Goals Cure the Problem Child
The power of a goal and focus changes a life

It is a Sunday afternoon visit with family members and my grandniece, EM is there. This young woman has had a challenging life in many ways and we always wondered what would happen to her.

To say the least I was surprised and elated at what was being said!

At an early age, EM lost most of her hearing to infections and now wears hearing aids. Her behavior was anything but acceptable around others; total disrespect was the outside view.  With her single mother being challenged in other ways, EM ended up with foster homes, relatives and special schools from time to time as well.

This was not the same problem girl I had been use to seeing! Here is what had changed….

The conversation moved to school and how everyone was doing, including EM.

"I have a school in Missouri I want to attend and it's tough to get into." EM said.

Ok I thought, this is a huge change in thinking for her! What is happening here?  Of course, my next question was "Tell me about that?"

"Well it's a medical school that is really good called Hamlin and I want to go there to be a Chiropractor." was EM's response.

So we have a young high school girl that never seem to have anything together, looking four to five years out at a lofty goal with a gleam in her eye that said serious. 

Yes, I have heard many kids say this is what I am going to do, then you ask them for the plan and it goes downhill very quickly. So, the next question is about what her plan is to make this all happen. After all a 3.5 grade average or better is going to be needed among other things.

For the next several minutes, we heard the plan.

"I want to get my mom to meet with my class counselor this week.  I know I have to get all the Sciences in next year like Biology, Chemistry and Math.  I plan to do business in my senior year and want to set up summer classes as well so I can get all of the classes I need done before I graduate. If I do them all at once I might affect my grade average, that's why the summer sessions." was EM's response.

In all the sixteen years I have known this girl, never had she had anything remotely close to focus of any kind, much less this kind of challenging goal!

There was passion, belief and determination in her voice and eyes. This was not a pipe dream I was hearing, this was a life choice!

What had changed her, what was the tipping point for this young woman? I do not know and perhaps she really does not know. Nevertheless, there has been a change!

Now you are asking what does this have to do with me!  I am a salesperson or manager, maybe even a CEO!

What the example of EM provides us is the power of focus and goals. For whatever the reason EM has set a challenging goal and the enthusiasm and passion is ignited.

What if we could consistently set such goals in others and ourselves and continually ignite that passion and enthusiasm?  How might this change our futures and those around us?

There have been plenty of articles written on goals, mission and vision; the challenge is of course implementing what we already know.

The important keys to take from this are:

• Goals with focus and passion change lives!
• Goals are uncomfortable and require change; the main reasons most are not set or achieved.
• Goals need support from outside, help others be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
• You have the ability to create the environment that breeds passionate goals; many leaders do the opposite and try to control too much.
• Observe your own attitude and views around others. Do your action and words engender passion, goals and challenge?

Take the chance, EM has and it could completely change her life for the better. What about you and your team.

We will see how things work out over the next several years and do what we can to keep EM on track. Will you do the same for yourself?

By the way, her mother also had several books on self-development and how to change her thinking. For years, she thought a supervisor's job was out of her capability. Now she has a supervisor's position and even physically looks different along with her thinking! Might there be any correlation with her daughters change in thinking?

Life is what you think it is!

Harlan Goerger

© Harlan Goerger 5-2009
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