Goals
How to Get the Most Out of Your Life
Book Edition Details
Summary
"Goals (2019), by Zig Ziglar, provides a practical, step-by-step guide to setting and achieving goals by becoming a "meaningful specific" rather than a "wandering generality." It outlines 4 reasons people don't set goals, 9 steps for effective goal setting, and 13 variables in the formula to reach them, all delivered with Ziglar's trademark motivation and folksy wisdom."
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to achieve everything they set their minds to, while others struggle to make even small changes in their lives? The difference isn't talent, luck, or circumstances—it's having a clear system for setting and achieving goals. Most people drift through life as "wandering generalities" rather than "meaningful specifics," reacting to whatever comes their way instead of proactively creating the life they want. This fundamental distinction separates those who merely exist from those who truly thrive. The journey from where you are to where you want to be isn't mysterious or complicated, but it does require understanding the proven principles that transform dreams into reality. When you master these principles, you'll discover that success isn't about working harder—it's about working with purpose, direction, and an unwavering commitment to your own potential.
The Foundation: Why Most People Fail to Set Goals
Fear stands as the greatest enemy of goal achievement, spelled out as False Evidence Appearing Real. Consider the sobering reality that the average eighteen-year-old has heard "no" or "you can't do it" over 148,000 times, creating a mental prison of limitations that aren't even real. This conditioning creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where people avoid setting goals simply because they've been programmed to expect failure. Beyond fear lies the trap of poor self-image. When you can't imagine yourself succeeding, graduating, or living in that dream home, your subconscious mind works against your conscious desires. We perform in accordance with the mental picture we hold of ourselves, which explains why positive thinking alone fails—it must be built upon a foundation of positive self-perception. The story of Thom Hartmann illustrates this perfectly. Weighing 407 pounds after a devastating divorce, he initially dismissed messages about human potential as "baloney." Yet when he finally allowed a new self-image to take root, everything changed. He lost over 200 pounds, returned to college, built a successful business, and transformed every area of his life. The third barrier is the simple lack of understanding about why goals matter. Most people have never been sold on the importance of written, specific objectives. They treat goal-setting as optional rather than essential, like trying to drive cross-country without a map. Without clear direction, they waste enormous energy traveling back and forth mentally between work and family concerns, never fully present in either area. The final obstacle is simply not knowing how to set goals properly. While it may take ten to twenty hours to establish a comprehensive goal-setting system, this investment returns three to ten additional hours every week for the rest of your life. Once you learn the formula for setting one goal, you can apply it to every area of life—physical, mental, spiritual, financial, career, and relationships.
The System: Nine Essential Steps to Goal Achievement
The goal-setting process begins with writing down everything you want to be, do, or have on a single sheet titled "Wild Ideas." Writing engages your subconscious mind more effectively than merely thinking, and most people discover they capture 95 percent of their desires within the first hour. This raw list becomes your starting material for systematic refinement. After letting your list rest for 24-48 hours, you must ask "why" after each item. If you cannot articulate in one sentence why you want something, it gets eliminated. This process separates genuine desires from mere whims. Next, you balance your goals across seven life areas: physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, career, and family. Goals concentrated in only one or two areas often lead to hollow victories and warped priorities. Consider the weight-loss journey that demonstrates this system in action. The goal was specific: weigh 165 pounds with a 34-inch waistline by July 1, 1974. The benefits were clear: looking better, living longer, having more energy, and getting sick less often. The obstacles included loving food, irregular schedules, and eating too quickly. The required knowledge focused on diet and exercise. The support team included family and staff who could adjust schedules accordingly. The action plan involved detailed strategies: eating dessert only once weekly, traveling with grapefruit, putting the fork down between bites, and immediately brushing teeth after meals. This level of specificity transforms vague wishes into achievable objectives. When you break down a goal to this degree of detail, you either discover a practical path forward or realize the goal isn't viable at this time—both valuable outcomes. The final step requires narrowing your list to four primary goals. Most people can only give complete effort to about four major objectives simultaneously. This limitation forces prioritization and prevents the scattered energy that leads to mediocre results across multiple areas.
