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Pursuing your own Goals

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: Recently, I made one of my rare and infrequent trips to a retail store. It's not that I don't like to buy things. I simply do not enjoy the process of shopping, so I leave it to others. While at the store, I took the opportunity to observe people who had selected the items they wished to purchase and were waiting to pay for their items in the checkout line. Some people simply picked the nearest line, stood in the back, and waited. Others roamed back and forth looking for the shortest line and waited there. Then there was the third group of shoppers who constantly got out of one line and got into another, thinking they would save time by getting in the faster-moving line.

Pursuing your own Goals

Recently, I made one of my rare and infrequent trips to a retail store. It's not that I don't like to buy things. I simply do not enjoy the process of shopping, so I leave it to others.

While at the store, I took the opportunity to observe people who had selected the items they wished to purchase and were waiting to pay for their items in the checkout line. Some people simply picked the nearest line, stood in the back, and waited. Others roamed back and forth looking for the shortest line and waited there. Then there was the third group of shoppers who constantly got out of one line and got into another, thinking they would save time by getting in the faster-moving line.

This last group of people seemed impatient as they frantically moved from line to line seeking an elusive advantage in the process. From my unscientific observations, if the goal in checking out of a store and paying for your items is to accomplish the task as quickly and easily as possible, both the people who got in the first line and waited as well as those who selected the shortest line and stayed there did better than the people who jumped from line to line.

This is true in life as we pursue our dreams. Those people who succeed, generally stay with one pursuit and follow it to its conclusion. These people have a passion for that dream, because it belongs to them. Other people who seem to wander through life aimlessly, jump from job to job, career to career, and business to business. They are trying to take advantage of what they guess to be the hottest opportunity. In reality, if they would find their passion and pursue their own dreams, they would succeed.

The best-known ethical text from ancient India is known as the Bhagavad Gita. Among other great concepts, it teaches us "Better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection."

When it's all said and done, the greatest joy you will receive from any dream is pursuing it. Success is a long journey, much like climbing a mountain. You will spend months and years mounting the expedition that will get you to the top of the mountain. You will only spend a few moments at the summit. Be sure you enjoy the journey.

As you go through your day today, make sure you are pursuing your own dreams, and pursue them with passion.

Today's the day!

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Article Tags: Dream, Goals, Jim Stovall, shopping



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Re: Set goals that motivate you! - Sounds simple enough when you take it at face value, but what are goals? Are these short term or long term Goals, Are theses goal realistic, achievable? How to make them motivating Goals, What is motivation? Is motivation the same for all of us Hmm so many questions, so few answers. must a an article in this somewhere Btw (by the way) GT, nice Blog
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - Thanks GT! This is still the right post for Alexa Goals but everything else can go to Kevin's Mastermind post! Cheers!
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Re: Quote of the Day - Ted Turner - Hi Evan, I mentioned on another thread that I'm reading Saint Joan of Arc by Vita Sackville West. I think Joan of Arc set some pretty high goals, for an unknown peasant girl from an unimportant village in the middle of nowhere much... Goals: 1. Go and see the Dauphin! 2. Help him relieve the siege of Orleans!! 3. To lead the Dauphin to his coronation at Rheims!!! The first time she tried to put this plan into action, by seeking permission from her local feudal lord to travel, he told her minder to "reduceret eam ad domum sui patris et daret ei alapas" which is to say, "take her home to her father and give her a smacking". The rest is history!
Re: Should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2ijq3b5e]As a small business owner, should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals? My friend's father is a relatively successful entrepreneur and it's his belief that you should primarily hire employees with no ambition because you can get away with paying them less and they're less likely to leave (thus saving you money from a high turnover rate). "Grunts" are the way to go, even though ambitious workers are typically smarter. What do you think?[/quote:2ijq3b5e] I say YES to hirin employees with no Goals!!! they make great "front-line" employees as long as you have carefully documented your process for them to follow. They typically are open to perform routine administrative tasks and they work for a much lower wage. I know what I've said is pretty gloomy but it's reality from my experience. Occasionally one of the "employees with no goals" will stand up and say, "I love working here". You pluck these individuals and promote them to tasks which require more decisions.


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