I was in elementary school when I first learned about the concept of setting goals. The famous explorer, John Goddard (later called “The Real Indiana Jones” by the LA Times), visited our school and showed us a movie of some of his adventures around the world. He also told us his life’s story which was fascinating to me! John Goddard encouraged us to set goals and live the life of our dreams!
John’s powerful story started, as he later told Life magazine, when he heard adults complaining about their lives. “All the adults I knew seemed to complain, ‘Oh, if only I’d done this or that when I was younger.’ They had let life slip by them. I was sure that if I planned for it, I could have a life of excitement and fun and knowledge.”
John told me and my classmates about the day his life adventure was set in motion. He said it was a rainy, Sunday afternoon, when he was 15 years old, when he sat down at the kitchen table with a pad of paper. At the top of the pad, he wrote three words, “My Life List.” He then proceeded to list all the things he wanted to accomplish during his life. When he was through, he had written down 127 goals. Here are a few of them:
Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica
Climb the world’s highest peaks (he listed 16)
Build own telescope
Perform 200 sit-ups
Play Clair de Lune on the piano
John lived to check off 120 of his 127 life goals!
Inspired by John Goddard’s presentation, I started thinking about all the things I wanted to accomplish in my life. I created my own list of goals and started planning how I would achieve them. I loved the feelings of joy I experienced as I started achieving my goals. By the time I was a young adult, people were calling me a “Renaissance man” because of my wide range of interests and pursuits. In fact, a newspaper wrote an article on me after my colleagues at work identified me as the “most interesting employee.” By this time, I had been sharing my various interests with the public for years through presentations and speeches.
Subsequently, Day-Timer corporation recruited me to deliver time/life-management workshops and speeches across the country because of my “remarkable life” and “speaking ability.” This was during the “golden age” of planning binders, when most business people carried and used one.
In 2004, I started my own, professional-development business. Among the services I offered were career and life coaching. Over the years, I have been privileged to be a party to many personal transformations. I have witnessed the real magic that takes place in people’s lives when they get clear about what they really want out of life, formulate action plans for the accomplishment of their various goals, and courageously pursue their dreams!
I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I had as young boy to hear John Goddard speak at our elementary school. His message that day resonated deeply with me and set me on the joyous path of setting goals and living my unique life fully!