The Power of 5
In business and life, it is mandatory to set goals. Earl Nightingale defined success as the progressive realization of a predetermined goal. Without goals, you are proceeding on the journey of life without direction. Would you begin a long trip with no idea which road to take in order to reach your desitnation? Then why would you continue on the most important journey of all, your life, without a crystal clear idea how to proceed? Perhaps the problem is a lack of vision. I find many people are unable to set goals, to lay out a predetermined path for their lives because they have no idea where they want to end up once they arrive. In that case, it becomes necessary to establish your ultimate destination before you begin. This enables you to set goals that take you farther and farther along your path, toward your goal.
As the CEO of Extreme Diva, I must constantly set goals for our company. I must have a clear idea where we are and where I want us to go in order to lead the company along that path. When I first began this process, I found it to be overwhelming. How do I determine where we need to go? How do I decide where we should end up at a predetermined time in our history? What steaps do I take along the way to ensure we arrive at our destination? I was working to set goals for the coming year in our company and found myself unable to proceed. I was in trouble.
As I reflected on goals, I realized it was not enough to think only of the coming year. In order to have a productive year, we needed to be working on goals that help us accomplish our long term goals. That meant we needed to set long term goals for ourselves and our company.
When I first sat down to do this, I came up with a long list of items that I wanted to accomplish in the coming year alone. As I studied the list, I realized I was setting myself up for frustration. All I was creating was a list of items that would be carried over, uncompleted, from year to year. I didn’t want this. I believe goals should be achievable but have stretch. I wasn’t certain what to do.
Then it hit me. I remembered something I had read in one of my Mary Kay books. Mary Kay advised the sales reps to follow her example of only setting 5 goals a day. By listing only 5 items on their to-do list, Mary Kay from her own experience knew that anyone could easily accomplish the things they needed to get done for the day. The list was to be created at night before going to bed. I had been using this technique for awhile and found it worked very well. If I needed to make phone calls, I would make the calls 1 item on the list but no more than 5 calls. If I needed to make more than 5 calls, then I would create another item on the list.
So, I began to think, why not use this same technique for setting long term goals? The Power of 5 was born. It is very simple. I went 5 years into the future. I personally find it is easier to go forward and work my way back than the other way around. I thought about our company. What did it look like? What had we accomplished? What were we on the verge of accomplishing? Then I made a list of 5 things that we were accomplishing at that time in our company. (The different lists are at the end of this article.) I always write each goal in present tense, as if it were a reality, which it is. You see, once I create the goal and commit it to paper, once I accept the possiblity of it being accompished, my mind begins to subconsciously create ways to accomplish the goal. My mind accepts each item as reality and acts on it accordingly.
Next, I considered a year from now. In order to be a year closer to accomplishing our 5 year goals, what 5 things do we need to accomplish in the coming year? Then, I thought a month ahead. What 5 things did we need to do to bring us a month closer to the annual goals? Each week, I study the monthly goals and set 5 goals for the week that bring us closer to accomplishing the monthly goals and each evening, I study the weekly list so I can set goals that insure each day helps me to complete the weekly goals.
I am finding it much easier to accomplish the items on my list because they are not overwhelming. If I finish all 5 things on my daily list, then I refer to my weekly list and decide what else I might do to whittle away at the week tasks. Just like eating an elephant, I bring myself and our company one bite closer to those 5 year goals everyday.
You can create your Power of 5 list anytime. In fact, right now is the perfect time. Sit down and look 5 years into the future. Who are you? What are you doing? What are you about to accomplish? Create a list of 5 things that you see happening right then. Your goals should reflect the different aspects of your professional life. For example, if you are an author and speaker, you want a goal for each of these areas. You want each item to be as specific as you are able to make it. If the items are vague, you are not going to accomplish them. Your mind cannot act upon a vague idea. You need to give your mind a specific goal upon which it may act and accomplish.
Next, come back to one year in the future. What 5 things do you need to accomplish in one year’s time in order to be on schedule for your 5 year goals? Then go to a month out. What do you need to accomplish by then in order to complete your annual goals? Then set goals for the coming week to nibble away at your monthly goals. Finally, each evening before you go to bed, make your list of 5 for the following day. Study the list from that day. If you did not accomplish something, determine why. You might have set a goal that was too big to be finished in one day. Learn from that mistake and create more realistic goals to avoid frustration. Perhaps something came up to prevent you from finishing the list. That happens sometimes. Resist the urge to beat yourself up and add the item to tomorrow’s list. Perhaps the task doesn’t even need to be done. Then cross it off the list and forget about it Tomorrow is an opportunity for a fresh start. Take advantage of it
The Power of 5 is a great tool to help you accomplish the incredible goals you see ahead of you. That is a wonderfully Diva-licious thing to do!
