Worksheet and Post inspired and adapted from the principles behind Ryder Carroll’s book “The Bullet Journal Method“
[2.5 Minute Read]
How can you reach a 5 year goal? Use the 54321 technique.
54321 is a tool that allows you to continuously determine daily action steps from a 5 year goal.
Determining next steps for an audacious goal is an important process. The goal gives meaning and motivation to your daily actions. The goal also provides direction while the next steps ensure progress.
Looking Back
As I embark on a new 5 year goal of starting a business with Leverlo I have been reflecting on my previous 5 year goal. From 2014 to 2018 I had been working on an audacious goal. The goal had been to start a branch of InterVarsity (a national non-profit) in Daytona Beach, FL.
As I have reflected on how the goal had been accomplished, I could not help but ask, “How did that happen”? In response, I received some clarity after recently reading about the 54321 tool. I realized it had held the key principles that had helped me push through to reach the goal.
The Dream
When I graduated from college in 2014 I had a dream. In college I had received faith based leadership development from InterVarsity. This development had transformed many aspects of my life. My dream was to start a branch of InterVarsity in Daytona Beach where it currently did not exist.
It was so exciting to me to think about this dream becoming a reality. To see InterVarsity planted in Daytona got my heart racing. To imagine independent student groups on each of the campuses. To imagine the impact on student’s lives. The potential of this happening kept me awake at night with excitement.
The Barriers
While this dream seemed expansive that was what had made it exciting at the start. Looking back, this enthusiasm soon encountered barriers and began to wane. For various reasons it took me almost a year to even move to Daytona. And once I got there I found the work of establishing something new emotionally draining. This made it hard to stay motivated.
Before this Daytona goal, my previous goal had been to graduate college. This had been so very different. College had a linear path to follow. But in Daytona there was no course list to follow. There was no set of syllabi for each semester to track along with.
I can remember a moment halfway through my time in Daytona. I was sitting with 10 college students from a nearby university in my living room. And while I sat there I was excited about how a group was forming among these students. But my mind kept wondering, how are we going to reach the other 8 campuses?
Questions such as this were common for me. Questions about how it would even be possible to make the dream a reality always were surfacing. How should I use my time? How could we raise more money to bring on more staff? How was this going to work?
Pushing Through
Looking back I realized the principles from 54321 are what led to eventual success. When I would get discouraged I would reflect on why I was doing this in the first place. And I would come back to my audacious goal. The dream would motivate me. It would also orient me in the right direction for determining next steps. And from there I would create a game plan for what to do next. And these next steps had meaning because they were tied directly to my dream.
This process was never easy. Many times I thought it was never going to happen. But day by day over the course of years, the dream became a reality and InterVarsity now exists in Daytona Beach.
Determining next steps for an audacious goal is an important process. The goal gives meaning and motivation to your daily actions. The goal also provides direction while the next steps ensure progress.
Practical Tools
Check out the free worksheet to work towards your 5 year goal. For a more in depth resource, check out the workbook.
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