24 August 2008 152 views No Comment

Let me illustrate to you a very well known example of the power of
goals. In 1952, there was a research study done on the impact of
goal setting on the graduating batch of students at Yale
University.

When asked how many of them had clearly specified and written down
goals, only three percent responded. The remaining ninety-seven
percent, despite being highly intelligent and hardworking, had no
road map where they would be five to ten years after graduation.

Twenty years later in 1972, a follow up study was done on the class
of 1952. What they discovered was shocking; the combined income of
the three percent who had clear goals was greater than the entire
income of the ninety seven percent combined! Was it just a
coincidence or does having clear goals really have an impact on a
person’s personal and financial success?

One classic example is investor Warren Buffet. Does his ability to
come about by chance? Absolutely not. From a very early age young
Buffett was obsessed with making money and had a very clear dream
of becoming the world’s greatest investor.

Born during the depression when his father was close to bankruptcy,
Warren learnt about the value of money and the importance of being
financially secure at an early age.

Even before his teens, Warren knew that he wanted to be rich. As
early as elementary school and later on in high school, he would
tell his classmates that he wanted to become a millionaire before
the age of 35 (when he turned 35, his net worth exceeded $6
million). It was because of his goal that he constantly thought of
ways to make money, while most other kids his age would be spending
their parents’ money.

He even memorized a book called ‘ A Thousand Ways to Make $1,000′.
At the age of six, he started buying coke bottles at 25-cents per
six-pack and selling them at 5-cents a bottle, giving him a 16%
gross profit, as he would tell himself. At the age of 13, he got a
job delivering newspapers and through innovative marketing and
distribution strategies, he served five hundred customers a day.

At the age of 11, he took all his savings and started investing in
the stock market. His first investment was three shares in a
company called ‘City Service’. While most kids his age were reading
comic books, Warren spent his time reading company annual reports.

By the age of 14, he started a pinball business and was earning
$175 a week, as much as the average 25-year old was earning in
1944. Would he have taken all those actions if he never set a goal
to be rich in the first place? Of course not. It was clearly
because of his focus of energy and actions that allowed him to
become the best in what he does.

What if you have no clue as to what business or career path to
take? Well, it doesn’t matter! Sometimes, just setting a specific
financial goal will get your mind thinking and guiding you towards
the right path.

Before George Lucas left his hometown for college, he already
predicted that he would be a millionaire by the time he was thirty.
However at that time, his passion and dream was to make it as a
racecar driver. It was after he suffered a terrible crash that he
began to change his mind about that career.

It was only after that accident that he decided that he wanted to
become a filmmaker. As a result of his focus on pushing himself to
be the best in anything he did, he became a millionaire by the age
of 28. However, as I mentioned in chapter three, the primary
driving motivation of millionaires is not the money they will make,
but the passion they have in what they do.

The financial goal they set is only a means of measuring their
success. However, what drove Lucas to give his all in the face of
insurmountable odds to finish Star Wars was not the money he would
make, but his dream of seeing his fantasy come to life on the big
screen.

Tiger Woods never really set a goal to become a millionaire.
However at the age of eight, he gave an interview on TV, after
winning an amateur golf tournament. During that interview, he
declared that his goal was to become the world’s number one golfer
and that he would break all of Jack Nicklaus’ records.

It was that obsession that got him to focus a hundred percent of
his time, energy and thoughts into his game. Fourteen years later,
Woods became the world’s number one at the age of 22…again not by
chance, but by design.

If you were to study the life stories of the most successful people
in history, you will discover that their achievements didn’t happen
by chance. At a certain point of time in their lives, they dared to
dream about something they wanted to create. They then allowed this
dream to guide their actions until they made it a reality.

And you can do the same as well!

To Your Success,

Daniel”s Mind Therapy