The trick to setting goals and crushing them isn’t what you think.

It’s not the goals that are important, it’s the actions you take to make those goals happen.

And far too often people are highly underestimating the amount of work it takes to crush your goals!

The Truth about Setting Goals and Crushing Them

We’ve all heart the SMART system of goal setting.

SMART is an achronym for:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time Sensitive

This is a good system for people trying to figure out how to achieve goals. It’s worked well for a lot of people and is the go-to method of goal setting.

But we can improve this, tweak it a bit, by taking our goals from realistic to outrageous!

The problem with setting realistic goals is that you’ll then ONLY take realistic action. You’ll ONLY think of realistic incomes.

But what if anything were possible? It certainly is only possible if you consider it, right?

That’s why I like to use Outrageous Goalsetting!

Tips for Outrageous Goalsetting

1. Set big, awesome, scary goals!

You don’t have to opt for “realistic” goals. A key to setting goals and crushing them is to aim HIGH, very, very high.

This is because we typically never do more work than is needed. So if we can convince ourselves that we are aiming to make $300,000 a year rather than $100,000 a year we are going to do a lot more work.

This is good because we almost always UNDER ESTIMATE how much work is needed to get to our goal.

By aiming for a big, big goal then you are more likely than ever to hit the “realistic” goal.

2. Make sure you actually WANT the goal

Seems pretty obvious but how often in your life have you caught yourself doing something just because you’re “supposed to” or because someone told you it’s the thing to do.

Put your efforts into goals that create the life and business YOU want!

One easy way to test this is to ask yourself if you were not getting paid to do this thing, would you do it? Would you enjoy it? Would you never think of it again?

The answer will tell you.

3. Work backwards towards your goal

When you decide you want to make six figures a year that’s not the end of your goal – it’s just the beginning.

Next you need to work backwards to figure out what you need to do to make that happen.

Too often I’ve seen business owners have an income goal that they really want to achieve but then not take any action to figure out HOW they’ll achieve that.

I mean get really specific. Do the math.

This doesn’t mean you’re going to have it happen exactly as planned, because business and life are not that predictable. What it does, though, is helps you avoid taking the exact WRONG path and missing your goal entirely.

For example for my client who wants $100k and is going to charge $10 a product they are going to need to sell 10,000 units of that product. In order to sell 10,000 units they’re going to need at LEAST 200,000 views of that product (5% conversion) and if they’re promoting through email that means they’re going nto need about 600,000 email subscribers if they send one email (that’s at a 33% open rate), or 300,000 if they send two, or 150,000 if they send three, etc.

Those numbers are MASSIVE for a new business owner and someone who’s not one of the most prolific marketers out there.

So in this case it’s NOT realistic. It’s beyond Unrealistic as well. It’s just about 0% chance it’s gonna happen.

Now if that same client told me that they have a $1000 coaching offer and they want to work with 100 clients in one year. BINGO! They might not even need a list if they sell through networking (best for services) but if they do it’s a MUCH more realistic list size.

4. Get to work crushing your goals

Your goals are not going to get themselves so the element of hustle is definitely required.

That said don’t mistake hustle for burnout!

I love to do what I consider the “calm hustle” and that is a method of working consistently and calmly towards my goal.

I know what I’m doing and what I need to do. There will be ups and downs. It’s all part of the process.

Let’s Talk Practical Goal-Setting Strategies

Step 1 – Decide what you want your life to look like.

I mean unless you live to work then you work to live. So let’s consider LIFE first! I recommend you take a life audit by using the Wheel of Life. I include a template for one in my “Outrageous Goalsetting” class but you can also find them on Google and draw one yourself.

Step 2 – Define your goals based on what you want from life

I literally do the math on what it costs to live the life I want to live. This helps me determine the monetary goal for my life. This is important stuff! Without knowing the number how would I possibly know what action to take to crush my goals or even when I’m there? This is the Specific and the Measurable part of SMART goal setting.

Step 3 – Make it Outrageous

In step two you also covered the Achievable and Realistic portion of SMART goal setting. Now let’s make it outrageous! Multiply that goal by a minimum of 3-5 times. Making your goal giant like this is going to have you thinking in ways you never would with your original goal!

Step 4 – Set a Time Deadline

I use a spreadsheet to set my goals monthly. The month end is just a natural timeline. And then by quarters. And of course that is broken down based on my overall goal. So if my outrageous goal is $500,000 a year then that would be $125k per quarter and $41k per month. Then it’s my job to think of all the possible ways my offers, my business and my hustle could make that happen!

Tools for Setting Goals
and Crushing Them

Google Sheets Spreadsheet

My favorite tool is the simple spreadsheet. I use Google Sheets and update it every quarter. Here’s an example of what that looks like:

I’ve programmed this spreadsheet to do the math for me and to figure out to total sales. It’s motivating to work out this whole sheet and see the numbers add up to your goal!

Goal Setting Calendar with Sticky Notes

Another tool I like to use when I’m in my “visual” mode is a calendar with sticky notes. I used to use an actual printed version of this but now I use a software called “Miro” and it’s all digital. My planning calendar looks like this:

Wheel of Life Sheet

I mentioned this earlier and it’s such an important resource for making sure I am doing the things I WANT to do in my life! It looks like this:

Conclusion to My Advice on Setting Goals and Crushing Them

Goals feel amazing when you set them but the biggest key to making them happen is taking action.

You need a BIG dose of humble pie as you work on your goals. This isn’t a practice in predicting the future… it’s your best shot at deciding what you want for you life and THEN taking massive action and THEN letting things play out.

So many people are winging it. They’ve got random goals, vague goals or goals that really are wishes and dreams.

In this post we covered setting your smart goals, making them outrageous, the steps to create those goals and the tools to use to help them happen.

Ready to take your goals to the next level? Enroll in my Outrageous Goalsetting course today to get step-by-step templates and strategies to crush your goals. Outrageous Goalsetting course < there

If you start taking action now you’ll separate yourself from most people and their non-goals.

Not you, you’re not leaving your success to random chance. Keep making SMART goals, add some Outrageous to them and don’t give up on your goals then you are taking the kind of action that creates results. Keep going. You’ve got this!