Quotes for Achieving Goals

 

The New Year of 2016 is quickly approaching.  The start of the new year will surely bring about numerous "New Year's Resolutions".  Resolutions are really just goals that we set for ourselves.  The following is a list of 25 of the best quotes about achieving goals.  I hope that some of these inspire you to achieve your goals for 2016.

1. "The way to get started is to quit talking and get doing." (Walt Disney)
2. "A dream is just a dream.  A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." (Harvey Mackay)
3. "If we all did the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." (Thomas Edison)
4.  “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” (Michael Jordan)
5. “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” (Karen Lamb)
6. “One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.” (Jack Penn)
7. “Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.” (Dennis DeYoung)
8. “A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.” (Bo Bennett)
9. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” (John Wooden)
10. “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” (Jim Rohn)
11. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” (Wayne Gretsky)
12. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
13. “Your complaints, your drama, your victim mentality, your whining, your blaming, and all of your excuses have never gotten you even a single step closer to your goals or dreams. Let go of your nonsense. Let go of the delusion that you deserve better and go earn it!” (Steve Maraboli)
14. "If you don’t  make the time to work on creating the life that you want, you’re going to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” (Kevin Ngo)
15. “What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
16. "People with goals succeed because they know where they're going." (Earl Nightingale) 
    
17. "I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change." (Jim Rohn)
18. "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." (Thomas Jefferson)  
19. "An average person with average talent,ambition and education, can outstrip the most brilliant genius in our society,if that person has clear,focused goals." (Brian Tracy)  
20. "Begin with the end in mind."  (Stephen Covey)  
21. "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goals." (Anonymous)  
22. The guy says,"When you work where I work,by the time you get home it's late.You've got to have a bite to eat,watch a little TV, relax,and get to bed. You can't sit up half the night planing, planing."And he's the same guy who's behind on his car payment. (Jim Rohn)  
23. "Do not let the future be held hostage by the past." (Neal A. Maxwell)  
24. "You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch fish unless you put your line in the water. You can't reach your goals if you don't try." (Kathy Seligman)  
25. “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win and expect to win.” (Zig Ziglar)
    
    Jamy Bechler is the executive director of U-Leadership and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Coach.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.  Click here to signup for THE ENCOURAGING NEWSLETTER

Hope Is Not The Best Strategy

"I hope we do better this year."

"I hope that I start."

"I hope that we win the championship."

"I hope that I get recruited by college scouts."

Have you ever said any of those statements?  Have you ever used the word 'hope' in describing something about your athletic team or your athletic career?  Have you ever wished that something was different but did nothing about it?

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN broadcaster, Herm Edwards, once said that "Every goal needs to have a plan or else it's just a wish."

This year, do you believe that you will win, be better or start because you are finally a senior?  Or will you accomplish your goals because you have a plan for how to achieve them?

My Favorite Quotes

In the last issue of THE ENCOURAGING LEADER, we highlighted some of the best books to help you become a better leader.  This issue’s theme centers around quotes.  We asked a number of leaders to write about their favorite quote and what it means to them. 

Just as I am obsessed with reading books, I love quotes.  The first motivational quote that I ever learned was “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal”.  When I was an aspiring junior high basketball player in Michigan, the state’s Mr. Basketball was a player out of Saginaw by the name of Mark Macon.  He went on to have a great career at Temple University.  I saw him featured on a CBS special.  In the segment, he mentioned that quote.  I wrote it out on a piece of paper and taped it to the wall next to my bed.  Every morning when I’d wake up, that was the first thing that I saw.    

That quote still resonates with me.  Through the years, I have worked with many athletes and that quote is still a go-to for me.  The Kentucky Derby was held last week.  Every time I think of horse racing, I am reminded of this quote.  Horses have blinders on that keep them from seeing what is beside them.  All they do is look straight ahead.  They focus on where they need to go.  We’d do well to remember this concept.  Why get caught up in drama, distractions, detours or disillusionment?  Set your eyes on the prize and focus on the goal.

See the entire newsletter of favorite quotes from top leaders across the nation. 

Jamy Bechler is the executive director of U-Leadership and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Coach.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.  Click here to signup for THE ENCOURAGING NEWSLETTER

EVERY GOAL NEEDS A PLAN OR ELSE IT’S JUST A WISH

While watching ESPN’s 30 for 30 entitled “Broke”, I heard Herm Edwards say "Every goal needs to have a plan or else it's just a wish."  The context was regarding athletes and the way they handle money, but I thought it was a perfect quote for more than just money.  As someone that works with college students on a regular basis, I see this problem all the time.  People want things but they don’t always know how to get those things.  Even worse are the people that don’t really want to work for those things that they say they want.  I’ve often said that hope is not a strategy.  Sure we want to have hope but that can’t be all.  It’s very similar to wishing.  Wishing is also not a very good strategy.  The Bible even has a verse that says ‘Faith without works is dead’.  The late singer, Rich Mullins, wrote similar lyrics when he said ‘Faith without works is like a screen door on a submarine’.  You can’t just want or wish for something to happen, you need to do something about this.  You need to work up a plan to achieve your goal.  Author John Ortberg has stated that ‘If you want to walk on water than you’ve got to get out of the boat.’  This is similar to what I heard Bobby Knight say once ‘Every one has the will to win but not everyone has the will to work to win.”.  Yes, having faith or dreams is a start, but action has to go into these goals in order to have a better chance to be successful.  What are your goals?  It’s important to define them.  But go further, what is your plan to achieve them?  Former NFL quarterback, Todd Blackledge, once said ‘Work will win when wishing won’t’.  Just remember that it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

 Jamy Bechler is the executive director of U-Leadership and a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Coach.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.  Click here to signup for THE ENCOURAGING NEWSLETTER

Win the Day

As I write this, it is January 1st.  It's the first day of the new year.  This is a day of new beginnings.  It is a day that gets people thinking about change.   I went to the gym this afternoon for my normal exercise session.  There were a number of new people there that I haven't seen before.  I think this will become the new normal...at least for a month or so.  New Year's resolutions abound.  Promises are made.  Commitments are revealed.  The start of a new year is a great time to re-evaluate where you are personally and professionally.  There is no magic to a new year but the perception exists that wonderful things can be accomplished and that we have a clean slate.  It is always good to make long term plans and seek to improve our lives.  However, I think New Year's resolutions can sometimes be a little daunting.  New beginnings are great but what if our goals are rather large?