Until and unless you understand what I am going to tell you next, you will most likely live your life in a swirl. Lots of activity and movement but never really scoring. Before I share with you the important principle of Hierarchy with respect to goal setting, let me touch on the topic of goals.
The purpose of having a goal is to create FOCUS. You must understand this! Until you have focus, you are but a floating leaf playing a part in someone else’s dream and you don’t even know it! You are fodder for them, feeding their machine or ego or worse. Talk about FOCUS. Watch this short clip of a man with incredible FOCUS ON THE GOAL…
A goal is a specific accomplishment that is 100% measurable. There is a clear line, called a goal line, over which the ball (you) must pass. So far, so good. But here’s the problem… People are all the time talking about the importance of having goals without defining their hierarchy. Without hierarchy, you become the man who chases two rabbits and catches none. Over and over and over again. You might be having fun, but have you noticed… you’re “kinda” hungry?
What is hierarchy?
It’s simply the arrangement of priorities based on their importance. This requires choice, which requires decision, which requires thought, evaluation and measurement, which requires honesty, which requires courage, which gets easier as it becomes your habit.
We are in a fight for our lives with an unseen force that is as shrewd as it is evil. That force has a clearly defined hierarchy as seen in Ephesians 6:12. There is a devil who has principalities, with powers expressed through rulers of darkness of this age and served by a host of wicked spirits. Our adversary understands hierarchy.
Who did Jesus say had the greatest faith He had seen in all of Israel? It was a Roman centurion who understood hierarchy. He was a captain of 100 soldiers and when Jesus offered to go to his home to heal his servant, the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go’ and he goes and to another ‘Come’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this’ and he does it.”
The centurion’s understanding of hierarchical authority caused Jesus to marvel. Very few people understand and respect the power of hierarchy. And even fewer understand its role in goal setting. But Jesus did. He said in Luke 19:10 that He came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” He knew his goal hierarchy under which every other goal must be subordinate.
Then there was Paul who said in Philippians 3, “This ONE thing I do… I press toward the goal of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Everything else in Paul’s life was subordinate to that goal which was to bear the name and reputation of our Lord before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15)
So now we must talk about YOU. What is the high calling of God for your life? What is that thing for which you are willing to exchange the rest of your life in its pursuit and apprehension? Make no mistake… You will be trading your life for something. Will it be for trivial pursuits or something of eternal value? Bear in mind, a life lived in government or business for example, may well be the high calling of God for you, but only if it is done to serve His kingdom agenda.
Until you have the top hierarchy goal, you cannot properly set other goals. You must define that top goal first and then bring everything into subordination to that goal. It makes life easier actually, because your life revolves around that ONE goal. If you choose that goal poorly there will be a price to pay, so choose wisely.
Take the time this weekend to get really clear on that ONE thing that is worth exchanging your life for. Then write it down. Read it several times a day. Refine it over the next 30 days. Get really clear on that ONE goal. When that ONE goal is indelibly stamped on your brain and tattooed on your heart, every other goal you set will serve the attainment of that ONE big goal.
The reason there are so few leaders worth emulating is not because God only created a very few people with leadership ability. Au contraire mon ami. (On the contrary my friend) God equipped all of us with a brain possessing incredible abilities, a spirit that can perceive God and know His mind (the mind of Christ).
I believe there is a shortage of leaders worth emulating because so few have identified their goal hierarchy with that ONE thing at the top, worth exchanging their life for. They have no clue what it is. If they do have a clue, they haven’t invested the time to articulate it and concretize it by putting it in writing and holding it up to their own scrutiny.
If you join my MPI Business Institute (which I am quickly closing in to begin once I solve the technical delivery issues), we will walk through these important topics and help you begin living a life worth emulating, a life worth exchanging all you possess for.
Until then, be fruitful and multiply!
great and challenging thoughts (as usual) On thing I am challenged by is clarifying the what I am to do and the who I am to be as it relates to my one thing or driving goal. Is being a kingdom focused business owner my one goal or is doing 400,000 in production this calander year my driving goal, or is it both? Not sure if I am communicating this well but I often get challenged by being focused on one or the other my “who” and my “do”
Hi Thomas;
Being a kingdom focused business owner is not really much of a goal. I would ask, “As a kingdom focused business owner, what do you want to accomplish in your lifetime with that company?” The $400,000 in production is a lesser goal that is most likely in line with the larger one. Make sense?
mike thanks for the reply it provides some clarity
Very good…I needed to hear this today. Thanks. Easy to get the focus on the wrong thing..
Indeed it is Joanne. Thanks for posting!
I have learned in goal setting – to set 2 goals.
One Measurable and one Non-Measurable. Both are attainable. Both keep you focused.
Good thought Brent, as long as one is subordinate and in line with the other.
We have had many goals in the past, but focus is what we have been lacking. Thank you for the challenge. Your posts are so encouraging!
It seams as though you mention a business perspective. What are principles so that those in other areas can apply them?
HI Mario; Thanks for posting a comment. The principle of establishing a hierarchy with one overriding goal that all others are subordinate to, can be applied to all other areas of life, BUT you still need to identify that ONE big goal that your life is lived towards.
Blessings,
Michael
I don’t quite get the terminology about trading your life to posses ???? I sounds like a cult or something like selling your soul–l am a little confused
RG… Think of it this way… Every day you get up and trade your life, your energy, your vitality, for something. Maybe it’s a paycheck. Maybe it’s frivolity. Maybe it’s to preach the gospel. But every day, you take the life you were given and trade it for some reward. I recommend you trade the life force God has given you for something of eternal purpose.
Hope that helps.