How to Start a Fire with your Goals

The warm weather is here and school is out for most people.  It’s time to relax and fire up the grill.

Maybe you are running an ultra modern gas grille with “Push to start” conveniences.  This makes it easy to get started, but for old school barbecue aficionados, many believe the only way to go is charcoal.  So, what does grilling have to do with setting goals?  Well, have you ever tried to start a fire?

Starting anything takes a great deal of thought and energy.  Many dreams sit on the shelf due to the inability to get started.  This is unfortunate for two reasons:

1)  The world needs every good idea it can get its hands on

2)  For those who have a dream not realized, there can be a forever incomplete feeling and often a deepening hesitation to try anything new.

With everything there is risk but as the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Here are 4 simple steps from our Salient Focus Planning Process which will help you along your way:

Step 1 – Decide on your Goal or put another way, the effects of the actions you intend to undertake. 

What does your dream look like?  Going back to the grilling story, Do you see yourself as the King or Queen of the backyard barbecue?  Are guests milling about singing the praises of your tasteful dishes or masterful control of the heat and smoky flavor?  Visualizing your desired outcome is critical.  You simply cannot end up where you want to unless you know where you are going.

Step 2 – Figure out who you may need to help you

Once you have a starting idea of a goal, take the time to refine it with trusted friends and advisers.  Talk to big idea people as well as concrete thinkers.  The value here is listening to yourself talk.  Do you make sense?  Can you explain yourself?  Can your idea be enhanced?  And is it potentially viable?  One day you may need to “officially” pitch your idea.  This step will help you learn how and give you insights into who you may need to help you bring your idea to life and ultimately help you manage it.

Step 3 – Decide on the actions

What are you going to do first?  And then, and then….   Organization like anything else does not come overnight.  Everyone is not a born professional project manager.  Not to worry, a simple To-Do list will be sufficient at this point.  Just start with post it notes, write down everything you think needs to get done, then put them in order.  Perfection?  Not in this world.  This is the 80/20 rule.  You are getting the big pieces on the board and will refine your plan over time.  Your advisers will be there to help you avoid the gotchas.  Keep some other people up at night with you.

Step 4 – Review it all and determine what it will take personally to pull it all off

So now you have a plan to go along with your big idea.  This is the point where you take a deep breath and honestly ask yourself, “Can I pull it off?”   But before you run out the door screaming, remember that peer reviewed plan you developed in Step 3?  Yes, the one where you figured out which charcoal to buy, how to stack them, which lighter fluid and matches to use and how hot the grille should be before you put your precious “Fat in the fire”?  Yes.  That’s the one.  You can do this.   You have the technology.

You have minimized the risks with a sound plan.  Step 4 is all about taking stock of your current life and deciding on what tradeoffs you might need to make in order to bring your dream to reality.  You are already consuming energy, now direct your actions to the effects and life you really want.

Starting your own company, running for political office or even improving or changing relationships takes considerable effort.   Use these steps to keep it simple and cool the next time you decide to start a fire.