Every organization sets goals for their employees as well as an orga- nization-wide goal that is hopefully aligned with the corporate vision and mission statement. Individual projects also have objectives (qual- ity, cost, time and others) that should align with some form of vision. However, it makes me wonder why some company-wide goals are of- ten not assessed with the same rigour as project goals. Perhaps this is why some companies and countries achieve goals deemed impossible by other CEOs and governments.

What about personal goals? Do you have a vision for your life? Do you have a way to track your goals similar to how project goals are tracked? Have you ever wondered why some people with the same or similar resources achieve goals that you believe are impossible? And have you ever achieved a specific goal and wondered why the same method doesn’t work for other areas of your life? Have you ever read any self-help books that state that positive thinking and visualising can manifest anything? Or that goal setting is all about action?

I have worked with many individuals and companies that fre- quently ask these questions. If you are frustrated about your progress and these types of questions keep you awake at night, then I assure you that you are not alone. You should keep reading.

I left Ghana for the UK with a borrowed £250 in my pocket to pursue my master’s degree. At the time, my friends said it was im- possible, given the school fees were £8000 and I had no place to live. I started by sleeping on the floor at friends’ living rooms and eating when they cooked. I got a job at night and went to school during the day. My desire to achieve my goal was greater than the fear of failing. That is what kept me going, and then having achieved this goal, my confidence grew, and I set a goal of completing my Institution of Civil Engineering Chartered Engineer training within three years. This, I was told by colleagues at work, was impossible. Still, I completed the training within three years, passed my exam and was recommend- ed for the James Rennie Medal Award. This increased my confidence even more, and I achieved great success on construction projects. I also started mentoring people to achieve their chartership qualification.

I thought I was unstoppable until I faced a huge challenge on a major sensitive government infrastructure project that the team and suppliers didn’t believe was achievable. That project nearly drove me to a mental breakdown. The team felt that, considering the timescales the government was requiring and what had been achieved in the in- dustry in the past, it was not possible to meet the timescales. Since they did not believe the goal could be met, even the standard rate of productivity dropped considerably. I realised that achieving goals was not just developing a plan and rigorously following it, but it also involved having the right belief system. I needed to change the belief system of the team to align with the vision. This caused me to embark on the study of human psychology, which I applied to that project. That project ended up being a huge success, going on to win several awards. My air of invincibility returned, which helped to turn around several large infrastructure projects. I began helping people start their own successful businesses.

Then the successes seemed to stop! I could achieve my clients’ goals for them, but I struggled to achieve my own business goals. Had I lost my mojo? Why wasn’t I achieving the same success? It was time for further studies! I started reading any book about achieving success I could lay my hands on. I realized that people achieved their successes differently and reflected differently on concepts in the self-help books. I started applying the concepts I studied to my personal life.

The success started slowly manifesting in my businesses. I recog- nized a framework that was the same for all the successes of projects, organizations, hedge fund managers, and entrepreneurs. I developed a course and started selling it to large organizations. It was well received by the delegates and some said it was the best course they had taken. Some delegates left their organizations to set up their own businesses, which I wasn’t advocating. However, this affirmed my own life pur- pose: to help others achieve their own success. So, even if this book touches only one person and that person makes a difference and their success touches other people’s lives, then my personal vision will be achieved.

This book will teach you an easy-to-remember, straightforward framework for achieving fulfilling goals. I developed the framework after spending hours reviewing books and articles and studies on how the brain works, mind models, habits, and goals, as well as research- ing some of the most successful people in the world, and, of course, through personal experience. All that research has then been distilled into a framework. I wish I could say it was as easy as motivational speakers make it seem in achieving your goals. The framework I want to share with you is easy to recall and draw up on the back of an envelope as a basis for your successful goal setting. The framework is novel, but the research and science behind the framework are not new.

Let’s go on this journey together.