Every week we’re going behind the curtain to learn the insights and the secrets that are proving to work in people’s lives as they’re using speaking and stages to build their businesses.
We focus on sharing content with you that will help you become a world-class communicator.
We make sure that you have clarity on the problem you want to solve and the people you want to serve. We make sure that you have products and services that can transform people’s lives. We also make sure that you understand the power of getting on other people’s digital and physical stages, while helping you toward building your own.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a man who is walking out all four of these areas with excellence.
On April 9th, 2019, I got a glimpse of what a powerful Christian entrepreneur looked like when was in the room with this person who literally lit my soul on fire. That man was the CEO of Hobby Lobby. I’ve had the pleasure of building a relationship with him over the last four years. Not only is he a powerful man of God, he is an incredible husband and father, and a brilliant speaker and author – Mr. Jon Acuff.
I want to share with you today from the personal pages of notes I took during our recent time together as we discussed Jon’s newest book on goal-setting.
Whether you are currently on track and crushing your goals, or you didn’t do anything to prepare for this new year and you are wandering around aimlessly, we all have something to learn from this goal-setting guru.
Figure out something you enjoy, not something you have to fix
A goal is a way for me to fix a problem in my life, but if I feel like I’m not doing well at accomplishing that goal, it generates shame and naturally, we pull back from things that we feel shame over. Stop allowing failure and shame before you even begin. Instead, reframe that goal to look like a gift you get to open. Reframe your goal in a way that actually makes you want to spend time doing it, rather than avoiding it.
Find something you love so much that Netflix becomes boring.
It’s not about committing to watch less TV or being more disciplined.
Joy leads to discipline and persistence.
Find something that gives you so much joy that you’d rather work on that thing than check out with distractions. Is your life full of things you’re supposed to do that maybe you inherited from culture or status quo? Start by finding something small and then throw some time at it so that it will eventually become its own fire and start to light up other parts of your life.
And don’t fall for the lie that you have no time. Jon told me that he began to wonder how long it takes an airplane to take off from the moment he sat down to take off, so he began to take notes. He figured out that in his past nine flights combined, it took 8 hours. He found 8 hours of free time! Most people are sitting on the plane scrolling Instagram, doing nothing. What could you do with 8 hours? Could you work on that project or read that book you’ve been wanting to read? Maybe 8 hours is enough time to hammer out one of your goals!
Frequently review your goals.
A half-hour review at the end of the month is worth 10 hours of productivity. Review your goals and ask yourself what worked and what didn’t work. January is a great time to set a goal but it’s not the only time. If you still haven’t set goals, it’s not too late! Stop telling yourself you missed some golden opportunity and start now.
Write your goals down.
Jon says that “paper shrinks fear.” When ideas are just floating around your head, they can be confusing, chaotic, and overwhelming. But when you get your thoughts written down on paper, the things you are worried about get a little bit smaller and you can start to see what they really are. Grab a piece of paper and spend 10 minutes writing down a couple of goals. That’s enough to get started!
Get in the potential zone.
Jon talks about the three performance zones that people will fall into when it comes to goal setting. The comfort zone (or pajama zone) where you have no goals, no action, and no progress, the chaos zone (or monster energy zone) where you’re hyper-motivated and unfocused, and finally, the potential zone, where you do the right goals at the right pace and get the right progress. Be careful about swinging between these zones of no goals to excessive goals. Be aware of where you are and find that middle zone.
Beware of competing goals but look for overlapping goals.
Jon makes such a great point here. He shares that if you have a goal to go on the road all year as a speaker and another goal to be a better father and to be with the kids all the time, you probably have competing goals that will conflict with each other, causing frustration. An example of goals that overlap is the goal to listen to more audiobooks this year, and the goal of walking more. These goals overlap and work together for success.
Refine your goals and adjust as needed.
Jon hits the hammer on the nail with this advice,
“New Seasons deserve new scorecards.”
It’s unfair to not adjust our goals to meet the demands of the seasons of life. Don’t get locked in and legalistic. Jon says that rigid goals are fragile goals. Don’t be afraid to revisit your goals and adjust as needed.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to put these seven power points for goal-setting into action! You have 11 months looking straight at you and the tools you need to get focused. There’s no better time to get started than right now!
I hope one of your personal goals is to join us for the Speak to Grow experience in Fort Lauderdale happening in just a couple of weeks.
