No. 231 - THE LAW OF OBJECTIVES

No. 231

Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN

THE LAW OF OBJECTIVES

Someone once said that It is better to shoot for a star and miss it than it is to shoot for a skunk and hit it. If you have ever really wanted something that seemed to be just beyond your reach, I have some thoughts to share that I believe will be of interest to you. Allow me to use this true example that will bring what I want to say into sharp focus. Prior to the year 1926, no woman had ever swam the English Channel. Then an automobile company offered a red Buick convertible and $2500.00 in cash to the woman who could accomplish this feat.

A nineteen year old American girl by the name of Gertrude Ederle wanted that automobile, so she decided to swim the English Channel in order to get it. Part way across, her strength began to give out and she felt she couldnt swim one more stroke, but as she lay there waiting to be taken out of the water, she closed her eyes and before her imagination passed that red Buick convertible. This firing of her imagination gave her a new surge of strength and she didnt stop again until she felt her feet touch the sand of the opposite shore.

Purely and simply, this visualization of the objective made her the first woman to swim the English Channel and without this tightly held objective, success would have been impossible. This true story is a good example of the old saying we have all heard, You must have a dream before you can have a dream come true. It is also the basis for a natural law called The Law Of Objectives. If you recall, a natural law is a series of events in nature that has been observed to occur with unvarying uniformity. In other words, if the events and circumstances are exactly the same in all respects, the results or outcome will always be the same.

It should go without saying that the proper understanding and application of this natural law would help you become more successful. This is why as a Success Law it must be applied and used in the right way. It should be noted that the word objective is often used interchangeably with the more modern word Goal. In view of the magic motive power within ourselves, it seems unbelievable that millions of people should spend their lives trying to achieve success and yet not have definite, clear cut, written goals. Sadly, of all the working people in America, only five of every hundred actually do this.

For a goal or objective to be valid, it must be 1.realistic 2. specific 3. written 4. attainable 5. have a time limit. With this in mind, it should be obvious that we all need both short and long term goals to strive for. In most cases we only become unhappy after we get the things we want and for this reason we always need a goal before us that will fire our imagination each day and cause us to want to get out of bed. How many people do you know who died less than six months after they retired?

Generally speaking, the person who has a goal is successful and happy and also makes a better citizen and neighbor. Now Id like to go back to that true story about Gertrude Ederle. Im sure she did a lot of training in preparation to swim the English Channel but she also had a purpose - she wanted that red Buick convertible! Its amazing what achieving something like this, and the notoriety that goes with it, will do for our self-esteem. This will bring us to a point where we realize that nothing is impossible if we will get prepared, set a goal and then stay with it and good luck! (EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Davidson is a motivational speaker and syndicated columnist. You may contact him at 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)