“This time next year Rodney, we’ll be millionaires”.

Yes, we all have goals and it is this time of year we often reflect and have ambitions for the year ahead and develop personal and/or business goals.
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However, it was noted many years ago by an American psychology professor, that there are often two obstacles in achieving our goals:
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1) not believing we can achieve them
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2) not identifying the pathways to achieve them, which is perhaps why so many New Year’s resolutions are distant memories by the time we hit February.

With that in mind, I thought I would share some thoughts to help us achieve our goals this year.

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1. Connect to that “why.”
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Things become easier when there is a reason and a purpose to achieving the goals - your “why.” 
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When your goal(s) are connected to a purpose, you can determine what is most important to you in your life and work.
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I discovered this statement recently, which I think is so simple yet so effective, so give it a try:
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“I want to _________ so that I can _______.”
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For example, I want to expand into new market niches so that I can help more clients. 

2. Have One Big Goal
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Quite often, goals are also not achieved because we have too many. Focus on one big impact goal, that one goal that can make a real difference.
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This might be an improvement to what you are doing. Or it might be something that you are not doing. 
 

It might be something that you have been thinking about for some time but not yet actioned. 
 

Think of this like this:

“If I do not achieve this goal, this could happen.”


 

3. Breaking the goals down.
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Someone once said to me that you can’t eat an elephant in one go. You need to break it down.

The same applies to your goals. You need to break it all down into near termand ensure they are realistic and achievable, or you will give up.

So, youwant to find 20 new clients, say, now break this down even further.

I am going to find 6 new clients from referrals.

I am going to find 4 new clients through my social media activity

I am going to find 4 new clients by improving my SEO

And I will find 6 more clients by winning back clients I have not heard fromfor many years.


You can then start to just focus on increasing referrals in the first quarter, and not be distracted by the other activity until later on in the year. This is because that, despite the notion of multi-tasking, the reality is that humans can really only focus on one thing at a time. Or at least focus fully on one thing. 
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4. Spot The Barriers and Cut out Distractions

‍Now have an honest thought about what could prevent you from achieving such a goal. It could be time, excuses, fear of the unknown, resource or a mindset. Write these down and work out how to knock these down.


Writing these down actually helps you think differently about the barriers, which would otherwise linger in your mind. 
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As well as barriers, there maybe distractions in your working day that should be cut out. Determine what these may be and cut them out to give you more time to focus on those goals.

5. Keep Score

I play tennis and football and to keep me focused and motivated, I keep score. The same applies here.
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If your goal is 20 new clients, broken down in the areas shown above, have a scoresheet on the wall so you always know how you are scoring. 

6. Share The Goals
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If you are working by yourself, achieving your goals is down to you.


However, if you have people working for you it is important that they too know what your goals are and how they can help achieve these. Share these goals with them, why they are important, and  break them down into bitesize actions so the goals don’t seem overwhelming.

7.Celebrate Small Wins
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Now during 2025, find time to give yourself a pat on the back. In this market, where there is so much you can’t control, you can be sure that not everything will go to plan.
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However, take regular time out to assess how you are progressing towards your goals and celebrate those small wins and adapt where required.
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This is so important. Celebrating your accomplishments not only feels great and releases dopamine in your brain (which really enhances that mental energy), it also creates those habits that you need to accomplish the next goal you set for yourself. 
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Take time to celebrate.

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