One of the stories I find myself telling the most is the story of Olympian Matt Emmons.  In 2004, he was getting ready to take the gold for one of the air rifle events.  He aimed his rifle and fired his final shot…bulls eye.  Unfortunately, his shot was a “cross-fire” which means that he hit the wrong target.  In one fraction of a second he what everyone believed was his gold medal.

The reason I tell this story is to remind us all that sometimes “success” appears to be a bulls eye when it isn’t.   I believe that success is actually one of the Achilles heels of the entrepreneur.  Let me explain…

If you own your own business, then you most likely have achieved success in various areas of your life.  The problem is that we are taught to seek success, but rarely taught to make sure that we are aiming for the right target.  Just like Emmons, we will get a score of zero (0) and lose our chance of winning the gold when we have a cross-fire.

The goal for the entrepreneur is not to just win, but to win at what we do best.  Good is not good enough when you want to live like one of the top 5% of the truly successful.  This means saying no to the good so you can say yes to the great.  This also means that we have to be strategic with the goals that we want to pursue.  It is not good enough to have a set of goals.  Instead, you must have a set of goals that will keep you aimed at the right target and allow you to hit the right bulls eye.

– Catalyst John, small business expert and coach