We are taught from a very young age to be realistic in setting our goals. While we might be encouraged to dream big, that’s often followed by the caveat that we should still be sure to stay realistic. We shouldn’t aim too high for fear of failure or disappointment. We are told it is far better to be safe than sorry. But that keeps us from reaching our full potential. Setting unrealistic goals is the way to win big. Being realistic stimies true innovation and growth.
Being realistic in your goal setting is ultimately a flawed approach. It limits you to the reality in front of you, one which has been codified/created by someone else. Set unrealistic goals instead! Be the artist of your story, and paint your own canvas. Don’t follow others’ paint-by-number instructions.
Dreaming big means going well beyond the confines of what you think is possible. If it seems realistic to shoot for $1 Million in revenue, then double that. Or triple it! You’ll never find out what’s possible if you don’t expand those boundaries.
Push Your Goals to Higher Levels
Working toward so-called unrealistic goals and achieving incredible things is exactly what one of our Members accomplished. Antonio Wint of Syn Ack Fin Network & Computer Services set a company goal to achieve $1 million in revenue. After remarkable initial success in the Q1 of 2019, Antonio doubled his goal—and broke it by the end of the year. In spite of some major setbacks and what seemed like an unrealistic goal, Antonio and his team aimed high and kept on pushing until they made it happen. And that’s how a company thrives.
If you want success and true financial freedom, set unrealistic goals and truly innovate. Take Google, for example. The company is continually setting unrealistic goals and exploring new ideas and projects just because they seem interesting or exciting. In all of their experimenting and innovating, Google fails 40% of the time. But when they succeed, it changes the world.
Don’t Expect to Achieve Every Goal
Here’s an excellent rule of thumb: 50% of your goals should have a 50% chance of failure. Half (of) your goals should really be a coin-flip. They might work, they might not. But you’ll never know unless you try. And if you don’t try, you certainly won’t succeed. You might not fail if you keep sticking to the same path you’ve been on for so long, but you also won’t push yourself or your company to new heights.
Being unrealistic means being bolder and more daring. Make 50% of your goals tough and bold. You don’t have to know how to get there in order to aim high. Too often, people assume all their goals should seem achievable. Productivity gurus tell us to focus on small, attainable goals. To take things bit by bit. That may be true on the day-to-day level, but it will hold you back in long-term goal setting. If you achieve 100% of your goals then, you are being entirely too “realistic” in your approach. You only have to reach 70-80% of your goals to accomplish exceptional feats/things.
Set Goals That Fire You Up
“Unrealistic” and bold goals should bring out an emotion in you and your team. You should feel excited. You should feel a little scared. Most of all, you should feel like achieving this goal will have a significant impact on you and your business.
Review your goals. Do they worry you a little and excite you a lot? If so, great. If not, go back and push on them. Stretch things farther – beyond the bounds of what seems “realistic.” Aim for unrealistic goals. Whether you hit that goal or not, you will benefit from trying. It will push you and your team in ways that you might not be able to anticipate, which is a good thing. It’s how we grow and innovate.
Finally, remember that it’s okay to fail. Whatever happens, you will learn from coming short, and you might still move your business forward. It’s only a true failure if you don’t take something from the experience.
