Want to achieve your goals? Here's 5 steps to help you do it

You probably have some big goals or dreams in life. Some may be things you want to accomplish this year, others may be a target of yours a few years down the road. Regardless, any big dream takes serious work to turn it into reality. It’s a process getting from point A to B. 

To help make this process easier for you, I’ve identified 5 steps that I believe anyone with any dream can follow and find success. Let’s take a look.

Step 1: Commit to a Specific Goal

It may seem rather obvious, but the first key to achieving something amazing is knowing what specifically you want to achieve. As a business coach, I’ve seen many entrepreneurs that have a general, vague idea of where they want their company to end up, but they aren’t really sure. Be specific. 

Some nebulous construct of where you want to go will not help you identify what path you need to take to get there. Make sure your goal is measurable and clearly defined.

Step 2: Reverse Engineer the Goal

Great job, you’ve outlined and committed to a specific goal. That’s the vital first step, but next we need to identify how we’re actually going to achieve it. 

I’ve found that one way to get off on the right foot is to reverse engineer the goal. This can be done by seeing where you want the goal to take you. What’s this goal actually going to do for you?

This will help you too look and breakdown everything you’re going to need to get there— assets, metricts, components, etc.

Step 3: Smash Your Fears

Oftentimes, it’s easy to set an ambitious goal and feel excited about it for the first little while. However, the initial adrenaline wears off fear can start to creep in. These fears often come in the form of dread “what if” statements. 

“What if I fail?” 

“What if I let everyone down?” 

“What if I lose everything and have to start over?” 

These fear-filled statements, repeated enough, will talk you right out of the goal you just made. It’s vital to be aware that these fears shouldn’t stop you. Instead, try changing your “what if” statements to “what is.” 

“What is something I can do today to reach my goal?”

“What is my next step?” 

“What is the most important thing I do right now?”

These statements, instead of filling you with fear and immobility, lead to action. 

Step 4: Create a DAP, a Daily Action Plan

To-do lists are important, and they don’t have to feel like an neverending checklists of things you won’t be able to get to in a day. I recommend simplifying your to-do list. Perhaps write down just three things you definitely need to get done that day and then a few others that you’d like to accomplish but don’t have the same priority. 

Next, create a “to-don’t” list. This could include distractions or things you know you won’t have time for and aren’t vitally important. 

Last, create a “to-delegate” list. I can’t stress how important it is as an entrepreneur to not wear all the hats. Having the humility to delegate tasks to others that you recognize you won’t have time for will do wonders in advancing you towards your goals.

Step 5: Believe 

Finally, just believe! Believe that you can do everything you set out to do and even more. If you don’t believe you can do something, you almost certainly won’t do it. 

Over and over again we see examples of entrepreneurs that had the audacity to dream big, to not let others tell them what their goals or aspirations should be, and this is how they achieved greatness. 

It’s inevitable that doubts will creep in along your journey. You may want to turn back or set a new goal. Just remember that you are capable of more than you think you are, so don’t be afraid to push yourself even when it seems impossible. 

These 5 steps can help you achieve any goal you set out to accomplish. Check out the full article on LinkedIn