Do The Math...

My wife and I were talking about goals, the best way of attaining them, and what type of goals should or shouldn't be focused on. She remembered a quote someone recently Tweeted her...

"It's better to achieve 65% of an impossible goal than 100% of a simple, doable one."

I had to think about this for a second. My instincts immediately cringed, thinking 65% of anything can't be better than 100%... or can it? In this case, it absolutely is better to achieve 65%. I believe this is where most of us miss-the-boat when trying to expand our comfort zones. 

Thinking back to when I first created Coach Your Mind, I remembered the perfect example, proving 65% was definitely better sometimes...

One of my first students was a woman who was attempting to start her own business, but was having difficulties opening her mind to big picture possibilities. She was stuck in her current mindset, which was telling her safety is better... risk means failure.

During our first session, I asked her what she wanted to earn her first year. I reminded her that this number can be any amount she wanted, no ceiling attached. She sat quietly for at least 15 minutes, thinking of that number. I knew what she was doing. She was mentally editing yearly amounts that she thought were going to be possible to earn. She was thinking of reasons why (X) dollars would be too difficult, how much work it would take, and why it would be too difficult to acquire. After close to 20 minutes of deliberating, she came up with a number. Although I had a feeling it was going to be a bit lower than I wanted, I was still excited to begin this process with her. Before any steps could be taken, though, we needed a Dream Goal. 

She took a deep breathe, as if it was going to take all the fearlessness she had to verbalize this amount. For a split second, I thought maybe her number wasn't going to be low at all... maybe she'll blow my mind with a Dream Goal that will destroy all other goals.

"Dayne, I'm ready. This is going to be huge, and I want to start yesterday to make this happen." 

(Another deep breathe). 

"I want to earn $60,000/yr. in my new business."

W-H-A-T??!!

$60,000 ONLY??!!

To say the least, I was floored at how small her amount was. I gave her the opportunity to earn any amount, no ceiling, and she chose $10,000 more than she was making in her current job. Why not $100,000? $500,000? $2 million? She couldn't let go of the fear associated with stepping out of her comfort zone. Those other amounts would be "impossible." $60,000 was safe, easy, and definitely attainable without much work. Before we could move forward, we were going to have to destroy this scared mindset... and NOW! 

We started the process all over, but this time she had to commit to an amount that was way out of her "possible thinking." This took over an hour, and I had to reschedule my next appointment, but we finally agreed to an amount she would attempt to earn in her first year:

$250,000 became her new, fearless number!

At the end of her first year, she netted $167,000. Doing the math, that's just over 65% of her original "Impossible Goal." 

Nuff said!