Added Value: Climb Every Mountain

Taking the time to set goals is an important part of any business plan. Photo: ©istock.com/Hiro1775/ zentilia

I’m a big fan of musicals, and one of my favorite songs is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music. The lyrics inform us to climb every mountain, search high and low, follow every byway, every path you know.

Today, our lives seem to be so fast paced we sometimes fly through the week/month/year without stopping to even set goals, let alone shoot for them. But you can’t hit a target you don’t even have. Once you realize you’ve gone through life without setting the goals necessary to succeed, you may wake up one day to see you’ve missed the bus.

I recently heard someone say, 
“If I lost all my money today, 
I know I could make more.” 
But no amount of money could buy more time.

What if you’ve already set your goals? What’s next? In that case, you need to create an action plan to define just how you’re going achieve your goal. Let’s look at the lyrics of the song: Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, ’till you find your dream. A dream that will need all the love you can give, every day of your life for as long as you live.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Are you really committed to your goals with the true desire to accomplish them? Have you put them down on paper? Have you shared your dreams with family, friends or team members?

You might need to invest time to feed your mind with the right information and equip yourself for success. Going to training sessions or seminars can be a great place to learn from others who have already paved the way for you. Read business books, or listen to them as audiobooks. I own more than 100 audiobooks and have them on my smartphone to listen to as I drive or fly. Regardless of how you pursue them, you have to do something to set your goals in motion. No one else can do this for you.

I hope this inspires you to get moving with whatever dreams you may have. You might already have defined goals, but you may be off track a bit and have lost your way. I hope you assess your situation and get started again. I’ve had many goals in my lifetime — some I’ve achieved, many I haven’t, so I constantly have to re-assess and adjust them, too.

You can reach Ray Johnson, a past president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), president of Sevierville, Tenn.-based Johnson Pest Control, and founder of ACES for Business, at ray@johnsonpestcontrol.com.