Went to church yesterday for my Financial Peace class with Dave Ramsey. It was awesome as usual, totally love that guy.
He’s the type of guy that is a natural born speaker, natural born motivator, and he has the ability to really get you FIRED up. GAZELLE INTENSE as he likes to say.
To be fair, he’s trying to get me fired up about ditching debt, and that’s pretty exciting all on its own, but still. I was bouncing in my seat and high fiving my friend through the whole class so he must have been doing something right!
Anyway, he’s all about swearing off and eliminating debt so that you’re free to spend, give, and save with abandon. ‘Live today like no one else, so that tomorrow… you can live like no one else’. Amen brotha.
But as I was thinking about all of that stuff and listening to him, I realized that really the underlying message was to get focused and get intentional about your goals.
Granted these particular goals are related to finance, but the message holds true for any sort of goals you set, including your business goals and/or life goals.
His whole premise is that it’s only when you get MAD at your situation and debt that you begin to really get focused and committed to eliminating it. It’s when you begin to get fired up and vow that you’re going to do WHATEVER it takes to beat debt…
You begin to make whatever sacrifices necessary to become free.
I think the whole idea though holds true for anything in life you want to acheive. It’s not until you get MAD that your business is floundering, that you begin to get focused and intentional about succeeding. You ramp up your marketing, you take over-delivering to new levels, and you focus your time on your highest return activities. You get focused.
It’s not until you get MAD at yourself for being unhealthy or less than fit that you begin to get focused and intentional about exercising regularly and making healthy choices. You begin to schedule your workouts into your day. You begin to eat healthier foods and cut off munching after a certain time. You get intentional.
And it’s not until you get MAD at your life situation no matter how dark and bleak… before you begin to get focused and intentional about doing whatever it takes to be free.
Think of a battered woman with a child, living in fear all the time, year after year… it’s not until she finally gets MAD and intentional about breaking free, protecting herself and her child from further harm before she finds happiness again.
Focused and determined.
Gazelle intense.
But you know, in order to achieve goals like that, in order to be focused and determined you have to have a plan.
A direction.
A roadmap if you will on how you’re going to get there.
You can bet that battered woman made darn sure she had a plan in place before busting free. And you can bet all the pro athletes have a plan in place to achieve optimum health and fitness. If they didn’t they wouldn’t be pro athletes!
And take a look at some of the most successful businesses you know of. It’s a sure bet they didn’t get there by wingin’ it, or half-a**ing it. They didn’t get there by being anything less than focused, intense, and having a clear direction. Then taking action on that direction.
Take my class for instance.
In the Financial Peace class, we’re required to make out simple budgets, and begin tracking expenses and rounding up figures on our debt.
So we can PLAN on how to start eliminating it. And we have a 7 step process to becoming debt free. Again, all part of a PLAN of attack.
Of action.
So I don’t know about you, but for me that lesson last night was more than a lesson about getting rid of my debt. It was a life lesson and drove home the fact that for me to get where I want to go, I need to be focused and intentional.
Have a plan.
And do the damn thing whatever the thing is for you. Take action.
My own personal goals happen to be fairly lofty. I intend to be debt-free, stinkin’ rich, and live today like no one else, so that in a few years time?
I CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE.
I intend to own my own home, travel the world, and be in a position where I can do amazing things for other people, starting with my family. And that’s just a beginning!
Life doesn’t wait around for you to get it together. Business doesn’t grow by sitting on your butt ‘hoping’ to land a new client or make a sale. The world keeps spinning whether you’re ready for it or not. So get ready.
How about you?
Got goals?
Got direction?
Got a plan?
Business or personal, modest or lofty. Doesn’t matter, I’d love to hear about them, and how you intend to go about reaching them.
How do you plan on getting there? And are you MAD yet?
Warm regards,
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I sat down and wrote out a seven step plan for losing 10 pounds with my girlfriend. And every day I write out an over-arching goal for that day, and then steps to accomplish it. I've found it helps to not erase the goals from your list, but to scratch them off as you achieve them. That way you can see how far you've come, and how much farther you have to go. Its always encouraging to feel like you're working forward.
Totally agree Remy! I get a supreme feeling of satisfaction when I create an
Thanks for the comment hun!
action plan for the day, and then cross things off as completed. It's great
for keeping you motivated and focused.
Love this concept. I can't tell you how many “financial management” books my dad, ahem, M&D, Inc. has recommended to me. I think I'm finally on the track to getting mad and getting the Visa, the student loans, etc. out of my way. The “you're only young once” is a tough motto to shake..
It is hard to shake that sort of ingrained voice you hear in your head.
Lol.. But I look at it like this. You only live once, and I want to really
be able to LIVE… not just be young. And you can't really live when you're
buried under debt and a slave to lenders. I've got a mountain of it to wade
through myself, but I'm mad enough to finally do it, and refuse to take on
any more debt in my future.
My friend cut up her Macy's card last night in the class… it was hard, but
she was giddy once she did it. I'd definitely recommend checking out his
course if you're ready to get rid of your own debt. We can be debt buddies,
lol I'll cheer you on.
RT @coripadgett: RT Latest Blog Post: Make Like a Gazelle and Get Intentional… Life Doesn't Wait http://su.pr/1Yec1X #BGB Plz RT
Make Like a Gazelle and Get Intentional- Life Doesn’t Wait: Sometimes you have to get focused and intentional abou… http://bit.ly/bz7act
Most of us are scripted to land a job. That’s it. No much room to follow our dreams, really. Thinking about your dreams and goals are merely wishes until you do something about it. Allow them to dominate your mind. Until you feel the urge to plan it. We are going to have to acknowledge and welcome these desires.
Very true.. there’s no power in thinking unless action follows.