Dream Big to Achieve Big: What Goals Will You Set in 2017?

Blind Adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber shares with us his simple recipe for both setting and achieving your goals in 2017. Dream, decide, broadcast and persevere- that's all there is to it! Read his top tips for how to make sure you actually achieve the goals you set for yourself this year.

1. Dream big to achieve big.

You only have one life- why waste it on silly little things? So, ask yourself what do you want to achieve in 2017? Get fit, lose weight, learn to play a musical instrument, scuba dive, run a half-marathon or marathon? Ok, what you need to do is just write down your major goals for 2017.

So far, so good, on to the next step!

2. Decide- "All achievers in life are dreamers, but not all dreamers are achievers!"

So how do ordinary people like you and me turn dreams into reality? The answer is simple, take action and, importantly, involve other people!

Let's look at weight loss/ healthy living  in 2017- a common goal for many. Six months after I spoke at a global leadership conference a delegate emailed me to say she had, in just six months, dropped from a size 18 dress to size 12. This is big, big stuff, and we can all appreciate how this has totally transformed her life!

The key to weight loss is gathering support!

But how did she manage it? She decided to go public with her goal, asking her colleagues and friends to sponsor her for every pound she lost in support of a great charity.  This is a perfect example of how it is so, so important to involve others to help you achieve your goals. We don't mind letting ourselves down, but we don't like to let others down- that's why you need to go public with your decision! The greatest gift you can give your own body is wellbeing and health , so if you exercise, you are loving yourself! You deserve it- so stop thinking it is a bad thing and avoiding it you silly person!

"You have to do what you don't want to get what you do want"!

Going back to other goals, like learning to play a musical instrument, scuba dive or learn a new language, just Google who gives lessons in your area and sign up now. Book your lessons and diarise them- or you will be sitting here this time next year wondering why you did nothing about it, won't you...?

3. Regularly broadcast your 2017 commitment to your family, friends and colleagues.

I met the inspiring Vice-Chancellor of my local university, preparing to run his very first marathon at the tender age of 65- his simple strategy was to tell a new person every day what his goal was! Want to do a half-marathon or marathon in 2017? All you had to do is just choose one and sign up for it via a great charity you want to support, and start asking friends to sponsor you!

Will you be running a marathon in 2017?

Never done one before? Think it's too big a goal? Nonsense! I am not even asking you to run it- did you know you can WALK a marathon in under 7 hours?  So, you can jog part of the way and walk when you need to. Thousands of people participate in classic marathons this way every year, raising millions for worthy charities- and this year you are going to be one of them!

I recently had the sudden opportunity to do the New York Marathon at the age of 66 with no training to speak of and just 2 weeks notice and an injured knee. Slow time? Yep, over six hours, but still a great experience for me, and 240 blind children in the Developing World got to see what their mummy and daddy look like for the very first time! Success or failure? You decide...

4. Persevere!

"Success is getting up just one more time than you fall down"- so be encouraged, when you fall down you are in good company!

I can tell you from personal experience, over and over again, that it is never as hard as you think to do something new- no matter what your personal circumstances! I have had many wonderful, life-changing experiences as a blind person. I have man-hauled a sledge across Antarctica, participated in many ultra-marathons across the Sahara, Qatar and Gobi Deserts, I’ve done mountaineering, motor-racing and flying an aircraft! Problems? Failures? Oh boy, yes, lots and lots- but also great fun! I think there is something far worse than failing, and that's not trying in the first place, don't you agree? You will never, never, never again have 2017- so are you going to waste it or use it?

If blind adventurer Miles can complete an ultra marathon in the Sahara, you can achieve your goals too.

At the end of my life, I will be far more concerned about the things I never attempted, rather than those that I did- how about you?

"If we wait until we have overcome all obstacles we will never begin anything"!

"You are given two lives; the second one starts the day you realise you only have one!"

The critical key, my friend, is not to try to fulfil your 2017 goals set by yourself.  Involve others to both do it with you, support you and sponsor you. To summarise, dream, decide, broadcast and persevere!

This time next year you are going to be looking at yourself in a mirror, shaking your head with a silly grin on your face, and saying "wow, I did it- and it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be!"

For further information call us on   or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .

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