Universal Truth #3
You May Not Always Get Your Goal
But You Always Get An Outcome.
Choose Your Outcome WiselyArticle by Bart Baggett
Chapter 2
Your Goals & Outcomes
From the book: Success Secrets of the Rich and Happy.
What is Success to You?
Any book on success or personal fulfillment should at least discuss the concept of goal setting. But, quite
honestly, the task of setting goals sounds like a boring task and one I've heard before. Many of you have set
goals and did not achieve them. Why is that? Most business workshops I've attended forced me to write
down my goals. Well, sometimes I got what I wanted and often I did not create what I scribed. Statistics
prove that writing down your goals dramatically increases the odds of being successful.
5% IS WORTH MORE THAN THE OTHER 95%
Harvard University conducted a study on the power of written goals. (It may have been Yale circa 1955.)
They asked the graduating class how many of them had written goals for their lifetime? Only five percent
of the graduating class had written goals. Twenty years later, that five percent, (60 students) was worth 95
percent as much money as the rest of them. So out of the tens of millions of dollars that graduating class
touched in their lifetime, this 5% controlled 95 percent of that cash. Why is that?
You can easily position yourself in the top 5% of the world.
The simple act of getting clear on what you want gives your brain clear and concise instructions to follow.
You are telling your unconscious mindwhere you want to go. I want you to get more clarity about some of the things that you want. Is it more
spirituality, more time in your life, more love, improved health, more wealth, or something else? This
chapter will assist you in "programming" your brain to be automatically compelled to move towards these
goals. As effective as simply writing down goals can be, we are going to apply 21st century mental tools to
eliciting your inner desires. You will learn how to do more than set goals. You will learn how to install
them and build your personality around happily and effortlessly achieving them.
So, if goal setting only works for some... how can we improve on the process?
If I were lazy, I could just assume you are reading this book to experience more abundance of money and
happiness in your life. We could skip right over this chapter and talk about ways to create exactly those two
items. But, in truth, money and happiness are merely by-products of other areas of your life working
effectively on autopilot.
Instead of setting goals, I am requesting you create a list of "outcomes." The reason we have changed the
word is that your brain already knows it will always get an outcome. You brain is probably unsure as to
whether or not it will reach a goal. So, by setting a list of "outcomes" you have easier targets to move
toward. Your brain already feels more confident.
The other reason I want you to focus on your "outcome" is that you can most likely achieve an "outcome"
through a variety of means. This gives the "universe" more options when looking for ways to create for
you. For example, if your outcome is to have a loving monogamous relationship, then, your brain has the
option of finding you a lover, a friend, or a spouse. However, if you tell your brain you have a goal of being
married by next year, then your brain is likely to find you a spouse, but it may not include the real outcome
(Feeling the benefits of a loving monogamous relationship.)
So, instead of just writing down a goal, ask yourself what the outcome of having that goal really would be.
In some cases, the goal and outcome will be the same word. In others, the outcome will reveal a deeper
meaning. Be specific in describing your ideal outcome, and you’ll be surprised at how focused your
intention will become.
One thing is for sure … you always get an outcome. In many cases, it might not be the outcome you were
expecting. But, you will achieve an outcome. That’s why I emphasize writing down specific outcomes. The
more specific, the more likely you will achieve what you truly want.
How I Created My Goals And Forgot To Get My Outcomes
Chapter 2 Your Goals & Outcomes
When I had just graduated from Pepperdine University, I had an interesting first hand experience with
setting goals. I had lots of debt from the education and no cash savings. I said to myself, "Okay, I want to
be rich." I didn't have an obvious opportunity to make tons of cash. I didn't come from a rich family, but
luckily I had a good education. Because I truly believed I could become wealthy, I focused my mind on
finding out ho w. Although I had already begun earning $100 per hour as a handwriting expert, the work
had not been consistent and I wanted to do something different.
I moved to Las Vegas and took a job at a major casino in a management training program. During the first
three months, I think I was earning just $6 an hour. Later, I was earning more, but nothing to brag about.
I knew I wanted to be a famous author and a well known speaker. But, I hadn't really accomplished
anything to speak or write about yet. (Details, details). So, after working a few months I found myself
thinking, "Bart, this is really going slow. I'm struggling financially. I'm not getting rich from working for
someone else. What am I going to do?"
So, I signed up for a goal setting seminar.
At 22-years-old, I set three goals for myself. They're not goals I
would aspire to now, but at 22 I said to myself, "By the time I turn 23 I want a new jeep, I want to be on
national TV, and I want a book with my name on it in the bookstores. I want to walk into the bookstore and
see a book on the bookshelf that I wrote." To me, that would be success -- that would make me feel
successful. That would be accomplishing something that would make me very proud. I thought those lofty
goals would bring me happiness.
Let me tell you how it turned out. Sometimes when you write down your goals, you don't even have to
work for them. They just kind of show up magically. This is the power of your unconscious mind. Your
mind really is a "manifesting machine." Program it, relax, and know your outcome is already in motion.
In my case, all three goals were accomplished very close to the given date. One of the goals I worked my
butt off for. Two of them just came to be as a result of forces outside of myself. (But, I'm sure
I set those forces in motion.)
In 1991, I had not written a book yet. I had published the Grapho-Deck Handwriting Trait Cards and had
appeared on a dozen or so small radio talk shows. I wasn't even a minor celebrity. How I was going to land
a national TV show, I had no idea.
About two weeks before my birthday, a friend of mine named Ross calls me, "Bart, I'm going to New York
to be on the Jane Pratt Show. One of their guests canceled and I talked the producer into letting you take his
place. Do you want to go to New York, to be on national TV?" It happened that fast. We left three days
later. I appeared as a guest expert talking about using handwriting analysis for dating.
