Success and Goals

To be successful it is important to set goals. We all need something to strive for, but one cannot always pre think their path to success. We are fully aware of what we want but not always aware of what we need. What we think will mean success for us is not always the case. No one can predict the future and there is a good chance that your destination will be different than the one originally planned.

To be successful first we must have clarity, clarity to recognize the changes in the path to success that we did not expect, the clarity to recognize what we need verses what we want. Clarity will help us to recognize new opportunity when it arrives. We MUST have this, otherwise we are apt to chase a goal that we planned for in the beginning but was not really meant for us.

We also need focus. With focus we will hone whatever skill it takes to meet the challenges of that new opportunity. For instance if we find we are a better manager than musician we may switch our focus to our managerial skills, budgeting, social media skills, tour routing, promotion, etc instead of just practicing scales on the instrument of our choice. One cannot succeed without focus. “Focus on what?”, we may ask. That is why we need clarity.

And finally success has to have perseverance. One always needs perseverance to follow through and win in the end. Clarity and focus fall short unless we can stay the course long enough to achieve our goal. Without this quality talent is wasted in a pool of discouragement.

Success does not come from just getting what you want. It comes from first recognizing opportunity and then making the most of what is given. Success and the setting of goals is not just getting from point A to a preplanned point B. It has more to do with what you learn on the way from point A to point B. Clarity, focus, and perseverance are qualities you will need in every facet of your life so set goals and strive for them, but be more concerned for who you become than what you achieve. Achievements come and go but character is with you your whole life.

Success has more to do with who you become on the journey than what you accomplish.