Adapted from “Failure is NOT an Option” by Patty Benton, www.virtualvacoach.com/vaguide.html

www.moretime4u.org

© 2005 JERPAT Virtual Assistants

I was very fortunate to be included in the Success Principles Workshop with Cheryl Callighan http://www.theentrepreneurstoolbox.com/.  Though I don’t go into nearly as much detail and all the steps Cheryl does, I have adapted some of the methods to work for me (you can contact her and/or get the Success Principles by Jack Canfield to expand upon his). I started in May, and have reached some goals that I had set for a few years ago.

Before I start with the steps to writing your goals, I want to first strongly encourage you to write your goals down and then keep them posted where you will see them daily. Read through them at least once a day, if not 3 or 4 times during the day. This will keep them fresh in your mind and aware of where you are headed!

1.   First set 2-4 goals for each of the following areas. If you would like to do more, that is fine. Be realistic, though, in what you want to achieve. Note that in the example goals, I am very specific. I set monetary values, numbers or anything else pertinent to know exactly what I want to achieve with the specific goal.

a.    Financial- What would you like to achieve financially with your business? Some people just want extra spending money, while others need a set amount to quit their job.

Here is an example goal I set for myself: $125.00 for Anjonae’s preschool.

b.   Career- Where would you like to go with your career? Do you want to quit your job? Do you want to eventually not be working at all and retire?

Here is an example goal I set: Start coaching 4 students/week (at this time I was just establishing my coaching program).

c.    Personal Goals- What would you like to achieve for yourself? This has nothing to do with your business, but everything to do with keeping yourself healthy and happy (please note: These are not just health goals, but any goals you want to accomplish in your personal life).

Here is an example goal I set: Lose 50 lbs.

2.   Now that you have your goals set, determine when you will achieve them by. Be realistic. Don’t say that by next week you will be making $500 unless you are already working on a perspective client. Below are the same goals I listed above with their specific achievement dates. Just for your knowledge in seeing the time frame, these goals were set approximately May 2, 2005.

a.    Financial- $125.00 for Anjonae’s preschool by 8-31-05

b.   Career-  Start coaching 4 students per week by 8-31-05 (I achieved this 6-13-05, so I added to this goal that by 8-31-05 I would have 8 coaching students. By 8-31-05, I had 13 coaching students.)

c.    Personal Goals- Lose 50 lbs by 12-31-05.

d.   Community Service or Contribution- Donate services to church for business book by 11-15-05 (I set this so far out because at that point, I knew I had a lot going on during the summer and would not have time to get this project moving.)

3.   Now that you have established your goals and when you want to achieve them by, you need a plan of action. Take each goal and decide the steps you need to take to achieve them. Include any monetary expenses that will be involved, as you need to ensure that you have the money to achieve that goal. If you do not, then go back and change your achievement date to one that will allow you the time to earn the necessary money. Here are example plans of action. I did not include all of them, as I know you want to finish this book in a relatively reasonable time frame.

a.    Financial- $125.00 for Anjonae’s preschool by 8-31-05

·      Send out 100 postcards/month $40 on http://www.expresscopy.com (This total includes printing, addressing with a list you provide, stamps, and mailed.)

·      Make 20 follow-up calls (or 1 hour’s worth) per week, starting one week after postcards are mailed.

b.   Personal Goals- Lose 50 lbs by 12-31-05 (as of 6-31-05 I had lost 5 lbs-looking at that weight loss amount I will be adjusting my goal to 3-31-06)

·      Eat smaller portions and eat slower.

·      Eat breakfast (I never did this before).

·      Eat 1-2 small snacks during the day-no more than that!

·      Do not eat 2 ½ hours to 3 hours before bed.

·      Drink healthy drinks. No-sugar-added Kool-Aid and Diet A & W Root beer are my drinks of choice.

Congratulations! You now have your goals established. You will keep adding and adjusting your goals as you go. If you need to adjust your goals that are already set, go right ahead. It is very possible that you will come across hitches that will limit you from reaching your goal so you will need to make adjustments. Do not consider this failure, consider this life! You won’t fail unless you don’t try! Sometimes it takes us longer than we plan or want to reach a goal, and that is okay. As long as you continue to work toward that goal, and adjust them as needed.

One other thing I did was to put a picture of a house with mountains in the background and horses in the front on my goals. My ultimate goal (which was not listed above as I have many goals I need to reach to achieve my ultimate goal) is to be able to custom build a house with at least five acres of land. Since I live in Colorado near the mountains and absolutely love my mountains, I want to be sure no matter where I build my house, it is near the mountains and I can have horses! The date I have set for this to be done is 12-12-12. Make sure to have the big goals listed to! It is important to know where you will end up, and what all the other goals are working towards. Everyone has dreams of things they want to accomplish, so set your goals to help you achieve your dreams! 