As it turned out any TV show that airs in New York is a big deal. It actually wasn't aired to the entire
nation. It just aired on the East Coast. However, that experience allowed me to eventually appear on the
Montel Williams national TV show about a year later.
I later found myself thinking, "I got a free trip to New York. I just got one of three goals accomplished, and
it was basically handed to me. They just called me." I felt lucky. But I knew my achievement was based on
more than luck. Luck is when opportunity meets someone who's prepared. I was prepared and I had
"spoken" the desire to my friend Ross. I set the dominos in motion - the universe delivered.
By the way, that appearance didn't make me any money. In fact, the next national TV show Montel
Williams didn't send people rushing to book stores either. I had set a goal, not an outcome. I should
have set an outcome to sell 10,000 books. But, instead I made the assumption if I land on national TV, I
will automatically sell enough books to make me rich. That wasn't the outcome I got. But, I did get one of
the goals I asked for – to be on national TV.
My second goal was getting a jeep. Now, I don't necessarily want to drive a jeep now, but when I was 22-
years-old, a jeep was a really cool ride. At the time, I was driving a 1982 Buick Sedan De Ville. It was
Chapter 2 Your Goals & Outcomes
basically a tank built for a family of eight. It was so old I had to staple the headliner to the ceiling before
each date so it wouldn't fall on her head when we hit a bump. I was really embarrassed to own this car.
Many times I thought to myself, "Here I am writing a book on relationships, and I'm trying to convince a
girl to like me, when I’m driving such a pathetic car."
I was still reading all the books on success and trying to think positive. But it was hard to maintain a
positive mental attitude, when I thought the car was so ugly. So I asked myself, "How am I going to get a
new car?" I wasn't making enough money to buy a new car, so, I simply wrote down the goals and forgot
about it.
One day I was listening to a spiritual teacher discuss wealth and money. He said, "Everything in your life is
a reflection of who you are. Whatever car you're driving is where your mind is regarding wealth. So if
you're driving a cheap, ugly car, it's a reflection of who you are. It's a reflection of your self-esteem and
your beliefs about money."
I thought, "Ooooh, I don't want to hear that. That's not me. I'm only 22. This is just temporary. Besides, the
car was given to me. I'm really a total success." The spiritual teacher actually got me angry. I don't know if
I was angry with him or myself. But the cruel reality of my world was that I was driving an '82 Buick with
a broken window and the ceiling falling down. I thought maybe, just maybe, he's right. Perhaps my current
world really does reflect the quality of my thoughts. No more excuses. Just look around and take inventory.
This is really what happened less than 30 minutes after hearing that lecture.
On my way home, I was sitting at a red light, in the middle lane. I had this unexplainable desire to turn
right. So I crossed two lanes of traffic and turned right on a red light. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed
a very large tow-truck heading toward my rear bumper. The tow truck missed my bumper and slammed
into the left side of my Buick crumpling the side of the car from the rear to the front. The crash was loud
and startling. But, since the car weighed as much as an army tank, I survived with out injury.
I thought, "That was about the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life" -- all for a right turn. I had no idea.
It was like something possessed me to do this. I didn't put the two-and-two together until later. I got an
envelope from the insurance company for $3,500 for the car repairs. So, I sold the old car for $500 and
bought a $4000 used jeep.
This is a roundabout way to get a goal, but your unconscious mind has a way of giving you what you want.
I went, "New jeep. Whoa!" All of a sudden I had created this disaster, and ended up getting myself a new
jeep. I know I didn’t crash my car on purpose.
Those were two easy goals accomplished. Essentially, the universe just handed me my first two goals
without a lot of effort.
Getting that first book written and published was not as effortless. I had at least 30 rejection letters in my
file from publishers. It took nine hard months to write and edit. Eventually, I chose the option of selfpublishing
the first book The Secrets To Making Love Happen (Mastering Relationships using Handwriting
Analysis).
Now, guess what? I wasn't rich. I wasn't famous. But I had achieved all three of my goals, so that was good.
Yet for some reason I still wasn't happy. I learned from that experience, that you have to evaluate your
goals very carefully, know exactly what you want, and be specific.
All of a sudden I had my books in bookstores and no one was buying them yet. I thought, "Oopps, I forgot
to state a specific out-come." For instance, I should have set the "outcome" to sell 100,000 books or earn $1
million dollars from book sales. Because my ego wanted to see myself on TV and see my book on the
shelf, I set goals that did not get my true outcome. My "outcome" for this book is to make a difference in
over a million people’s lives as a result of reading it. So, it really doesn't matter if I appear on national
Chapter 2 Your Goals & Outcomes
TV shows or if it ever sits on a bookstore shelf. Now, in order to achieve my outcome, it is likely I will
reach those milestones, but not necessary.
Besides, the universe is much more likely to hand you gifts that help others than the ones that simply serve
yourself.
Write Your Goals, Discover Your Outcome
Now it’s time to discover what your personal outcomes are. Please take a few minutes to fill out the
following information. Take your time, think about each question, be sincere, and answer each question as
clearly and concisely as possible. You may want to use a separate piece of paper or your journal.
1. What goal or goals do you want to achieve? (Be specific and concrete. State it in terms of what you will
see, hear, and feel once you've achieved this goal. What would it look like on a movie theater screen?)
2. What is important about achieving or completing these goals?
3. Because?
4. So, ultimately, what would these achievements mean to you?
5. As a result of completing these goals, my outcome is...
6. I agree to do what it takes to accomplish this desired outcome!
