One of the best things I discovered with goal setting is to simply “write them down”. This act completely changes the commitment level for me. I keep my financial goals written down and on my phone. I probably refer to them once a month to keep from “getting distracted” by some new idea. Staying the course is a big part of my strategy.
I usually break goals down into daily/weekly/monthly tasks. It works better for me to keep the goal in front of me daily. I need the weekly progress to make me feel I am working toward my goal.
Awesome article Krant, I’m going to go back and read your past entries on this series. I totally agree with you on the need to set goals. Without them what is there to strive for? One of my goals is to pay off debt, including the mortgage. I don’t think of my house as an investment, because I probably won’t ever sell it. So I consider it a debt. I have a plan to reach that goal and will be working hard to achieve it because I think that is what gets you ahead, hard work.
I’m really liking this series so far, very inspirational and you hit the nail right on the head. You will always fail if you do not try.
Thanks, I tried to provide an interesting point of view and useful information. How do your goals fit into your financial plan?
How you deal with debt and savings depend a lot on your attitude towards money (as you rightly point out). Most who experienced the great depression are more careful with their savings since they know first hand how bad things can get. Great post KC!
Thanks! My parents certainly influenced me by encouraging savings and modeling good personal financial behavior.
Debt vs. savings is a tough one. Since I’m still in school I’m working on my savings, but when I graduate in about 6 months I’ll start making a huge dent on both. Great blog, by the way. Its my first time here and I’m sure to follow you over at mine as I work through to financial stability. Thanks for sharing!
You can never start too early saving or budgeting. Best of luck in the future when you graduate.
Writing down your goals is a great way to keep motivated. It keeps you moving in the right direction. Even if it’s slow going, as long as you keep trying you are making progress.
I always find it amazing that just writing down your goals means so much. Monitoring your progress and adjusting your effort is the other side of the equation.
I love these. Yes, goals were the first thing I thought of, but if you stop there, have you truly benefited? That’s why you do have to “go for it!” I also enjoyed your get out of debt point. Oh, there’s too much on that topic to even comment on right now. Cheers!!!
Thanks! In addition to the challenge of finding pertinent and interesting words to fit the letters, I want to keep readers coming back to find out what I come up with next. It is a great dilemma to have!
Goals are so motivating – and so rewarding! I’ve been told that I’m “wishing my life away”… because we have goals. Not true whatsoever!
I have never heard of that saying. I find if I do not have goals, I am just treading water.
Your parents sound like great examples of financial success! I definitely need goals to keep myself motivated, both in life and with all of my finances.
Thanks, although it has taken a while to appreciate what I learned from them. Without goals, I think I would tread water and finally sink. I need goals to have that feeling of accomplishment.