Setting Goals

This program of goal setting is bigger then you can imagine. It will transform your whole life.  These life changing concepts presented here, once started, will help you accomplish more on a daily basis then you could ever dream possible. As you work a goal setting program like this one, what you will be doing in reality is prioritizing your life. You will be laying out the roadmap of your life and ultimately your success. Think of it like this, people spend more time planning their wedding then they do their own life. They spend enormous amounts of time planning a two week holiday then their complete 90 year life.

Take the time to study and develop a "goal mindset" laid out in this web site. By so doing you will train yourself to succeed daily. The foundations of this web site are built on the concept that self-esteem and achieving goals go hand in hand. Although we talk a lot about setting goals, what we are really striving at is increasing your self esteem, your personal self image. With strong self esteem you can accomplish ANYTHING you set your mind to. So if you follow this program, the end result will be greater self confidence, and higher self esteem. Setting, and then achieving your goals will work miracles for your self image.

The absolute starting point for a complete goals program is that you must begin with your definition of your purpose in life. Your one reason for living. Start by defining the ONE PURPOSE that you believe in. The one concept that you KNOW is right and are willing to base your existence on. Yes it is THE BIG ONE. All your other goals and successes in life must be pointed towards this ONE big goal. The best graphical image is the triangle shape. At the very top will be this one Big goal.  Everything must in some way revolve around this ONE goal in your life. All your other goals ( financial, physical etc...) will be under this one goal. For many it is a esoteric goal, one that is centered on spirituality, and one that is most definitely not related to anything tangible. Take the time now to think this through. Be clear about it. For some it is OK to admit that it is hard to define this. But by working this goals program, you will eventually get the "goal mindset" and the BIG ONE will make itself evident for you.  

Everything about the SIX STEPS TO SUCCESS starts here. All the six principle categories that we call the "SUCCESS MATRIX" ( Financial, Physical, Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Career) must have their own individual goals. Like the triangle we mentioned earlier, each of these areas will have further daily goals under them. You must first apply these six steps of goal planning to each of these matrices. By so doing you will "map" out your complete dreams. They all work together. They all interconnect to form COMPLETE SUCCESS. Yes it takes work, and yes it's true, nothing good in life comes free and easy...  for more info on daily personal success read my blog.  For stories on success in my business click here

THE SIX STEPS IN SETTING GOALS

There is an old story of a man who wakes up one morning and he is hungry. He decides that to eat he must hunt first.  He quickly grabs his gun and heads out the door. As he walks around the forest looking for game, a dense fog slowly surrounds him.  Suddenly he can hear the wildlife all around him but he can't shoot because of the fog. He thinks he hears a deer, then a partridge, no… maybe a rabbit.  He checks his gun and realizes that he brought the wrong shotgun shells .... He realizes the futility of hunting in the fog with the wrong bullets and decides to head home. But he's walked so far and the fog is now so thick, that he has lost his way and does not know the way home. He starts to get scared. He yells for help. Eventually, a fellow hunter hears him who goes out with a flashlight to rescue him. 

This story is a classic example of how most people deal with life. Many people start out in life wanting or desiring to do something yet really don't know where to start. They have an urge and a desire, but do not recognize the value in planning, in GOAL SETTING. Setting a clear objective. Being prepared, before you start out. Our hunter came back empty handed for many reasons. First, he headed out without knowing the negative elements (did he check the weather forecast?). Secondly, how could he shoot any game without being able to see it? (Did he even know what it was he was shooting at?) Thirdly, he did not have the proper shells for the game that was around him. Fourthly, when all seemed lost he simply gave up (he did not plan out any alternatives). Any one can have an idea about where they want to go in life, but they never really plan out exactly how they are going to get there. 

Here is the SIX STEP PLAN to be successful in setting goals. Remember for true and lasting success, you must apply these six goal planning steps to each and every area of your life ( Financial, Physical, Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Career)

• WRITE IT ALL DOWN - COMMIT TO IT
• LIST THE BENEFITS - SELL YOURSELF
• LIST THE PEOPLE / ORGANIZATIONS WHO WILL HELP - YOU'RE NOT ALONE
• LIST THE ROADBLOCKS - PREPARE FOR SETBACKS
• BREAK IT DOWN - IT'S EASY TO EAT AN ELEPHANT !
• SET THE TIMELINE - TIME FOR A CELEBRATION

We have made easy to follow templates for all this information that you can fill out. 

1)  WRITE IT ALL DOWN - COMMIT TO IT.  Believe it or not, this can be a very difficult thing to do. It's easy to talk about what we dream about, but a lot harder to actually sit down and write out the whole plan. In this first step all you have to do is write down what it is you want. These are the dreams and goals that relate to one of the Success Matrices. (Financial, Physical, Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Career). So if your working on your Physical goals, you could dream about, losing weight, exercising more, eating better or whatever you consider important to your physical success. These are your long range goals, your long range dreams, the big ones. Go ahead and write down all that you want. Let them take some shape and then take the time to sit down and physically write out what they are. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Writing things down is part of this exercise. By writing things down you will sub-consciously COMMIT YOURSELF to them. It takes a fair amount of time and thought to accomplish this, but it's worth it if your serious.  But then that is also part of the problem. Many of us just don't take goal planning as serious as we should. Writing it down helps you commit to it. Its there in front of you, reminding you. Committing to it is the foundation of seeing it through. 

We certainly teach our children to have big dreams in life, but when it comes to later in life and adulthood, complacency sets in, a comfort zone starts to wrap its arms around you and in many cases it feels nice. Setting goals requires breaking out of the comfort zone. Thinking "outside the box" is not as easy as it sounds.  I'm sure you've heard that the definition of insanity is someone who does the same thing everyday, day in, day out,  thinking that one day it will change.  

