The GAP Journal

Legacy Launch Pad

When George Doran coined the idea of SMART goals in 1981, he probably didn’t know how popular it would be. But popular it remains.

The proliferation of the concept makes sense. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound are appealing concepts. They make it seem possible for anyone to achieve what they want.

But I believe SMART goals can actually be stupid if you want to achieve extraordinary things. Do you think Serena Williams had SMART goals? Or Jeff Bezos? Or Barack Obama?

I prefer BHAGs: Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals.

How Do You Meet a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal?

When it comes to meeting audacious goals, I’m going to introduce you to what I call the GAP, which stands for Goals, Action and Progress. It’s a process I came up with that can help you progress by writing down your goal and the actions you’re going to take to achieve it—and then, over time, noting the progress.

Why am I qualified to share this with you? Because I went from an unemployed—and unemployable—drug addict to a New York Times bestselling author of eight books and publisher. I went from watching everyone else do the things I fantasized about doing to giving three TEDx talks and offering my opinion on TV shows from Today to Good Morning America. I went from always wanting to be a mom to finally becoming one—at 53.

And I did it by never coming up with any SMART goals. I did it by coming up with STUPIDLY big goals and then filling in the GAP.

What Is the GAP?

Here’s how the GAP breaks down:

1. Come up with a ridiculously massive goal and write it down as if it already happened.
2. Write down the specific actions you’re going to take to achieve the goal.
3. Let time pass, don't give up and note your progress only after you’ve given the universe a chance to help you meet your goal in much bigger ways than you ever could have imagined.

Why Does This Process Work?

The great spiritual leader David Hawkins wrote in his book, Letting Go, “We get what we want when we stop insisting on it.” In terms of the GAP, this means coming up with goals, writing down the actions we're going to take, and letting the universe decide on the results.

That has been abundantly true for me. I spent years insisting on my life working out the way I wanted it to. I didn’t understand that I had been trying to control the experience—I had been insisting, in other words, and not letting. When we try to control everything, there’s inherently a fear that it won’t happen that way. And fear negatively affects our frequency, in turn keeping what we want at bay.

None other than Albert Einstein may have been on board with this. He’s the one, after all, who said, “Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

How do we close the GAP?

Step One: Come Up with Your Goal and Write It Down

Maybe you’re entirely clear about your goal but if you’re not, ask yourself what you wanted when you were little. What did you love? What hope did the world stomp out of you, making you feel like you were asking for too much? Because I’m here to tell you, you can give that kid everything they want.

But if you want this to work, you must write that goal down.

A 2015 study out of Dominican College proved, in fact, that you are 42 percent more likely to meet a goal if you write it down. But in my experience, there’s more to it than just writing down the few words. You need to write it out in what’s known as “gratitude tense”: write down a scene where you already have it. What does your life feel like, sound like, smell like? The details don’t matter, as long as the thought of it lights you up.

Step Two: Determine the Actions You’re Going to Take

A goal without any specific actions is just a fantasy. So once you’ve written your goal down, you need to get clear about what you’re going to do to meet it.

Specificity is key.

When I decided I wanted to be sober after years of addiction, I got clear about what I was going to do: I was going to go to 12-step meetings. I was going to follow the direction of people who had achieved sobriety. I was going to make recovery my world. Over 22 years later, I’m still sober and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.

When I wanted to write a novel, I outlined the actions I was going to take: I was going to write every day. I was going to read more novels. I was going to start taking active steps to find an agent.

These things seem obvious and yet many people don’t do them. Why? Because vaguely knowing what you should do and writing down the specific actions you’re going to take are entirely different.

Step Three: Wait—And Note Your Progress

Here’s the hardest, and perhaps most counterintuitive, part of the process: after taking action, you do nothing. Think of it as a play on an age-old expression: “Don’t just stand there; do something.” In this case, it’s “Don’t just do something; stand there.”

You stand there because you need to let the universe work its magic and it can’t do that if you’re micromanaging. Alas, I’m not talking about waiting a week, a month, or even six months. I’m talking about coming up with your goals, writing down the actions you’re going to take, taking those actions and then waiting…well, as long as it takes.

Sometimes that can be years.

Since following the GAP Method isn’t a quick process, some would say it’s not SMART. And I have to agree with them. It’s not SMART; it’s SMARTer.