Forget the Wake, Steer the Boat, Trim the Sails and Keep Your Eyes on the Goal

Note. This posting is an updated version of the Feb. 26, 2008 entry that has been edited to be a companion piece to the two most recent postings that deal with the same subject, "Success In Tough Times."

When a Hog experiences a sales drought it is often easy to lie down and wallow in the mud. They look around and see gloom, doom and despair everywhere. Where once they envisioned a bright future, they now look backward at all the problems that are pressing upon them and drawing them away from their goal.

But, the answer to achieving goals does not lie in the past. You must not believe that the past drives your future. Past failures are just that; past failures. What you did or did not do yesterday or last week or last month does not have to influence you today. So, don't dwell on the past. At best, learn from it. Past experience is only useful to you as you apply it to the present and to the future.

For example the wake of a boat does nothing to propel it forward. A boater who continually watches the wake is headed for trouble. Successful boaters forget the wake, steer the boat, trim the sails and keep their eyes on their goal. Professionals must forget the past, execute action plans, monitor and adjust activities according to the winds of the territory, and stay focused on the goal.

By focusing on the goal, you can trim or eliminate current actions that sidetrack you from achieving your goal. Therefore, you are able to align your actions with your goals. Achieving your goals—business and personal—defines the life you live. Failing to achieve your goals also defines the life you live.

Your most important goal should be to live a life worth living. Author John Alston explained, “The dash between the birth year and year of death on a tombstone represents a person’s entire life—and it’s important to make sure it means something.” What will your dash represent?

HOG THOUGHT: Successful people laser-focus their time and talents on achieving a series of short-term goals, over time. Professionalism comes from grunting out hundreds of small goal-related action steps each day. If you continually say that you want to improve your follow through yet take no action-steps to improve it, then perhaps you just want to want to improve your follow through.

HOG QUOTE: “To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached. The key is action.” —Michael Hanson

HOG ACTION: Don't give the past the last word. Forget the wake, steer the boat, trim the sails and keep your eyes on the goal.