2) LIST THE BENEFITS - SELL YOURSELF   The heart of a good salesman is one who is able to successfully show you the benefits of your purchase. The same can be said for your goals. You need to sell yourself. While doing this you will have to ask yourself, "Why do I want this goal?" By asking the 'why' you will form your benefits list of why this goal is good for you. It will help you commit to it. More importantly, it will help you through the tough times when you hit some roadblocks. The benefits are the good things; the end results, the things you can be proud of. For example, what are the benefits of losing weight? Better health, strength, longer life span stamina, etc...It is easy to think of all the "negative" things you will have to do to lose weight. The dieting, the exercise ( ugh!) the discipline !! These things you already know about. They're obvious. But, by writing the benefits down, you again reinforce in your mind, your commitment to your goal. You have to sell yourself on your own goal!

3) LIST THE PEOPLE / ORGANIZATIONS WHO WILL HELP - YOU'RE NOT ALONE  It is true that no man is an island and that your true friends and family will want to see you succeed. But this list focuses not on friends or family for support, but on the people who will help you accomplish it. For example before losing weight, seeing a doctor may be a good idea. Maybe talking to a nutritionist, a personal trainer, exercise clubs etc...These people are usually specialist, trained in a very specific area. Their guidance will be invaluable. They may know shortcuts, "the easy way". But most importantly they probably have done it. They are going to know the troubles and roadblocks that lay ahead for you. They will form your NETWORK of people that will add to your NET WORTH. Many times their advice will save you time and prevent any possible headaches. You never know until you list them.

4) LIST THE ROADBLOCKS - PREPARE FOR SETBACKS  Let's face it, nothing valuable in life comes easy, otherwise everybody would do it. Setbacks and problems will arise. We hate to say it, setbacks will occur. This  is why we stress the importance of writing down all the benefits. The benefits list will help you see the results of your goal. Listing the roadblocks and objections will help you prepare for them. It forms the "roadmap". of your goal. It helps show you where all the sharp corners are, where the mountains are....When they come, you were expecting them, and are ready to get around them. That is the purpose of this list.  Ask yourself 'how will you get around this roadblock?'. Write it down  so that when they come you are ready. The previous third step (List the people who can help) is actually designed to help you get through these roadblocks. They would have information on overcoming them.

5) BREAK IT DOWN - IT'S EASY TO EAT AN ELEPHANT !  The idea of eating a whole elephant is a daunting task to say the least, ( yeah but how does it taste!!). It is actually easy to eat an elephant..... - One bite at a time - . Breaking down your goal to weekly, or daily objectives or tasks is what we are saying here. Not only does it organize your time, but it helps to reinforce your commitment when things get difficult. By setting daily objectives ( baby steps) you WILL move forward. We have developed a SUCCESS TRACKER to help you with this. Because it is the daily grind that makes goal keeping so difficult, this tracker will help you visually see your progress on a daily or monthly basis. We even have assigned a point system to help you watch your improvement as you move closer to your goals. I know in some cases it seems impossible but it is true. My 2 year old son loves to run around the house. One day I measured one lap around. We ran 55 times around the house once. That worked out over 1.2km !!. If I were to go outside and look at how far 1.2km's is, I wouldn't believe it. So there you go....if a 2 year old can do it so can you!!

In Step Five you are not at the end yet. Step Five is the "process" of achieving that goal which  should / will inspire you. The "process" we are talking about is the daily grind. It is the day to day tasks that you have to do in Step five which is the reality we are talking about. Step Five is the most important step. It is also the longest and hardest to achieve. But take heart. You inner strength comes from your hunger to achieve. The more hunger you have, the greater your achievement. My advice is, get hungry and stay hungry. Once you think you can definitely accomplish this goal, then you will naturally slow the process down. You will lose some hunger, because its human nature to get over confident once you're close to the finish line. Keep your head down. Work to completion. Here is an example; losing weight. You know the amount you have to lose is achievable. You are so confident that you can do it, that you don't start for a few days. Don't get complacent, don't relax. Stay hungry, stay focused, the "process", the daily grind is what will help you COMPLETE your goal. It's the daily tasks that you complete, as small as they are, that will set you apart from the crowd and enhance your success.

6) SET THE TIMELINE - TIME FOR A CELEBRATION   Let me say that by setting the date first you actually will be doing yourself a disservice. Setting some sort of timeline or deadline LAST is what we need to do. You need to physically see ( written down) all the other things you need to do first, before setting the date. Everybody seems to want to set the date first. "I want to lose weight by the summer" is what someone might first say.  To properly set a goal requires going through the previous 5 points and clarifying ON PAPER all the things that need to be done BEFORE you set the date. In fact I feel so strongly about this I hesitate to use the word date. I would rather have the word "timeline". Setting a valuable goal often requires life changing events to occur. For them to take root can sometimes take a lifetime. And some goals are life long. Yes losing weight is a LIFE LONG GOAL.  I've heard many a comment made about thin people. "yeah it's easy for them....they do not have a weight problem". That is exactly the point. They set a life long goal to be thin. And they work at EVERY DAY!!

So now you have the six steps laid out for you in plain site. Take that next "step" and map it out. Download our goal setting templates and get to work. This where the "rubber meets the road", where you have to take action. Do it! You will not be sorry you did. Spending time to lay out the foundation of your life is a worthy cause. YOU are worth it. Don't you agree?

The six links to the side are there to give you examples of how these templates will work.

If you have any further questions or insights we would be more then happy to oblige you. Please go to our contact page for more info. We especially like to receive emails that tell of how this web site impacted / changed your life.