Wow gang! I just looked over my blog a year back to kind of see “what was on my mind” and much to my surprise I saw that it has been a year (364 days) to be exact, since the passing of Michael Jackson’s death.
Before his untimely death, I had sent in requests to publishers for permission to do tabs and maybe a guitar DVD of his music. Ironically, I’ll be editing the new “Jackson 5” guitar instructional DVD tomorrow, June 25, the one year anniversary of his passing.
This post is not about MJ though. It’s about the goal setting process and differentiating between “urgent” and “important”.
Today, I woke up with my brain slightly scrambled. Meaning, I have 5 or 6 things on my to-do list and was not sure what to do first. However, it has become an instinct to ask myself “What is necessary to achieving my big goals” and “what is an A level, must-do task and what can wait?” and even “what can I drop completely?”
But you gotta have big goals to do this properly 🙂
The “what’s necessary in terms of achieving my big goals” a good approach that I have practiced by studying my success gurus like Brian Tracy and Jack Canfield. Writing an inspired blog entry is important to me, so I am attacking this first.
In younger years, I’d respond to the “urgent” rather than the “important”. For example, laundry could seem urgent. Or getting CDRs from Staples could seem urgent. Or, getting the coolest new gadget was urgent. Or doing cool rollovers for my website buttons could seem urgent.
These would be “contained” activities – meaning, once they were accomplished it was like a stand-alone 30 minute sitcom episode which ended. No relation to yesterday or tomorrow, and tomorrow is the same problem of meaninglessness all over again.
When people follow the “urgent” they end up not doing the really “important” stuff. But, if one doesn’t have big goals and life is meaningless, dealing with the “urgent” at least can add temporary meaning or be a nice distraction. With no goals, we can’t even define what the important stuff is.
That’s a very unsatisfying way to live. After a year one asks “what the hell have I done this past year?” . I’ve had people like that in my life and I see their deep unhappiness and neurosis and want to tell them “you gotta have goals!”
So in looking at that one year old blog, I see that I had a big goal – a Michael Jackson flavored guitar DVD. I even put the DVD on my Photoshop “Vision Board” by making a mock DVD cover. It’s satisfying now to see that I have been following through all this time.
Over this past year each small step has led me closer to the fruition of yet another satisfying goal – producing a Jackson 5 Guitar DVD. I see that by having the vision of this DVD, I scheduled and followed through with “important” things instead of reacting to “urgent” things.
Some examples of “important” things that were grunt work for this project
– several emails back and forth with publishers
– entering, editing, and laying out the notated sheet music and tabs
– practicing the music
– rehearsing the actual video lessons
– designing myself, but then hiring a real designer for the DVD cover and disc
– moving Youtube videos to a second video site in case of copyright problems
– rethinking my e-commerce shopping art situation (current phase)
– shooting and editing video (current phase)
– getting DVDs manufactured (still to do)
So…I encourage you to think about BIG goals. Why? Not for the money, but because life is all the more satisfying when you live this way.
Whether it’s a creating painting, a DVD, raising a family or even being a great pre school teacher – when you set a goal and achieve it, you get to look at life and know yourself to be a “creator”. The process of “how you proceed” is more important than the “what you are doing”.
To know oneself as a “creator” rather than a “victim / reactor” is empowering and inspiring, and highly recommended! And through this muddle of goals, making a living, and brain work, our souls and actually learn something very profound in the realm of spirit when we can fully declare “I am Creator”.
Now…get to work! 🙂
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Adam, I must say that your are one of the most inspiring bloggers I’m following. Why? Because it’s completely about your own hands-on experience – which makes your writing valuable and strong. Thanks! You’re a great player and an open person 😉 Hugs, Misha
Right on man! You nail at across the board.
‘It’ is not so hard, once one breaks it all down and takes things an essential step at a time.
Much respect towards you, even if you were not one of the finest guitarists on the planet!
Hi, thanks for sharing.