Apparently this hypothetical question is about showing what is important to you. It was posed to me a number of years ago, but with a change of situation over the years my answer has remained constant. In fact, I don’t see my answer ever changing from what instantly popped into my mind at the time.

What would you take with you?

I’ve heard a number of answers, ranging from the obvious; “the family”, “the pet”, through the material; “passport”, “files”, “jewellery”, “phone”, to the eclectic such as “Love”. No, I don’t understand that last answer either, but the question is a personal one and as such it has no right or wrong answer.

From the answer I gave to the question I’ve discovered that what is important to me is a fresh approach to problem solving. In fact the answer partly influenced the creation of thoughtlateral.com.

What was my answer? “The fire itself”.

A goal, tangible or virtual, is a marker by which we can measure our efforts. No marker means there’s no way of knowing you’re reaching your goal. It’s the target on the shooting range, the bullseye on the dartboard, the lap time on the clock, the landing light on the runway, the point “B” on the Google map, the luggage carousel in the airport…err, well you get my drift. It’s the point that tells you you’ve hit the mark, acheived, or arrived at where you want to be in life.

We take many corrective steps to steer us towards the marker (the goal) till we eventually achieve it.

Want to be successful? Define what success means to you, write it down and set down your marker. Set your goal.

My current goal is 166 more edits away (sic.)