While at work today, I pondered what the word “goal” really means. A goal is really the desired outcome which you intend to achieve. That makes sense, but one of the things I believe in is living at a sustainable and joyful pace. If you set a goal of making a million dollars, you could very easily do it quite quickly by selling drugs, harvesting organs, or by engaging in any number of nefarious activities. These may get you there quickly. They may also get you dead. What do you do when you get there? Do you stop living that life and just blow all your cash? Do you go legit? Was being legit your goal in the first place or was it just about the money? I would personally like to establish my goals as a set of principles that lead me down a long and never ending road with numerous scenic views along the way. I do not discount the importance of milestones ($10 million banked, a house on every continent, a computer for every child) but I do believe that the journey is what is most important and riding in style is a lot of fun.

I’ve created a first draft of my goals, now I need time for them to ferment. One of the things I am finding difficult is that I’m trying to set some personal goals as well as business goals and that requires almost total immersion, something I can not do this week. I’m going to take an iterative approach through the week and review at the end to see where I am at. Once I have them established, I can move on to how to achieve them.

I haven’t had time to read yet today, but I did catch two episodes of Undercover Boss. I find this show interesting because it challenges the notions both owners and employees have about their companies. There generally seems to be a large disconnect between “management” and the lowly employees. In my experience, this is caused by:

• Focusing on processes rather than people
• Not fostering a collaborative environment
• Punishing Failure
• Lack of feedback

I would like to explore these things more in the future and find ways to build an environment that can avoid these pitfalls.

My tasks for the day are nearly done. Inbox:0 and GTD is up to date. Things are starting to feel better already!