Earlier this week, a friend approached me to let me know he’d been reading my articles and found them very helpful.

“I was skeptical at first” he admitted. “But I kept reading and personal branding makes a lot of sense. I think I could use some of that myself.”

The conversation meandered, as it usually does when it involves me, and we somehow got on the topic of his long-term goals. He mentioned he’d been toying with the idea of moving to Italy. Coming from another warm, social, coffee-obsessed country, I could relate.

It wouldn’t be soon, he said, maybe in five years or so. He’s a sharp guy, and we’d already discussed his goals for the next 12 months and the set-up he’d been doing for them.

But there’s something about medium and long term goals that makes them very fuzzy. Paraphrasing Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a goal without a plan is not a goal, it’s just a wish.

Keen to prove the use of personal branding, I shared three powerful goal questions with him, and now with you.

When setting goals, especially medium and long-term goals, these are the three questions to ask yourself:

1) What does this goal represent?

2) What can I do to improve that in the short term?

3) What can I start doing to set up my medium or long-term goal?

1) What does this goal represent?

Often our longer term goals are short-cuts for a number of things. They may represent a different lifestyle, recognition, career advancement… the possibilities are endless.

You need to be very clear on what your goal is, because it’s easy to confuse the way you achieve a goal (for example, getting a promotion), what I call Action Goals and SRG talent call “Means Goals”, with the goal itself (for example, having more disposable income available to travel with my family), what I call Life Goals and SRG talent calls “End Goals”.

Asking this question helps to open up your eyes to other possible ways of achieving that Life Goal, and to get to the core of your “why”, the reason you will put in time and effort into making this goal a reality. Without the why, your goals may stay in your “someday” pile year after year, never being put into action.

And if you’re chasing the goal without understanding what it represents, you may not get what you expect from it. Following the example above, if the promotion you seek comes with the expectation of always being available or willing to cancel vacations (something many executives do) then your ultimate goal of travelling more with your family won’t be realized. You may find yourself promoted and frustrated, feeling like you worked hard and achieved your goal but ultimately still unsatisfied.

If you’re having trouble answering the question, you may want to check out my Answering the tough questions (and how to make it easier) post.

2) What can I do to improve that in the short term?

Now that you’re clear on your goal, you can start exploring ways to bring some of those long-term improvements into the present. How can you bring in more of what makes you happy today? Are there small actions you can take that will improve how you feel or experience your day-to-day?

For example, you could start incorporating short weekend trips with your family within the surrounding area. That way, you will have explored your immediate surroundings by the time you’re ready to finance international travel, and will have built memories and experiences to cherish without waiting for your long-term goal to be realised.

You could also start a list of places you’d like to travel to as a family in the future – learning more about them can help bring them closer and make you feel like you’re already preparing for an exciting trip.

3) What can I start doing to set up my medium or long-term goal?

But remember, without a plan we don’t have a goal, we have a wish. Proper planning to achieve your goal will probably come later (for example, seeking that promotion or lateral move that will increase your disposable income won’t be possible for another year because you just received a promotion and won’t have the bandwidth to work on it with your new baby at home) but there are plenty of things you could start doing now to set up that long term goal.

You may want to have some informational coffee chats with people in the roles you’re considering, for example. That will give you a better idea of whether they are a good fit for you, and may uncover previous steps that you’ll need to complete (for example, needing a certification before being eligible for a specific role).

Taking small steps now not only makes the goal easier as it comes closer, it increases the likelihood of you actually prioritizing the goal in the future and putting in the effort to achieve it. It helps move it from dream to reality, where you can actively pursue it.

Most of us have had moments of frustration with our past selves (why didn’t I take that course last year? If I were already certified I could have opted for that exciting project!) (why didn’t I pilot this training last year? I’d now have an improved version to use for the upcoming presentation). Thinking about what you can do today makes sure those moments are fewer and farther between.

It may be easier to see how this works with an example

Let’s take my friend’s goal – moving to Italy.

1) What does this goal represent?

It could be a combination of any of the below:

• Better food

• Social and friendly people

• Enjoying the outdoors more

• Being closer to family

• etc.

2) What can you do to improve any of those in the short term?
You might not be able to move to Italy in the short term, but what can you do to bring “Italy” to you? Here are some ideas: