No matter what type of business you operate – or plan to operate – there always needs to be clear goals in mind. The reason for this is that you can not march haphazardly towards success. Yes, there is a little luck to be found in the biographies of a number of rags to riches entrepreneurial success stories but there is a lot more cohesion than luck in these stories. Without clearly defined goals, then the ability to achieve one’s goals is greatly compromised. Goal setting is not a complicated process. Often, it merely involves looking at where your business is at the present devising where you want it to be and then drafting the necessary plans to get there. For example, if you operate an online subscription news service and want the number of subscribers to grow by 15% over the next year you may devise a direct email marketing plan to get there. Then, you follow through with you plan. Granted, it is not always possible to achieve the goals you set. Sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances that can undermine even the most brilliant plans. Case in point, if you are in the travel business and a recession hits then odds may be against any plans of company growth you may have had. But, when under the circumstances where the factors that derailed you goals are correctable then it is becomes prudent business sense to take the necessary steps to remove those obstacles to your goals in order to keep progressing forward. Now, that may sound like ominous words but it is not a call to start acting as ruthless as J.R. Ewing. It simple means you modify the means in which you achieve your goals. If that aforementioned email marketing strategy is not working it may be prudent to switch to a new marketing strategy. Not achieving your goals is not a crime if it yields critical information that you can use to help your business grow. After all, knowing what not to do is often as valuable as knowing what to do. Businesses are hardly static and market/industry changes can affect the goals of a business. This means a business needs to be flexible in defining its goals. On the surface, McDonald’s looks like a company that stays the same from year to year. But, if you were to look at the various image makeovers and marketing strategies it has followed over the past 50 years you will notice that it has always been a company that is in a state of flux. Perhaps your business needs to do the same.

Copyright (c) 2009 Meredith Liepelt

Goal setting is a critical skill to learn for any business owner. If you don’t know where you are going, “any road will get you there,” as was said so poetically in Alice in Wonderland. Without a clear understanding of where you are heading, you are almost guaranteed to become side-tracked by opportunities that will pull you off of your true course and original intention.

There are four simple things that you can do to help you define your goals and stay on track:

1. Create a Written “Contract.”Research shows that less than 5% of business owners actually write down their goals. However those who do write out their goals generate up to 10 times the revenue that others do! Now if that’s not incentive to take 30 minutes to write down your goals, I don’t know what is!

2. Know Thyself.Ask yourself why you want the goal. Dig deep to find out why it’s important to you. This will help you experience the root of your desire. For example, if your goal is to create an additional income stream of $20,000 in the next six months, make sure you know why that is important. Do you want to take the summer off? Go on vacation? Pay off your car? You can even post a picture of your goal in your office if that is helpful to you. Knowing the essence of why you want to reach a goal is extremely motivating!

3. Get Detailed.Create a list of all the different things you need to do to in order to reach your goal. For example, I brainstorm each step, write them individually on post-it notes and put them all on my wall. From there, I organize the post-it notes into categories and/or into a flow chart so I can see what needs to happen first, second and so forth. From there, I put each step into my calendar so I can be assured that if I just accomplish one or two things toward my goal on the assigned day, I will be directly on target to meet my goal.

4. Share.If you share your goals with a trusted and supportive resource, you are much more likely to achieve your goals. It takes courage to put yourself out there and tell others what your goals are, particularly if they are financial goals. But if you choose wisely, you’ll find the support to be uplifting and very helpful.

There sure is! Applying the Biblical word “plan” for goal setting, it’s clear that God has plans and so do people. God blesses righteous plans and blasts away ones that aren’t so righteous! Above all, goals and plans are subject to the will of God.

Is goal planning even Biblical? You bet! God gives people plans:

“[King David] gave [Solomon] the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. (1 Chronicles 28:12)

Don’t discount goal planning as being “worldly!” Not unless you want to discount God too. But there are evil plans in this world and plans that are opposite to His will and moral will. These he will frustrate.

“He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.” (Job 5:12)

The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.” (Psalm 33:10)

“Crafty” means the schemers, the no-good-doers, the plotters. The nations get into the act too. God works both on the individual and global planes of the world; He is sovereign! And he warns those who plot in the darkness and who plan apart from his known will.

“Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’” (Isaiah 29:15)

“‘Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the LORD, ‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin…’” (Isaiah 30:1)

Did I mention not making evil plans? Goal planning for unethical means is bad. So is planning goals that take you right out of the mainstream of God’s will for your life. Now be careful here ? God’s river is big and wide. I don’t believe in a one-choice-or-you’re-out narrow view of God’s will for you. I believe that for the Christian, there are many paths to many good outcomes and God is there on all of them. But there is a general direction and flow to the outcomes and we can observe it if we care to.

So goals and plans can be good things!

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (Psalm 20:4)

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

And God has his sovereign plan! Planning and goal setting is a fine thing. But subject everything to the Lord’s guidance.

