Aim Small, Miss Small by Randy Gilbert

I recently vacationed with my family in Florida, a rarity now that our three children are all college age. One evening we watched "The Patriot," an especially good movie to set the mood for Independence Day. As I watched, something jumped out and gave me one of those "ah-ha" moments. Near the beginning, the Patriot, who is played by Mel Gibson, counseled his sons to remember their hunting lesson "aim small - miss small."

The Wisdom of a Patriot

"Aim small - miss small" is exactly the sort of lesson we all need to remember when setting goals. If you are aiming at generalities, such as wishes and wants - then you are aiming too big and will most likely miss the target entirely.

If, on the other hand, you listen to the wisdom of the Patriot - if you focus on specific goals that are achievable - then you will most likely hit the target. Even if you miss the bulls-eye, you will still achieve most of what you desire. Additionally, you can make adjustments so that the next time you take aim you will hit closer to the mark.

I've learned that successful people know exactly what they desire, have an intelligent plan for getting it, and then work their plan. You can remember it with the words "READY - AIM - FIRE!" The following is a short lesson in Proactive Goal Setting so you too can "aim small - miss small."

READY - Proactive Goal Setting Starts With Life Planning

Why do some people get what they desire and others fail? I believe that getting what you desire requires life planning. There is an old adage that says, "People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan." You need to get "ready" for success by planning for success. You need to set up your "success target."

Setting up a success target requires you to think into the future. What is your major purpose in life? What is it that you were meant to do, be, and have?

Spend time idealizing your life. What is best for you and those you love? Visualize what your ideal home would look like. Verbalize a romantic vacation with your spouse. Emotionalize how it would feel to drive that new red sports car. Then write out your dreams and your life plans. This creates a target for you to aim toward. When you write down your dreams, suddenly they come into focus - the picture of what success is to you is no longer a vague generality - it's a target.

AIM! - Proactive Goal Setting Requires System Thinking

It has been proven that successful people do things differently than unsuccessful people. Successful people recognize the patterns of success and then systematically follow them. They learn how to "aim" toward success by pointing their lives directly at their success target.

Consider each area of your life's plan and then develop short, medium, and long-term goals that point you toward success in each area. If you are just starting out, focus your sites on short-term goals that are easily achievable. Aim specific.

When a football quarterback prepares to throw a pass, he does not just aim down field. Successful quarterbacks say that they aim their throws at a specific place on their chosen receiver's body.

If you have decided to be more fit, don't just say "I want to lose some weight. People who have been successful in losing weight say they decided how much they were going to lose each week, and then made specific plans for buying and eating the right foods and for getting a specific amount of exercise. They "aimed small" so they "missed small."

FIRE! - Proactive Goal Setting Takes Action

Successful people determine what success will cost them in terms of time and energy and then they devote the right resources toward making it happen. They don't just talk about it - they do it. Put a timeframe on your goals and "Fire!"

This is a very important reason for overcoming the fear of failure, because it is through our failures that we learn the patterns of what works and what doesn't. Don't let the fear of failure keep you from taking action.

If you proactively set your goals, you can count on hitting your success target. If you make sure you are ready for success, adjust your aim, and keep on firing, then the success and abundance you desire will be yours.

So don't forget, when proactively setting goals, you should "aim small - miss small"

About the Author -Randy Gilbert is the author of SUCCESS BOUND, from which portions of this article are extracted. Randy is highly regarded as an authority on Proactive Thinking, which is why he goes by the name

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About the Author:

"Dr. Proactive." You can contact him at Randy@DrProactive.com To read summaries of each chapter, see the reviews of other authors and leaders, or to buy his new book go to http://www.Success-Bound.com Copyright 2001 by Randy Gilbert. Permission is granted to copy, reprint, or host this article on a website, so long as the entire article is used and the author's name and contact information remain unchanged, and "Used by permission" is denoted