We don’t attempt even the smallest of construction jobs without a plan, and yet many people work in a field they just happened to “fall in to” because someone suggested it, or a friend was doing it, or even worse—they didn’t have anything else to do.Not have a goal or plan in your life is like being out at sea in a rowboat and having no oars. You are not in charge; you will end up wherever the it goes. People without goals tend to let other people or circumstances control their lives.

We don’t attempt even the smallest of construction jobs without a plan, and yet many people work in a field they just happened to “fall in to” because someone suggested it, or a friend was doing it, or even worse — they didn’t have anything else to do. 

Many people say they have goals, but are sadly mistaking. They may say things like: “I have always wanted to visit Spain.” or “I would like a better car.” or “I want to earn more money.” or “Someday I’d love to learn to speak German”. When these things do not happen, they tend to blame on bad luck or someone else. They may make excuses like: they are too old, they are too young, they have no talent, they lack the skills, no time, etc. What they do not realize is they are not achieving their “so-called” goals because they are not goals at all; they are merely wishes and dreams.

Turning dreams into goals requires specific actions. A goal is so much more they a wish or a dream. A goal needs to be specific. A dream becomes a goal when action is taken.

We need to ask these questions:

Is it your goal? Is it something you passionately really want? How would reaching your goal make you feel? Close your eyes and think about that for a few minutes.

Exactly what is your goal? Write your goal down to the last detail. If your goal is a nicer house, write down where it is located, how many rooms does it have? Does it have a chimney? And so on. If your goal is to travel to let’s say to India, write down what you plan do to there, where you would like to stay, who you would be traveling with etc. If it is to earn more money, write down exactly how much down to the last dollar.

Write down a time limit. By what date do you intend to reach your goal? For example: I am going get my degree by June 13^th.

You first goals should be achievable. When you have set a date, it is time to make an action plan. Big goals must be broken down in to manageable pieces. 

Take your main goal and break it up to smaller parts. Set time limits on all your sub goals leading up to your main goal.

Make a list of obstacles. Be prepared for what may have to be overcome to reach your goal. If you’re not aware of potential problems, you’ll be side-tracked when they arise and lose sight of your objective.

Brainstorm. Make a lists of things you need to accomplish to reach your goal. Don’t worry if that list is small to start out with. When you start working towards your goal, your list will get longer. You will find a way to learn the skills you need as you work towards your goal.

Read your goal or goal out loud at least twice every day. Read your “to do” list several times daily.

“Genius” has been described as the “ability to focus on one thing at a time.”  Many people who are “geniuses” are so not only because they have a high intellect, but because they are a gift of being able to focus on the objective or goal at hand. 

This same focus must come in to play when determining what your goals are in relation to success.  You need to learn to work towards one major objective and juggle a few short- and mid-range goals at the same time. 

Start today. Take charge of your life. In order to reach your goal, you must stay focused. Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady, once said: “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan”.

The first list included what I wanted to achieve within the next twelve months. The second list contained what I wanted to achieve within five years and the third list was my lifetime goals.

One of my goals was to do with my composite doors business. I wanted to ensure that the world would get to know about the fact that I offer affordable composite doors.

I had read that it of benefit to write any goals or targets down to ensure that one can keep focused.

Invest time and money to reach your goals

I now had a determination to succeed and was willing to work hard to achieve my goals. I was very much aware that I would have to work very hard to achieve anything in life. One of my aims was to stop stuttering. To do this I had to learn the art of relaxation, I have always been very hard on myself and had spent most of my life worrying about things that may happen in the future. I decided to ease up on myself and to even have monthly treats to keep me and my body happy. I went to see a refloxologist and a few weeks later I went to see an aromatherapist. After working extremely hard with copious amounts of dedication I did manage to achieve fluency – I was very proud of my efforts as you can no doubt imagine.

Avoid negative people

There are people out there who try to bring me down. They attempt to do this by off the cuff comments they make or just by the way they seem to look down on me. They would look down their noses at me. These type of people have caused me many sleepless nights and have had a negative affect on my self-confidence.

Are you finding it difficult to deal with a specific problem in your life? You’ll probably find a coaching service that specializes in that particular problem. Coaching services are great for helping you to identify and get what you want.

One example: Are you longing to change your career but are scared of the idea? A career coach could easily help you to decide what type of career you want and how to get into that career. In this case the first thing you would do is search out a career coach. Don’t worry that your ideal choice isn’t local, as there are anumber of online services. If you hire a coaching service online most of your sessions will be over the phone, with added email support.

When you first start your coaching sessions you will begin to focus on a specific goal. This probably will be your ideal job role. Once you have identified your goal you will next have to identify the challenges you will have to overcome in order to reach your goal.

