How can you hit a target you don't have?

First of all, I have been meaning to blog for a very long while to share what has helped me stay inspired every day, and achieve what I have achieved in my life at such a young age. Many of my friends have asked me to blog my story I just didn’t think my writing would be that great, but hey, this is how you get better - by having a go. I hope you enjoy my blogging...

"Dad when I grow up I'm going to be the best soccer player in the world"

Dad and Nico

This is what I told my dad when I was 4. This was a very powerful statement, that I believe, has mapped out my entire life and continues to inspire me to become better each and every day. You see, it wasn't about becoming the best soccer player in the world, but about having direction. I knew then and there what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, and regardless whether I got there in the end or not - I was moving forward and learning a lot about myself along the way. To this day I continue to set big goals like I did when I was 4, and like my favourite quote says;

"Life is like football, you need goals"

Along the way I have had a handful of successes alongside a truck load of failures, but the biggest lesson I have learnt is that it is the failures that move you forward in life. From a young age I learnt that in order to be successful you must not fear failure. And to this day the most common hurdle for many is exactly that, the fear of failing. I still suffer from this at times, but when I push that fear aside it’s like taking the hand brake off a car.

So how can you hit a target you don't have?

You simply can’t.

Some of us are only minutes away from getting the ball rolling. In fact, what are you doing right now? Instead of writing another 500 words for you to read, let’s do an activity right now.

Activity:

1. Write down your name in the middle of a blank page, nothing smaller than A4
2. Around your name branch off different areas of your life e.g. Health, Family, Travel, Financial etc.
3. For each area, write down 10 or so goals, large or small (take your time)
4. Brainstorm your goals and start to link goals that are relevant to each other e.g. saving $20,000 will also allow me to travel to South America with my brothers at the end of the year.
5. With each goal give yourself a date to achieve it by. Because without a deadline a goal is just a dream.
6. Get to work, the same way you decided to take action and start writing your goals, take action towards achieving them.
(ideally, you should write down 50 life goals you would like to achieve in the next 5 years)

This might seem like a very simple exercise, but it is amazing how many people don't do it, and equally as amazing as how powerful it can be when it is done. Already by writing your goals down and committing them to paper puts you in the top 3% of people who successfully achieve their goals. Take note that you will fail and expect to fail, because it’s with each attempt, that you get that little bit closer to that success you are after.

I have actually taken this exercise one step further by getting a poster made up for my 50 goals in 5 years. I will put up a photo of this poster that is currently on my office wall in my future posts, to share some of my life goals.

Remember; you cannot hit a target you don't have. Set some goals and don’t let the fear of failure stop you from doing anything you want to do. Expect to fail and expect to succeed.

Good Luck and stay tuned..

Nic Rouco