Could the Difficulty of Achieving Goals be Nothing More than Semantics?

Research and results from past experiencesdo it. Two weeks later a jet with the People's
prove goals are a very powerful tool in severalExpress logo took off from Newark International
ways. If this is true, why aren't more peopleAirport bound for Los Angeles. What is most
hitting their goals?impressive is that at the time, a new route took
The secret lies in semantics. The truth is thatan average of 2 years for approval, with 6
what we think of as goals are not really goals atmonths being the shortest time on record - yet
all, they are dreams. Despite the similarityPeople Express did it in 2 weeks.
between the terms "dreams" and "goals", there isHow?
a dramatic difference between the two.They turned a dream into an actionable goal with
We all have dreams, but few of us have goals.a plan. Turning dreams into goals resulted in man
We learned to dream as a child. We wanted to belanding on the moon, pilgrims settling in America,
a fireman or to have that great toy featured inAtlanta hosting an Olympics, NBC moving from
the window of Lytle's Pharmacy. As we grew ourradio into television, and Henry Ford developing
dreams turned to having a date with a certainthe automotive assembly line. The dream-to-goal
"hot" individual or accomplishing some greatprocess is relatively simple. It requires only four
athletic feat on the high school team. We enteredsteps designed to take your dream into an
the business world and the dreams continued -actionable plan.
now they were trips to Hawaii, a huge mansion,First, you need to assign a measurable action,
an eight digit paycheck, or becoming the CEO. Allthen apply an element of time to your developing
of these are dreams, which one might achieve bygoal. Once the first two steps are complete, you
circumstance or accident, but is the chances areneed to validate your goal by assessing your
slim for most dreams.resources to ensure you have what you need to
The key to success is to turn dreams into goals.attain it. Finally you must examine dollar and
By transforming dreams into goals weopportunity costs associated with hitting the goal.
astronomically increase the likelihood ofIf these all make sense, your dream becomes a
achievement. Before being acquired bygoal.
Continental, People Express Airlines turned theirBy developing the plan to hit your goal and
dream of becoming a nationwide carrier in a singleevaluating the goal to ensure it is not too soft of
meeting. Someone mentioned the idea, thetoo much of a stretch, you should hit your goals
brainstormed, assigned responsibilities, and left themore than 95% of the time.
meeting with the determination that they would