Here’s a real shocker…

Your goals should be big, but your goals should be in proportion to where you think your ability is.

What does that mean?

Let me explain. Most people are capable of a lot more than they give themselves credit for, but they don’t actually think about, “What am I capable of?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Maybe it’s that you're capable of a certain thing at this moment.

Then you invest in yourself and start to realize over time, now you're capable of something else, something new.

So your goals should be aligned with that to some degree.

Otherwise, you run out of steam, like a kid that's 18 years old and wants to be a billionaire in six months.

That's a big goal and you probably watched some video talking about how you have to have big goals, and it’s true you should.

But realistic goals, based on your ability at this moment in time, not in 10-20 years into the future.

So you have to do an audit of yourself and ask yourself where you are right now.

I knew 10 years ago when I really started investing in myself, that I was not capable at that point to do what I'm doing today.

There was no way I was.

With almost 400 employees in two countries, I knew that I didn't have the full skill set and ability to handle where I am now.

I still had a goal, but my goal wasn't as big as it is now.

I was looking more at my ability and asking myself where my ability could take me.

If you look at most of the successful people, the people at the top of the mountain, they would never say, “Yeah, I knew I was going to be here.”

They followed their realistic goals and were amazed at what they had accomplished.

People who set unrealistic goals try to run a four-minute mile while it currently takes them 9 minutes.

But if you set realistic goals, you know where you are so then you run it again, at now you’re at 8.5 minutes.

Now you have confidence, and start thinking maybe you could do it in 7 minutes.

You're not even considering you can do four, because you’re laser focused on the next realistic goal.

Then you do seven and start thinking maybe you can do 6.5 minutes.

And you're training and training and before you know it, you’re at 6 minutes.

And if you see the pattern developing here you’ll see that you’ll eventually be at 4 minutes, but none of that happens if you don’t set a realistic goal first.

So the guy who was at 8 or 9 minutes, he never thought he was capable of doing a four minute mile.

That happens to a lot of entrepreneurs.

So yes you should have big goals, absolutely.

But if your goal is so big and you don't have the skillset right now to achieve that goal, then you should have a more realistic goal.

Then you can have constant wins and eventually you will obtain that “4 minute mile.”

It's just like wanting to win the super bowl, but you need to make the team first.

It’s not that people have bad ideas, I'm not trying to knock people for having big goals.

That's not what I'm saying, but people that usually set really big goals have done an audit of themselves first.

And they know what they're capable of.

Bo Jackson who played for the Los Angeles Raiders, knew when he was 10 years old, he could go to the NFL. Was he capable? Absolutely.

So most of the people that have those big goals, they know for certain.

But to the people that feel even a little bit like they don't know or are a little insecure that all they hear is, “Oh, I heard, I have to set big goals.”

Well I have good news, you don’t.

You have to think of what you're capable of first and then see that you can do it, otherwise you fail right at the beginning and that’s where people start losing their confidence.

Maybe you're starting a home-based business and you have this idea that your company has to be a Fortune 500 company.

That's your goal and if you don't hit it, then you’ve failed.

Well that’s dumb, don't do that, it's not smart or productive short-term.

Be a successful small business, or the small successful business in your town.

Gain some confidence first, and then go to the next thing.