Your goals aren't good enough

You're not going to like hearing this.

You're goals...they probably stink.

Sorry about that, but news like this is better served like ripping off a band-aid. Embrace the pain, rub it off and don't pick the scab.

Here's the deal. It's great to have goals. In Good To Great, Jim Collins advocates BHAGs, or Big Hairy Audacious Goals. A BHAG is a point of focus that is motivational in itself, like the 1960s moon mission.

But Collins is quick to point out that not every goal is a good one. "Bad BHAGs are set with bravado; good BHAGs are set with understanding."

And this understanding is probably what your goals are missing. It encompasses two things: Planning and Purpose.

Planning
A goal without a plan is a wish made on a fading star. You can say "It's my goal to be on the NYTs top Ten list in fiction." That's a great BHAG, but if you don't have a plan to get there, you're never going to make it. In order to turn that wish into an actionable goal you need to understand what it takes to make it on that list. Maybe you need to take some writing classes to improve your craft, or how about actually finishing and polishing up that manuscript. If you've got the great book, you might need to work on your marketing plan or make some contacts to get your book to the right readers. No matter what your goal, you need a plan of action. And the follow through to work it.

Purpose
With a plan, it will be pretty clear that it's going to take a lot of hard work to achieve your BHAG. And that's why purpose is so crucial. If you don't know why you're working toward your goal, it will be easy to let your efforts slack when the work starts piling up. Let's stick with the NYTs example. If you just want to be on the list because it sounds fancy, that's unlikely to keep you motivated when you get piles of "no thank you" letter from the big league reviewers.

But let's say you want to be on the list for a bigger purpose. Maybe you have a killer book of your heart that is just too "out there" right now for editors to take a chance on it. But...if you get on the NYTs with your current book, editors will have to at least consider it. With a purpose, you're more likely to keep at it when faced with set-backs and challenges.

Now take a look at your current goals. Do you have a plan and purpose? If not, take a hard look and figure out what it is you really want to accomplish.