Page 106 - Hard Goals

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Amazingly, it’s not just diffi cult goals that we put off; we
also procrastinate on fun and entertaining stuff. The fi nancial
researchers in TowerGroup report that each year Americans
spend about $65 billion on gift cards, and recipients fail to
redeem $6.8 billion of them. Not that it’s all bad for the com-
panies that issue them: in 2009, Home Depot Inc. reported $37
million in revenue from unused gift card credit.
I don’t share all these negative studies and statistics just to
bring you down. Rather, the information is intended as a learn-
ing tool to help you recognize and overcome your own issues
with procrastination. Look, if you really want to achieve some-
thing, if you have a heartfelt connection to losing 20 pounds,

starting a business, becoming fluent in Italian, or whatever your
goal is, you absolutely can do it. You just need to rally your
inner strength so you actually start and stick to that goal. And
the most effi cient way to do that is to infuse your goal with a
feeling of urgency—to plow through any sense of panic, doubt,
or whatever internal or external triggers threaten to hold you
back and make your goal feel so required that you feel like you’ll
die unless you get started on it right this very second.
Lou Adler, a serial entrepreneur, learned this lesson, but
almost too late. An easygoing guy, Lou’s always got a smile on
his face and a good joke at the ready. A natural born storyteller,
he especially loves talking about his glory days as a star wide

receiver for his college team. “I wasn’t just fit back then,” Lou
says, “I was an Adonis.” This fact comforts him in his ongoing
struggle to lose the 60 pounds he’s picked up since his college
days.
“I don’t even know how this happened,” says Lou about
his weight. “I know I’m a type A workaholic entrepreneur, but
I’m still an athlete in here,” he says as he taps his index fi nger
against his head. “But the rest of me seems to be resigned to