Dream Big, Work Hard, Climb Up

When I set my goals I usually am fairly conservative. I take a look at where I am, the time and energy I have to put in and what I want to achieve. I then select something that is attainable, even if it does take some hard work to achieve it. But the goals I set I usually consider attainable without a shadow of doubt.

The problem with this mindset is that it can make me lazy. When I'm setting my goals for the month or year (or longer) I can easily say, "Hey, I don't want to work that hard this month so lets ratchet our goals back."

Today I'm going to take a different approach. I'm going to set goals that, no matter how hard I work, may not be attainable. I think this is important because it stretches you. And I think you need a balance of goals that you are sure you can attain and lofty goals.

Let me stress that I'm not talking about attainable goals that you can achieve by being lazy. I'm talking about stuff you will have to work for. That's why it's called a goal. It should not come easy.

I think part of my issue is that I'm afraid of failure and I need to get over that hurdle. I'm happy to try things but usually only if there is a large chance of success. I need to stretch.

Without further ado, here are my long term, lofty goals.

• Take my wife on the European vacation of her dreams for our 25th anniversary in 2020.
• Have our home completely paid off by September 2025 (10 years from today)
• Be semi retired by 2026 (at the age of 55)
• Purchase an OCEAN FRONT beach house in Nags Head by 2026
• Be in a position by 2030 to not have to rent my beach house off in order to afford it.

What are your lofty goals?