The events leading up to my interview with Coach Lou Holtz are no coincidence. I attribute it to the Law of Attraction.

About a month ago my wife and I purchased the Jack Canfield Dream Big Collection. When we received the products in the mail, they came with a DVD titled Living the law of attraction.

If you haven’t heard Jack Canfield present, you’re missing out. He has a way of remembering and telling stories that inspires everyone in the room.

Jack recalled an interview he conducted with coach Lou Holtz, a former legendary soccer coach for Notre Dame and now an ESPN commentator. At the time of the interview, the coach had reached 102 of his 107 goals. They included winning a National Championship, dining at the White House, meeting the Pope, and landing a plane on an aircraft carrier.

Well, that prompted me to approach the coach for an interview on goal setting. After a few emails and going through various contacts and assistants, I achieved my goal in getting a quick interview.

1. I recently saw a video of Jack Canfield giving a presentation on Living the Law of Attraction. He said he scored 107 goals when he was 20 years old and reached 102 of them. What was one of the last goals you met and can you describe what happened?

The last one was when I was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in May 2008.

2. What was the name of the book that prompted you to make a list?

The magic of thinking big by David Schwartz.

3. Now that you are older, how has meeting your goals changed since you were younger?

Completely. It has taught me to take charge of my life and that everything that happens to me, good or bad, is because of the decisions I make.

4. What is a goal that you have not yet reached and what are you doing today to make it come true?

I can’t speak a second language! I have tapes on how to speak Spanish, but I have not been able to block the amount of time needed to achieve it.

5. As we all know, sometimes the realization of our aspirations involves other people. As a legendary coach of young athletes, what would you do to encourage your players to help achieve coach, player and team goals?

Everyone should have the same goals. In addition, everyone must understand how they will personally benefit when we achieve our goals.

6. Can you share some of the tips and techniques you use or have used to make your dreams come true?

1) Decide what you want to achieve and the date.

2) What talents you must acquire to do this.

3) Who do you have to work with to achieve it?

4) What problems must you overcome to achieve it?

5) Have a plan.

6) Share with others why they will benefit.

7. I heard that only 3% of Americans have a list of measurable goals. What would you say is the biggest barrier for people not reaching their aspirations or even making a list of goals?

They are not determined, they do not have a goal, they have a wish list.

8. What do you do when you can’t reach a goal you’ve set for yourself?

Find out why I didn’t and I learned from it!

9. What goal did you meet that you would say impacted you the most?

Being married to the same wife for 48 years. May all 4 children graduate from college, 3 from Notre Dame and 1 from Centenary. We are a close-knit family that cares about each other.

10. What advice would you give to people setting their goals today?

Be realistic, but don’t underestimate your talent.

We want to express our appreciation to Lou Holtz for taking time out of his busy schedule to share some of his wisdom on goal setting.

I hope this encourages you to start setting goals. Lou Holtz is now in his 70s and still struggles to pursue his dreams, old and new.

Get started today … and dream big!