How to Set and Achieve Your Goals in 2022 with Danielle Cobo
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Manifesting my Dream Job
I'm so excited today, because it is a new year. It is 2022. And with every new year, we get to reflect back as to what worked really well last year and what do we get to create this year. I don't know about you, but last year was an incredible year for me. I was able to really accomplish a goal I had never even thought about.
About 10 years ago, I was in corporate America. I was working for this organization. And I was one of the top performers in the organization. And I realized that, as these new hires were coming in, there was an opportunity to really set them up for success and really shorten that time period of between coming on board to really accelerating and achieving their goals. And so when I was working for this organization, I said, “You know, what, there is an opportunity to create a position that didn't exist before.” And it was a position for a National Director of Sales Training. And what I didn't know about that, at that time was, I was manifesting the business that I created this past year. I had no idea.
What I did when I was putting this position together, is I put together a business plan. And I said, “Okay, what would this role look like? What would be the roles and responsibilities, and what would the pay structure look like for this particular role?” And in addition to that, “How am I going to Credential, and show the value of why this company should create this role?” The reason I share this story with you is because two reasons: One is, if the position or your dream job doesn't exist, there could be an opportunity to create it within the organization, or launch your own business.
There's nothing that says that you can't create something that doesn't exist, even if it's not already out there. And so when I created this business proposal, I asked my manager at the time—I was 25 years old—and I said, “Is this something that I can present to the higher levels of with your permission?” You know, you’re always following that corporate ladder and that chain of command. And he said, “Absolutely.” So he forwarded on to the Vice President, the Vice President of the organization flew out to meet me—he was originally based in Atlanta, Georgia—and he flew out to California to meet me and really went over this business proposal that I had created. And he said, “You know, this is definitely something that we want to look into. This is definitely something that we see and agree with you, that there's this opportunity.” And while I didn't stay with the organization—I ended up, a year later, being recruited into the medical aesthetic industry—I learned a couple things from that experience. And one of them was, if the position doesn't exist, it doesn't mean that there's not an opportunity to create something. If you see that there's a gap in the organization, if you see that there's a possibility to add value to an organization, then put yourself out there to create it, and you know, what the worst that could happen, right? They could say no. Or what’s the best thing that can happen? “Yeah, you know what, you're right. This is something that our organization needs.” And then, you've just positioned yourself in a situation where you're the top candidate because you created it. And while I wasn't there to see it come to fruition, I do know that they did implement that together well, which is really exciting to know—that I was able to leave my legacy with that company by creating a role that didn't even exist.
Creating a Roadmap to Achieve your Goals
Now fast forward to where I'm at today and what happened this past year was that I manifested my dream job. I have always said that mentoring, coaching, and empowering others to live their best life, to continue to develop and really hold people high and highlight their strengths, was something that I loved. I love being a mentor, a coach, a leader, and really being people's biggest cheerleaders. And that's what I get to do every single day. I was able to create my dream job, which I'm so grateful for. And let me tell you this: this past year was not easy. There were a lot of highs and lows, and there were times where I really doubted questioned myself. “Oh, my gosh, I'm leaving corporate America. I was leaving a six figure salary. I was leaving commission, a company car, health benefits, and 401k and stock options.” I really had a very healthy compensation package, and to leave that was a big risk.
In the beginning, I really struggled because I was asking, “Am I going to succeed? Is this the right thing to do?” And it really took me soul searching and looking inside myself and saying, “Okay, if I don't risk today, I never know what the future is going to bring.” And so I sat down again and said, “Okay, time to build a business proposal.” And whether you are launching your business, or you're also still in corporate America, there's so much value in building a plan. Building a plan for your career will really accelerate you and take you as to where you get to be in the future. And so that's what I did.
That's what we're going to talk about today: Creating a roadmap to achieve your goals and setting goals so that you can succeed in your career, have a thriving career, and live an abundant life. So what I did was that I sat down and I said:
What do I love to do?
What am I most passionate about?
How can I take my experience, my expertise and my skill sets and use them as tools to empower others to achieve their goals?