“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Psalm 33:11)

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

Biblical Advice about Plans

I love the book of Proverbs. Along with great advice for faith, business and life, comes this counsel about planning:

Don’t plan in a vacuum, but run your plans and goals past other people. You don’t want to do this with every goal and at every stage in the game, but you should with big and important plans. Especially if they impact other people.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)

Pray, pray some more, and then pray again! Surround your goals and plans with prayer and ask the Lord to bless you in their doing.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)

Ask God for wisdom as you plan and set goals. Involve him every step of the way as you go along and chart your progress. Don’t be afraid to make mid-course corrections as necessary.

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Don’t forget the action part of planning! None of your work and thought will make a smidgen of difference if you don’t actually do something.

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)

Planning isn’t only all right to do, it’s positively wonderful!

“But the noble person makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands.” (Isaiah 32:8)

What do you think the dictionary definition of power is? It’s simply: the ability to act. So, if you have the ability to take action, then you have the power to achieve.
But are you achieving what you want in your life? Ask yourself: what drives my behavior, what is it that makes a difference in my performance? It all comes down to one thing: your goals. If you have the ability to act, you can achieve anything. All it takes is a direction for you to focus your actions, and your power into. Pick the direction, stake out your goals, and you can achieve anything. I’ll show you how.
This article is the first in a series of articles I’m planning about goal setting. I believe it to be a cornerstone of training. Think of it as the core workout for your mind during the training process. And the first sets of excerises are going to burn that extra fat out of your mind. We’re going to give some shape and focus to your life, by identifying just what it is you want to achieve—what your goals are—and the fun part: thinking about what achieving those goals is going to do for you.

If you’re onboard so far, then you’re ready for the first step. What I want you to think about here is two types of goals you’re going to set for yourself: the micro and the macro. All you have to do is generate a list of your micro goals, and another of your macro goals. Think big and small here. Nothing is too outlandish. If you dream it, you can achieve it. So when you write do it in the positive. For example don’t write: I will never eat chocolate cake! Write: I will eat healthy. Once you’ve laid out all your goals, you’ve already taken the first step in achieving them.

The fun part is thinking about what achieving those goals is going to do for you. Once you’ve generated your goals, try writing about what the outcomes of those achievements will be. Again write in the positive, and visualize exactly what it will feel like. It will help you with the next installment of my goal setting workshops.

In my last post, I mentioned that we should set goal clearly and do it daily. Now, the question is, when is the best time in a day? Of course, the answer is in the morning. However, it should not be just anytime in the morning; it should be first thing in the morning! Yes! The first thing when you wake up, instead of brushing your teeth, you should rush to your desk, and start writing your daily goal!

I mentioned in my other posting that there are long-term goal and short-term goal (which for me I called it as daily goal). It is this daily goal that you need to write down everyday! It is important so that you are aware of your daily activities are geared and swift towards it. On top, in the morning, when you just awake, your Alpha wave is at its most active period and according to many scientists’ researches, Alpha wave is presence when a person is engaging into his superb learning mode!

Have you ever experienced, when you were young (or maybe you still doing it now), rushing to study as much as possible only at the night just before a test or examination, trying to utilise and grasp as much as you could; and unfortunately, those you studied earlier, usually tend to be forgotten and seems that they were never ever be a way to register in your mind, however, those that you had studied while you were almost dozed off, surprisingly, can be recalled easily during the exam! Did you ever asked yourself, did I really come across this subject? Why is it so? The answer is because of Alpha wave, which begin to sync in just when you doze off!

What I’m drifting here, it is important to write down your goal in the first thing in the morning, so that you can leverage on your morning Alpha wave which present in your just awaken brain so that you can subconsciously register it and deeply root it into your brain.

Alpha wave also present during at night just before you doze off. So you should also write down your daily goal at night, just before you turn for the bed! This action not only help you to review your day time activities if it gel with your daily goal, but also, help you to register again better, leveraging again on the alpha wave to sink into yourself about your daily goal!

Goal setting is like sharpening a knife. The more you sharpened it, the sharper it will be! Thus, best time to set goal is in the morning, first thing in the morning. And for best result, set again just before you doze off!

Try it! You will be amazed of the result and your goals begin to fall in place. You will be more aware of your behavior towards your daily activities. If it does not work, it’s OK! You will not lose anything! But what if it works? You are in no lost situation! So, just do it!

