Sarah had a bit of a problem. The humid summer air had finally given way to crisp mornings and cozy undershirts. Winter lay just around the corner, but Sarah’s old furnace was on the brink. She knew she couldn’t delay its replacement much longer, so she peeked at her bank balance to see if she had enough to pull the trigger. Things weren’t looking good.

Not wanting to mimic the weather conditions of the North Pole in her own home, she set herself the goal of acquiring two new clients for her interior design business over the next 30 days. To add emphasis to the goal and keep herself on track, she ceremoniously taped a big number 2 on her bedroom door where she’d be sure to see it every morning.

To Sarah’s surprise, she picked up the second new client on Day 24 and flashed a big grin at her accomplishment – achieved early, no less. She quickly replaced the shaky furnace and took her son out to their favorite pizza place to celebrate.

At dinner, Sarah’s jolly spirits were dampened when her son reminded her that he needed all new hockey equipment in time for the rapidly approaching season. Apparently not even his ice skates fit anymore, which had been purchased just last year at a hefty $200 price tag. Sarah maintained her bubbly frame in front of her son, but inside she worried about her ability to cobble together enough cash for yet another unexpected expense.

That night, channeling her success from the furnace campaign, she repeated her goal of getting two new clients in 30 days and taped up the number 2 once again to her door. This time she accomplished the goal in just 17 days, and soon surprised her son with a trip to the sporting goods store after school. She took the following few days off to relax and celebrate her achievement before getting back to the grind.

While perusing the web one afternoon, she stumbled across an interesting video clip in her Facebook news feed. A friend had posted it along with a glowing comment declaring how much she loved its message – capped off with five exclamation points. Knowing her friend wasn’t one to overhype things, Sarah clicked play to see what all the fuss was about.

The bold voice and presence of Les Brown, famed motivational speaker, graced the screen and grabbed her attention. It wasn’t long before Les shared his point that formed the basis of the video:

Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss; most people fail in life because they aim too low and hit.

It definitely got Sarah thinking. She had successfully achieved her two most recent goals, but was she aiming too low? She’d hit her last target in nearly half the allotted time, and even though the goal was accomplished she still had to start hustling again soon in order to cover her regular expenses for the month. What if she’d aimed for four clients instead of two? Even falling short and getting three would have been a better result than reaching her lesser goal. And she would have had some extra money saved up, partially alleviating her financial strain going forward.

Feeling conflicted and confused, she decided to call her friend to discuss the video. She talked about her recent successes and her concerns after hearing Mr. Brown’s message. Her friend listened attentively and then, like a doctor coming to a swift diagnosis, excitedly blurted out the following response:

“Sarah, you definitely need to set bigger goals! The good news is that you’re even setting goals to begin with – a lot of people don’t – but now you need to take it to the next level. Instead of setting small goals whenever a challenge arises, try setting bigger, sexier, long-term goals that have plenty of cushion built in to account for life’s inevitable obstacles. Be proactive, not reactive. For example, rather than temporarily motivating yourself to earn a few extra hundred or thousand dollars when you need it, what if you set a big, bold goal like making $100,000 in a year? How would achieving that goal change your circumstances? Would you still be stressing each new expense that pops up, or would you take comfort in knowing that you’re covered?”

Sarah knew her friend was right. Her goal-setting strategy thus far had been unquestionably reactionary. But what would happen if she took that extra effort and motivation she had during her short goal campaigns and applied it year-round? How much more exciting and meaningful would each day become if it were part of a larger goal being worked towards? How much more satisfying would attaining a goal be if it were five, ten, even twenty times the size?

Since January 1st was just a couple of weeks away, Sarah decided her New Year’s resolution would be to have her first ever six-figure year with her business.

Startled awake by the obnoxious buzz of her alarm clock, Sarah pulled herself out of bed and tried to shake off the haze from perhaps one too many celebratory glasses of champagne the night before.

Coffee – she needed coffee.

She slipped on her comfy slippers and was about to saunter into the kitchen when she paused. There, taped to the back of her bedroom door, her new goal beckoned her boldly into the new year. Its six large digits dwarfed the small number 2 that had once resided in the very same place, causing a never-before-felt hunger to rise up through Sarah’s body and culminate in a satisfied smirk that crept slowly across her face. She yanked open the door, rushing eagerly forward to taste the new year’s first jolt of caffeine, and a fresh helping of optimism and resolve.

It was time to get to work.