This week I earned my Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University (BYU). The sense of accomplishment and excitement surprised me. I remember the moment that I applied for graduation. I could not wipe the grin off of my face for several hours afterward. I had to call my wife, a classmate, and several colleagues to share the joy with them. I felt so silly and at the same time so happy.

I teach that “Others will help you achieve your goal“. I would like to take a moment to thank the many people who helped me achieve this goal. I do so, not only to show my gratitude, but to demonstrate how others can help. The others who helped me include:

1. My dear wife Carol, who endured my absence almost every Thursday, and sacrificed together time while I did homework every waking hour (or so it seemed).
2. My parents, Kay and Jo, who encouraged me and financially made the degree possible.
3. My GoalsWork team that kept me on task, lifted me when down, and pushed me when frustrated. You guys exemplify what synergy is all about.
4. Gloria Wheeler, the retired assistant department chair, who dragged me into the program, so that I would stop wasting time.
5. Team RIP’M (Chad, Crystal, Kevin, & Temple) my first year study team and friends for life. We carpooled together the entire 3 years, kept each other going, discussed concepts, celebrated the victories, and mourned the losses. I could not have made it without your support.
6. My fellow classmates who shared three years of Thursdays together. Your insights, discussions, and collaboration elevated my work.
7. My professors who gave me 59 new tools to manage more effectively, analyze more accurately, and think more clearly. Governments and academics around the world recognize your contributions.
8. My family and friends who cheered me on, tutored me, and shared the dream.

Others truly will help. Look at all the ones that helped me. Others will help you too.

PS: I earned my degree this week. I will walk with all my classmates in August.

Let me preface this blog by saying my last few blogs were too long. I will ensure this one is shorter.

You must act to achieve your goals.
I know this seems obvious. The number of people who think they can get what they want without doing anything would surprise you. Then, they gripe and complain when they don’t achieve what they wanted.

A great teacher once said “He that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with a doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.” I believe he outlined the only three things that can prevent you from achieving our goals. First, don’t do anything until you have to. Second, act doubting that you can achieve anything. Third, act slowly and poorly. Your inaction, doubtful action, and sloppy action will stop you.

The reverse is also true. If you act, and act with faith, and act with excellence; you shall achieve your goal. It’s that simple. You must believe that you can achieve your goals. You need to believe that effective actions create success. You should believe that you deserve good things to happen to you, or that you can do good things for others. If faith can move mountains, then faith can surely help you achieve your goals.

Others Can Help You Act Effectively
Other people probably already achieved your goal. They can share what they did to achieve the goal with you. In fact, many people already shared what they did in books, blogs, articles, and other publications. Others may not have written what they did, but would be happy to share their ideas with you. You can find them on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. You can also find them in professional associations and service clubs.

You can discover what works by studying their actions. Usually, they describe the successful actions and the less successful ones. Studying what they did helps you prevent making the same mistakes they made. Following their advice can save you time and frustration.

Others can also brainstorm ideas of actions you can take, even if they haven’t accomplish the same goal.

Try this experiment.

1. Get 2-3 friends together. Pick creative and outgoing friends.
2. Tell each friend to come to the meeting with at least one goal they would like accomplish.
3. Explain to them that each person will share their goal with the others.
4. The others in the group share ideas (as quickly as possible) how achieve the goal.
5. The person writes down all the ideas without criticizing or commenting.
6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for the next person until everyone has had a chance.
7. Examine how the exercise changes your feelings about achieving the goal.

Select 2-3 actions to do in the next 30 days

Many people fail to achieve their goal because they try to do too much all at once. They can’t sustain the actions and soon give up. I recommend, instead, that you limit your actions to 2-3 a month. Do a little bit each month. Let the momentum build. Evaluate the consequences of your actions. Refine what you want to do. Persist with your plan.

Soon you will find that you move forward at an accelerating pace. Your pace accelerates even more if you synergize your actions with a GoalsWork team each month. We’ll discuss more about actions in later blogs. I suggest you try the experiment. Choose 2-3 actions you will do this month. Then, act, act in faith, and act in excellence.