And so it was a combination of helping my clients with attracting their dream jobs, because it's a minefield trying to figure out what steps to take and what steps to avoid when it comes to the job search. And it can be very discouraging and frustrating. And so, one of the pillars that I really focused my business on was how to help people excel at creating a clear roadmap and gaining clarity as to where they want to take their career, whether they want to elevate to that next level, they want to get promoted into a leadership role; or whether they want to find a new job, take their experience, and earn more money and pursue a company that they wanted to work with, and help them develop the skill sets to excel and take that next step. Okay, career acceleration. How can I take my expertise? My seven years as a hiring manager, seven years leading a team and leading a team to number one in the nation? How can I use that experience and support others to have a thriving career? And then I looked at sales. It is definitely a passion of mine. Obviously, I've got 15 years in medical sales. And I've earned four back to back President Circles. And I like I said, I lead a team to be number one in the nation. So how do I get to take that same passion for sales, and support others and teach them how to have that same IQ success? And a lot of that has to do with mindset. A lot of that has to do with goal setting. How do I teach them how to have that same success? And that was definitely something that I really incorporated into this business.
Then, the third pillar was company culture. Company culture is essential when it comes to employee retention and whether people would want to work for a company or not. And a lot of that has to do with leadership development and developing their leadership teams so that they are supportive, empowering, inspiring leaders. It's also supporting the employees when it comes to work life balance and setting their employees up for success when it comes to creating their career goals. And so I really created this business around the three pillars that I love and am passionate about. And I get to do this every single daythrough keynote speaking, corporate workshops, and one-on-one coaching. And if I look back, at this past year, I would have never imagined where I'm at today. Even with this podcast. The first time I had to speak in front of a group of 23-year-old people and I had to present these like new features of a copier. And I was terrified, absolutely terrified. I had that the butterflies in the stomach, sweaty palms. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom all the time because I was so nervous. And I was terrified of public speaking. And now fast forward, here I am, a sought after keynote speaker. I host group workshops. And now I host a podcast. And I share this with you because when you really are intentional with setting your goals, especially at the beginning of the year, it's incredible what you can accomplish in your life. When you create goals, and you're passionate about what you do—I say success is a combination of passion, dedication, commitment, and action. And when you combine those things, it's incredible what you get to create.
Setting SMART Goals this New Year
So it's the new year. And we're gonna really dive into this episode and talk about how to set yourself up for success in 2022. So in the New Year’s, a lot of us will put together new year's resolutions and goals. And here's the thing: 80% of people have given up on their New Year's resolution by February, and only 8% ever accomplish them. And so I asked you: Are you setting goals? Are you sticking to your goals? Have you done that in the past? What are you going to do differently this year? When Harvard did a study, they found that amongst their students—those who put together SMART goals, when they tracked their goals and they looked at the progress, those students made 10 times more than their peers. Imagine that 10 times more. So imagine what you get to create, especially if you're looking at accelerating your career, or a sales performance, or just personal goals that you want to accomplish in your life. Imagine what you get to create if you really are intentional with setting goals. And let me also tell you this as well: you're 60% more likely to accomplish your goals if you have an accountability partner. So, those of you who have had New Year's resolutions that were like, “Oh, you know, I want to lose weight or get fit,” imagine what it's like when you have somebody like a personal trainer, or you have somebody who goes to the gym with you? You're much more likely to achieve the goals when you have an accountability partner. And so that's where this podcast comes in. I get to help support you in being that accountability partner. And that's also what I get to do with my clients. I'm very fortunate because it's what I love to do. I'm so grateful every single day for the people that I get to work with. And there's nothing more rewarding when I get a text from a client and they say, “Danielle, I got the job.” or “Oh my gosh, Danielle, I just finished top 10 in the nation,” “I just maxed out my comp plan.” To see them every step of the way accomplish their goals, it is such an incredible experience. And that's truly what is the most rewarding about being a coach.
So, I'm going to talk about SMART goals. SMART goals are really looking at what you want to create this year. What type of goals do you want to create this year? And it's why I invite you, if you're driving, then maybe I would suggest, listen to the podcast, and then later, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen, and take some notes. Or if you aren't driving, and you have an opportunity, definitely grab a piece of paper, grab that pen, take some notes, I also want to invite you to go to my website, Danielle cobo.com. Because I have a lot of resources on my website.
So diving in the goal setting, it is 2022. And so here are the questions you get to ask yourself as you're looking at what you get to create. Look at your goals.
What are your short term goals? Your short term goals could be your goals over the next quarter. What are your goals in the short term in your career?
What are your long term goals? Looking at what your goals are and when you achieve them, who do you get to be?
If you're if you're in sales, and you're saying, “Well, I want to earn President's trip.” Imagine what would it feel like if you were standing up on stage. Just imagine you're standing up on stage and you're earning that word for the President's trip. And then fast forward a few months later, you are lounging on the beach in some remote location on a paid vacation, enjoying cocktails and good company. I can tell you I've had the honor of being on some incredible President's trips like in Cabo San Lucas, Playa Del Carmen, Costa Rica, and Jamaica. And if you've ever been on one before it, you know what I'm talking about. It is an incredible experience. And once you earn one, you want to earn more.
