ACTIONS DETERMINE ACHIEVING OUR OUTCOMES

ACTIONS DETERMINE ACHIEVING OUR OUTCOMES
We can know what we want, why we want it, who will help us and a lot of other things, but the critical ingredient that in the end determines whether we succeed in achieving our outcomes is our actions. To guide our actions, we must create a step-by-step plan. When you build a house, do you just go out and get a pile of wood, some nails, a hammer, and a saw and then start to work? Would you start sawing and hammering and see what came out of it? Would that lead to success? It’s not likely. To build a house you need a blueprint, a plan. You need a sequence and a structure so your actions complement and reinforce one another. Otherwise you will just have a wild assemblage of boards. It’s the same with your life. So now you need to put together your own blueprint for success.
What are the necessary actions you must take consistently to produce the result you desire? If you’re not sure, think of someone you can model who has already accomplished what you desire. You need to start with your ultimate outcomes then work backward, step by step. If one of your major outcomes is to become financially independent, the step before that might be to become president of your own company. The step before that might be becoming a vice-president or other important officer. Another step might be to find a smart investment counselor and / or tax lawyer to help you manage your money. It’s critical that you continue to work back until you find something you could do today to support the achievement of that goal. May be today you could open a savings account or get a book that teaches you some financial strategies of successful people in our culture. If you want to be a professional dancer, what do you have to do to reach that out come? What are the major steps, and what are some things you can do today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year to produce the results? If you want to be the greatest composer in the world, what are the steps along the way? By working backward, step by step, for outcomes in everything from business to personal life, you can map out the precise path to follow from your ultimate goal down to what you can do today.
Use the information in the last exercise to guide the design of your plan. If you’re not sure what you should be, just ask yourself what prevents you from having what you want now. The answer to that question will be something you can work on immediately to change. The solving of that problem becomes a sub goal or steeping stone to the achievement of your greater goals.
Take the time now to take each of your key goals and create your first draft of a step by step plan on how to achieve it. Remember to start with the goal and ask yourself, what would I have to do first to accomplish this? or, What prevents me from having this now, an what can I do to change this? Make sure your plans include something you could do today.
So far we’ve completed the first part of the Ultimate Success Formula. You absolutely know your outcome. You’ve defined your outcomes over both the short and long terms, and you’ve defined which aspects of your personality help you and which hinder you in getting what you want. Now start developing a strategy of how to get there.
So come up with some models. They can be people from your life or famous people who’ve achieved great success. Write down the names of three to five people who’ve achieved what you want to achieve, and specify in a few words the qualities and behaviors that made them successful. After you’ve done this, close your eyes and imagine for a moment that each of these people is going to give you advice about how to best go about accomplishing your goals. Write down one main idea that each would give you if he or she were speaking to you personally. May be it’s how to avoid a roadblock or break through a limitation or what to pay attention to or look for. Just imagine they’re talking to you and jot down under each of their names the first idea that comes to you about what you think each would say. Even though you may not know them personally, through this process they can become excellent advisers on your future.