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A Powerful Strategy for Achieving Extraordinary Success

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Angela

Copyright 2017 Decoteau Co All rights reserved

CONGRATULATIONS! You hold in your hand a success roadmap designed to help you get from where

you are to where you want to be. This guide can be used over and over again as you seek

to move forward in any area of your life. The concepts are tried, tested and sure to get

you past the roadblocks that have hijacked your success. What do you want to

accomplish? Whether you want to lead a dynamic team to increased productivity, build a

multi-million-dollar company, or reach a new athletic plateau, you will find this guide

instrumental in getting you on the right path. When you are just starting out, how does

it feel to think about your dreams and goals? The odds are good that it feels

overwhelming, discouraging. Even if you feel motivated that your dream can be achieved,

there’s that gap between where you are and where you want to be.

The reality is that no one can achieve success. Success is a series of the right steps

made in the right direction at the right time. This resource was designed to give you the

tools you need to make those far-off dreams become a reality by guiding you through the

process of identifying the steps and then taking them.

You’ve taken the first step by downloading this incredible resource. It’s our gift to you

and your success. It is packed with techniques and strategies adopted by business owners

that have raised themselves out of the struggle and the mediocrity that has become the norm

in entrepreneurial life. At the end of each section, you will find a worksheet for you to do a

deeper dive into the process for even greater results. Let’s get started: extraordinary results

await. ~Angela

Copy write 2017 Decoteau Co All rights reserved

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The more you see, the more effectively you can plan. Of course, “seeing things” in

this context does not simply come down to eyesight, but to how well you can visualize the

world you live in and the world that you want to create for yourself. As Franklin Covey

said, whenever we start to do something new, we should “begin with the end in mind.”

Rather than wandering blindly toward some abstract goal, nail down exactly what it is that

you want to accomplish through visualization.

You need to get to a point where saying, “success is within your reach,” comes

naturally for you. How are you going to get there? By working systematically and learning

how to repeat your results. Success has to become something that you know you can

expect so long as you foster the right mindsets and take the right actions.

If you are not used to thinking this way, the whole process will probably seem a

lot more daunting than it actually is. As a first step, simply use your imagination. Try to

picture what it would look like if you were to realize your goal and to actually feel what it

would feel like to be where you want to be. Let your mind run free, and once you have a firm


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direction, start to write things down. Be detailed in what you write, reminding yourself that

these words are going to serve as a sort of roadmap to you in your most difficult moments.

Many people make the mistake of delving right into a new venture without taking

this step. Your mind is your greatest asset at this point. You want to put this fact to good

use. While other people are trying to outwork you and put more hours into their goals, you

are going to use your brain. You are going to outsmart the competition, and before you

ever make a single move, you are going to be ahead of everyone else.

There are concrete steps to reaching any goal. If you believe this, it becomes true.

While every process is unique, it is possible to boil down what it is that you are doing to

its most basic components and then build yourself a roadmap from one point to the next.

It is only through this steadfast level of dedication that you can optimize the input and

output in every area of your life.

Say that you want to launch a new business. Launching a new business is a

multistep process, and along the way, there are many opportunities for something to go

wrong or for you to get thrown off track. If you focus your energy on being present in your

future and you keep the picture of where you want to be close at hand, you will be

empowered to overcome incredible difficulties. Paul Martinelli, President of the John

Maxwell Company says, “Hold the picture of what you want.” Success can sometimes

seem a long way off, but if you maintain a clear vision of what you want, what was once

seemingly impossible comes into sight.

When you envision your goal, you want to see it in high definition. Get used to picturing

all the little details in your mind’s eye, and as you picture the details, take notice of them. As


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you pick that weight up off the ground, feel the position of your arms, and as you cross the

finish line of your run, feel the length of your stride. Who is working at your business on

launch day? What are you wearing?

Seeing the details of your goal makes that goal even more real to you, providing

your mind and your instincts with the support they need to put you on the right path.

