Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, was bartending in 2017 at the beginning of her long-shot campaign for Congress. This week, she’ll be sworn in as a new member of Congress. That’s a quantum leap! She tweeted this after the election: “Last year I was bartending, and I bought my first couch two weeks ago - shortly after I got health insurance. So don’t worry, growth doesn’t happen in a straight line! We’re all closer than we believe.”
What’s your audacious goal? What’s the one thing that would catapult you to the next level in your career or business? It’s like a pole vault, lifting you over obstacles to higher levels of success. Limitations you had before are gone.
It’s the hit record that skyrockets the new singing sensation to the top of the charts and concert and media bookings.
No matter what your goals are for 2019, they likely all come together at one point. Whether your goals for 2019 focus on more income, signing more clients, getting a promotion, landing a new job, securing new funding, landing more paid speaking gigs, publishing your book, or gaining more followers on social media, there is something you could leverage that would accelerate all of your goals. In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield calls it “a breakthrough goal that would represent a quantum leap for you and your career.”[1]
This tends to be a tricky one for women, where the “not enough” and “not ready yet” programming rears its ugly head. If that shows up for you, recognize it and set it aside, because you have work to do and can’t be bothered with that distraction. Focusing on that will only hold you back.
As you go for your goals, you may choose to seek support to help you, which is what Dr. Angela Duckworth called "Race your strengths, train your weaknesses." For example, you might seek media or public speaking training to help you land more and better-paying speaking gigs, an editor for your book, or an expert in social media to gain more followers. That’s leveraging resources smartly to help you achieve your goals, including your breakthrough goal.
Types of Breakthrough or Quantum Leap Goals - It's a Game-Changer.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a quantum leap as a ”sudden increase, or dramatic advance,” and a breakthrough as “an act or instance of moving through or beyond an obstacle,” “a sudden advance especially in knowledge or technique,” and “a notable success.”
Here are some examples of breakthrough or quantum leap goals: winning a gold medal at the Olympics; winning “The Voice” or “American Idol” or another talent competition; landing your book on The New York Times bestseller list; appearing on a major national television show with your book such as Oprah’s “Super Soul Sunday” or “CBS This Morning”; securing new funding for your start-up; getting drafted by a major league sports team; getting elected to head up your organization or to political office; going to space with NASA; landing a new job that pays you 20%+ more and gives you more authority and access to senior leaders or media appearances; winning an award in your industry; doing a TED Talk; or earning a Ph.D. or a master’s degree.
This is a game-changer goal. It brings you opportunities on a whole new level, puts you in front of more people and the “right” people for your goals. It’s where you can make a bigger impact on more people and generate more income.
Don’t “Should” On Yourself – “Don’t Wait For Permission”
What if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex had told herself she "should wait" or “wasn't ready” to run for Congress yet?
Be bold, audacious, and ambitious with your breakthrough goal – not incremental.
Maria Blasé, president of a division of Ingersoll Rand, told me on my podcast, Green Connections Radio, said that our life and career choices need to suit ourselves, not convention. Blasé said, one’s career “doesn't have to look a certain way, it doesn't have to look like the traditional career."
She added that freeing yourself from those conventions, will make it easier to make choices that suit your life, your values, your circumstances and your opportunities.
I would add that “giving yourself that break,” as Blasé put it, helps you seek a breakthrough, quantum leap goal that catapults you to a whole new level of success.
Jennifer Palmieri, former Director of Communications for both President Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton in her historic 2016 presidential campaign, who I also interviewed on my podcast, wrote in her 2017 book, Dear Madam President: An Open Letter for the Women Who Will Rule the World, “Don’t wait for permission or an invitation or expect to find your place in someone else’s story. Jump in to whatever it is you want to do. Embrace … all that your experience and perspective give you to teach the rest of us.”
“Embrace What You Think You Cannot Do”
One of the top career tips from Dr. Ellen Stofan, the new Director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and the first woman in that role, gave me when I interviewed her on my podcast, is to “Embrace what you think you cannot do.” She grew her career by taking risks and having audacious goals. When she was offered her first management job, she didn’t think she had the skills to do it. But she tried it anyway and discovered that she did.
So, what is your breakthrough goal?
My breakthrough goal for 2019 is publishing my forthcoming business-career book for and about women. Stay tuned!
[1] The Success Principles, 10th anniversary edition, Jack Canfield with Janet Switzer, William Morrow, 2015, p.79
