Goals

Goals Plot Summary

Introduction

Life is a journey of possibilities, yet many of us find ourselves wandering without clear direction. We may feel stuck in careers that don't fulfill us, relationships that don't nurture us, or financial situations that constrain us. The difference between those who merely dream and those who achieve often comes down to one fundamental skill: the ability to set and reach meaningful goals. Goal setting isn't just about writing down wishes on paper. It's a transformative process that converts vague desires into concrete realities. When you learn to properly define your purpose, overcome obstacles, create strategic plans, and cultivate daily discipline, you unlock your potential for extraordinary achievement. This book will guide you through this life-changing process, showing you exactly how to set goals that inspire you and develop the persistence needed to reach them, no matter what challenges arise along the way.

Chapter 1: Define Your Purpose with Clarity

The journey toward accomplishment begins with clarity. Most people drift through life as "wandering generalities" rather than "meaningful specifics." In fact, research shows that 97 percent of people don't have clearly defined, written goals for their lives. This lack of direction is the primary reason so many feel unfulfilled despite their efforts. Zig Ziglar discovered this truth through personal experience. When he decided to write his first book, he began with the words: "You can go where you want to go. You can do what you want to do. You can be like you want to be." At the time, he weighed over 200 pounds with a 41-inch waistline, yet in his manuscript, he wrote that he weighed 165 pounds with a 34-inch waistline. This wasn't merely wishful thinking—it was a commitment to his future self. He knew that if he published a book claiming this weight while still overweight, readers would question everything else he wrote. His clarity of purpose drove him to lose the weight, proving that when we define our goals with precision, we create an internal compass that guides our actions. The story of Thom Hartmann illustrates this principle powerfully. Weighing 407 pounds, coming off a devastating divorce, and working a job he didn't earn, Thom attended one of Ziglar's seminars. Initially skeptical, something resonated when Ziglar said, "You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness." Despite his circumstances, Thom glimpsed possibility. He immediately told his boss he would start carrying his own weight, enrolled in psychology courses, joined a health studio, and began transforming his life. Within ten years, he weighed just over 200 pounds, taught Sunday school, and ran his own business. To define your purpose with clarity, start by writing down everything you want to be, do, or have. Then ask yourself why each goal matters to you. If you can't articulate in one sentence why a goal is important, it probably isn't a true objective. Next, categorize your goals into seven life areas: physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, career, and family. This creates balance and prevents the warped perspective that comes from focusing on just one or two areas. For each potential goal, ask yourself: Will reaching this goal make me happier, healthier, more prosperous, more secure? Will it bring me more friends, peace of mind, or improve my family relationships? If you can't answer yes to at least one of these questions, reconsider that goal. Remember, clarity isn't just about knowing what you want—it's about understanding why you want it and how it fits into your vision for a complete life.

Chapter 2: Transform Obstacles into Stepping Stones

Life inevitably presents obstacles on the path to our goals. The difference between those who succeed and those who fail isn't the absence of challenges but how they respond to them. Successful people transform their obstacles into stepping stones rather than viewing them as roadblocks. Consider the story of Charles Kettering, an American engineer and inventor. One day while cranking his car, the vehicle lurched forward and broke his arm. Most would see this as misfortune, but Kettering saw opportunity. While holding his broken arm, he realized that as long as cars required manual cranking, they would never achieve widespread popularity. This painful obstacle led him to invent the electrical self-starter motor for automobiles, transforming the industry forever. Similarly, Gene Tunney became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world because he broke both his hands. As a young fighter during World War I, Tunney broke first his right hand and then his left. His trainer and doctors told him he would never become champion because his hands were too brittle for heavy punching. Rather than giving up, Tunney decided to become the most scientific boxer ever to enter the ring. He developed boxing skills that allowed him to defeat Jack Dempsey, whom no man could beat in a toe-to-toe slugging match. Tunney's apparent limitation forced him to develop superior technique, ultimately leading to his championship. To transform your own obstacles into stepping stones, first identify the specific barriers between you and your goals. Write them down clearly. Then for each obstacle, ask: What skill could I develop to overcome this? What knowledge do I need? Who has faced similar challenges and succeeded? Remember that obstacles often reveal precisely what you need to learn or develop to reach your goal. The key mindset shift involves seeing problems as opportunities for growth rather than reasons to quit. When facing setbacks, ask yourself: "How can this challenge make me better? What would I miss learning if this were easy?" This perspective transforms the very nature of obstacles from frustrating barriers to valuable teachers. Finally, develop the habit of taking immediate action when faced with problems. Don't wait for perfect conditions or for obstacles to disappear on their own. As Ziglar often said, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." Each small step forward builds momentum that eventually carries you past even the most formidable obstacles.

