Just Shut Up and Do It: 7 Steps to Conquer Your Goals

INTRODUCTION

Winning Is for Winners

Deep within man dwell those slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.

—Orison Swett Marden

You probably have more talent and ability than you could use in one hundred lifetimes. You have all the intelligence you need, right now, plus the ability to learn any subject you need to learn to achieve any goal you can set for yourself. There are no limits on what you can be, do, and have, except for the limits you place on your own mind.

The Big Question

Many years ago, I began asking the question Why is it that some people are more successful than others?

The most important answer surprised me, as it surprises most people. It is simple. Your success is based on what you do, the results you get, and how quickly and efficiently you achieve those results.

It is not based on what you say, wish, hope, or intend to do at some time in the future. Success is only based on what you are doing right now in this moment. As Henry Ford said, You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.

We are living in the fastest moving, most turbulent, disruptive, and unpredictable time in all of human history. This kind of rapid change often causes people to become distracted, unsure, insecure, and unmotivated. As a result, they just slow down, sit around, and accomplish very little.

The Most Valuable Asset

What is a company’s most valuable asset? According to the Harvard Business School, it is its reputation. A company’s most valuable asset is what people say about the company, and its products and services, to other customers or potential customers.

Because technology, information, and customer tastes are changing rapidly, products and services are changing faster than ever before. But reputation remains. In fact, it is everything. Think about companies like Apple and Google. Their reputations are so excellent that they are world leaders in the products and services they offer.

So, what is your most valuable asset? It is your reputation as well. It is what people think and say about you when you’re not there. It is the words that people use to describe you and especially how well they think you do your work.

Getting Things Done

The most important part of your reputation is your ability to start and complete important tasks, to get things done, and to be known for speed and dependability. This will do more for your happiness, health, success, and wealth than any other facet of your reputation that you can develop.

What is your main goal in life? According to Aristotle, behind every goal there is another goal until you finally reach the main goal, which is to be happy. Everything you do is an attempt, successful or not, to achieve happiness in some way. In fact, you can measure your level of success by what percentage of time you are a genuinely happy person. This is more important than all the money and accomplishments in the world.

The Achievement of Happiness

How do you achieve happiness? In its simplest terms, happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal. It is only when you feel that you are moving step-by-step toward the accomplishment of something that is important to you that you feel genuinely fulfilled and happy.

Everyone wants to be a winner. They want to be seen and thought of as a winner by others. How do you achieve this? Simple—you win!

What is winning? In running, when you cross the finish line before any of the other runners, you win.

In life, you win when you start and complete your most important tasks on time and, ideally, before