Meet the expert - Adam Jelic on Goal Setting

January 31, 2021

Adam is the founder of Melbourne based stationery brand MiGOALS. MiGoals started with an idea to design a simple product to help people take their goals from dream to action. Adam set out to design a planner specifically to help people focus on their goals and live life to their full potential. His business was launched in 2010 - with a decade of experience in helping people achieve their goals, we knew he'd be the person to ask about goal setting.

Goals and goal setting are at the core of your brand Mi Goals. What was it that led to this being a focus for you personally?

I actually first started setting goals when I was 16 years old. At the time I had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, and was looking for ways to give me the edge. I started reading biographies about successful athletes, entrepreneurs and there was a common theme of them talking about goal setting. I was curious about it and the more I researched, the more I realised it was a tool that could help gain clarity, focus and clear direction in my personal and professional life.

With so many opportunities and paths available to us how do we tune in to what we really want out of life and what we should be focusing on?

Core Values, Purpose, Vision and Joy.

Can you break down the steps to setting and achieving a goal?

Choose the right goals and make a detailed plan in order to achieve those goals. Tell someone who cares, the people around you can be motivators. Do the work, check In often and most importantly, enjoy the process.

Is it better to have one big overarching ‘dream goal’ or lots of small ones?

I think the key is to have a compelling vision / dream that inspires you, excites you and then underneath that have smaller goals that help you turn that vision/dream into reality. The pursuit of progress towards something that matters is key, growth and fulfilment come from the small steps we take everyday towards our vision and purpose.

Where do you go for inspiration and who has been the biggest inspiration in your life?

Either a good book, watching a podcast on youtube - of late I'm loving the Rich Roll podcast and can't skip past the Joe Rogan Experience. My biggest inspiration in my life has been my 2 girls, they inspire me to be better and do better every single day.

What advice do you have for when we feel we've lost out mojo and aren't achieving what we hoped we would?

1. Don't be hard on yourself, we all at some stage in our journeys feel lost or feel like we aren't doing enough. It's just the way life is.

2. Go back to the basics, reconnect with you and get back on the horse.

3. Take the 'always something' approach, as opposed to 'all or nothing'. Build good habits that take you closer to your goals every day.

4. Learn to enjoy the process towards your goals, fulfilment is the ultimate success.

Success is such a personal thing, what does it look like for you?

It’s a combination of things for me. Professionally, it’s about loving what I do, feeling that it matters and making a good living from it.

What’s one thing you wish more people know about goal setting?

That it’s a powerful tool that if used effectively and consistently, with the ability to change your life for the better.

Quickfire Questions

Describe yourself in three words.

Dreamer, Planner, Doer

We’ve met up to chat goals, what drink should I buy you?

Latte

What’s your favourite quote?

“Get busy living or get busy dying.”– Stephen King

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Reese's Peanut butter cups :)

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Morning person

What’s your favourite mustard locker?

The Midi in Ocean

If you feel like you need to kick some goals, head over to MiGoals to discover their range. We love the daily desks pads and everyone in our office uses them every day for getting that to do list under control!