Anyone can say, “I want this” or “I want that.” It is much more rare for someone to come

up with a plan to get there. It’s perfectly normal if you don’t know all the how-to’s right

now. The “how-to’s” will come if you explore the “what” thoroughly. Most of your

resources are limited as you build your future. There is only so much time in each day,

for instance, and you only have so much energy to work with. Your brain, on the other

hand, knows the way around these boundaries. No one can put any ceiling on how much

you can visualize and imagine your goals. Just because no one has done it before does

not mean it couldn’t be done. The concept may be new, but the need may not. Consider

Henry Ford and the Wright brothers. Their ability to visualize a future that did not yet exist

was the key to their success. It is the key to yours as well.

Now, while you rest at the

point where you are victorious,

begin to work from that vantage

point. What skills did you need to

achieve to reach your point of

success? What people do you need

around you? Exactly what were


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some of the steps that got you to that point? Does this sound like something you want for

yourself? If so, visualization is the only way to get it. Jump out in front of the crowd, miles in

front of the crowd even. This is equivalent to lifting weights with a pulley system or running

with rocket shoes; it is a major advantage that extra time and extra energy just can’t beat. It

costs nothing, and it really works. What could be better?

Some people have trouble visualizing the future. If this sounds like you, then you

need to take care of your problem immediately. There are two parts here: taking care of the

problem and understanding what is causing the problem in the first place. A lot of different

things could be going on if you feel like you are running into a wall every time you try to

envision your future.

First, there are self-limiting beliefs. You know what you want to do, but you do not

really believe that you can do it. This is a roadblock to success no matter who you are.

Wherever you think you are headed, confidence must come first. That confidence comes

from knowing that you have unlimited potential. The only thing stopping you is your self-

limiting beliefs. If you are not seeing the results you want, it may be that these self-

limiting beliefs can be the underlying road blocks that throttle down your potential.

Second, there are false belief systems that run in your subconscious mind that

conflict with your desire to succeed. There are many deep seated false belief systems that

can hijack your success. These false belief systems control your operating system without

your knowing it and will show up in your results. Yes, there is a piece of you that wants to

reach success, but there is also a piece of you that doesn’t. You are conflicted, and for every

action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You must identify these false concepts to


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stop them. For instance, what is your belief system about money? If you were raised

believing money is the root of all evil, how will that belief system stop your success?

Third, focus on the journey not the goal. Achieving a goal will not make you into

the person you always wanted to be, but the journey will. Believing that simply reaching a

goal will bring satisfaction will cause disappointment in the end. Growth is a journey, not a

destination. Focus on your journey of becoming something, incorporate it into your

visualization. When you remember that this goal is just one step in your life journey to

success, achieving that goal will be another victorious step in the process. After all, we are

human “beings”, not human “doings.”

Your goal should be something that you believe you can achieve, something that

you want. Thinking about the goal in this way, though, can lead you to think that you

should be picking your goals based on what is comfortable for you, and nothing could be

further from the truth. Instead, pick your goals based on what you feel is right and then

program yourself backwards. Visualize yourself achieving goals that stretch your current

ability and resources. How are you going to get the confidence you need to pick up that

record weight? What are you going to do to motivate yourself toward lengthening your

runs and completing your speed training program? Where is the core confidence that

you need to achieve your goals going to come from? These are things that you need to

find through extensive self-reflection. Look inside yourself. If you are trying to simply fill a

hole, you are going to end up disappointed.

None of these questions are easy. These are questions that get at the very heart of who

we are as individuals. They are challenging questions: questions that can hurt and the


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answers to which may hurt even more. You need to resolve to answer them for yourself.

Briefly–very briefly – think about what it would be like if in a year or two years you had not

reached your goal. How would you feel about yourself? What would that say to you about

all the other goals you had set for yourself? This is why visualization is so important. The

majority of every struggle is won–and lost–in the battleground of our minds.

Before you ever step inside the gym or onto the clay track or start your new business or

even jot down a few notes for your next project, your mental state is determining whether

or not you are prepared to accomplish this venture. If you are not mentally prepared, all

your effort is likely going to come to nothing, but if you are, then no challenge and no

setback can prevent you from continuing to push forward and demand more of yourself.

