Michelangelo once said: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it”.

When it comes to setting goals, there are many different approaches. Traditionally, people would write down their goals, and then break them down into smaller milestones. Then, they concentrate on the individual steps, complete them before moving on to the next one. This method works for some people, but I’ve found that focusing solely and continuously on the bigger picture is much more effective, especially when it comes to goals in business.

Small, specific goals may sound realistic on paper, but in reality they limit us in a way that larger goals do not. If they’re small, they’re easier to bypass or abandon. If your overall goal is to get fit, but you choose to focus on a diet, your resolution might only be temporary. However, if you focus continuously and entirely on the bigger picture and ask yourself if what you’re doing now will take you to your final goal, all those little steps will be completed automatically and everything will fall into place. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, once you envision that goal continuously, you’ll walk to work, you’ll eat well, you’ll take the stairs, you’ll refuse the junk – all without thinking.

Rebel entrepreneurs write down the big goal. They ask themselves continuously if what they’re doing now is bringing them closer to that single, big goal, and if it isn’t, they change their behaviour. I’ve taken this approach in the past and have found that asking that question has given me the discipline I needed to stop wasting time and focus on my products.