Then also, think about if your goal is to accelerate your career and you want to get into a leadership role.
What does that mean to you?
What's your reason behind wanting to get in a leadership role?
And when you're thinking about your goals, what habits are working really well? What habits do you want to keep when it comes to achieving your goals?
What's working really well? Is it because you have a solid morning routine? Is it that you are constantly investing in yourself when it comes to your personal and professional growth? Is it that you're really good at time management? Identify what habits are your strengths and what you want to keep about those habits so you can continue to thrive with those habits. And then also, what habits might be slowing you down? Maybe some of those habits might be that sometimes when you get in a rut and you get stuck, you kind of lose motivation. You take your foot off the gas pedal. Maybe some of the things that slow you down is just getting caught up in your own mind and getting stuck in those limiting beliefs—those negative thoughts that maybe you tell yourself on, “I can't accomplish that.” Maybe those are some habits that you are currently going through that may be slowing you down.
And then, look at what skills you get to learn. What skills do you need to learn to take you to that next level? I am a big advocate of consistently and continuously developing yourself. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars this past year just on professional development, business coaching, leadership coaching, because if I want to be the best coach, then I also need to invest in myself. If you want to be an outstanding sales professional, then you get to invest in your own professional development. If you want to be in a leadership role, then you get to invest in leadership development skills—whatever it is, it's so essential that if you want to continue to thrive in your career. You get to continue to invest in yourself, and you are worthy of investing in yourself. The best investment you can make is in yourself. Because, imagine, if you are in sales and you are able to move the needle in your attainment, what would that look like, compensation wise for you? How much money would you be earning if you weren't able to move the needle? And what if you had somebody that was able to help you get there, because you invested in yourself and taking yourself to that next step? For those of you that are looking to accelerate your career, if you invested in your own personal development and in learning the skills that it takes to be a leader, and you were to able to get to that promotion faster, then what would that compensation look like for you as well when it comes to potential income earnings?
So when it comes to goal setting:
Write down what your short term goals are.
Why do you want to achieve them?
Who do you get to be?
What habits do you need to keep in order to achieve them?
What habits might slow you down in achieving them?
What skills do you need to learn in order to achieve your goals?
Now, when it comes to goal setting, I'm going to really dive into SMART goals. Because SMART goals really help you identify where you want to go and where you get to go. So SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.
So I'll start with specific. What do you want to happen? What is it specifically that you want to happen? And I'm going to give you an example. I'll give you both sales or career acceleration.
If you're in sales, and you're saying, “I specifically want to achieve President circle.” Okay, well, then:
What steps are you going to take to get there amongst your accounts?
Who are you going to?
How are you going to continue to grow among your accounts?
Who are your accounts that are growing? Who are the ones that are stagnant?
Where are the new emerging accounts?
Where are the new account targets?
What steps are you specifically going to take to achieve your goals?
If you're looking to take career step up and attain a leadership role:
What skills are you going to learn?
What steps are you going to take to to learn those skills?
Now, M is measurable. How will you know when you have achieved your goal? In sales, it's kind of easy, right? Because you've got attainment. You know if you are 75% through the quarter, you at least want to be on pace for 75% or above. But maybe if you're looking at career acceleration and you're saying, “I want to get promoted by a certain timeframe,” then the measurable might be okay. “I am going to invest in leadership development. And so I'm going to take these courses, and I'm going to be completing them by this time.” You're going to be measuring as you’re progressing towards taking different development courses to achieve your goals.
And then the A is attainable. Is the goal realistic? And how will you accomplish it? You know, I set some really, really stretchy goals in my life. I've set goals where I wanted to be a manager by the age of 30. I accomplished that goal. I was hired for Fortune 500 company to lead a team. I was actually brought on to lead the poorest performing team. And I had no direct management experience. And I was able to, in two years, lead the team to number one. But it's a very stretchy goal to say I want to be in a leadership position by 30 years old. But if you put goals in place, it will happen if you work towards every step of the way. You know, I've set goals like wanting to pay off my house by the time I was 35 years old and I’m able to accomplish that goal. I did some specific funny little things like when I wanted to get out of debt. So I took my credit card, and I froze it, and I put it in the freezer. And I did that intentionally where I said, “If I needed to buy something, I wanted to buy something, I had the time to think about it, because it needed to thaw out.” So I mean, there's different specific things that you can take to achieve different goals and in any area of your life. But a lot of them can be retained. It can be attainable. They can also be really stretchy. And so I invite you, when you're putting together your SMART goals, put together some goals that are above what you know, what your current mind thinks you can accomplish, and really set out some stretchy stretch goals.
