This morning I asked a few members of my team to tell me what new skills they were planning on learning in 2020. After getting the answer to the question I followed it up by asking how they were going to start learning that skill. My follow up question is as important as the original question because over the last few years I have learned that your actions have to match your ambition. Our actions start with the choices that we make or choose not to make. If someone says that their goal is to get more healthy but they aren't willing to change their diet or even take a walk everyday, their choices have already dictated the outcome.
One of my staff told me that he wants to learn more about data analytics. After he told me how he was planning on learning it in 2020 I sent him a resource I thought might be helpful. After reviewing it, he told me that it looked good but that because the cost of data (which is relatively high in most African nations) he wasn't sure how effectively he would be able to follow up on the material. I reminded him that we have wifi at our office all day, everyday and his response is what gave me this thought for the day.
What are you willing to do in order to reach your goals? To my original reminder about internet access at our office, his response was that he preferred to work from home where it is more comfortable for him. What I just heard him say was, even though you have access to the tool you need....you don't want to use it because of convenience? His actions did not reflect his ambitions.
Over the last several years of building and sometimes failing in business I have realized that in order to reach your goals you must be willing to sacrifice if that is required. Time, money, energy, priorities, and comfort are all subject to being lost if you actually want to reach the goals that you have set in your life. How early are you willing to wake up to reach your dream? How late will you stay up to reach your objectives? Which weekends are you planning to stay in the office so that you can study what you want to learn? How much of your entertainment budget are you willing to invest in the tool that will help you get closer to your goal? Are you willing to save money by skipping a meal or two to hit the mark that you are aiming for?
What are you willing to do in order to reach your goals? Make sure that your choices and actions reflect your ambitions. Happy New Year everyone.