Your coach will listen to what your objective is and help to provide feedback about how you can reach your goals. They will be right there beside you, helping you work through any obstacles you may encounter. At the end of each step of the program with your career consultants, you will be given a list of things that you need to do before your next session.

With a coaching service, you are advised to push towards your goal by stepping outside of your comfort zone ideal. Now most people do not realize this… but it is often a product of their own doing that prevents them from moving forward towards their goals. People don’t like to move out of their social safety net, and this can work against you if you want to achieve a particular goal.

A coaching service cannot decide what is best for each individual case. However, what it can do is help you work through your own thoughts and obstacles so that you can decide on the best direction for you. And then you can achieve anything you want. It doesn’t make a difference if you are looking to advance your current career, or move into the work force after a long period of being a stay at home parent.

A career coaching service can help you achieve your dreams.

A frequent problem that people run into is deciding how they can continue earning a wage while they pursue their dreams. A career counselling service can help with these types of problems too.

There isn’t any doubt that a career coaching service can help you overcome problems and grab hold of your dreams.

Last year, Veronica Noone started on a regular run with a small sensor attached to her running shoes.  The sensor recorded and stored information about her run, including how far she went and how long the run took.  This information was transferred to her iPod for later review. The technology that enabled this was the focus of a story recently in Wired magazine, but it carries a deeper, more important message about performance, motivation and goals that’s relevant to general knowledge about setting and achieving goals.

Having access to this kind of information about the activity appears to motivate most people and leads them to want to do it again.  According to Veronica, “It just made running so much more entertaining for me.  There’s something about seeing what you’ve done, how your pace changes as you go up and down hills, that made me more motivated”.  The result is that it’s led to changes in her behavior, to the point that she is running regularly each week now and has started entering races.  She believes that the information she receives from her runs has alot to do with her current level of fitness.

The benefits of measuring our progress at whatever we are doing, and specifically when we have set a goal, is that it gives us clear feedback which motivates us, and it shows trends that we might not otherwise detect.  We inherently seem to want those trends to move in the direction of improvement, toward the direction of our goal.  Without the feedback , we are able to proceed with blissful ignorance about our performance and miss the opportunity to feel satisfaction from any improvements.  To spin a familiar phrase, “what you don’t know won’t kill you, but it may diminish the motivational opportunity that knowing your results provides”.

The statistics on this technology has produced another interesting fact.   It appears that something happens once someone uses the system 5 times.  Once users hit five ‘uses’, i.e. 5 times having recorded their data, they’re much more likely to continue running and uploading their data.  After completing five runs, users have gotten hooked on what the data (feedback) tells them about themselves.  It seems likely the same results would apply to weight loss, educational goals or anything else that we might track if we are interested in our performance.  The lesson: Stick to the plan you set to achieve your goal, and record your results at least 5 times, and you will significantly improve your chances for success.

Another interesting effect has been observed.   Users examining the results of their runs invoke what sociologists call the Hawthorne effect.  If we are realize that we are being watched , according to the Hawthorne effect we will tend to revise our behavior.  If you’re thinking this sounds like accountability, you’re right.  You don’t have to actually be watched by another person, but by tracking and viewing the data from your performance you effectively become your own observer, and the principles end up working the same way.  It’s inevitable that when your record your results and review it on a regular basis, you will begin holding yourself accountable for those results which will generally lead to better performance.

In studies of weight loss, it’s been shown repeatedly that people who count calories lose more weight than those who don’t.  Sound familiar?  When you examine your behavior and have a clear picture of what it has been, you become an observer.  Another company, Core Performance, has found that workouts in which metrics are recorded (sets, reps, weight lifted, etc) make you fitter, because you will train more precisely and put in more effort if you know you’re going to be seeing your results.  Once again, you become your observer and unconsciously hold yourself accountable.  Not measuring and recording your results is synonymous with not being observed.  Mason Goldbert, co-owner of a fitness club, says “People love to track things.  It brings out their competitive spirit.”

Most experts agree goals must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevent and Time Sensitive).   Getting accurate, regular feedback is a perfect example of the “measurable” component.

Veronica’s run that day covered 1.67 miles in 18 minutes and 36 seconds.  But it did something far more important.  It provided the results from the day’s run, and more importantly it created a starting point against which she could measure future performance.  Veronica had run 95 more times  since that initial story in Wired magazine,  and has logging nearly 300 miles over roughly 50 hours.  More importantly, her weight went from a high of 225 lbs to 145 lbs.

What we measure tends to improve. 

For more information on this and other topics related to making improvements in your life, go to Achieving Personal Goals.

Starting the dream list:

Let’s start your personal goal-setting process now by listing a broad range of things you’d like to accomplish, experience, or own. Make sure you set no limits on their price or what you presently think your chances of ever achieving these goals are. This is a process I have used to accomplish writing my own best marketing book and starting my own golf course management company so be sure to be one hundred percent honest with yourself.