The Formula: Daily Actions That Drive Success
Success begins with commitment, not mere interest. One person with commitment outperforms one hundred people with only casual interest. Lou Holtz exemplified this principle when he was fired from his first coaching job and told he lacked what it takes. Rather than accepting this verdict, he committed to coaching at Notre Dame someday. Through each subsequent position, he maintained this unwavering commitment, ultimately achieving his goal and becoming one of college football's most respected coaches. Daily accountability provides the bridge between commitment and achievement. You must maintain detailed records of your progress, spending just ten minutes each evening reviewing the day and planning tomorrow. This practice reveals patterns immediately—missing one day isn't catastrophic, but missing two days signals trouble. When you don't work on a goal for a day, write "nothing" in red ink. This stark visual reminder prevents the gradual drift that kills most goal-achievement efforts. The foundation supporting all goal achievement consists of honesty, character, integrity, loyalty, trust, love, and faith. Like the Calgary Tower, which places 7,000 of its 13,000 tons underground to support a 626-foot structure, your success requires a massive foundation. Fortune 500 CEOs consistently identify character and integrity as the most crucial factors for reaching and maintaining top positions. Breaking goals into small, daily actions makes the impossible achievable. The book "See You at the Top" emerged from writing just one and one-quarter pages daily for ten months. The 37-pound weight loss happened through losing 1.9 ounces per day. This approach builds unstoppable momentum because you can always handle today's small requirement, even when the ultimate goal seems overwhelming. Physical fitness amplifies your capacity for achievement in every area. Research consistently shows correlation between physical health and success across all endeavors. When you care for your body through proper diet and exercise, you increase energy, mental clarity, and emotional resilience—all essential for sustained goal achievement.
The Mindset: Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities
Desire serves as the great equalizer, enabling ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results. It transforms the hot water of mediocrity into the steam of outstanding success. Like heating water from 211 to 212 degrees creates steam powerful enough to move locomotives, that extra degree of desire makes the crucial difference between almost achieving and actually succeeding. The story of David Lofchick demonstrates desire's transformative power. Born with cerebral palsy and told by thirty specialists he would never walk, talk, or count to ten, David's parents refused to accept these limitations. They committed to a lifetime of intensive therapy, working him "beyond human endurance" day after day, month after month. The breakthrough came after years of apparent stagnation when David completed his first perfect push-up, his body drenched in sweat from the extraordinary effort required. By age thirteen, David was running six miles nonstop, completing over 1,000 push-ups daily, and excelling academically. He learned to skate, ride bicycles, and play table tennis at competitive levels. Today he's a successful businessman, husband, and father. His transformation required unwavering desire coupled with daily action, proving that limitations exist primarily in our minds. Intelligent ignorance often produces better results than expertise paralyzed by knowledge of obstacles. The bumblebee flies despite aerodynamic principles declaring it impossible. Henry Ford's engineers repeatedly declared the V8 engine impossible until his refusal to accept their limitations forced them to find solutions. Sometimes not knowing something cannot be done becomes the very reason you accomplish it. When facing setbacks, remember that champions respond differently to adversity than average performers. Ben Hogan became golf's greatest player partly because a near-fatal car accident forced him to develop a more scientific approach to the game. His broken bones led to breakthrough techniques. Similarly, your current obstacles may contain the seeds of your greatest achievements. The key is maintaining desire and continuing to take action even when progress seems invisible, trusting that persistent effort eventually produces dramatic results.
Summary
The path from dreams to reality requires more than wishful thinking—it demands a systematic approach to goal setting and achievement. As this book demonstrates, "You can go where you want to go, you can do what you want to do, you can be like you want to be," but only when you commit to proven principles and daily disciplines. The difference between those who achieve their goals and those who merely dream about them lies not in talent or circumstances, but in their willingness to write down specific objectives, create detailed action plans, and maintain daily accountability for their progress. Whether your goals involve career advancement, improved health, stronger relationships, or financial security, the formula remains constant: clear vision plus consistent action equals inevitable results. Stop waiting for perfect conditions or external changes to begin pursuing your goals. Take out a piece of paper right now, write down what you want to achieve, and commit to working on it every single day until you succeed. Your future self is counting on the decisions you make today.
By Zig Ziglar
