Emmitt Smith’s Goal Achieving Secrets

Last weekend, former Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

His speech was one of the most inspiring that I have ever heard regarding having a Dream and turning that Dream into Reality.

I would like to share some of the highlights of Emmitt Smith’s speech with you and especially his words about Goal Setting.

This moment creates a unique opportunity, an opportunity to share critical life principles.
The first and most important principle is: To Be of Service to Others.

The second principle is: We all Need a Championship Strategy to guide us to help make those dreams come true.

The third principle is: Claim your Inner Champion. When you claim your inner champion, you will learn to see, hear and feel differently than others. So what I most want to convey here is, never, never let others define you; you define yourself.

Now let’s talk about some specific steps I took that were critical to sustaining my vision. There’s a difference between merely having a dream and fulfilling a vision. Most people only dream. I only not had my childhood dream, but I did everything in my power to fulfill it.

For example, I wrote down my goals and how I was going to achieve them because Dwight Thomas used to tell us, ”It’s only a dream until you write it down, and then it becomes a goal.”

By the time I was 20, I wrote, I want to play in the Super Bowl, be the MVP, become the all-time leading rusher, and finish college, because I promised my mother I would. Over the course of my career, all of those things came to pass, and I know that writing down my goals was an essential strategy.

Another critical principle is consistency. Consistency shows value. Consistency is necessary for trust, durability and longevity. You have to show up every week no matter how difficult the game or life might be.

I not only showed consistency, but I did everything in my power to be the best that I possibly could. Over time consistency will allow you to achieve your goals.

At 5’9″, Emmitt Smith was considered too small to play football. He proved them wrong in high school, in college and again in the NFL. He was never the Fastest Rusher in professional football, but through hard work, consistency and setting his goals, Emmitt Smith achieved the dream of becoming the Leading Rusher in the NFL and on August 7, 2010 was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.