How Millionaires Set Goals.

Jack Canfield was telling me I needed to start writing down my goals, and visualizing myself as I would be if I accomplished them. He spoke through his Success Principle’s CD as I drove my Mercedes (one goal reached) to Banff, Alberta, on my way to speak at a real estate conference, the ‘Banff Western Connection’.

As luck would have it, for the opening event I was sitting right beside Manjit Minhaus, http://manjitminhas.com/ CBC’s  beer baroness  from Dragon’s Den. Manjit is the CEO of Minhas Brewseries & Distilleries and has been building a successful company with her brother, Ravinder over the past 10 years.

As we were chatting before it was her turn to speak I asked Manjit what she thought about goal setting?

Did she used to do it and visualize herself as something more? Did she do it now? Does she recommend it, or is it just a bunch of pie in the sky rhetoric put out by those who have actualized success and are now trying to make money off the backs of those coming along behind? What was the real scoop, I wanted to know her opinion! And I hoped that this smart-witted dragon would give me the straight goods.

It took Manjit a minute to put herself back in time previous to the lifestyle she lived now, but I could tell she liked the subject and was going to be bluntly honest.

She then shared how the use of her goal-setting had changed over the years. In the beginning, when her and her brother dreamed of what their business could be, and when they crossed their fingers hoping and wished on lucky stars, she definitely wrote out her goals and imagined attaining them.

But they weren’t random goals like ‘I want to be rich’, she told me they were goals that were well thought out in her business plan. They were steps they needed to take, like expanding to Ontario.  She respected the place for goals and she followed them up with the action needed.

Once their business reached a sustainable level, their commercials reached their audiences and their expansion into the east manifested (that was a whole story in itself!) her goals were not so much hopes and dreams on a piece of paper or on a vision board. Here type of goals changed and now her goals are numbers that she wants the business to hit, they are business developments backed up with a plan.

For example, she wanted to expand their company to include wine (I say yes and amen, as beer doesn’t thrill me but wine is FINE!). At their first attempt it bombed. She thought she knew the steps to take, the marketing needed to sell but it didn’t sell, much at all (she invited me for wine over at her house sometime, as she has a whole basement full of stock! LOL). So, she re-evaluated her goal. Did she really want to expand into wine? She had to ask herself, and her answer was yes!

Back to the drawing board, but she wasn’t drawing her goal! She was drawing her plan and the steps to get there. She filled in the gaps, did more research and then put her plans into action.

Now you can buy Dragon’s Tears wine in red or white ( or assorted fruit flavors)! Goal achieved.

My take-away from Manjit’s openess is this:

While you are building and growing your business, use any means you can to stay motivated and keep your inertia going forward. Whether it’s creating vision boards, writing out your goals, imagining you are already where you want to be, do whatever to ‘fake it till you make it’. Once you have made it though, it may make sense to turn your goals into business plans, research the how and then step into the action to make it happen. Her goals at this stage of her career are the numbers she wants to hit.

I think I am going to open a bottle of Dragon’s Tears and update my calendar with some targeted numbers, how about you?

Thank you Manjit!