Your goals are what drive you and get you out of bed every morning.
What I love doing most, my goal, is coaching people. Following that goal is what drove me to leave Apple. I was moving up the ranks quickly, but I left it all. Why? Because I had to shift from looking to Apple for fulfillment to asking myself what I really wanted to do with my life.
Here are three ways to stay focused on your goals:
1. Don’t get discouraged.
Let’s say someone starts selling on Amazon. They’re full of energy, they have a really cool product and they’re ready to go to town.
Then something happens. Maybe it’s money problems, a fraudulent supplier or more competition than expected. They get discouraged and think they can’t do it. Why? Because they placed all their focus and hopes on the product, not their goals.
2. Commit.
I asked one of my coaching clients how committed he was, from a 1 to a 10, to making this happen. He answered, an 8. I said this isn’t something you can dabble in or try for a while. You can’t put your toe in the water and test it out. I told my client to imagine walking into a room, shutting the door behind him, and the door turns into a brick wall. There’s no way back, only forward.
There will be risks and disappointments, but you need to decide that you are all in and walk through that door.
3. Play the long game.
You are working really hard to perfect your private label product. By focusing so intently, you worry you might be missing some side gigs and short-term gains. But just keep pushing to get your product out there. After a while, sales will start to trickle in, and then there’ll be more and more. You’ll be so happy you picked the long-term instead of the short-term path.
Your goals are more important than the obstacles you go through. As you grow, improve, and get stronger, the problems you encounter will seem much smaller.
Don’t give up. Keep going. Remember your goals, and you will succeed.
