Have you a big goal? A life’s mission? Something that you would be prepared to spend years, if not decades, working on?

Preparing to play stadiums

Colin Archer and I were both in bands when we were around 17 years old. In fact, most of the ‘cool kids’ (yes, I was a cool kid) were in a band of some description.

My band, Stage 2, was in the same heat as his band, The Edge, during the North East ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition. The Edge won and my band came second but there were no hard feelings – they were better than us.

I got to know Colin and even ended up programming a drum machine for him (ironic when you read the rest of this story). One thing that shone out of him was his ability to play guitar. He wasn’t just good, he was brilliant.

A few years later, when the dream of pop stardom had passed, I visited Colin in London. He was living in the scruffiest flat I had ever seen. He had nothing, hardly any furniture, very basic essentials and just about the clothes he stood up in. I asked him what he was doing and he said: ‘Preparing to play stadiums, Michael.’

Preparing to play stadiums! That wasn’t what it looked like to me.

Years went by and we lost touch. I’d often think about him preparing for his stadiums and although he did have some minor success in a couple of bands there were no stadiums yet.

Then in 1999 I heard on the radio that Gem Archer (yep, that’s Colin) had been asked by Noel & Liam Gallagher to join Oasis! I can safely say that since then it’s been stadiums all the way.

Gem always knew that one day he would achieve his goal. Last year I bumped into him at the port in Ibiza. While we were chatting I asked if he remembered what he said when I asked him what he was doing all those years ago, ‘Preparing to play stadiums, Michael’. He had lived with the vision so long it was engrained.

I wonder how many people would have that level of commitment to achieving a long-term goal now. I think I know one – how about YOU!

The dos and don’ts of long-term vision and goals

Do help other people to achieve their goals on the way. Zig Ziglar said: ‘If you help enough people to achieve their goals you will achieve yours.’

Don’t have a long-term financial goal – I’ve met loads of people who set a goal to ‘be a millionaire’. As soon as they achieve it they think, ‘Now what, two million?’ Do what you love to do better than anyone else and the million will be a rather nice by-product.

Do have clarity – know what you really want. The more detail you create around your plans, the more you are likely to achieve them.

Don’t live in the past – learn from it but don’t dwell in it. There are some fantastic lessons to be learned from your past but, remember, the past does not equal the future.

Do build passion – the more passionate you are about your vision, the more energy you will be able to put into it. Plus, as you build your success people will be attracted to helping you along because of your enthusiasm.

Don’t listen to those who say you can’t, but do listen to all advice. You will meet people (often the ones closest to you) who say you can’t do something. Often they are just trying to be protective.

Do break your long-term vision down into short- and medium-term goals. A 20-year vision can start today if you are prepared to take the first actions now. You don’t want to be reminiscing in 20 years and saying: ‘I wish . . .’

Don’t leave it to chance. Have a strategy and write it down. Without a written strategy you will end up guessing ‘what’s next’ rather than knowing what has to happen and making it so.

Do believe in yourself. Self-doubt is one of the most dangerous enemies of the long-term visionary. Some people call it the ‘wedge of doubt’ because once a small opening is found the wedge will keep on pushing until the crack appears and grows.

Don’t quit. Do you know the story of the drinks inventor who created ‘4-Up’? It didn’t work so he went back to the lab and came up with ‘5-Up’. Once again, his idea bombed. So, this time he worked hard and created ‘6-Up’. When this bombed he quit. How do you think he feels now?

Do model other people who have already achieved. If you have a hero who’s achieved what you want, study them, meet them, find out how they did it and if you like their method – do the same!

Don’t stop learning. The day you think you know it all is the same day you’ll start to lose it all. The top earners are the top learners; they never take those ‘L’ plates off. If you’re not achieving your long-term vision ask yourself how much learning you have been participating in to make you an expert in this field?

Do create a visual image to go with your plan (see Chapter 42).

Having a long-term vision that helps you to jump out of bed on Monday morning with a spring in your step and a smile on your face is the greatest feeling.