On a sheet of paper right now, begin to write until you have 100 things written down in front of you. Call it a Wish list, a Dream list, a Wants list, a What I Need List. It does not matter what you call the list because it is for your eyes. Just pick up a pen and start writing.

(Or you can copy and paste this article into your text editor like Microsoft Word and then fill in your answers.)

Where are the ten places you must visit before you die?

List your top ten places to visit here:

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

What are ten events you’d really love to experience first-hand?

What events would be so breathtaking that you would more than likely talk about them for the rest of your life?

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

What ten skills would you most like to acquire?

What would you like to become excellent at?

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

What does your dream home look like?

Describe your perfect home…

What city is your dream house how located in?

_________________

How many bedrooms?

_________________

How many baths?

_________________

What color is the kitchen?

_________________

What type of flooring?

_________________

What style?

_________________

How will you decorate?

_________________

How many square feet?

_________________

How much money would you like to earn per year?

What amount would provide for your family, with everything you need, plus ample left over for your savings?

When do you want to retire?

And how much income will you need to live on?

To be safe, do not forget to add at least 4% inflation per year! (Of course, I don’t think any of that retirement money ever goes to clothing.)

What type of physical shape would you like to be in?

How much would you like to weigh?

How many more miles would you like to be able to run, cycle or swim with relative ease?

Did you know that most people who run marathons start running at the age of forty three? The middle-aged jelly belly becomes the middle-age motivation.

What negative habits [like smoking] would you like to eradicate?

What would you like your immediate family to experience in the next 5 years?

A trip to the buildings in New York City, London or Paris?

Perhaps you would like to be able to send your children to a private school or a special sports camp in the summer?

A family trip to the Cayman Islands or some other beautiful location?

Maybe you want to go to Disney World in Florida. (Just be careful not to go on It’s A Small World, you will not be able to get that song out of your head for a long time!)

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

What ten toys would you most like to own?

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

What five things would give you the greatest sense of accomplishment in your business life?

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

What ten things would give you the greatest sense of accomplishment in your personal life?

1._______________

2._______________

3._______________

4._______________

5._______________

6._______________

7._______________

8._______________

9._______________

10.______________

Turning dreams into goals.

Start your goal setting process by creating a list of your dreams. Force yourself to write down one hundred things before you go back and fine tune your list.

List all of the places you want to visit, life experiences you would like to have and toys you would like to own like a new Audi RS4. List things you would like to accomplish in life, skills you would like to acquire and the amount of money you’d like to make.

Write down the details of the type house you would like to own, the business or career you would like to create and the lifestyle you would like your family to enjoy.

From this magnificent list you just made, pick the 10 most exciting things and add deadline dates for them. Next, go back and set intermediate or halfway goals for each. Finally, the last thing you must do is list short-term goals that will contribute to the success of the intermediary goals and ultimately the long-term goals.

There is no limit to the number of goals that you can set, just make sure you list only those that you are truly committed to attaining.

Aaron is held in such high regard that Australian internet marketer, James Schramko, changed his travel plans (he was speaking at StomperNet Live in Atlanta), to include a visit to Toronto in order to meet with him.  James has always included ‘mindset’ in all of his workshops and courses, because he knows its importance to success.  So that he could deliver this message in a more meaningful way, he recorded his conversation with Raymond.

Firstly, Raymond Aaron wanted to say that words like “the secret” and “abundance” are not airy-fairy, lovey-dovey throw-away concepts.  He believes and has proven many times, that by invoking the law of attraction, positive things happen.

By setting realistic and achievable goals you are more likely to reach them, and the more you do this, the better you feel about yourself.  When this happens, the law of attraction comes into play.  When you feel good, you send out positivity, and you receive it in return.

The setting of goals is Raymond's speciality.  He tells us that most people set goals for things they are not competent.  They are doomed to failure before they start.  This is why he has developed what he has patented and copyrighted as The MTO Method.  “MTO” stands for Minimum Target Outrageous – the three levels of goal-setting that he teaches.

For instance if your goal is to do 30 sit-ups a day and you currently do no exercise, then you will likely fail – and feel bad, and give up.  However, using Aaron’s MTO Method you would set your goals:

The Minimum should be very achievable.  Say, one sit-up.
The Target should be possible. Say 5 sit-ups.
The Outrageous is real air-punching stuff. It might be 30 sit-ups.

In this example, meeting your Minimum goal should be easy, and once done you feel good.  In fact you feel so good that Target also seems possible.  If you decide to reach that goal as well, you feel sensational.  After you have reached this Target, you will see that the Outrageous goal is within your reach as well.

Here is a goal:  Listen today to the full, inspiring interview with Raymond Aaron.