Small Goals Are Useless

Small goals are f***ing useless.

Sure, they could give you a bit of short-term happiness and self-respect for completing a certain task or hitting a small checkpoint.

But in reality, how much do they really do for us?

When I was competing at the University of Alabama, we were surrounded by Olympians, collegiate record holders, national champions, etc. You name it, we had it.

The cultured was centered around being great. And if you couldn’t live up to it…you were, ultimately, nudged out.

It gave me an inside look as to how high performers conduct themselves and carry themselves.

I came into the University with some “reasonable” goals:

• Qualify for SEC’s

• Place top 3 as a team

• Rank top 10 in Alabama’s all-time list

And whatever other little goals I gave myself to hit…I quickly found out the expectations of the coaches were much different.

You were EXPECTED to become an All-American. You were EXPECTED to score in everything you did at the conference meet. You were EXPECTED to break records. You were EXPECTED to perform at a high level when the lights came on.

Why would you think anything less of yourself? Why would you not aim to be great? Why would you want to be average?

That’s the energy that permeated around our team. The high performers wouldn’t let you dream small…they forced you to believe in your talents and abilities.

I quickly revisited those goals and decided to write down the things that I never even dreamed would be possible. Things that would’ve made the high school Jake question his life.

Did I hit all of these goals? Nope…but damn did I get close and hit some of the biggest ones on that list.

I recently put together a kit covering everything I’ve learned in building my personal brand. There’s anecdotes, reasons to build your brand, best practices, habits to build, and even journal entry reflections at the end of each chapter…get it for $19.99 or you can name your price. Proceeds go towards my 2024 season! Now let’s get back to this lesson :)

You shoot for the moon, land amongst the stars…

Yes, it’s cliche but it’s so true. If I never refocused my vision into something greater, I would have never changed my daily habits to what would add up to those massive goals. And I will forever be grateful to that culture at Alabama for giving me this attitude and way of thinking.

And I hear this from every successful person I get time with. Often times their regret is not dreaming big enough.

The Olympians say they should’ve medaled, the entrepreneurs say they should’ve built that billion dollar company, the artists say they should’ve continued roughing it on the road until they were a household name.

A mentor of mine got candid with me at a lunch we shared together. He said, “Jake, it may seem like I have everything. It may seem like I accomplished everything I ever wanted. But almost every single day, I regret not doing more with what God gave me.”

Let me set the stage. This is a man who IPO’ed the first startup he joined, started and sold many others, currently operates a few businesses, started a foundation for cancer research for children, and has a loving wife and 2 kids…what could he possibly regret?

He tells me that everything he visualized became his reality about 30 years later. Almost exact. So…

Why would you not dream massive? Why would you not visualize something absurd? Why would not write down that insane goal?

There are no repercussions. There’s only the possibility of you carrying yourself different and taking on a new persona. When you set big goals and begin visualizing those becoming reality, you start to take on the daily habits that lend themselves to those goals.

You become someone new.

Whatever your absurd vision, write it down. Tell yourself you’re capable. Change your identity. Watch how powerful you feel in the new endeavor.

I have some big visions and big goals…who knows if they will pan out?

The only thing I can control is the work I do to get there. I can visualize daily and write it all down, but if it isn’t backed by massive action, who am I to set these goals?

So here’s to the work and the long path of learning ahead. But I’m here for it and I’m here for you. Set those goals high and let’s build together.

We got this 🙏 

jake_spotswood

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