HOW TO MAKE YOUR GOAL ACHIEVEMENT INEVITABLE
 The Simple Truth to Achieving Success  

by Shana Lynn Yao
Brand Vision Strategist
Total Genius™

SOMEDAY adverb \ˈsəm-ˌdā\  : at some time in the future

Someday seems like such a great time.  Someday is when all those things on your to do list get done.  Someday is when you move forward in life.  Someday is when you go to bed and think “I got the perfect amount done today, have a steady stream of clients and am making money in my sleep!”

I have news for you – and this may come as a shock – but “someday” does not exist.

Huh? Of course it exists. It’s that day in the future when your finally going to lose weight. When that closet you haven’t touched in years gets cleaned.  Someday is when you are going to finally understand everything in your business so it runs like a well oiled machine.  And someday is when all of your dreams come true...

Ok, let’s get real.  Someday is such a great concept because whatever we don’t get done today, or don’t feel like doing today, gets pushed to someday.   And now in this increasingly busy world, it seems like more and more is ending up on that indefinite, non-existent, wonderful date.

Unfortunately, if someday doesn’t exist, those things that get put into the someday file, stay there and usually die there.   And the tragic part is, the things that get shoved into the someday pile are commonly those things that are important to our souls and to our lives. The someday list are the things that theoretically CAN be put on the back burner and don’t have any immediate consequences.  (Key word – immediate)

Here’s the thing, we only have a limited number of hours per day. This means, our schedules are packed.  And even with the best intentions, so much of what should be priority get shoved under the “to do’s” of today.  You know, like the grocery shopping, running the kids to school, going to the drug store, etc – and don’t even get me started on social media!  Our lives are so busy and sometimes chaotic, it’s hard to stop and ask yourself, “Is this really important?”

THE REAL PROBLEM

When people say they need to be more productive – it’s not usually about their to do list like they think it is.  It’s not really about going to the grocery store, mopping the floors, or the lack of money that is holding you back.  It’s about that someday list in the back of your head.  The high lifetime value things like building your business the way you want it to be, writing a book, or even spending the money to invest in yourself to get your problems solved.

The real problem is THINKING (over-thinking) about the problem, and not actually TAKING ACTION.

Here’s the thing.  People get done exactly what they need to get done.  You may not think you do, but if you have food to eat, wear clean clothes, and don’t live in a rat hole, you’ve managed to do your essential to do list.  And for many people, if it’s not scheduled, it lands in that someday list and usually falls prey to the ticking clock.

FOCUSING ON ONE

There is ONE word you need to understand to make your success "inevitable". To end overwhelm, to do less, and accomplish more. 

You may or may not be familiar with the term “leverage”.   Leverage is often used in the financial industry, but the dictionary definition of leverage is:  “To use (something) to maximum advantage. (i.e. the organization needs to leverage its key resources.)”

Leveraging is a great word because it makes you think of the things in your life that will give you the highest return for your invested time.  As the definition states, it’s using something to maximum advantage – so in the terms of prioritizing your life, it’s putting your most important things in your overall life (not just the day to day) FIRST.   These are the things that without priorities, get shoved to the bottom of the To Do list (and usually get pushed to the next day, and the next, and the next).So here’s what to do:

Take a sheet of paper and answer these questions:  (all of these questions should include the areas of health, happiness & work.)

1. Where do you want to be in your business and life in 10 years?
2. Where do you want to be in your business and life in 1 year?
3. Where do you want to be in your business and life in 30 days?
4. What is the highest leverage activity you can do IMMEDIATELY to achieve those each of those goals?
5. What conditions need to be present in order for you to make those goals inevitable? What are the steps?
6. What can you do to get that condition in place as soon as possible?

Review and update your answers regularly (once a week) to keep your focus on the long term vision, the short term high leverage activities, and the conditions to be set up to make your success inevitable. (download the >>>free planner<<< and goal achievement tutorial to make sure you stay on track)

The goal of inevitability thinking is to STOP OVERTHINKING things - which leads to self doubt, over-complicating things, and then seeking solutions you may or may not need.  If you spend time wondering what you are going to do everyday, your brain is designed to look for distraction. Our brains are hard wired to "keep us safe" from stress. This is why you often find yourself on Facebook or other social media sites and it seems relaxing. When in fact,  doing that only causes more long term stress. 

Instead, when you plan a daily ritual that includes EXACTLY what you are going to do everyday.  You decide this is non-negotiable, and it happens EVERY DAY.   Before long, you don’t even have to think about it, and eventually, once it becomes habit, you’ll have more time to do the things in your business that really matter – like creating more content and programs that add to your bottom line.  By doing this, you have just made your goal of optimizing your social media for your business INEVITABLE.  It’s a no-fail win-win situation.

WHY YOU CAN'T IGNORE THIS

Here’s the thing – your life is a ticking clock.  You may be young now, or maybe you are older.   No matter how old you are, we all live by the same clock.  There are only 24 hours in a day, and you don’t get that time back.

If you are only doing your “to do” list and your “someday” list never gets acted on, you will never achieve the actual goals you want to achieve. Your HIGH VALUE goals. Your life purpose.

So here’s a question for you – What is the ONE action you can do today to start your business and life on it's path to inevitable success?

How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Success is not a destination, it's a process and a feeling. You don't just "achieve" success. You become it - NOW.

There is no one magic formula that will help you achieve your highest success. But there is a systematic approach that you can customize to fit YOU and your own idea of what success is to you. This is about the power of positioning - the positioning you need inside of you and outside of you to create the success you want, attract clients that value you and want to pay you, and make your goals inevitable.

Shana Yao is a Branding & Marketing Strategist and Founder of Total Genius®, where she helps entrepreneurs and business owners close the gap between their vision and bottom line profits.

Shana has a gift for transforming businesses and lives by creating understandable and actionable steps focused on people’s connection to purpose and self-fulfillment.  Using her experience working with hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses during her extensive career in marketing, along with her strong sense of current trends in the marketplace, Shana provides life-transforming solutions for brands who are seeking to grow. 

As a business and marketing strategist, Shana has worked with hundreds of businesses, national retailers, local business owners and entrepreneurs to develop results-driven marketing strategies that increase productivity, heighten visibility, and innovate new, sustainable programs that increase profit. With a natural gift understanding and empowering business owners to dominate their space with a previously unmet but needed niche, Shana is one of the few female thought leaders that focus on psychology, spirit AND business.

With a deep understanding of consumer behavior, Shana has created success for many by developing category niches that have led to business innovation and progress.  By creating groundbreaking marketing programs that stood the test of time, Shana set new standards for the shopping center industry and beyond.
Shana is the winner of the International Shopping Center (ICSC) MAXI Award for Innovative Marketing Programs and was voted Volunteer of the Year for spcaLA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles) after raising $50,000 for them through creative business partnerships and unconventional marketing strategies.  In addition, Shana helped innovate and launch the first Pet Adoption Center for spcaLA, which later blossomed into 8 locations and set the precedent for adoption retail centers.
She is an impassioned dog owner and advocate for animal adoption, nutrition, and health.  She sits on the board of the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, a non-profit that rescues dogs from abusive situations.

Today, Shana works with passionate entrepreneurs and small business owners that need a “breakthrough” to launch them to the next level of business success.