Remind yourself of your visualization every day. Describe it on a notecard or sketch it out

on a piece of paper. When you wake up in the morning, read it as you sip on your morning

coffee or tea. Every single hour of your day, go back and look at it. Make a ritual out of it: you

use the restroom, and on your way, you go back to your goal visualization. Before you go to

sleep at night, visualize and encourage your subconscious to send you dreams related to your

visualization.

As you build your visualization habit, your inner resistance to your goal–whether it is

related to a lack of confidence, a self-limiting belief, or over-investment–will break down, and

it will continue to break down until it disappears into nothingness. This is how success comes

about. Reaching a goal is like climbing a mountain. Once you are at the top, you will see

several other mountains to climb. Once you reach your goal, remember that there was a time

when it was only an image in your mind. Then, when you start to move toward your next goal,


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the visualization technique will become even stronger and clearer to you. You will impress

yourself if you stick with this technique. Things that would have once seemed impossible will

be just a part of your daily life.

`

” –Aaron Rodgers

In the sixth grade, a coach taught us about the importance of visualization. When I’m in a meeting, watching film or lying in bed before I go to sleep, I always visualize

making those plays.


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If I could do anything, it would be:

The moment I achieve my dream it will feel like:

I will achieve it by (the “how”):

The resources I need to achieve my dream are:

The people I needed to achieve my dream are:

Notes:


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Is there more to just visualizing your goal in order to actually reach your goal?

Absolutely. There is much more that you need to do, although if you skip that first step, you

are setting yourself up for a disaster. Again, though, before you ever start to invest your time

and energy into reaching your goal, there is mental work that you can do. Specificity is the

key here. Just as you want to pay close attention to details in your visualization, you want to

pay close attention to the way that you work toward your goal.

It is crucial that you be specific with your goals. When your mind hears something

like, “I want to get up earlier in the morning,” it responds with, “That’s nice. No idea what

that means, but cool.” Really, what does it mean to “get up earlier in the morning”? The

message is lost here, all because of a lack of specificity. If you say, “I want to get up at 5 am

every weekday morning,” you are saying something concrete. The difference is specificity.

This example is an obvious one, and there are other examples of deficient specificity

that are not quite as apparent. For example, if you say to yourself, “I want to double my

income,” you are leaving too much open to interpretation. Try, in its place: “I want to earn


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‘x’ number of dollars by this date next year.” Cold, hard facts about your future: you are

giving yourself a high-definition target at which to shoot, and just as you did when you were

visualizing, you are creating a pathway that is much easier to follow.

You want to get into the habit of converting these amorphous goal statements,

which are a product of your emotional and instinctual mind, into statements that are

clearer and organized, using the full power of your logical mind. This task is one that

may not come naturally to you, in large part because we resist interpreting our emotions

and our instincts, preferring instead to let these things guide us silently. Success requires

that you move away from the mediocrity of average. To rise above average requires

you to be different.

Specificity, when it comes to positive self-talk, is the first and foremost virtue.

There is, perhaps, nothing more critical for setting your goals than being abundantly

clear about what your goals are. If your mind hears, “I want to finish that race,” it is

hearing a dozen different possible interpretations and picking one at random, or worse,

picking one based on the least amount of discomfort it is going to cost you.

Treat your mind as if it were a prankster genie, always looking to take your wishes

and convert them into something that is not quite what you would have wanted.

Assume that if you are not extremely specific about your goals, something is going to

be left out. Assume that you need to tell yourself in excessive detail what you would

like to achieve. Get used to taking responsibility when things go wrong if you fail to do

so.

For help getting started, refer to the chart on following this section which


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illustrates the differences between goal statements that are not clear enough and goal

statements that will actually get you where you need to go.


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Not Specific Specific “I want to be stronger.”

“I want to squat 225 pounds and bench press 180 pounds six months from today.”

“I want to be more social.” “I want to throw a party of my own at least once per month, meet a dozen new people every two weeks, and make one new good friend within the next six months.”