As the CEO of Extreme Diva, I must constantly set goals for our company. I must have a clear idea where we are and where I want us to go in order to lead the company along that path. When I first began this process, I found it to be overwhelming. How do I determine where we need to go? How do I decide where we should end up at a predetermined time in our history? What steaps do I take along the way to ensure we arrive at our destination? I was working to set goals for the coming year in our company and found myself unable to proceed. I was in trouble.
As I reflected on goals, I realized it was not enough to think only of the coming year. In order to have a productive year, we needed to be working on goals that help us accomplish our long term goals. That meant we needed to set long term goals for ourselves and our company.
When I first sat down to do this, I came up with a long list of items that I wanted to accomplish in the coming year alone. As I studied the list, I realized I was setting myself up for frustration. All I was creating was a list of items that would be carried over, uncompleted, from year to year. I didn’t want this. I believe goals should be achievable but have stretch. I wasn’t certain what to do.
Then it hit me. I remembered something I had read in one of my Mary Kay books. Mary Kay advised the sales reps to follow her example of only setting 5 goals a day. By listing only 5 items on their to-do list, Mary Kay from her own experience knew that anyone could easily accomplish the things they needed to get done for the day. The list was to be created at night before going to bed. I had been using this technique for awhile and found it worked very well. If I needed to make phone calls, I would make the calls 1 item on the list but no more than 5 calls. If I needed to make more than 5 calls, then I would create another item on the list.
So, I began to think, why not use this same technique for setting long term goals? The Power of 5 was born. It is very simple. I went 5 years into the future. I personally find it is easier to go forward and work my way back than the other way around. I thought about our company. What did it look like? What had we accomplished? What were we on the verge of accomplishing? Then I made a list of 5 things that we were accomplishing at that time in our company. (The different lists are at the end of this article.) I always write each goal in present tense, as if it were a reality, which it is. You see, once I create the goal and commit it to paper, once I accept the possiblity of it being accompished, my mind begins to subconsciously create ways to accomplish the goal. My mind accepts each item as reality and acts on it accordingly.
Next, I considered a year from now. In order to be a year closer to accomplishing our 5 year goals, what 5 things do we need to accomplish in the coming year? Then, I thought a month ahead. What 5 things did we need to do to bring us a month closer to the annual goals? Each week, I study the monthly goals and set 5 goals for the week that bring us closer to accomplishing the monthly goals and each evening, I study the weekly list so I can set goals that insure each day helps me to complete the weekly goals.
I am finding it much easier to accomplish the items on my list because they are not overwhelming. If I finish all 5 things on my daily list, then I refer to my weekly list and decide what else I might do to whittle away at the week tasks. Just like eating an elephant, I bring myself and our company one bite closer to those 5 year goals everyday.
You can create your Power of 5 list anytime. In fact, right now is the perfect time. Sit down and look 5 years into the future. Who are you? What are you doing? What are you about to accomplish? Create a list of 5 things that you see happening right then. Your goals should reflect the different aspects of your professional life. For example, if you are an author and speaker, you want a goal for each of these areas. You want each item to be as specific as you are able to make it. If the items are vague, you are not going to accomplish them. Your mind cannot act upon a vague idea. You need to give your mind a specific goal upon which it may act and accomplish.
Next, come back to one year in the future. What 5 things do you need to accomplish in one year’s time in order to be on schedule for your 5 year goals? Then go to a month out. What do you need to accomplish by then in order to complete your annual goals? Then set goals for the coming week to nibble away at your monthly goals. Finally, each evening before you go to bed, make your list of 5 for the following day. Study the list from that day. If you did not accomplish something, determine why. You might have set a goal that was too big to be finished in one day. Learn from that mistake and create more realistic goals to avoid frustration. Perhaps something came up to prevent you from finishing the list. That happens sometimes. Resist the urge to beat yourself up and add the item to tomorrow’s list. Perhaps the task doesn’t even need to be done. Then cross it off the list and forget about it Tomorrow is an opportunity for a fresh start. Take advantage of it
The Power of 5 is a great tool to help you accomplish the incredible goals you see ahead of you. That is a wonderfully Diva-licious thing to do!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jean Ann Duckworth on -
Let me know how this approach to tackling your daily list of items works for you.
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Permalink Reply by Discount Diva on -
I love this concept - five is just the right number - you feel you've accomplished something when you finish five goals, and too many more would be overwhelming.
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Permalink Reply by Kathryn on -
This is great! I am going to print it out and post it where I can see it daily....I feel it will be great for both work/home alike....I really want to apply it to my writing skills...
XOXO
Kathryn
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Permalink Reply by Barb on -
Just for laughs thought I'd share my daily five. Hopefully, other stay-at-home, work from home Mom's will relate and get a good chuckle today.
1 - Make the beds
2 - Make breakfast, lunch and dinner
3 - Do the dishes after each meal
4 - Play with the children
5 - Pick up the toys
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Permalink Reply by Mari Taylor, The Thrifty Diva on -
I've written these out for my writing and speaking (well technically it's future speaking!). If you follow the five steps you really do accomplish a lot. It's extremely motivating.
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