Don't Push Too Many Trolleys

8Set the Right Goals for You

I think this is my favourite chapter in the book because it nicely brings together almost everything we've been talking about so far. And if I had to pick my top principle or “tip” – the one that I felt was the most vital to your success in life and business – it would be this one. If you don't pick the right goals for you – that suit your skills, that you feel passion for, that will make you proud – then everything else is a bit of a waste of time. No amount of planning, or due diligence, or shifting of your perspective will make your life or business better if you have chosen the wrong goals for you!

A big part of having “perspective” is being able to see yourself truthfully; having a really deep knowledge about exactly who you are, and honouring that without trying to be the person someone else wants you to be. We are all different. Not everyone needs to achieve the same things in life. I was lucky that I knew what was right for me quite early on.

But there is a difference between what you want and what you are suited to; what you have the skills to be. I would have loved to be a professional footballer, but did I really have skills that could have competed with the top professional players out there? Because being a third-rate professional footballer would not have suited me. I am ambitious and want to be the best at what I do, even if that means being a big fish in a small pond.

And would I have been happy just playing football all day, every ...