“I want to be a better leader.” “I want to finish one leadership book per week for the next month (four books total), take one course this year and hire a coach.”

“I want to eat healthier.” “I want to stick to a strict diet of chicken, fruits, vegetables and water.”

“I want to go to sleep earlier.” “I want to go to sleep by 9 pm every weeknight and by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.”

“I want a more productive company.” “I want to develop my team by investing in their personal growth through a training program. I want to hire XYZ Consulting.”

“I want to get better at staying in touch with my family.”

“I want to call my parents twice per week, my brothers once per week, my sisters once per week, and my aunt and uncle once every two weeks.”


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Does it feel unnatural to you to think of your goals in this way? If so, you probably

just need practice, but there is another mindset shift that you can affect to put yourself on

the right track. Start thinking small. No, this does not mean you need to shrink your goals

in any way. Rather, you want to break down your big goals into smaller parts. If you want

to launch a new business, there are going to be many days between now and the launch

day of the new business. What are you going to do to fill those days?

For every goal, you can create a series of smaller, intermediary goals for yourself.

Rather than launching a business, you are sketching out the business plan by doing the

following:

• Put together a website for your business.

• Set up a tax plan for your business.

• Get a separate phone for your business.

• Name your business.

• Hire a designer to make a logo for your business.

• Structure your pricing tier.

• Come up with a marketing strategy for your business.

• Decide if you need to hire any assistants.

• Structure a hierarchy for your hired assistants.

• Plan for the first weeks and months after you launch.

• Write a press release about your business.

• Mail your press release to media outlets.

• Etc.


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My goals:

Goal #1, the specifics:




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Now, to expand on the importance of being specific with your goals, let’s look at

the ways in which you can get in your own way as you move through a step-by-step

process.

Anytime you are trying to get from one point to another, you want to remain

cognizant of just how much effort every action is going to take. Once you know where

your pain points are going to be, you can plan accordingly.

You’re probably familiar with the saying: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” This is true,

100% true, but the saying is much deeper than its surface statement. Of course, Rome

wasn’t built in a day–very few things ever are! The larger point here is that even if you could

somehow build a city comparable to Rome in a day, there is no reason you would want to

because you would be giving yourself no opportunity to foresee the pain points ahead of

you and you would be creating unnecessary stress for yourself. Every day that the Romans

spent building their city, it became a little more complex. If the buildings had all gone up at

once, they would have been based on a limited set of ideas and on a limited field of vision.


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By building Rome gradually, the Romans afforded themselves the luxury of time, spotting

pain points (think structural issues, design issues – whatever) before they became

catastrophic.

You have that same luxury with any project you undertake. Your career, your

athletic progress, your personal life: in each of these areas, you ought to be taking baby

steps so that you can reassess your surroundings and continue to improve little by little.

You want to think with the big picture in mind, but you want to keep your

peripheral vision clear as well. By obsessing over your end goal, you will miss

opportunities to grow and explore. Going back to the Rome analogy, had the Romans

tried to build all their houses, all their temples, and all their state buildings over the

course of just a few hours, they would have made many more mistakes and dramatically

constricted their ability to be creative.

Let’s say you are coming up with a timeline for a project that will take up most of

your schedule over the next six months. You want to know where you are headed over the

entire six-month period, but you also want to know where you are headed over the next

three months as well. Once you figure that out, keep breaking down your time into smaller

and smaller segments.

Where are you headed over the next six weeks? Two weeks? One week? What are

you going to do on each day to maximize your resources? Come up with daily task lists,

too, just to make things as simple as possible for yourself.

These steps aren’t meant to complicate your life. Rather, they are meant to do the

opposite, giving you a sharp image of what it would look like to do the right things


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over the next six months. Get into the habit of turning six-month schedules into long,

detailed guides that you can use from hour to hour and from day to day.


