Craig Riesebosch Blog

I just posted the following article in Business Link – ENJOY!

Let your goals motivate you.

One of the big questions I get asked is “How do I stay motivated?”

When you began in your career, chances are you were motivated, and may still be. But the same dull actions get de-motivating after a while. One of the best ways I know to stay motivated is to set clear, tough, stretch goals to get you thinking of new actions.

People looking for motivation, happy but unsatisfied, often continue to set the same old goals. I often see numbers picked with what seems like the “dart at the dartboard” method.

Weak goals will create weak actions, and create boredom. Yet fear of failure stops most people from setting tough goals. My challenge to you is this; let go of that fear. More of the same won’t get the creative juices flowing!

Let me demonstrate. For the moment, let go of what you know is probable and try something with me. Ask yourself the following 2 questions:

1) What would I need to do to increase my sales by 5%?

Your answer will probably be: more calls, more customers, more products, better quality etc… It’s all more of the same. While there is nothing wrong with more of the same, I see many people unsatisfied with the same.

Now ask yourself this one:

2) What would I need to do to double my sales this year?

I think most of us agree here – more of the same won’t work. What will work? Something different, something new, something exciting, something old made new again, marketing ideas, training to be better at sales or presentation, who knows! One thing’s for sure… What you have done in the past won’t get you there. And if you think and plan, you will always know the first step, even if it’s research for ideas that you have never done before or haven’t done in a while.

What will you get if you shoot for 5%? Less or more, it will most likely be around 5%.

What will you get if you shoot for double? I don’t know about you, but if my increase is 30%, or 50%, or 75%, I would be OK with that, and learn a great deal from it. And who says doubling sales isn’t realistic? It’s done all the time! But it won’t happen if you aren’t shooting for it.

The goal doesn’t make the fun, what it takes of you to get there does! And if you are doing more of the same year in and year out, where is the fun, and motivation, in that?

Goal setting can be more than dart-throwing. It can create new actions, new results and get you motivated if used properly. Set a strong goal for yourself. You may not make it, but don’t worry about that, and enjoy the ride. It’s exciting to think about!

Call myself or my business partner Neil for some more ideas on creating ways to sustain your motivation. Business is fun, isn’t it?

Craig Riesebosch