How to Achieve Your Biggest Goal 

We all have a life goal that’s so big, it seems too good to ever become true. It’s a goal so big that, if you were to achieve it, your life would change. This goal might send you into a new career path, bring financial freedom, or change the way you live your everyday life. 

And if you dream really big, you might think your biggest goal is impossible to achieve.

But you CAN achieve it. I know this to be true because, in 2016, I achieved my biggest goal.

In 2016, I set a big goal for myself: I was going to empower 100,000 children with my picture book I CAN Believe in Myself.

At the time, this goal seemed completely out of reach. I thought, There’s no way I can actually do this, right?  On May 7th of the same year, I had achieved that goal and set a Guinness World Record in doing so. 

I went from thinking my biggest goal was unachievable to making my dream come true in only four months’ time all because of this one strategy:

Ask your brain the right question.

Your brain is a powerful tool that can have a strong influence on whether you achieve your biggest goal. One way you can use this brainpower to your advantage is by asking your brain the right question.

Think of a question, any question:

• What did I eat for breakfast this morning?
• Who plays Michael Scott in The Office?
• What is the only US State to begin with the letter ‘P’?

I’ll bet that as soon as you read those questions, your brain immediately answered with eggs & bacon, Steve Carrell, and Pennsylvania. As soon as you ask your brain any question, it immediately tries to uncover the answer.

Why is that important? It’s important because it demonstrates a fundamental brain function you can use to your advantage as you achieve your biggest goal.

All you have to do is ask your brain the right question. For me, that question was:

What would I have to do to empower 100,000 children to believe in themselves by May 7th, 2016?

Immediately, my brain developed a variety of ideas — school visits, book signings, a large community event, etc.

As these ideas came up, I continued asking my brain questions such as “What do I need to do that?” and “What would I have to do?”

By using this simple strategy I was able to turn my biggest goal into a strategic action plan. As soon as my biggest goal was broken down into smaller, more specific goals, I could make steady progress.

Here’s how you can use this strategy as you achieve your biggest goal:

Fill in the blanks: “What would I have to do to [your biggest goal] by [specific date]?”

Maybe your question looks like this:

• What would I have to do to become fluent in French by the time I leave for my trip to France?
• What would I have to do to have a clean & clutter-free home by the end of the month?
• What would I have to do to publish my children’s book in one year’s time?

The key here is to be as specific as possible. The more specific you are, the more concrete your action plan will become, allowing you to make consistent and measurable progress.

Write everything down.

You might feel tempted to toss your first idea out the window. Maybe it seems too absurd or unachievable. Write it down anyways. As a matter of fact, you should write down everything your brain proposes. You never know which idea will be the game-changer.

Sometimes our biggest goals require more time and thought than others. Make sure to give yourself the time to contemplate your options and pick the best action plan for you. To really get in the zone, take time to do this every day.