Learning the Secrets of Goal Achievement from Ronaldo's Goal Scoring

To celebrate a decade of super goal scoring Nike and Damiani Editore recently published an illustrated autobiography of Ronaldo doing what he loves most about football – goal scoring.

The book is titled "Ronaldo: Ten Years of Goals" and only 500 copies were printed.

Sport magazine recently interviewed Ronaldo about their ten favourite goals out of the 300+ goals that Ronaldo has scored throughout his career. I'm not a football fan but as I read Ronaldo's commentary about the goals selected I could see that there was a definite correlation between Ronaldo's goal scoring and the secrets to goal achievement.

Allow me to illustrate with a few examples:

Goal 057
Brazil 1-0 Turkey
World Cup, June 2002

"A toe-poke, like in a five-a-side kick-about. Who says they're rubbish? Sometimes that is the way you have to score them."

Are you a perfectionist? Are you the type of person who doesn't like to start project until conditions are absolutely perfect? Or perhaps you can't sign-off a project because it's not perfect.

Mike Litman, bestselling author of "Conversations with Millionaires" advises,

"You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going."

When he published his first book it was full of errors but he got his message out there. Later on he went back and amended it.

Matt Bacak, also admits that his first book was riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. He said he was inundated with emails from people pointing out all the mistakes.

Was he mortified? Hardly – he simply forwarded the emails to the person responsible for editing the revised edition.

Am I saying that you shouldn't strive to give of your best at all times. No, I'm saying that while a "toe poke" may not do justice to your refined skills, if that's all you can manage at the time and it gets the job done then give it toe poke.

Goal 081
Man Utd 4-3 Real Madrid
Champions League, April 2003

"The best of the three I scored that night. A hat-trick at Old Trafford, the whole ground on its feet – an atmosphere like that cannot fail to inspire you."

When you are going after a goal you need a team of supporters - people who will cheer you and motivate you to give of your very best. Just before Joe Calzaghe fought Bernard Hopkins in La Vegas he expressed that he hoped that enough of his fans would travel to Las Vegas to help make him feel at home.

In reality thousands of Welsh supporters flocked to Las Vegas to give Joe their encouragement. It was a tough fight, won by a split decision but it was Joe Calzaghe who walked away victorious and with 45 straight wins to his name.

WARNING! There are those will pour scorn on your dreams, goals and ambitions. Give them a wide berth.

Some of these individuals may even be friends and family members. In many cases, it will be because they have their own fears to contend with.

Whatever the reason you have to decide how much you really want to achieve your goal and then do whatever is necessary to preserve your dream as you strive towards it. You may not have to totally exclude these naysayers from your life but you will need to determine the level of contact you have with these individuals who, left unchecked, can leave your dream in tatters.

Goal 102
Real Madrid 3-0 Athletic Bilbao
La Liga, November 2003

"I felt like I had a magnet in my boots. For a while, they stood by clueless, but then by the time they had made their minds up to move, I'd already let fly."

When you clearly define what you want and maintain your focus on your goal then what you desire will be drawn towards you like a magnet and you towards your goal.

This is the Law of Attraction at work.

In addition, those who are excellent goal achievers are also excellent decision makers. They are able to rapidly read the field, assimilate the data and instinctively make decisions and act upon them while others are still busy reading the field.

"Intuitive decision-making and mastering this profession are one in the same."

So how do you sharpen your decision-making skills so that you can accelerate towards your goals? In a single word - PRACTICE.

You have to learn to trust your gut and intuition and have the confidence to take ACTION. Even if you don't get the desired result you will at least get feedback which will help to inform your next decision.

Remember, as Anthony Robbins said:

"It's in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."

Ronaldo says that for him -

"A goal is a moment of excitement - it gives you goosebumps, helps you to forget…at least for a few moments. A goal is happiness: mine sure, but mostly my team's and the fans'.

"A goal is also fun. When I realize I no longer enjoy scoring, or admit to myself that I can't cut it any more, that's when I know it's time to give up the game.

"That moment hasn't arrived yet. I think of all the goals I still want to score: different types of goals, important ones if I can - all the better if they are good goals too."

I hope that you too feel the same about scoring your goals.

Proceeds from the sales from Ronaldo's book will go towards the United Nations Development Programme (UNNP) in Brazil and Guinea Bissau.

For more information about this book and to view the sketches that feature in this book please visit www.nikemercurial98.com.



secret goal achieving Ronaldo Joe Calzaghe decision making