On Your Mark, Get Set, Goal!

As a keynote speaker and seminar facilitator, I have to accept the harsh reality that my every attempt to reach every participant in every audience is a lost cause. In fact, I learned that very early in my career.

As a result, I now focus on clarifying my message in the hope that those who are truly interested can readily transfer the concept into actionable strategies. In doing so, I have achieved greater peace of mind, and I’ve reached a greater number of audience members over the years.

Occasionally, when and where I least expect it, I’m blessed with very rewarding consequences which remind me why I do what I do. In February of this year, I flew to Biloxi, Mississippi, to work with a very unique team of individuals who focus on the continued efforts to restore life to the Gulf area after the Katrina tragedy of 2005. Yes, it’s far from over. However, these dedicated individuals took time out of their busy schedules to spend a full day with me discussing Productive Chaos.

One of the requested themes of this particular presentation focused on the critical skill of goal setting. During one of the breaks, I was approached by a charming and dedicated mother who informed me that she was going to share our material with her children in hopes of prompting them to set goals for their future. While impressed with her enthusiasm and noble intentions, I couldn’t help but recall that I’d heard this pledge many times in the past. I congratulated her, encouraged her, and requested that she keep me posted as to their progress.

Since that Biloxi visit, I had pretty well relegated that experience to a back burner as I tackled a very diverse and challenging schedule. Then just recently, to my amazement and great pleasure, I received an e-mail and PowerPoint attachment from Anna, the proud mother of two lovely daughters. She had shared her program content with her daughters, Xaveryana (12) and Xaynna (14), and they, in turn, not only developed short- and long-range goals but created a beautiful PowerPoint presentation in which to illustrate them!

They eloquently stated their goals, why each goal was important to them, and the action steps they were going to take to achieve each goal! As if that weren’t enough, they identified goals to be accomplished in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years! I’ll refrain from sharing their actual goals here as they’re obviously very personal and I want to respect their privacy. However, I can say that they were very specific and well thought out. Both young ladies were obviously proud of their goals and indeed determined to achieve every one of them.

They did a fantastic job of creating the PowerPoint and I’m certain will some day look back at this experience with pride and appreciation for a loving mother who cared enough to share some critical information and invest her time in guiding her children through a very rewarding process.

If only more parents would do the same for their children, I’m certain our future would hold much greater promise for everyone involved. Give it some thought.

Thank you, Anna, for sharing your wonderful experience. You should be very proud of your daughters. They’re going to be very successful adults!

Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of motivational speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services.