"When the dogs are gone; I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick around." I caught my breath when Lee uttered those words, "Does he mean what I think he means?" came to my mind, but I was afraid to ask Lee the question. This happened while Debbie and I were having lunch with our long-time friend, Lee. Lee is 87 and has lived an amazing life. He was on a ship at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; he was among the attack forces at Guadalcanal; he was involved with the A-bomb tests; he was in the navy but COULDN'T swim. Since his wife died five years ago, he has lived alone on their small farm taking care of their menagarie of dogs, cats, peacocks, and ducks. Now that his pets are gradually passing away dying, his reason for living is also passing away.

Based on Lee's one comment, I began to wonder how important are goals? There are libraries of books and articles about the importance of goals for business success, but what about our personal lives? Lee grew up in a time when you got a job, worked hard, and retired. Blue collar workers didn't set goals; that was only for the rich or athletes. My parents are about 10 years younger than Lee, and I don't remember ever talking about goals growing up other than when I was part of a sports team. From the information I had, I grew up believing that if I didn't reach your goals I failed. To avoid failure, I didn't set goals. Only after starting my own business 10 years ago did I begin reading more about goals. I developed a new perspective on goals; reaching the goal can be satisfying, but it's not the only measure of success. Perservance, learning, passion, and energy are just a few of the benefits of striving for a goal. My thoughts on goals has changed, and I realize their importance for a meaningful life.

My friend, Kevin Hogan, has a different viewpoint on goals based on research. His thought is that short term goals are more important than long term goals because long term goals can be demotivating, especially when they are set too high, and who can predict the future that far in advance? Also short term goals (1-3 months in advance) build self-confidence as each goal is met. Plus it's easier to review and adjust your actions each day. Tony Robbins calls the changes, sensory acuity, as you move toward your goals. This is the approach I work to incoporate to my days.

I've lost track of the number of times I've read articles about old celebrities who are ill and die after reaching some milestone. George Burns comes to mind. He was very ill and didn't look like he'd survive, but he lived to his 100th birthday then died shortly afterwards. Living to be 100 may have played a part in his survival. At 87, is there anything Lee could do after his animals die to maintain his desire to live? First it may take a change of belief on his part that he still has something to contribute; someway to leave a legacy. Debbie and I talked with him briefly about writing or recording his experiences to share with future generations. He was involved in a high school project several years ago that recorded some of his WWII experiences along with other veterans, and he was intrigued by that idea. I read an article recently about a retiree who is passionate about changing the healthcare insurance system to a single-payer model. Whether I agree or disagree with what she's doing; her passion has given her reason to live each day.

Why do you get up each day? Do you have goals outside work? After talking with Lee, I'm looking at goals in another way and hope I can share my thoughts with him so he's around for many years.