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You can use these charts for running a marathon at an 8-minute-per-mile pace as an example:

Time: 1 year Goal: run a marathon at 8-minute pace

Time: 6 months Goal: run a half marathon at 8-minute pace

Time: 3 months Goal: run a 10K at 8-minute pace

Time: 6 weeks Goal: run a 5K at 8-minute pace

Time: 3 weeks Goal: run 2 miles at 8-minute pace

Time: 1 week Goal: run a mile at 8-minute pace

Here, you have broken down your one-year goal into six distinct milestones, each

directly connected to the big picture. This is great, but you want to go deeper.

What are you going to do during your first week? Maybe you take it easy and slide

into the routine by running a mile on three different days and going for the eight-minute

mile on the third day. The second week, you bump yourself up to two miles on three

different days, and the third week, you run two miles on four different days.


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A single day of your plan could look something like this:

8 a.m.: Wake up and eat breakfast

9 a.m.: Meditate

10 a.m.: Work

6 p.m.: Commute home

7 p.m.: Dinner

8 p.m.: Run

9 p.m.: Shower

10 p.m.: Bed

As you can see, there isn’t a whole lot of time to do anything but live your life and train

for your goal. That is a good thing. You want your schedule to be full! Once you get to the

half-marathon training portion of your year, you will need to be even more precise, allotting

two hours to run instead of just one.

Whatever your plan is, you want to know it in detail. Just assume that anything you

leave to be figured out later is going to be overlooked, because the only way you can be

sure something will get done is to do it right now while it is fresh in your mind. Anytime you

push something off to a later date, you are running away from your responsibilities to

yourself. You owe it to yourself to go all in on any task that you undertake.

Many people believe that “going all in” means exhaustion is a necessary part of success.

It isn’t. You have a finite amount of energy, but you have a potentially infinite amount of

thinking power. Rather than using your resources wastefully, you want to be clever about

every day that you work.


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Hedge your bet on yourself and be totally aware of what you want to do with your

time– not only today and tomorrow but every day from the beginning of your project to

the end. If you are going to be working, it is much better to be working with a blueprint

that you can rely on.

Believe that if you plan to baby-step from here to there and then follow that plan, it

will work out to your benefit. The biggest goals that people set for themselves become

legends that we pass down once they are accomplished. They are the stories that are

written up in history books. And we wonder: “How did they ever think to do that?” Your

goals may be on this level, but if you break them down into manageable pieces, you will

start to see where all your major opportunities are.

The big picture isn’t going

anywhere. Your goal is always

going to be off in the distance

until you achieve it, but if you

commit to taking baby steps, it

will provide evidence to your

mind that it is still there. Every

day that you intentionally take

a step in the direction of your goal is a day that you are one step closer to achieving your

far-off dream.

The problem with trying to jump from this moment to your far-off goal is that your


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brain demands more proof that you are ready. If you want to reach a certain position in life,

you need to achieve congruence with that position. What this means is that you need to

show yourself that the time is right, and unless you are putting in the work, the time really

isn’t right. Most people want to take shortcuts. They will spend more time looking for a

shortcut than they would putting in the work. If you want to achieve your goals consistently,

you need to be different. While other people are looking for shortcuts, you need to plan out

the long hours you will be working. You need to plan out when you are going to squeeze in

some sleeping hours, too, because your schedule is going to be that full.

If this process sounds daunting, then you are seeing how crucial it is to take baby

steps. Any goal that is worth reaching is going to be a challenge. There are stiff

competitors in almost any field you could choose, people who want the same thing you

want, people who are willing to put in the work, people who are smart enough to read

the writing on the wall. This is an advantage that you can give to yourself.


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Time: 1 year Goal (Example - Run a marathon at 8-minute pace):

Time: 6 months Goal (Example - Run a half marathon at 8-minute pace):

Time: 3 months Goal (Example - Run a 10K at 8-minute pace):

Time: 6 weeks Goal (Example - Run a 5K at 8-minute pace):

Time: 3 weeks Goal (Example - run 2 miles at 8-minute pace):

Time: 1 week Goal (Example - run a mile at 8-minute pace):

Notes:


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My Daily Plan

a.m. (Example - Wake up and eat breakfast):

a.m. (Example -Meditate):

a.m. (Example - Work):

p.m. (Example - Commute home):

p.m. (Example - Dinner):

p.m. (Example - Run):

p.m. (Example - Shower):

p.m. (Example - Bed):


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People who work alone are far less productive than people who work in groups.

