Book Goals! by Brian Tracy

Practice Blue Sky Thinking

In Charles Garfield’s studies of “Peak Performers,” he made an

interesting discovery. He analyzed men and women who had

achieved only average results at work for many years, but who

suddenly exploded into great success and accomplishment. He found

that at the “take-off point,” every one of them began engaging in

what he called “Blue Sky Thinking.”

In blue-sky thinking, you imagine that all things are possible

for you, just like looking up into a clear blue sky, with no limits. You

project forward several years and imagine that your life were perfect

in every respect sometime in the future. You then look back to where

you are today and ask yourself these this question: “What would

have to have happened for me to have created my perfect future?”

You then come back to where you are in the present in your

own mind, and you ask, “What would have to happen from this

point forward for me to achieve all my goals sometime in the

future?”

Refuse To Compromise Your Dreams

When you practice idealization and future-orientation, you

make no compromises with your dreams and visions for yourself and

your future. You don’t settle for smaller goals or half successes.

Instead, you “dream big dreams” and project forward mentally as

though you are one of the most powerful people in the universe. You

create your perfect future. You decide what you really want, before

you come back to the present moment and deal with what is possible

for you within your current situation.

Start with your business and career. Imagine that your work

life was perfect five years from now. Answer these questions:

1. What would it look like?

2. What would you be doing?

3. Where would you be doing it?

4. Who would you be working with? What level of

responsibility would you have?

5. What kind of skills and abilities would you have?

6. What kind of goals would you be accomplishing?

7. What level of status would you have in your field?

Practice No Limit Thinking

When you answer these questions, imagine that you have no

limits. Imagine that everything is possible for you. Peter Drucker

once said, “We greatly overestimate what we can accomplish in one year.

But we greatly underestimate what we can accomplish in five years.” Don’t

let this happen to you.

Now, idealize your perfect financial life sometime in the future:

1. How much do you want to be earning five years from

today?

2. What sort of lifestyle do you want to have? What kind

of home do you want to live in?

3. What kind of car do you want to drive?

4. What kind of material luxuries do you want to provide

for yourself and your family?

5. How much do you want to have in the bank?

6. How much do you want to be saving and investing

each month and each year?

7. How much do you want to be worth when you retire?

Imagine that you have a “magic slate.” You can write down

anything you want. You can erase anything that may have happened

in the past, and create whatever picture you desire for your future.

You can clean the slate at any time and start over. You have no limits.

Imagine Your Perfect Family Life

Look at your family and relationships today, and project five

years into the future:

1. If your family life were perfect five years from now,

what would it look like?

2. Who would you be with? Who would you no longer be

with?

3. Where and how would you be living?

4. What kind of living standards would you have?

5. What kind of relationships would you have with the

most important people in your life, five years from

now, if everything were perfect in every respect?

When you fantasize and imagine your perfect future, the only

question you ask is, “How?” This is the most powerful question of

all. Asking it repeatedly stimulates your creativity and triggers ideas

to help you accomplish your goals. Unsuccessful people always

wonder whether or not a particular goal is possible. High achievers

on the other hand only ask the question, “How?” They then set to

work to find ways to make their visions and goals into realities.