40 Days of Focus

Many of us have probably heard the statistic that families spend more time preparing for their summer vacations, than for their retirement. I have not been able to prove this, but the message is clear. If you want to reach a specific destination, you have to have a plan to get there.


Ask my wife, and she will tell you, that when it comes to trips, I am officially the “map” man. Before we leave the driveway, I know our destination(s), the distance between places, the best routes to take, rest stops with the best gas prices (with mile markers). I can tell you how much we’ll pay in tolls, our estimated time to arrival as well as gas mileage. I usually will take with us several maps, clearly laid out and ready for quick reference on the road. My wife has taken some of the fun out of it by giving me a GPS last Father’s Day. As if I need a computer to tell me I am on an unassumed road!


Some of you might get a chuckle out of this, but I am illustrating an important process that many of us neglect to follow in order to achieve great things in life. The very first step we obviously make is identifying what it is we want. Oftentimes we stop right there dismissing the idea when we consider it too large of an undertaking to achieve. Others of us begin to ask questions and begin to consider the steps to achieving a particular goal. Once we have identified our goals and have a passion to pursue them, we must create a process to accomplish them.


Every goal I have accomplished in my life has started with writing it down. It is so simple but it can not be overemphasized. If you don’t write it down there is a significantly less chance that you will accomplish it. Once it is written down, you can incubate that goal, asking yourselves several questions. What are the steps that I will need to take to accomplish this. Who are the people that will be needed to help me?What material resources will I need? What is my time- frame? What do I do if I fail in one of the steps?


These are important probing questions that help to give you traction in helping you achieve your goals. Your greatest resource, in my opinion, is a person who has accomplished your goal, with whom you have contact with. They will be able to share with you how they did it and perhaps give you a blueprint to see it successful. Use the internet, do your homework, and establish a plan with a potential timeline that will bring your goal to you. Once you you’re your plan, execute it and constantly evaluate it, modifying it as you move along. There is no such thing as a fool-proof plan, there are only fools who don’t follow a plan. Without taking these steps your goals will always be before you, an illusion, but never a reality.

TASKS

Complete your goal chart – If you are new to this process, for the context of forty days, pick several goals that you can measure and see significant results in this time horizon. I suggest behavioral habits, pertaining to exercise, eating, and personal devotions with God. I would also offer up some relational goals with your spouse and/ or family. You may have professional goals, pertaining to performance or areas of weakness you are seeking to overcome. Be sure to have something to celebrate with accomplishing when our forty day journey ends.

STRATEGY

If you can get your Goal chart done today, I would check this off too.

RESULTS

You completed your goal chart right! That is a great accomplishment. Tel yourself “I am one day closer to accomplishing my goal(s).”


Today's Scrtipture Verse:

Luke 14:28-30 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' NIV