© 2005 JERPAT

You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, as long as the text and byline remain unedited. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Getting a GED (General Education Development) is no little success. Severe necessities can frequently make obtaining a GED extremely hard. And up till now a number of employers regard a GED as lesser and will not hire based on this “high school equivalency”. Also, a number of branches of the U.S. Military will not forever mechanically agree to it. Almost for each good paying job as a minimum a high school diploma is desirable. At the present is the chance for any person with no a high school certificate to go into a self-paced study course through Citizens’ High School – and do so on-line in the expediency of one’s house, even as on holiday or anywhere a Net-connected computer is obtainable. Throughout Citizens’ High School, studying for a high school certificate online has never been easier or more suitable. Learners are able to virtually keep their present schedules, counting full-time jobs and family everyday jobs, with the least quantity of break as probable. Citizens’ High school online courses work around the learner.Citzens’ High School as well has an objective place in Orange County, Florida. The school has been qualified in the course of the Accrediting Commission of the Distance and Education Training Council which is generally known as an accredited organization by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation guarantees an academic organization will not just set reliable goals intended for students enrolled, other than will in addition document the conclusion of these goals on a year-by-year foundation. Potential students of Citizen’s High School can be guaranteed of fiscal liability, suitable set of courses, admission values, and excellence of instructors. Official approval as well helps weed out “diploma mills” which “promise” diplomas in days or weeks based on “life knowledge”.

“My dream is to be independently wealthy.”

“I’m going to find the man of my dreams.”

“My dream car is a Lexus ES-300.”

“I visited Newport Beach and saw my dream house!”

How many times have you heard similar statements from friends?  And maybe you’ve even voiced a few wonderful ‘dreams’ yourself.  (I know I have!)  It’s great to have dreams!

According to millionaire author, Michael Masterson, any dream can become a goal if it meets the following criteria:

It must be Specific: Being independently wealthy is a dream. Developing a $3 million net worth in 5 years is a goal.

It must be Actionable: Winning the lottery is a dream. Building a successful business is a goal.

It must be Time-Oriented: “I’m going to be rich someday” is a dream.  “I’m going to develop a $3 million net worth in five years is a goal.

It must be Realistic: Developing a $3 million net worth in five years is reasonable (with a great action plan).  Developing a $3 million net worth in 3 months is not.  Although winning the lottery is possible, it is not at all realistic.  (Statistically, your odds of being struck by lightening are greater than your chance of winning the lottery.)

Dreaming feels good – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming.  But if you’d like to ‘live your dream’ it MUST be turned into a goal.  Without goals, dreams seldom become reality.

A Harvard Business School study followed the financial status of a group of students 10 years after their graduation and found that:

- As many as 27 percent needed financial assistance.

- 60 percent were living paycheck to paycheck.

- Only 10 percent were living comfortably.

- A mere 3 percent of them were financially independent.

The study also found these interesting goal setting correlations:

- The 27 percent that needed financial assistance never set goals for themselves.

- The 10 percent that were living comfortably only had general goals.  

- The 3 percent that were financially independent had not only written out their goals – they also outlined and followed the steps required to reach those goals.

Even with a Harvard Business School degree, 97% were not wealthy.  The critical difference was goal setting.  To learn more about this click here http://www.abundance-of-wealth.cup-of-life.com/Wealth-Creation.html .

So hold on to your dreams!  Dreams are a wonderful thing.  But if you’d like to turn any of those dreams into reality, you must first turn the dream into a goal.

Copyright (c) 2008 Robin Rushlo

Does goal setting really work? Let’s look at a study conducted with the Yale Graduating Class of 1953. They surveyed all students asking them if they had written goals for their life: * 3% had put their goals in writing * 97% had not written them down or had none at all! Twenty years later, these same people were re-interviewed. * The 3% who had written goals had 10 times the incomes than the other 97% combined! There is NO DOUBT about it – Goal Setting Works! You must find a goal that truly inspires you, something that will push you to do whatever it takes to accomplish it. Goals keep you focused help you create your vision.

A goal is merely a dream until it is written down.

The basics of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber athletes, successful businessmen and businesswomen and all types of achievers in all the different fields. The basics of setting goals give you short-term and long-term motivation and focus. They help you set focus on the acquisition of required knowledge and help you to plan and organize your resources and your time so that you can get the best out of your life.