Numerous studies have shown this to be true. Because competition is so stiff everywhere you

go, you need to maximize your potential and direct your work in a way that will keep you

motivated when other distractions get in the way. The best method for doing so? Stay

accountable.

Accountability is something that you can never really have too much of. Anytime

there is a safeguard preventing you from ignoring your work and straying from the path

that will lead you to your goals, it is a positive thing. In the moment, however, you may not

think so. When there is a coach yelling at you or pointing out your faults, you are probably

going to think of a hundred different reasons that they are being too harsh on you or you

don’t really need to listen. Having someone who’ll tell you what you need to hear and not

what you want to hear can be painful at times but, just like painful muscles result in

stronger muscles, so your accountability partner will exercise your potential which will

produce greater results.


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It is precisely because we are so good at coming up with these reasons (read:

“excuses”) that accountability is so crucial. Take two people who are just getting into

working out for the first time in their lives. One person hires a personal trainer, and the

other person doesn’t. Who is more likely to achieve a higher level of success over the next

six months?

There is no question that setting up a schedule with a personal trainer or a workout

buddy will dramatically enhance your chances at success. At some point, you will want to

quit. Your body will be aching, the sweat will be pouring down, and you will think to yourself,

“I’ve done enough.” This moment is where real growth occurs, and if someone is beside you

ready to say, “You haven’t done enough yet,” you will keep pushing forward and get a better

idea of what you’re capable of.

You can push yourself, but willpower is a resource that is in short supply. If you want

something badly enough, you may ignore the resistance for a brief period of time, but sooner

or later, your energy will be depleted: a rest on the couch will be just too tempting, and you

will convince yourself that you can quit early without feeling guilty.

Quitting becomes much less plausible to you when there is another pair of eyes

watching you, judging you, and ensuring that you stay honest with yourself. Your

potential is much higher than you give yourself credit for, but your propensity to make

up excuses and cut yourself slack is pretty high also. The way to reconcile these two

things? Accountability, in any form that you can get it.

Sometimes, you need to work alone. If you are a writer, a painter, a bodybuilder, a

lawyer, an executive, or an entrepreneur, there will be days and nights that the work


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comes down to you. Just about any hobby or profession that you choose will demand

some level of solitary commitment on your part, and the coaches can help you very little

there. An accountability partner isn’t there to take the place of what only you can do. They

are there to ensure you are bringing the best “you” to the table.

Putting together the right team is an enormous part of setting yourself up for success.

The word “team” need not apply only to projects or competitive environments either. Start

thinking of your entire life as a project and all the people in it as the members of your team.

These are the people you have enlisted to build you up and to encourage you to achieve what

you want to achieve.


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Your accountability partner must have the following characteristics:

[ ] Someone whose energy and attitude motivate you

[ ] Someone who will call you out on your excuses

[ ] Someone who will push you to expect more of yourself

[ ] Someone who is personally invested in your success

[ ] Someone who has already achieved a goal similar to your goal

[ ] Someone who looks up to you and expects you to succeed

[ ] Someone who thinks differently than you [ ] Someone whose opinions are the opposite of yours

[ ] Someone whose interests line up neatly with yours

[ ] Someone who respects your interests but doesn’t share them The people who can fill this need are:


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You are moving full-steam ahead and experiencing levels of success that were once

outside your reach. You feel validated, like all your work has been justified, like you

yourself are enough. It is a good feeling, and you should enjoy it. You should not, however,

let yourself get caught up in it.

Remember, experience isn’t the best teacher—evaluated experience is. Every

moment you are celebrating your success, you are not figuring out a way to repeat that

success. This is a crucial point to take note of. Anytime you reach a goal, big or small, you can

choose to relax or keep working. It is good to relax for a brief period, but if you relax for too

long, you are doing yourself a giant disservice.

