Ladders to Climb

"A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder." -Thomas Carlyle

You know everything is meaningless, right?

Bigger home, nicer cars, Caribbean cruises, etc. All meaningless.

Still, you've got to have goals, even if you realize they're meaningless. Because without them, you'll lose your motivation... the raw fuel that keeps you going. That's why I've concluded you must have...

Ladders to Climb!

Which is to say, you need something to work toward and a way to measure your progress. What you measure could be dollars earned or gross profit or how few hours you worked.

Whatever metric you choose is a bit arbitrary, just so long as you have something to track.

As I told my brother this weekend, I feel a bit lost without any ladders to climb. I like to climb for climbing's sake.

Still, it's important to ask:

Are You Climbing the Right Ladder?

Stephen Covey says, "If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster."

I understand what Covey is saying, but let me ask another question: Can we really know for sure we're climbing the right ladder?

If you've set out to climb a ladder, of course you believe it's the right ladder to climb! Why else would you bother climbing it?

In terms of motivation, it does not matter which ladder you climb. If you've decided to climb a ladder, and you're tracking your progress, you'll naturally be...

Motivated to Climb Higher!

Example: Think about a role-playing game (RPG) like Final Fantasy. If you've ever played a game like this, you've probably experienced the motivation to help your characters reach higher "experience levels" and accumulate more "hit points." These levels and points don't have any meaning in the real world, yet you're motivated to "get to the next level" anyway.

In terms of happiness, which ladder you climb absolutely matters.

Let's say you decide to measure success by the quantity and quality of your material possessions... or how many women (or men) you sleep with. Chances are, you'll end up feeling lonely, worthless, and depressed.

But let's say you decide to measure success by how many underprivileged children you support... or how many people you help to become self-employed. Chances are, your happiness will be far greater than someone with purely self-centered goals.

So... all ladders provide a certain amount of motivation, but not all ladders lead to happiness. Keep this in mind when you set your goals and begin tracking your progress.

If you'd like to read more about how to set goals, read Terry Dean's "Design an Inspiring Vision." For another helpful exercise (inspired by Alfred Nobel), see what Marcus wrote here.

P.S. People climb ladders all the time "just because." Want proof? Read Who Are You People? by Shari Caudron. It recounts Shari's journey into "the heart of fanatical passion in America." While not directly about copywriting, it's helpful for understanding why people do what they do. First person to send a Trackback to this post gets my copy for free.

Comments

[Chris O'Byrne]

Should we start a discussion as to whether or not ANY ladder leads to happiness? My spiritual studies lead me to believe that happiness does not reside in any approach or goal or path. There is a connection between the two, but I do not feel that happiness depends on which ladder or ladders you choose to climb.

[Ryan Healy]

Sure, Chris. I encourage you to share your opinion, whether you agree with me or not.

[Terry Dean]

Great article!

I've ran into this issue before. I hit my income goals...and then I was like "Now What?"

Going after bigger and bigger income goals didn't make any sense. So What?

Finding something you can set as goals both short-term and long-term is essential for me...and it has to be outwardly focused.

Ok...you got the money, the cars, etc. What is it that can passionately drive you to greater success? That's the key.

Great job hitting the bullseye Ryan.

[Ryan Healy]

Thank you for the compliment, Terry. And thanks for sharing your personal insight. Very helpful.

[Sandra Wyatt]

Which ladder to climb is important only if we remember the real key to success. That is to make sure what ever ladder we climb, and why we climb it, our primary goal here is to Glorify God. We can be very successful and it means little if we do not Glorify God with that success. It is great to be successful, but who are you giving the credit?