The idea about writing this book came to me like a flash. Immediately I decided to meditate on it and try to ascertain what I want to write, the objective, the audience, the message and the impact. I needed a clear message, and until I was able to get all these factors figured out, I was unable to start writing. Clarity of purpose is important for the achievement of success and for making dreams come true. Your dream or goal must be specific and clear, not something vague. While it’s fun to dream about winning the Premier League title and be successful, Arsenal has to know and define what they truly want to get or achieve. Clarity of purpose is important for success in any venture – for losing weight, getting a new car or travelling abroad. If you don’t know exactly what you want, how can you get it?
Recently I needed a personal trainer to assist me to get back to a level I can coach myself. The first thing the trainer wanted to know was my clear purpose. He wanted to know what I want to achieve and when I want to achieve it. This enabled him to draw up a program for me. Also he wanted to know how often I will be available and my time schedule. We discussed how many sessions I need to achieve my goal. I made his job easy, because I was clear on what I wanted. It was unfortunate for him that I did not continue with him, as I only come to discover that my membership already gives me training instructors who will coach me, and I can achieve the same results. So why pay twice for a service? The point is, you must have a clear vision in mind.
What do you want from your marriage, your job or your friends? If you can’t define your friendship, then I can tell you that soon you won’t be satisfied. That friendship could end up being one-sided, or you will be pretending to stay as a friend without any form of satisfaction. When you have clarity of purpose, you know what steps you need to take. With clarity of purpose, you focus on the goal, without wasting time or energy. Clarity of purpose is like focusing a strong source of light on your goal, so that you see it clearly.
Here are a few tips to help develop your clarity of purpose:
1. Know what you want.
2. Investigate why you want to achieve your goal and what you will gain by achieving it.
3. Put your goals in writing and review them daily
4. Be certain that you really want to achieve your goal. While writing, I contacted several publishers and made preparations, even before I finished writing this book. I am determined to publish it no matter what, but with a quality that will make it very attractive. Why would I want to publish a book people won’t read? I am not going to waste my time and the time of my audience, so I must give them quality.
5. Accept that any kind of goal you have is a million times better than not having any goal.
6. Read and learn about your goal.
7. Look at pictures about your goal.
8. Visualize your goal clearly.
9. In your mind, see all the details.
10. Pay attention to the path and not just the end result.
11. Stick with one primary goal at a time. It’s easy to fall into the trap of jumping around between different goals and making little progress on any one of them.
12. Be specific as to colour, size, quantity, shape, place, and so on, of what you want to get or accomplish.
13. Sometimes it’s tough to set a clear goal, because you don’t know what you’re getting into. In that case you can experiment to gain clarity about the goal space you’re exploring.
14. Learn to focus your mind on your goal.
15. Remove clutter from your life.
16. Display perseverance and some self-discipline in your life.
Some people will judge you harshly for undertaking such an exploration, but their reactions have little to do with you. They may be upset because you’re reminding them that they haven’t been learning and growing as much as they could be. Or they may be upset because you’re interfering with their sense of certainty; they thought they had you all figured out, and then you throw them for a loop. Or they may just be having a bad day. Regardless of the reason, don’t let fear about other people’s reactions hold you back from conducting your own growth experiments.
If I can handle all the sardonic silliness that other people feel inclined to say about me, then surely you can handle your friends and family thinking you’ve gone off the deep end for a while. Just remember that every person who takes issue with what you’re doing is really saying, “I care about you enough to invest my time in you.” The British press, media and a bunch of Arsenal fans were harsh on Arsène Wenger and the squad, but he had clarity of purpose, which kept him focused; and when the results started coming, they swallowed their words and started saying nice things about him. Still he did not give a damn about what they were saying but rather stayed focused on his goal. He was not the one taking time for them; they spent all their time on him and his squad, because he means so much to them, even if they will not admit it, and they cannot do without him. They think they can, but they can’t. So when they talk about you they do because they cannot live without you on their lips.
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