Setting clearly defined short term and long term goals will enable you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction once you have successfully met your goals. Charting your progress will also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to the actual realization of your goals. This eliminates the feeling of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal. Your self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you will be more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve your goals. The basics of goal settings will involve deciding what you really want to do with your personal life and what short term and long term goals you need to achieve it. Then you have to break down goals into the smaller and manageable targets that you must complete in your way to achieving your lifetime targets. Once you have your list waste no time in tackling your goals.

A good way to have a manageable list is to have a daily and weekly set of goals. By doing this you will be always in the position of going towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the opportunity to fulfill a certain goal giving you the feeling of accomplishment.

Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration in setting goals and achieving them.

Attitude plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals. You must ask yourself “if any part of you or your mind holding you back towards completing your simplest goals?” Again ask yourself,”if there are any part of your behavior that is being a hindrance or puts your plans into disarray or self destructive? If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate thing to do is to address this problem. Solutions may include a visit to a doctor or psychiatrist to control your emotions. Careers are made by good time management practice. Failing in a career is often attributed to bad time management. Careers require a lot from an individual which often makes the career the life of the individual. Plan now, how far do you want to go into your career and business?

Education is the key in achieving your goals. If your goals require you to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed, make plans in getting the appropriate education.

Your family should never be left out of your plans. If you are just starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent or when you want to be a parent. You also have to know if you really would be a good parent and how well would you relate to extended family members

Personal financial situations also play a major role in achieving your goals. Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to earn. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you will be able to reach your earning potential.

Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related goals like being in the National Basketball association or National Football League. Determining your physical capabilities should be one of your priorities. Physical limitations could however be conquered with proper planning.

As the saying goes -’All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, or something to that effect, is by all means true down to the last the letter. Giving yourself a little pleasure should be included into your plans.

To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century plan, then break it down to 5 year plans then break it down again to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then weekly, then daily.

Then create a things-to-do list for the day. Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies. The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get to be familiar with them.

1. List the top three (3) reasons WHY you want to build your Business: A. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Write down your Goals: * My monthly income goal in 3 months is $____________ * My monthly income goal in 6 months is $____________ * My monthly income goal in 1 year is $____________ * My monthly income goal in 2 years is $____________

3. Write down your Commitments:

* I am committed to devoting ________ hours per week to my business.

* I will commit to inviting prospects and attending (even if I don’t have a prospect on it) the following Live Calls every week: (List all calls you will attend with guests) PUT YOUR GOALS IN WRITING!

Success is a “Premeditated Act”. It begins by setting goals. That explains why goal setting is an essential and important step which many of the success and prosperity coaches encourage when mentoring a student or giving advice to clients.What is a goal anyway ? What is effective goal setting ? First, you need to have your goals written down. That way, you will constantly remind yourself what are you after and not short change yourself. Do you know someone who told you that they wish to achieve something in the new year and ended up achieving nothing ? They get so hyped up during the start of the new year but because they did not have their goals written, they gradually forgot about them as time passes.So, write your goals down. Use some Psychology Tactics to boost your self-motivation. Eg: you want an Audi R8. Get a picture of it and paste it beside your goals. You want a dream vacation to Tihiti.. do you have a picture of the island ? Paste it at your bedroom door or your restroom so that you constantly remind yourself of your goals. – GoalSecond, you need to PLAN your goals. Yes. Goal setting is not just about writing down what you want, but also what you are going to do to achieve it. I say again, write down your plans and your strategy in achieving your goals. The plans will be like a check list towards your goal. With your plans written down, you will be able to know what needs to be done and what has not been done. As you all know, Planning without action leads to nowhere. Action without planning doesn’t always move you in the direction in which you want to go. A lot of people make this mistake when setting goals. They don’t plan… and the end result, they settle for less. – PlanningThird, you need to set a time line for your goal. Goal setting is not effective when it does not have a specific time line. Let me just say that a GOAL is a specific measurable and Time Bound end in which you take specific action until achieved. With a specific time line, you can measure your efforts and your current status vs your goals. Let say you wish to make an additional $25,000 in your income by Jul 2009. Come March, you are only making an additional $500. Now you can measure your efforts vs current status vs your goal. Do you need to step up your effort ? What have you not done ? What else needs to be done in order to expedite your performance, efficiency towards your goal ? – TimeLine Last but not least is doing what you have set out to do. I believe all of us know that we can have everything in the world, but we need to work for it.. so.. Action is the word.. – ActionI wish to share one of the most valuable lesson I’ve learnt over the past years — Jean Paul Getty, one of the wealtiest man the world has ever known once quote this Secret of Success >> G.S.A Know what it means ? set your Goals, Strategise it, and take massive Action…