I've been reading See You At The Top by Zig Ziglar for the past few weeks. It is a pretty immersive book. With Zig Ziglar's wit and conversational tone, it was almost impossible to put it down, except I had to! After my morning reading, I would be filled with a magnitude of energy that I needed to do something with. I would go and take on my day like a champion. And honestly, I've been more productive in the past few weeks than I ever have been my whole life.
Since I began my professional career, numbing procrastination has plagued me, which cost me dearly. I've lost great clients because of it. But reading See You At The Top has powered me and helped me embody a tenacity I've never felt before. Every time I find myself procrastinating, the quote, “Make your time count,” sneaks in and gets me moving again. Sometimes I write, “Make your time count,” on my forearm so that I stay focused on my tasks. That practice proved to be invaluable in how I spend my time daily.
I often pause and ask myself, “Am I making my time count?” If I am, I smile and continue with what I'm doing. If I'm not, I set a time and say, for example, “At 5.46 pm in the next five minutes; I must be back to finishing this article.” I set the time, then focus my energy back on the task. I'm usually back at it seriously, even before time expires.
“Go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you will always be able to see further” is another quote that made an enormous impression on me and continues to power my desire for success in everything I do.
The sentiment behind the quote is that you have to get going and do things that push you closer to your goals. The more you do, the more you realise where you are, where you've been, and how far off you are from your goals. These conclusions help you focus your energy even more as you understand what you are doing right or wrong and allows you to adjust as needed.
For example, I love writing, and I want to get published someday. But I haven't always done things that push me in that direction, that is, not making time to write. But since reading See You At The Top, I make time every day to write. And now, I don't just have ideas and stories in my head; I have written short stories, articles, flash fiction, and poems. I'm building and growing not only my writing skill, but I've also gotten closer to publishing my content. Heck, right now, you're reading something written by me.
I wouldn't have known I had it in me to produce content like this if I hadn't started writing every day. Even publishing on Medium didn't cross my mind until I had stuff I wanted to share. So you see, “You go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you will always be able to see further.”
It's funny how a few simple changes in how I think have entirely transformed my life. Take the quote, “A goal casually set is easily abandoned at the first obstacle.”
After reading that, it occurred to me that I've always had very vague plans and goals. And often, I would set them lazily. Like hey, I am going to do this and that but with hardly any clarification on what I was going to do, how it was going to impact my life, and what the results would be.
A few weeks ago, I bought a notebook and dedicated it to writing down my goals in detail. Now I know exactly where I want to be in the next ten years of my life, exactly how to get there, and what obstacles are standing in my way. Plus, because I know where I'm going, every little thing I do is a bit more intentional as it must get me closer to my goals.
I encourage you to get to the bottom of things when it comes to your goals. Write them down and figure out what's standing in your way. And how you can get it out of the way!!!
See You At The Top by Zig Ziglar; if you haven't read it already, you should!
I'll see you at the top, my friend. ✌🏿✌🏿✌🏿
