Goals! summary

Introduction

Goals by Brian Tracy Goals explores how setting clear targets transforms your personal and professional life. Why do some people achieve almost everything they set out to do, while others never seem to get started? The secret is not luck, superior talent, or relentless hard work. The real answer lies in the incredible power of setting clear goals.

This book shows how defining your targets completely alters your life trajectory. Whether chasing daily tasks or grand ambitions, focused goals drive success. Being goal-oriented empowers you to accomplish anything you choose.

the power of goals

The Power of Goals Imagine that you had a superpower. It enabled you to succeed in anything you did. What would you choose to do with it? If you think this sounds like a fantasy, think again.

We all have the power to succeed in any area. All it takes is the right mindset. Your thoughts are more than just hopes or wishes. They are also highly creative.

They shape your world in a surprisingly concrete way. With time, your reality starts to look like whatever you spend your time thinking about. So, if you spend your time thinking about being successful in your chosen field, then eventually you will be. The key message here is this, use the power of your mind to transform your life.

When successful people are asked what topics consume their thoughts, one response is most common. They spend their time thinking about two things, what they want and how they can achieve it. In essence, they dedicate their inner headspace to thinking about their goals, and you should also do so as well. In contrast, unsuccessful people spend a whole lot of time thinking about what they do not want.

They think about their worries, problems, and who or what is to blame for their failures. But it is not enough just to think about your goals. You need to write them down too. The power of writing down your goals was discovered by a Harvard University study in 1979.

Researchers asked recent Harvard MBA graduates a simple question, had they set any specific goals they wanted to achieve in the future. The researchers discovered that only 13% of the graduates had set clear goals, just 3% had written their goals down. The rest of the graduates had no goals at all. Ten years later, in 1989, the researchers followed up with the graduates.

They made an astonishing discovery. The graduates who had set themselves goals were making, on average, two times as much money. This was more than those who had not. As for the graduates who had written those goals down, on average, they were earning ten times as much.

Why does this simple act of setting goals and writing them down make such a difference? Well, goals provide you with direction and meaning. These are things that many people lack in their lives. And with every goal you achieve, you feel more confident and capable of tackling even bigger goals in the future.