Five Steps to Better Goal Setting (GRASS)

00:32 – Welcome to the podcast! Hose Blaine Rada shares some insight about what this podcast is all about and what he hopes you’ll walk away with. These episodes all have a sales theme to them, and even though Blaine focuses on the mortgage industry, these sales tactics can be applied anywhere.

2:04 – As always, it’s important to understand Blaine’s worldview when it comes to selling, which could be seen as a little confusing or controversial, even. His philosophy is that selling is not about getting the sale. Selling is about establishing if you are the best fit for the customer, and in doing this, the sales will come.

3:33 – Today’s podcast is going to focus on planning and goal setting. Why bother with planning anyway, when we can’t predict the future? Well, Dwight Eisenhower, General in World War II in charge of the Allied invasion, said something along the lines of: “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” The planning part is where it matters.

5:10 – Planning is essential to goal setting. There is value in expressing a goal and what you want to achieve, and in going through the thought process of how you might achieve it, but we can’t be too rigid in our approach.

5:44 – Blaine is going to share five steps, which conveniently spell the word GRASS. For those of us who enjoy affirmations, think about standing on your lawn and saying “There are no weeds. There are no weeds on my lawn.” But, if you don’t do something about the weeds, they’ll take over your lawn. This is a good analogy for affirmations without action – just saying that you want something to happen won’t actually make it happen.

7:30 – First step is the G: the Goal! Every plan starts with the outcome. This can really apply to any part of your life, personal or professional. But a goal without a deadline is just a dream, so it’s important to set a timeframe around achieving the goal.

8:52 – The R stands for reality. Evaluate where you are today in reference to your goal, so you can determine the gap between the now and achieving your goal. We need to be realistic in our goal setting so we ensure we are setting attainable and achievable objectives. 

10:51 – The A stands for accountability. There are people who can help you with your goals, even if you are an independent person like Blaine is. Think about who can help teach you what you are seeking to know, or even who can hold you accountable to meeting the milestones of your ultimate goal. Blaine calls these people “drift catchers,” who alert you to when you are drifting off of the course that you’re pursuing. These people are so helpful!

12:39 – The first S stands for strategies. This is the heart of planning; establishing the steps that you will take to get from where you are to where you want to be. Blaine identifies three mistakes that people often make with strategizing: 

1) We have too many strategies! People aren’t good at changing multiple things in their lives, so focus on a small number of strategies at a time.
2) Your strategies are too similar to what you’ve been trying before. Strategies generally have to be something new that you’re not currently doing.
3) The strategies are too painful. People are motivated to avoid pain, yet we pick strategies and practices that we hate. This doesn’t encourage us to improve or stick with our strategy. You can’t sustain doing something that you actually hate doing.

21:27 – The second S is the word Stop. With a new goal and strategies, you’ve just decided to add more to your plate, more responsibilities and tasks in your life. Stop and evaluate everything in your life and remove the things that don’t serve you, don’t move you towards your goal, or that waste your time. This is an on-going step to work on throughout your progress towards your goal – you will have to constantly stop and evaluate what is useful and what needs to go.

24:40 – Blaine shares a detailed example of how to put the GRASS steps into action with something that nearly everyone has thought about – the goal of losing weight.

31:26 – Let’s cover the key takeaways from today. The act of planning and creating a plan is where the value is, because you are thinking through the steps you will take to create change in your life and career. We discussed the GRASS method of breaking down a goal into achievable and understandable steps. 

33:50 – Blaine has three final asks for listeners. First, take a step! Implement a lesson that you learned today, maybe change up your direction or approach using some of the ideas presented. Second, tell a friend about this podcast! Share this information with as many people as possible, so we can all grow and improve together. Third, talk with us at Arch MI! Tell us how we can be of service and value for you, and let us know your feedback on the podcast!