The 20-Year Old Harvard Study That Changed My Life

For most people, it will never be a goal to lift a car, pull a 40-ton truck with a harness, or lift a giant boulder over your head.

Back in the days when I was training to compete in strongman competitions, that was actually what I thought about most of the time. It’s amazing when I think back now, actually, just how obsessed I was. But that constant focus, that conscious thought brought me from a 120-pound weakling to an elite level strength athlete.

For a while, I consistently ranked in the top ten in Ontario. This is in a sport where there are no weight classes and I was always at least 5 inches shorter, and 40 pounds smaller than the next
smallest competitor.

I was never really satisfied with my achievements in the sport, but nowadays as I look back at where I started, they are remarkable.

I used to write notes to myself with goals for how much I wanted to be lifting in each discipline, by some specific date. Then, I would take those notes and post them somewhere where I could look
at them each day.

This was a strategy I had learned from my personal trainer, Mr. Leo Costa, who taught me that my goals needed to be specific, they needed to have a timeline associated with them, and above all, I
should write them down. Little did I know at the time, how much that one lesson would carry over to other areas of my life later on. I just knew I wanted to be a good student, and I did as I was told.

Recently while having a conversation with a good friend, the subject of goal-setting came up. We were remarking on how powerful this strategy can be, when applied correctly. That’s when he said,
“well of course you know about the Harvard study…” to which I replied “what study?”

Well, apparently everybody’s already heard of this, but I hadn’t, and I thought there was a chance you may not have either, so I wanted to share it with you.

In 1979, there was a study conducted on students in the Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish
them?” Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and 84 percent had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings were illuminating. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent
who had no goals at all. And the three percent who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, TEN TIMES as much as the other 97 percent put together.

Do you think I was surprised? I have seen how goal-setting has impacted my life!

In spite of such proof of success, most people still don’t have clear, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward. There simply is no reason imaginable that a sane person, faced with this
evidence, would not sit down, like NOW, and write out his or her goals and a clear, systematic plan for achieving them.

Look, 2009 is right around the corner. What would YOU like to manifest in your life this year?

Live Strong and Healthy,

Conor Kelly
EVOLUTION FITNESS – Personal Trainers Toronto
(416) 220-7883

P.S. Having clear and precise goals with a plan for achieving them is essential to your fitness success. Why not take the guesswork out of it? Goal-setting is one of the cornerstones of our success here at Personal Trainers Toronto! Let us show you how. Request your complimentary Personal Trainers Toronto New Year’s Fitness Consultation right away by calling (416) 220-7883
or by going here:

www.personaltrainerstoronto.com