--- title: What You Must Do Now to Reach Your Goals | The Sales Blog description: Goal setting is easy. You decide what you want. You write it down and declare it your goal. It’s as easy as that; you now have a goal. You have a rather impotent goal, and you aren’t likely to reach it, but you do have a goal. There are three primary reasons you won’t reach that […] image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2014-01-09-at-9_34_12-PM.png --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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You decide what you want. You write it down and declare it your goal. It’s as easy as that; you now have a goal. You have a rather impotent goal, and you aren’t likely to reach it, but you do have a goal. There are three primary reasons you won’t reach that goal. #### Not a Big Enough Reason or Not Enough Of Them If you don’t have a burning reason “[why](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/04/25/motivation-is-a-bigger-why/),” you aren’t going to make your goal. If you don’t have a compelling, all-consuming desire to reach your goal, you aren’t going to sustain your motivation any longer than it took you to write down your goal. If the price of failure doesn’t make you want to throw up, then your goal isn’t a must. And if it isn’t a must, it isn’t compelling enough. Why is this your goal? What do you lose if you fail? #### You Don’t Have a Plan Unless you go through the exercise of figuring out exactly what you need to do to reach that goal, what resources you have available to help you, how to overcome the likely obstacles, and a commitment on your [calendar](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/01/06/some-thoughts-about-your-calendar-and-sunday-night/) to take the necessary actions, you don’t really have a goal. You have something less than a goal . . . you have a daydream. Without a plan to reach the goal, you aren’t going to make it. If writing a goal down gives it power, then writing down the action plan gives your goals fuel-injected, nitro-nuclear-booster rockets. #### You Aren’t Doing the Work Have you ever known anyone who set a goal, had a plan, and didn’t reach their goal? Have you ever caught this person staring back at you from the other side of your mirror in the morning? If you failed to achieve a goal in the past–even after writing a plan–you failed because you didn’t [do the work](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2013/10/20/your-three-major-outcomes/). Your intentions were good, but you didn’t follow those intentions with something more important: action. Stop right now and look at your goals. Write down every reason you must reach those goals, all of the things you need to do to reach them, and then enter an appointment on your calendar for the first action item under each goal. When you complete that first action, schedule an appointment with yourself for the next action. That’s how you reach your goals. ###### Tags: [Goals](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/goals) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on January 9, 2014 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. 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You were put here to do something and to flourish. You’re here to reach your full potential and to make a difference. [![DOWNLOAD EBOOK](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/5746f431-45b9-48ee-a8d8-e9a950e5ab3f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/5746f431-45b9-48ee-a8d8-e9a950e5ab3f) ## Are You Ready To Solve Your Sales Challenges? ![Anthony-Solve-Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Anthony-Solve-Sales.png?width=290&height=221&name=Anthony-Solve-Sales.png) Hi, I’m Anthony. I help sales teams make the changes needed to create more opportunities & crush their sales targets. What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2022-01-25T2:32:04 PM", "datePublished" : "2014-01-09 22:13:55", "description" : "Goal setting is easy. You decide what you want. You write it down and declare it your goal. It’s as easy as that; you now have a goal. You have a rather impotent goal, and you aren’t likely to reach it, but you do have a goal. 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