Chapter 3: Create Your Strategic Action Plan

A goal without a plan remains merely a wish. Creating a strategic action plan transforms your desires into achievable outcomes by providing a roadmap for success. This critical step separates dreamers from achievers. When Ziglar committed to losing weight, he didn't just set a vague goal to "get healthier." He developed a detailed plan that included losing 3.7 pounds each month over ten months. He calculated that losing 1.9 ounces per day would achieve his target weight loss precisely on schedule. This mathematical precision made his goal tangible and measurable. Similarly, when writing his book, he committed to writing exactly 1.25 pages daily for ten months, resulting in a completed 384-page manuscript. The process of creating an effective action plan involves several key components. First, take inventory of where you currently stand. Just as a pilot needs to know their starting location to reach their destination, you must honestly assess your present situation. Next, identify the specific benefits you'll gain from reaching your goal. For weight loss, Ziglar listed benefits including looking better, living longer, having more energy, and being sick less often. This focus on benefits rather than sacrifices maintains motivation during challenging times. Then, identify the obstacles you must overcome. Ziglar acknowledged his love for food, irregular eating schedule, and tendency to eat too quickly. For each obstacle, develop a specific counter-strategy. He decided to become a once-a-week dessert eater, travel with grapefruit to take the edge off hunger, put his fork down between bites, and immediately brush his teeth after meals to signal completion. Your plan should also identify what knowledge or skills you need to acquire and which individuals or organizations can help you. Ziglar recognized he needed to work with his wife to coordinate his eating and exercise schedule with family plans, and with his administrative assistant who scheduled his activities. The most critical element is breaking your goal into small, manageable daily actions. This prevents overwhelm and creates consistent progress. As Ziglar discovered, "Direction creates time, and motivation creates energy." With a clear plan, you'll find you have more time and energy than you thought possible because you're no longer wasting resources on activities that don't move you toward your goals.

Chapter 4: Harness the Power of Daily Discipline

Daily discipline transforms ordinary people into extraordinary achievers. It's not dramatic, one-time efforts but consistent daily actions that ultimately determine our success. This principle became clear to Ziglar during his weight loss journey. Every morning at 5:30, his "opportunity clock" (not alarm clock) would sound, and he would get up to jog. He admits he initially hated it: "I'd reach over and turn off that clock and lay there thinking, 'Ziglar, what's a forty-six-year-old fat boy like you doing getting up and running all over the neighborhood?'" Then he'd look at his 41-inch waistline and remember his goal. Reluctantly, he would put on his running outfit and head out, grumbling about the sacrifice. He often told audiences dramatically, "You gotta paaaay the price!" The breakthrough came on a beautiful spring day in Portland, Oregon. Running on the Portland State University campus, Ziglar suddenly realized he was breathing easily and moving smoothly. In that moment, he understood a profound truth: "You don't pay the price for good health, you enjoy the benefits of good health. You don't pay the price for success, you pay the price for failure—you enjoy the benefits of success." This mindset shift is essential for maintaining daily discipline. Rather than viewing discipline as punishment or sacrifice, see it as the pathway to freedom and fulfillment. The disciplined person works when they work and plays when they play, while the undisciplined person's mind is always elsewhere, creating constant dissatisfaction. To develop daily discipline, start by keeping a detailed accountability record. Each evening, spend ten minutes reviewing your day's progress and planning the next day's actions. If you miss working toward a goal one day, mark it in red ink. One missed day isn't catastrophic, but two consecutive missed days signals trouble. Another powerful practice is placing your goals under your pillow each night. Before sleeping, spend ten minutes recording your daily activities and planning the six most important tasks for tomorrow. This simple habit creates both accountability and direction. Remember that motivation follows action, not the other way around. Don't wait until you feel motivated to act—take action, and motivation will follow. As you experience small successes through daily discipline, you'll build momentum that carries you through more challenging periods, ultimately making discipline not a burden but a source of pride and accomplishment.

