My little brother's name is Cubby. And he is a genius.
This is Cubby. He is my little brother. His name isn't really Cubby, but his real name didn't make sense to me when I was four, so I re-named him Cubby instead and it just kind of stuck. This kid is a legend. He is probably the single most effective and successful teenager I have ever met. And I would like to share one of his secrets with everyone.
Cub has a few nasty habits that make him stand out in a crowd. Whenever he sets his mind to something somehow it occurs sooner or later. He hates losing. He is extremely goal oriented, and he is constantly trying to improve and get somewhere new. Cub is a trumpet player, an imagineer, and races in triathlons as well. There was this one time he was about to go run a cross country race and he was stretching before hand. I asked him "Hey Cub, what's your strategy for this race?" His response was really simple. "Win.".
He won.
And set a couple records along the way.
But how did he do it? How could he possibly have the confidence? Well, his preparation for that race started LONG before race day. He saw something he wanted and set that as his vision. That is what he wanted to
do. He set some goals and made some plans, and step by step and day by day improved himself. When it came time for the race he already knew his strategy, he knew his pace, he knew the course, and his preparation allowed him to focus on his vision when it was time to perform. "Win."
The same is true of everything he does. One day I walked into our bedroom which we shared, and I saw the
broken carcasses of two Nintendo 64's on the floor. As I entered the room I saw him hunched over my art
table with smoke rising from the table. Apparently earlier that week he had seen on the internet how someone had modified an N64 to play portably, like an oversized gameboy. It was cool. And he wanted one. So he decided he would have one. This is a photo of the (almost) finished product.
He is very smart.
I've had the privilege to know Cub my entire life. He is one of my best friends. And I've noticed a few simple tricks he uses to do whatever he wants to do. He sets goals. Simple as that. But he sets them well. He sets effective and powerful goals. He uses an acronym to help him to set a meaningful goal.
Specific- His goals are always specific. They are carefully written out. They are clear. He knows exactly what he wants to achieve and what it will look like when it is done.
Measurable- He can easily measure the progress of his goals. He always keeps them quantified, and knows how much further the success of the goal is.
Attainable- It's possible! He makes sure the goal in it's entirety is absolutely plausible. He isn't scared to push his limits and he isn't scared to fail, but he knows if he sets a goal to go to saturn, it's not going to happen.
Relevant- The goals he sets are always in line with the vision he sets. The things he does are relevant. If his vision is to play higher on the trumpet, he won't set a goal to do more push-ups every day! Keep your vision in mind!
Time based- He is the only teenager you will meet that will give himself assignments with a due date. He keeps himself accountable and is able to revise and edit his plans if need be to meet his deadlines.
If your goals are in line with the above standards, if it is a smart goal, then there is a way to accomplish it. It doesn't mean that it's easy, but if your goal meets the criteria, you can do anything you like. Remember in life there are no barriers keeping you from what you want most. You just need to create a vision, set some worthy goals, make adequate plans, then "Win.".
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