Ready, Fire, Aim

Does the sub-title to this edition of Footprints and Monuments sound familiar? It does to me in a very real way. When I was a teenager my dad and I loved to go hunting. We would hunt whatever animal happened to be in season at the time, and anything else that moved. Especially snakes, but that is another story.

On one hunting trip my dad and I were about thirty yards from each other waiting for a particular kind of bird to fly over. I was ready. My gun was loaded. My mind was focused. I was going to "out shoot" my dad on this trip. Well, as I was sitting in my "ready" position I accidentally pulled the gun's trigger. Boom! As my shotgun let off a great blast I realized that my gun was pointing just a few feet from where my dad was sitting. Obviously, I fired before I aimed and almost killed my father in the process.

I see something similar in people's personal and professional lives all the time. Many get themselves ready with advanced education, power thoughts, and influential friends, but they fire before they aim. Aiming is a planning process that takes time and must be done before you can fire your way into a successful life, organization, or relationship.

You may ask, "I know how to get ready, and how to fire, but how do I take aim and then fire?" Or, "Is this just another goal setting exercise?" No, this is actually an exercise in life planning. In order to take aim your must know where you want to go, and what your passion is.

I have listed several questions below that will spark the creative part of your mind and help you establish your aim so that you will be able to achieve the kind of life, organization, and relationships you want.

Life Planning with accurate AIM:

  • Where do you want your life, organization, and relationships to be in five, ten, or twenty years? One way to answer this is to draw a picture. This picture will give you purpose, passion, and energy. It will also keep a visual in your mind as to what you are aiming at.

  • What standards of excellence, consistent growth, and specific review of progress do you need to set?

  • Do you have someone in your life to hold you accountable so you don't fire before you are ready or before you have taken aim?

  • A good system is better than a good friend when comes to life planning, therefore, what is on your to-do list today that will help you become more like your picture tomorrow?

About The Author

Jeff Earlywine began his ministry career while working on his undergraduate Business degree. His experiences have led him to work in many difference areas that have all benefited the local church.

CONSULTANT - Jeff has spent the last fifteen years consulting with hundreds of different organizations all across the nation. Serving as a consultant at The Injoy Group challenged him to be his best while he worked with the best. Jeff has assisted many ministries in Vision Casting, Strategic Planning, and Future Planning.

EXECUTIVE PASTOR - Jeff's unofficial title was, "Pastor of Organization," and by this title you might know this is his greatest skill. That skill gave him the passion to organize many different ministries in the local church. That skill also developed a volunteer staff capable of growing each of these ministries. He did this by equipping them to fulfill their God-given potential.

Jeff's passion is to come along side the leader and help him to identify and develop his dream, organize the needs of that dream, and then to train and equip leaders to fulfill that dream.

jeff@atlantayfc.org

In The News:



Planning for Success

The purpose of having an analytical brain is to use... Read More

Achieve Your Goal

Have you seen those ads that promise to make thousands... Read More

Living The Real Life Beyond Goal Setting

In many of his wonderful talks the motivational speaker Zig... Read More

Stop Scoring Own Goals

Own goals are actions, things we do, that stop us... Read More

Exploring Beneath The Surface

Unwanted feelings and thoughts are rich territory to dive beneath... Read More

Cultivating Belief in Your Goals

The Belief That You Can Do It and more importantly,... Read More

Turn The Escape Key Now

"I think I know how bank robbers feel as they... Read More

Got Goals? Did You Reach Them?

Most of us have goals.Big ones, small ones. But not... Read More

Achieve Your Desires By Scoring Goals

Do you have a desire? Silly question I know because... Read More

Self Improvement and the Importance of Flexibility

People who want to achieve success in their lives and... Read More

Is it Focus or Tunnel Vision?

To achieve success you must narrow your vision on your... Read More

How Being Intentional Makes You Happy

"Inspiration does not beget action. Action begets inspiration." - Chinese... Read More

Set Goals In Life

It is important to set goals in life. To accomplish... Read More

Stop Setting Goals; Make Decisions Instead

Every private client I work with begins at the same... Read More

Goals ? The Forgotten Success Element

Goals are extremely important and are the key to any... Read More

4 Steps to Inspired Goal Setting

At the beginning of the year, there's often an orgy... Read More

Keep Your Attention On What You Want

Have you ever wondered: "How does this 'Law of Attraction'... Read More

Reaching for the Goal

Can goals be easily reached? This question is in most... Read More

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

(excerpted from the Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan)Jim Rohn's Second... Read More

Broken Sleep

For the past several weeks, I have not been sleeping... Read More

Why You Must Stop Setting Goals

My goal in life is to have no goals. They... Read More

How To Become A Polished Public Speaker In Just One (1) Day

The fear of speaking in public ranks right up there... Read More

Combining the Mind and Effective Goal-Setting

Goals are of vital importance in our lives. Many of... Read More

The Importance Of Having A Goal In Life

At the age of twenty two, I read a book... Read More

How to Triple Your Productivity in 28 days - Part II

If you've been diligent in doing the past 2 concentration... Read More