Last week, we discussed the first in a series of principles that are helpful for accelerating your journey to success. This week, I want to introduce another principle that has been of great benefit to me in my own life. I have found that I can greatly increase my ability to attain my goals by putting each and every goal down on paper.
I am a firm believer in this process and have seen it yield results time and time again. When you write things down, this action begins a chain of events that can change your life. Mark McCormack, in his book entitled What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School, tells about a Harvard study conducted between 1979 and 1989.
In 1979, graduates of the MBA program at Harvard were asked to set clear written goals for their future, along with their plans to accomplish these particular goals. Interestingly, only 3 percent of the graduates had written goals, 13 percent had goals (but they were not in writing), and 84 percent had no specific goals at all—other than finishing school and enjoying the summer.
Ten years later, in 1989, the researchers again interviewed the members of that same graduating class. They found that the 13 percent of students who had goals that were not in writing were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent of students that had no goals at all. Most surprisingly, however, the researchers found that the 3 percent of graduates who had clear written goals were earning, on average, 10 times more than the other 97 percent of their graduating class.
The only difference in these groups of students is found in the clarity of goals they set for themselves when they graduated. Those who clearly visualized their goals were able to consistently achieve them, and this success was reflected tangibly in their income.
To summarize these posts: constantly visualize your success as the top salesperson in our President’s Club, don’t allow others to dissuade you from pursuing your goals, and give yourself the best chance to achieve these goals by writing them down!
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