We all want to be our best selves and to achieve our ambitions. What most of us don’t realize is that the process to the success that we seek is within us. I don’t mean to sound mystical, but, in fact, the course to all of our accomplishment is only possible by way of five human characteristics – characteristics that you could be expressing every day. The caveat is: in order to benefit from this natural course to our development and success —the achievement of your goals—, you have to exercise these characteristics deliberately, and as a process.
In order for you to achieve your most important goal, whether it be to develop yourself, build sales for your business, improve your health or physical fitness, you need to understand how five of our characteristics must work together.
The reason for our failures and challenges to succeed—professionally and/or in our personal lives—is, often, not mysterious. Failures stem from imbalance and/or some deficiency in one or more of these five areas, or how these areas relate as a process.
The process is known by the acronym I.D.E.A.L., which represents:
Our intention – the fact that people intend
Our decisions for and how we direct ourselves along a course toward what we intend
Our actions, how we engage certain behavior in order to advance toward a goal
Our efforts to assess our progress and ability to progress
Our ability to learn, and how we apply what we’ve learned in order to succeed
IDEAL forms an ongoing cycle that makes our development, our improvement, and our eventual success—in business and our personal lives—possible. The characteristics that comprise IDEAL are not options from which to choose; they are part of what defines you. They are, as they have been, at work to empower you to discover, learn, and become who you will, and allow your business—your sales—to realize its potential.
Consider how you express each characteristic of IDEAL, in your life and/or business.
Intend
Are you clear about what you want to accomplish? Have you thought-through the safeguards that promote your success, and the safeguards that could protect you against pitfalls?
Direct
Are you clear about how to bridge the gap between where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow? Have you prepared properly to support the course toward your goals?
Engage
Are your actions productive – do they produce the results required by your goal? Are you sufficiently skilled to manage and advance toward what you say you want?
Assess
Do you track and verify your progress? Can you trust the information on which you rely to make wise decisions? Can you confirm that your course and actions are correct for what you want to achieve?
Learn
Do you correctly interpret the lessons from your efforts to achieve? Have you correctly applied what you’ve learn? Does your productivity improve from revisions to your plan?
IDEAL is a natural process. As you learn, you may change what you intend, change your course, improve how you engage, and/or modify how you assess your progress.
The course to your success is there. It always has been. The choice to embrace that course is yours. Now that you know about IDEAL, you could learn how to put it to use. Whatever you decide, the fact remains: every day you express characteristics of IDEAL. Choose to be aware of IDEAL—in your life and business—, and apply IDEAL deliberately, because IDEAL applies to you.
Face Your Goals
We all have goals. Face yours.
Get hyper-focused on what you want to achieve, and work to know what is required for that success.
Choose your course. Know the process—steps and their respective objectives—that will get you to where you want to be.
Make sure that you're properly prepared (based on your plan) and that you are capable—through your actions—to be productive.
Be able to validate your plan and the results of your actions with verifiable measurement.
Always learn, and apply what you learn in order to continually improve.
Congratulations! You're now an IDEALer, someone who applies the IDEAL process to their life—to: develop; become their best; and reach their personal and professional potential.
If you found the concept of IDEAL to be worthwhile, please share it with a friend, family member, and/or colleague. If you have questions or would like to know more about IDEAL, contact me through my website: StevenRobertYoung.com.
I wish you all the best for continued success!
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