Chapter 5: Cultivate Unwavering Persistence

Persistence is the quality that transforms potential into achievement. It's the ability to continue moving toward your goals despite setbacks, disappointments, and temporary failures. As Calvin Coolidge famously said, "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." The story of Lou Holtz, the legendary football coach, exemplifies this principle perfectly. Early in his career, Holtz was fired after his first season as a coach. His boss not only dismissed him but advised him to leave coaching altogether, saying, "Let's face it, you just don't have it." Despite this devastating setback, Holtz had set a goal to coach at the University of Notre Dame someday. Rather than giving up, he persisted. He worked as an assistant at Ohio State, then became head coach at William and Mary College, followed by North Carolina State where he built the best one-loss record in the team's history. His persistence was tested again when coaching at Arkansas. Before a critical Orange Bowl game against Oklahoma, three of his offensive players were caught with a woman in their room. Despite media pressure to decline the bowl invitation after dismissing these key players, Holtz focused on what he had rather than what he lacked. He developed a specific game plan with his remaining players and won by a wide margin. Eventually, his persistence paid off when Notre Dame offered him the head coaching position—the very goal he had set years earlier. To cultivate your own persistence, first recognize that setbacks are temporary while giving up is permanent. When facing difficulties, treat them like pebbles on the beach rather than the entire ocean front. This perspective keeps problems in proportion to your larger goals. Develop the habit of finishing what you start, even small tasks. This builds your persistence muscle for larger challenges. Also, surround yourself with examples of persistence—read biographies of people who overcame significant obstacles to achieve their goals. Perhaps most importantly, maintain a clear vision of your goal achieved. Ziglar kept a picture of a fit man in jockey shorts on his bathroom mirror, seeing it thousands of times during his weight loss journey. This constant visualization reinforced his persistence by keeping the end result vividly in mind. Remember, persistence isn't about never falling—it's about getting up one more time than you fall.

Chapter 6: Build Your Success Foundation

Success without a solid foundation is like a house built on sand—it may stand temporarily but will eventually collapse. True, lasting achievement requires building on principles that withstand the tests of time and challenge. Ziglar discovered this truth when visiting the Calgary Tower in Canada. As he entered the elevator, a recording informed visitors that while the tower stood 626 feet high, 7,000 of its 13,000 tons were underground. This powerful foundation allowed the structure to reach impressive heights safely. Similarly, in any city, an engineer can look at a building's foundation and tell you how tall the future structure will be. Your personal and professional success follows the same principle. The essential elements of a solid foundation include honesty, character, integrity, loyalty, trust, love, and faith. Dr. Mortimer Feinberg, in his book "Corporate Bigamy," interviewed one hundred top CEOs from Fortune 500 companies, asking what was necessary to reach the top and stay there. The consensus was clear: success is built on honesty, character, integrity, and motivation. They concluded that anyone dishonest who thinks they can reach the top and remain there is simply "dumb." The story of David Lofchick powerfully illustrates how a solid foundation enables extraordinary achievement. Born with cerebral palsy, David was told by thirty different specialists that he would never walk, talk, or count to ten. His parents refused to accept this prognosis and sought out Dr. Pearlstein, the world's leading authority on cerebral palsy. The doctor told them David could improve, but only with incredible dedication: "You're going to have to work this little boy beyond all human endurance. Then you're going to have to work him some more." The family built a gymnasium in their basement and committed to daily therapy. After months of effort, David performed his first push-up—a moment of victory that brought everyone to tears. The foundation of honesty (the doctor's truthfulness about the challenge ahead), integrity (following through on commitments), loyalty (the family becoming a united force), trust (believing in progress even when none was visible), and love (doing what was best despite difficulty) enabled David to achieve what seemed impossible. By age thirteen, he could do 1,100 push-ups in a day, run six miles nonstop, and excel academically. To build your own success foundation, start by examining your self-talk—77 percent of which is typically negative. Replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones. Next, develop integrity by keeping promises to yourself and others, even when difficult. Finally, cultivate relationships with people who support your growth and share your values. Remember, your foundation determines how high you can ultimately build, so invest time strengthening these fundamental principles before pursuing external achievements.

