Goals, Then and Now.

Goals

In 1986, I just finished my university degree and was immediately faced with becoming a very young father at the age of 21 yrs old… it was a deluge of mixed emotions, excited, scared, happy, bewildered, proud, humbled… Back then I didn’t have a plan or a goal or even a dream, however, this development forced me to “mature” fast and plan for the future. Simply put, I had wanted to provide for my kids, and give them the best education possible that would prepare them for their own future.

That was 27 years ago… over those 27 odd years, I was so focused on the above objectives that everything else came second, even my personal life. It was all focused on having a job that paid well and would allow me to finance all the needs of my kids, especially their education. So from working for the family business, I moved to an Oil Company as a salesman and became its top agent in less than a year. Soon after I saw an old college friend who invited me to join a company owned by a former schoolmate, initially I was a sales representative then moved on to set up a new business as its manager and eventually it transformed into a full-service forwarding company where I eventually became the GM. I then moved on to a multinational company which offered better pay, but stepping down to a branch manager position at first, and stayed with the said company for 13 years in varying and increasing positions. All those assignments/work allowed me to earn enough to provide a comfortable life for my kids and allow them to go to good schools. Finally the day came, they finished their college degrees and went on to work on their own, so my task/objective is done.

What’s next?

Having completed my goal for my kids, I felt it was time to work on my personal goals, and one dream that I’ve always had is to become a successful entrepreneur. So, with nothing much but the little savings that I had and a lot of enthusiasm, I decided to quit from my very lucrative job, and pursued my lifelong dream. Several months later, I realized it wasn’t that easy, and I started to doubt if what I’m doing is right or if I should go back and restart my career and again have a financially rewarding job. Luckily, I was invited to attend a goal-setting workshop called “Life Design”… so what was different about Life Design and all the goal-setting sessions/workshops I’ve attended in the office? Not much really…but, back then I would look at goal setting from the perspective of my deliverables at work as opposed to now I am looking at it from a perspective of what I want to do with my life. The workshop was refreshing and invigorating, in the sense that it made me realize the following:

•  • set big goals for every aspect of your life
•  • have detailed action plans, declare it in positive tones and it must be measurable and with a definite date of completion
•  • review your goals vis-á-vis where you are at the moment on regular intervals
•  • celebrate WINS, big or small
•  • tweak your action plans accordingly, to ensure attainment of your goals
•  • re-assess your goals, is it still relevant and if not then redefine your goals

Now I have a new set of goals and it is pretty much well rounded, as it covers finances, health, relational and one BIG DREAM… so did I go forward with a new fervor…? Unfortunately not just quite yet because there was something missing to help me jump start things… then I realized after a discussion with a friend and coach that I need to write down my plans, very much like how I managed projects in my previous job. Now I am at that stage, and I’m excited to pursue my newfound goals, and achieve new heights…

Life Gain!