Tips For Attaining Success And Smashing Iron-Clad Goals

By Doug Bennett aka The Goals Guy® with special guest Martin Dodd

“Take one step closer to your goals.”

If you’re a goal-getter, there’s a huge chance that you’ve heard this piece of advice time and time again – probably in different languages too. But have you ever wondered what might happen if you ran towards your goals? What do you think might happen if you channelled your inner triathlete and took audacious strides towards fulfilling the goals you want?

I recently chatted with Martin Dodd, a fellow financial advisor and founder of the Midlands Investment Agency. You can hear our full conversation on the Goals Do Come True podcast (click here to listen) where he explores his journey through the financial services industry and how, on a whim, he ran in The Longest Day Triathlon.

In this blog, I’m going to share Martin’s top three hacks for smashing your business goals and earning the “Ironman” tag:

Martin’s ingredient for success

Having worked his way through the financial services industry, Martin’s core hack for attaining success as a business owner is to be a jack-of-all-trades, of sorts, within your company. 

Martin: “Learn every single role within your business. During a guided tour on a submarine, I discovered an interesting fact. Every crew member must be able to fulfil every single function on a submarine. I think it’s the same for businesses. If you’re an entrepreneur, being able to complete every single task will make you a better business person.

I occasionally go back to our process sheets to review the different component parts of my business and keep track of everything that we do. I work together with my team and go to great lengths to ensure that they don’t think that I’m putting myself on a pedestal.” 

I particularly love Martin’s idea of team playing as a business owner, and his further nuggets for smashing the goals you want.

Just do it 

You’ve probably seen this phrase a thousand times (typically accompanied by the all too familiar Nike Swoosh). But this phrase embodies Martin’s beliefs and experience. He decided to get off his backside and participate in a triathlon and this singular act fuelled his goal-setting confidence.

Martin: “When I first stumbled upon The Longest Day Triathlon in a magazine, I assumed it was a misprint because I thought there was no way anybody in the UK could pull that off. However, after I watched the event, I realised that the people participating in these events were normal, everyday people, and that sparked something in me.

I decided I was going to start training for it and in 2000, I did it. This was a life-changing experience for me and it transcended way beyond the triathlon or earning the Ironman tag. It gave me a belief that whatever I decided I was going to put my mind to do would be achievable.” 

Do you have any goals that seem too audacious? Something that’s burning inside of you? Give it a chance and get started anyway. Merely trying will offer you the much-needed confidence boost to cross other goals off your list. 

Don’t step out of your comfort zone – expand it

I often suggest to my coaching clients that they expand their comfort zone rather than do things outside it. At first glance, it may seem like the same thing but in reality, the former is incredibly powerful and drives more results.

Once you expand your comfort zone, it remains that way without shrinking and this provides you with further space to achieve more.

Martin: “I often say to people that I’m only a four out of ten. When I say this, people usually rush to reassure me that I’m not, since I’ve got a business and I’ve done an IRONMAN® event. But then I ask them to spin it the other way around.

When I say I’m a four out of ten,  it means there’s still another six that I can achieve. So, I’m not putting myself down. Instead, I’m giving myself space to achieve more and do more.”

Don’t set any limits

Martin: “I personally don’t set any limits and I’ve lived this mindset for a long time. What I often find, particularly in the financial planning world, is that people believe that there’s a ceiling to success. They believe that if you achieve a certain level of success, then you can’t do any more.

But I’m of a different opinion. I have intermediate targets for where I want to get to, but my ultimate goal is limitless. Often, I compare where I am now with where I was ten years ago and the difference is staggering. I would encourage most entrepreneurial people to do the same. If you look back to where you were ten years ago, compared to now, you’ve probably travelled a massive distance. And sometimes we need to see where we’ve come from so that we can go again without limits.”

I love the idea of making the sky your limit and periodically measuring how far you’ve come. If you feel like you’re not making any progress, measure where you’ve come from and you’d probably be able to see things from a new perspective.

Which of these nuggets hit the spot for you? Would you be expanding your comfort zone or pressing the start button on an audacious goal you’ve locked away?

I’d love to hear about it! If you’d like my professional support to make rapid progress towards your goals, why not click here to book a complimentary discovery session with me?