Chapter 7: Turn Desire into Determined Action

Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Without a burning desire to accomplish something meaningful, even the most talented individuals fall short of their potential. However, desire alone isn't enough—it must be transformed into determined action through specific steps that bridge the gap between wanting and achieving. The story of Ben Hogan, one of golf's greatest players, illustrates how powerful desire can overcome seemingly impossible odds. Hogan started his career with almost nothing, staying in the cheapest accommodations just to survive on the tour. Just as he was reaching his peak, tragedy struck. While driving with his wife Valerie one foggy night, their car collided with a Greyhound bus. The impact was so severe that doctors unanimously agreed Hogan would be fortunate just to leave his hospital bed—walking again was deemed impossible, and playing golf was out of the question. Yet Hogan possessed an extraordinary desire to return to golf. Even confined to his hospital bed, he visualized holding golf clubs in his hands. He began exercises to strengthen his grip, then gradually progressed to standing with crutches and putting. Eventually, he would go to the course on crutches just to practice his swing. Through months of determined effort, he not only returned to golf but won tournaments and set records. While Hogan wasn't considered a natural golfer, his desire compensated for any limitations in raw talent. To transform your own desire into determined action, first identify what Ziglar calls "intelligent ignorance"—the ability to pursue goals without being limited by conventional thinking about what's possible. Like the bumblebee that flies despite aerodynamic theories suggesting it can't, you must believe in possibilities beyond current limitations. Next, develop an "I can" mindset rather than dwelling on "I can't." As educator Mamie McCullough points out, you can describe what a "can" looks like, but no one can describe an "I can't" because it doesn't exist except in our minds. This shift in thinking removes self-imposed barriers to action. Then, break your goal into small, manageable steps. When Ziglar needed to lose 37 pounds, he calculated that losing just 1.9 ounces daily would achieve his goal in ten months. This approach makes even daunting objectives achievable through consistent action. Finally, maintain perspective during setbacks. General Creighton Abrams, when told his forces were completely surrounded during the Battle of the Bulge, responded: "That's magnificent; let's let the troops know that for the first time in this campaign we can attack the enemy in any direction we choose." Similarly, view challenges not as what they are but as what you can make of them through determined action.

Summary

The journey to accomplishment is not about finding shortcuts or waiting for perfect conditions. It's about setting clear goals, developing strategic plans, and taking consistent action despite obstacles. Throughout this book, we've explored how ordinary people have achieved extraordinary results by applying these principles, proving that you too were "designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness." Your path forward begins with a simple yet powerful step: write down your goals today. Not tomorrow, not when circumstances improve, but right now. As Ziglar emphasized, "When you do the things you ought to do when you ought to do them, the day will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them." This principle applies whether you're building a career, improving relationships, enhancing your health, or pursuing any worthy goal. The time for action is always now, and the person responsible for your success is always you.

About Author

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Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar was a motivational teacher and trainer who traveled the world over, delivering his messages of humor, hope, and encouragement. As a talented author and speaker, he had international appeal that transcended every color, culture, and career. Recognized by his peers as the quintessential motivational genius of our times, Zig Ziglar had a unique delivery style and powerful messages that earned him many honors. Today he is considered one of the most versatile authorities on the science of human potential. Ten of his twenty-eight books have been on bestseller lists, and his titles have been translated into more than thirty-eight languages and dialects. He was a committed family man, a dedicated patriot, and an active church member. Zig lived in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Jean.

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