The next is relevant. Why is the goal important to you? When you want to achieve a certain goal in sales, then, you know why that is important to you. Well, maybe it's because it's going to help you in earning a specific amount of income. Maybe it's because you get to enjoy a lavish vacation. If you want to step up into a different role within your organization, it's maybe because it's important because you have a passion for that particular role; you're ready to advance your career. And so why is that goal relevant to you?
And then the T in SMART goals is timely. What's the deadline that you get to achieve this goal? Now I acknowledge that, if your goal is to get promoted by a certain timeframe, there are some factors that you can control and there are some that you can't control. With that said, you can control the time limits as to when you're putting together specific steps in place to help you get there. So whether it's putting a specific goal to take a development course, or learning specific skill sets, then you can put a timeline as to where you're going to do that. For example, if you say my goal is that, “I'm going to put together SMART goals for my year.” Well, when are you going to have a smart goals created by? Even myself, I have an accountability partner; I have other business coaches that I meet with on a weekly basis. I have a business coach that I meet with on a bi-weekly basis. And we put together goals and action items, and I track them and keep myself accountable to them. She's my accountability partner to help link arms with me to achieve and succeed my goals.
And I'm a big advocate that anytime you are putting together some strategic goals, it's really helpful to have somebody who would really be there to cheer you on, to hold you high, to help you navigate through the steps at work and avoid the steps that don't keep your mind in that mindset. That's what's moving forward. Because it's easy to feel stuck sometimes when we're creating these goals, especially when they're stretchy. And so having somebody that can be your accountability partner to provide some fresh perspective or ideas, or just to get you out of that stuck to motivate it again, can be really beneficial. And so, you know, when you're looking at this year, and you're looking at what do you get to create, really identify what are those? What are those goals? What are your SMART goals?
Then to take it a step further, have fun with it. So if you've ever created a vision board, you probably know you can have a lot of fun with this. Every year I create a vision board. And on this vision board, I really go into the five pillars of what I get to create in my life:
health
fitness
financial
career
family oriented
I'll share with you some of the goals that I've had over the years. For fitness, it’s to ride my peloton three days a week, which for some of you who are really advocate peloton riders, it's a bit of a stretch for me because I had my bike for three years and maybe had about 25 rides on it. And now I am riding consistently. So know that everybody's goals may be different depending on what you stretch for them. For health goals, it might be cutting back some of the sugar or drinking some more water. For financial goals might be anything from earning a certain income, or it could be saving a certain amount in emergency fund, or paying off student loans—whatever it is. But creating a vision board is something that you get to look at consistently to keep you on track. And to remind me, remind you, of what you get to create and the goals that you get to create. I have my vision board that sits above my desk every single day. So I look above my desk and it helps me stay focused as to what are my goals.
And then, to take it a step further, you've heard of probably Pavlov law, which is if you reward yourself for something, then you're probably going to continue to do it. And Pavlov does a study with dogs when it comes to giving them a treat. And so when you're thinking about the goals that you're creating, how are you going to reward yourself? You know, when I earned my first President Circle, I bought myself a cocktail ring—a ring that I really wanted. I've always wanted something really pretty as a piece of jewelry. And then the next year I invited myself having a pair Christian Louis Vuitton shoes. Next year was a Louis Vuitton bag. Clearly you probably see a theme here. I definitely like to shop fashion. But really identifying when you achieve these goals, how are you going to reward yourself? Because when I look down every day and I see this beautiful ring that I got myself, it reminds me of what I accomplished and why I do what I do. And in the same goes to anything else that you've done when you've created these goals. Creating that reward for yourself where you're like, “Yes, I accomplished this goal. And here's how I get the benefit from it.”
So it is a new year, it's 2022—the perfect time to create goals and set yourself up for success this year. And you know, if you're looking for somebody to be your accountability partner, whether it is in sales performance, or career acceleration, looking for a new job, or stepping up into a leadership role, I'm here for you. This is what I get to do every single day and I've had clients who have had success getting new jobs, earning more money, maxing out their comp plan. And that's part of my goals. My goals is also your goals in what you get to accomplish. And so, when you're looking at creating these goals, if one of them is this is investing in an accountability partner, then I invite you to direct message me because it really is a lot easier to get there when you have somebody linking arms with you and helping you get in guiding you through those steps to take and avoid this upset dome.
