Are you easily frustrated when you see others not reaching their potential? Does it make you a little angry when you see others set the bar too low? It makes me a little angry, I’m not afraid to admit that. How will you achieve what you truly desire if you don’t really go for it? Not achieving everything that maybe we could seems so wasteful.

In 1969 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. Achieving that was truly an amazing feat. In 2010, Apple became the most valuable tech company when it passed Microsoft (it’s now the most valuable company in the world). That’s another unbelievable accomplishment. There is no doubt that in both instances they aimed big – unimaginably big – not only reaching their potential but also surpassing it.

There is a lesson for us all to learn from Armstrong and Apple’s experiences. You have to set higher targets. There is a school of thought that you should set targets that are 10 times the goals you dream of. Aim higher than what you think you desire. Maybe now the saying “go big or go home” is starting to make sense to you. In order to go farther than you ever thought possible, you must both think and act at levels 10x beyond the norm.

Words are easy to say, I appreciate that. The reality is that it is much easier to retreat and surrender than it is to charge forward into the oncoming challenge. But you see the inevitable conclusion that awaits you if you retreat right? Yes. Failure. What’s even harder to contemplate is how you would charge forward if that initial challenge was 10 times harder to overcome. But that’s the point, when you do overcome that bigger challenger the upside for you is far greater. The reward awaiting you is beyond your wildest dreams. Who doesn’t want that!

That creature known as mediocrity is laying dormant in all of us. It’s just waiting for us to invite it out to play. If we dare let it loose then you’ll be plagued by average thinking, average desires and worst of all average actions. We have to stop setting targets and goals for ourselves that are actually within our grasp if we just apply ourselves a little more. We have to set ourselves targets that scare us. Targets that you can’t quite see how you’ll achieve. Targets that when you finally achieve them will change your fortunes.

Google’s co-founder, Larry Page, is quoted as saying “a 10% improvement means you’re just doing the same thing as everyone else.” We need to be thinking 10 times bigger, and making 10 times greater improvements not just 10%. Our thoughts and actions will only be as good as they need to be to achieve our goal. When we set the bar low then the thoughts and actions will match the bar. Set the bar higher and your thoughts and actions will grow to meet the goal. It won’t be easy but if success were easy everyone would have it.

Set yourself bigger goals. Raise the bar. Push yourself to achieve something truly remarkable. You’re capable of more than you think. It all starts with setting a target that is ten times greater than you initially think it should be. Commit first, then figure out the details later.