Once you reach a goal, analyze it. Break down exactly what you did to reach the goal,

evaluating your experiences in exhaustive depth. What went right? What went wrong? What

could have gone better? What couldn’t have been any different? You want to become a

veritable expert in repeating your own success, because that way, you can do so

systematically. Instead of stabbing about wildly with your actions, you should know what is

going to get you what you want.

Experiences


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How can you develop your experiences into a set of steps? What needs to happen for

you to avoid the pitfalls that could prevent you from getting to your destination? Once you

make a mistake, you want to learn from it and never repeat it again (or repeat it once at most,

just to let the lesson really sink in).

To make the evaluation process simpler for yourself, get into the habit of taking

detailed notes at all times. Whenever a moment feels pivotal to your success, write as much

as you can about it. By documenting the answers to these questions and not just reflecting

on them, you are drawing a map to get yourself back to your goal again and again.

This map is a tool that only you can create, because even if someone else were to

achieve the same goal, they could not tell you the best way for you to do it personally. Just

like no one can lift weights for you, no one can devise a perfect strategy for your success. It

is up to you to do so by using the resources available to you.

To get started, look to the following list of questions:

o What did you do right? o What did you do wrong? o How did it feel to be discouraged? o What thoughts led to your discouragement? o How did you move beyond discouragement? o What motivated you to keep going? o When did you know you were going to reach your goal? o Who helped you the most in reaching your goal? o What almost got between you and your goal? o What could you have done to make things easier on yourself? o When did you procrastinate? o What resources do you and your team need to create a better outcome next time?


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Success is within your reach. That statement can be hard to believe when you are just

starting out on your path. It’s true, though. Whatever it is that you want to achieve, you can

do so if you take the right steps.

Start by visualizing your future. If you can clearly picture the direction you want to

move in, you can move in that direction with greater ease and fluidity. Visualizing leads to

planning, and recalling the words of Franklin Covey, we work best when we “begin with

the end in mind.” Know not only what you want to accomplish but how you are going to

accomplish it, as specifically as you can.

After that, set specific goals for yourself. You are going to tire yourself out far short

of the finish line if you waste your energy doing guess-and-check. Have a clear idea of

what you want to achieve so that you are working toward things instead of ideas. It would

be nice if we could say to ourselves “I want to be happy” and let the chips fall as they

may, but this strategy is likely to lead nowhere. Instead, get to plotting. Define what you

want in real-world terms and then aim for that.


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Once you have your specific goals, take baby steps toward them. You don’t want to

over- extend yourself, so there should be a minimum of space between each of your smaller

goals. If you try to take giant leaps and bounds, you will stumble much harder. Whereas if

you get as specific as possible, you reduce the chances that anything catastrophic will happen,

spotting potential pain points in time to manage them with ease. Every goal that you set for

yourself can be broken up into smaller portions.

From there, create an accountability system for yourself as you work. This system

maximizes your output and defends against your own bad habits. The team that you are

building for yourself is something that you will come to cherish, so don’t let it fall into place

by happenstance. Left to your own devices, you will find ways to avoid doing the work that

you need to do. By forming a team that is pro-you, you can see your own shortcomings and

get a sharper image of the way forward.

You work and work and work, and then what? Hopefully, you reach your goal. You

achieve success and get what you want. Once you get there, give yourself a high five and a

pat on the back. You’ve earned it, after all. From there, however, don’t lie down and go to

sleep. Start planning for the future. Look at your notes–the notes that you have been taking

the entire time you have been working–and figure out how you can effectively repeat your

results. Give yourself the gift of infinite success and evaluate your experiences.

In this moment, your goals may seem far off. There are probably goals in your mind

that seem so far off you are embarrassed to even talk about them, lest you come off as an

unrealistic dreamer. Forget all that. Let yourself be unrealistic for a moment and admit aloud

what you would do if you believed you could do anything.


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Now, believe it. You can do anything!


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Website: www.decoteauco.com

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