Getting What You Want

Getting what you want out of life requires goals and objectives. We all have them, yet often we don't realize the extent of this effective, powerful skill.

If we do not develop a plan or a schedule or even know in which direction we have to travel until we have selected a destination, we become less effective.

Sheila Henry managed the pro-shop at a large golf course in South Carolina for a number of years. "I used to think goal setting was for wimps...I knew my own mind and thought I knew how to get what I wanted.." The change happened, according to Sheila, when she overheard a visiting PGA pro counsel a youngster during a youth golf clinic at the course. "I remember him telling this young girl, ‘Golf takes practice...make no mistake, but you've got to plan your game and your life.’ You can putt through life or you can play it with a one iron and give it all you've got."

"I remember smiling when I heard the corny golf analogy yet, I couldn't get it out of my mind...I was ‘putting’ though life. Ever since I took the job in the pro shop I'd been plagued with that nagging whisper echoing in my mind, ‘Is this it? Is this all I'm meant to achieve?’ The opportunities were there, I just had to stop putting. I started to set goals for every gathering I attended, talking with business people, making contacts. I set up long range goals, too. Now I'm a firm believer."

When I spoke with Sheila last, she'd purchased the town's sporting goods store and was thinking of opening another. She's cashing in on the women's golfing market with classes, clothing and special charity events for women in the sport. She's making more money.

Attending a public or private gathering without knowing your goal is breaking a primary principle of Focused Networking. Sure you might have a few laughs and mingle with the rich and famous but:

• What is it you are trying to accomplish in your life or your business?
  
• What do you want to accomplish at this gathering?
  
• What information do you need?
  

With this technique, all encounters present opportunities to increase your business, make more money, and help you on your way...as long as you know the destination.

Baseball great Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."