High achievers act out of a
passion and a love for what
they doCompelling goalsMany training programs concentrate on formats such as
SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and
timebound). Do you really think that the high achievers in life,
the people who act as the inspiration to the rest of us, sit down
and wonder if their goals are realistic? The high achievers act
out of passion and a love for what they do.
The difference lies in our ability to be prepared to pay the
price, which often means letting everything go so we can
achieve what we really want. The things we believe we cannot
live without are often the very same things that we need to let
go of if we are to realize our deepest desires.
People who achieve what they want in life have compelling
goals. There is a pattern to the structure of their thinking
around their goals of which they are usually unaware. By
modeling and continuing to model high achievers in all fields,
we have uncovered the structure of their thinking. By trying on
the elements of this structure we can explore how they work
for each of us and how they fit with the thinking we already do.
We may even find we confirm that what we are doing is right
on track in supporting us to achieve our own success.Ellen MacArthur is a 24-year-old British sailor who took part in
the Single Handed Round the World Yacht Race at the beginning
of 2001. I was tempted to describe her as the person who won
the race, but in fact she came second to a French competitor.
However, many people do believe that she won the race, such
was the influence she had with the way she took part. Not only
did she potentially sacrifice her place in the race by diverting her
course to rescue another sailor in distress, she also made major
repairs to her damaged boat in high seas and treacherous
weather. She stood by her values and principles no matter what
the circumstances to achieve a position in this race that no other
woman of her age had achieved before.
Although British, MacArthur attracted the passionate support
of many other nations, especially the French who gave her a
bigger homecoming than even their own competitor. As her
boat approached the finishing point on the French coastline, her
parents, who were watching her progress, commented tellingly
that most likely what she would be wanting right now was not
to get off the boat to all the recognition but to turn around and264 NLP AT WORK