Monday 19 January 2015

Remain Flexible

"Be clear about your goal, but be flexible about the process of achieving it." (Brian Tracy)



If you have been trying to reach a goal for several months or even years and do not appear to be getting any closer to that goal, maybe it's time to change your approach.  If you change your strategy, you change your results -- hopefully, for the better.  In his book Goals, Brian Tracy recommends that you pick a stalled project, write down the reasons for stopping, list reasons why it's important to you, and finally, revise your plan.  Have a Plan B, C, D, etc.  Don't get locked in a stagnant strategy!

I think about a political science course that was recently offered at the University of Western Ontario where my husband teaches.  Originally, the course was advertised as "Women in Politics".  Almost no one signed up for the course.  Then, the course organizers simply added an extra word:  "Women, Sex & Politics".  All of a sudden, the course was full.  The change required very little effort.  It didn't cost anything.  It just required a bit of brain power.  But it made a world of difference.

Automobile magnate Henry Ford declared bankruptcy in 1903 after having gone bankrupt twice, first with the Detroit Automobile Company and later with the Henry Ford Motor Company.  He started a third business, the Ford Motor Company, hiring James Couzens as his Vice-President.  Henry Ford's strength, his attention to detail, could also be his weakness.  He tended to hang on to his vehicles until he got everything just right.  However, Couzens warned him:  "Stop shipping, and we go bankrupt." Henry Ford shipped and kept shipping until the day he died in 1947.  His estimated value?  Almost two billion dollars.

Note:  Read Achieve Your Goals:  Strategies to Transform Your Life by Andy Smith at 




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