I once heard a math teacher announce an unusual dream at a school assembly: “I hope you all fail,” he said to an audience of high school seniors eager to go out and conquer the world. “Because if you don’t, you haven’t set your goals high enough.”

Betting by without setting goals is the ultimate way to shortchange your life. It’s not a way to failure. It’s the definition of nonstarting.

Evangelist Robert H. Schuller describes four kinds of people:

• First come the cop-outs. These people set no goals and make no decisions.
• Second are the hold-outs. They have a beautiful dream, but uncertainty makes them afraid to respond to its challenge.
• The dropouts are third. They start to make their dream come true. but when the going gets tough, they quit.
• Finally, there are the all-outs. These brave souls know where they’re headed and do what it takes to get there.