Just like there’s a recipe for chocolate cake, there’s a recipe for goal setting. But if you’ve tried more than one baker’s cake you know that not all recipes are the same.
The ingredients, both quality and amount, will affect the final result. The order and method of combining the ingredients also makes a difference. Utensils, time, temperature and technique add even more variables.
The recipe you choose will determine the quality of the cake you end up with. What are your standards? Do you want passable, good or irresistibly delicious?
Here’s my favorite recipe! I hope it satisfies your appetite for success.
Step 1: Get Inspired
Often people set safe targets to hit – things they’re pretty sure that with a little extra effort they can accomplish. The truth is if our goals don’t make us a little or a lot nervous they’re not big enough! Lying to ourselves about what we really want because we’re afraid we can’t have what we want only leaves us jealous and discontent even after we get what it is we said we wanted.
As Stephen Covey encourages, let’s begin with the end in mind. Answer these questions before moving to Step 2.
- What kind of life, lifestyle, or life conditions do you desire?
- Where do you want to live?
- What do you want your work/career to create for you?
- What inspires you?
- What would your ideal day look like?
- How, where and with whom would you spend it?
- What contributions do you want to make to this world?
- What kind of resources do you want at your disposal?
- If there were no limits, restrictions or obstacles, what would you dare to aspire to be, do or have?
Step 2: Expose Your Buts
Write down all the reasons why you cannot achieve these goals. List every single possible obstacle that could get in the way of you having your dreams.
Keep asking, “Why can’t I have it?” or “Why don’t I have it?” until you run out of answers. Be sure to include all the ludicrous, inane ones too. (Your buts are the contaminants of your old recipe – they must go!)
Step 3: Bust Your Buts
Where did these buts really come from? Whose voice do you hear when they run through your head? Is it your voice, a parent or teachers, that of a coach or neighbor, maybe a loved one or friend?
These beliefs don’t have to be yours, unless they truly serve you. Challenge the beliefs that DON’T serve. What contrary evidence have you ever seen, heard or felt that demonstrates their falsehood?
Identify any person whose achievements are a complete contradiction to your list of buts. List any observation or experience that shows the ridiculousness, absurdity, or untruth of your old buts.
Step 4: Whys Up
No goal is impossible when the WHY behind it is strong enough. Answer these questions:
- Why do I really want this?
- How will it make me feel to achieve it?
- What benefits will it bring to the people I care about?
- Who will I become in the process of reaching this goal?
- Who can I help?
- What will I be able to do for myself, my family and loved ones, my company, community and/or humanity?
What childhood wishes did you want to make come true, for people, animals, the environment or any great cause that could use your help? What legacy would you like to leave? 50 years from now what do you want said about you and the life you lead?
Step 5: Simulate to Stimulate
Fighter pilots, astronauts and racecar drivers use simulators to train for tasks that require precision and exacting procedure. Through a simulator they can get as close to the actual experience without actually doing what they’re being conditioned for.
We can do something similar to prepare for and pre-live the experience of our own goals. We do this by engaging the mind and the body. Here are some ideas.
Create a vision board or screen saver with pictures that represent your ultimate lifestyle and the goals you will achieve to get there. Create a phrase that expresses your goal already achieved and say it over and over again throughout the day.
Write your affirmation/phrases 10+ times per day engaging brain and muscle while you do. Say them while you jump, move around, dance, sing, shout, run or do anything that gets you actively associated to these words and the vision attached to them. This helps move your goal from an intellectual concept, to an emotional experience and ultimately a physical knowing.
Step 6: Chunk It to Slam Dunk It!
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
When a goal seems too big or daunting it’s time to break it down or chunk it into bite size pieces. For added zest, celebrate after each bite is chewed and swallowed.
Consistent, manageable effort will get you to any goal. This is how you chunk down your goal so you can eat it one bite at a time.
When you get caught up in the mountain of little details that must be handled in order to reach your goal you do a reverse process. You chunk up.
Step 7: Up Your Attitude to Gratitude
Keep a gratitude journal. List at least seven things you are grateful for today.
Being grateful for what we have always seems to put us in a more positive, resourceful frame of mind. The more we notice and appreciate the little conveniences we take for granted the more we stay in this powerful state.
An attitude of gratitude literally accelerates the manifestation of our desires. Our energy is aligned with what we want and it is therefore attracted to us.
Don’t be surprised when your gratitude attitude uplifts the people around you too.

How do we live an extraordinary life? One full of amazement, and one that you live with passion? It is an interesting topic, and with so many people wondering what the key to happiness is, it is worth considering. In this article, we will look at what I call Bliss++.
In my life, I have always sought to live an extraordinary life. As a life coach, I have seen many people ask what is the key to happiness. But happiness and money are totally different things. Though many people believe that more money will make life more happier. The truth is that emotions such as happiness begin with us.
So, what is an extraordinary life? Think about it for a moment. What is an extraordinary life? For me I have managed to create what I think is an extraordinary life, and I call that Bliss++. It includes my ideal health, wealth; success, professional life, and all other areas that I feel need to be included. Bliss++ is my view of what car I want, what dream home I want, and how I want my relationships to be.
For you, you can consider your own Bliss++. You can call it what you want. However, what you call it should mean something to you personally. And every time you think of the word, it should conjure up visions in your imagination of your ideal life.
For many people who achieve great things, goal setting is behind what got them from a to b. From mediocrity to success, however, they choose to define it. I can wholeheartedly agree that goal setting is essential to be able to live an extraordinary life. Ask 100 people about where they are going, if they have a vision, if they have a worthy ideal, and you will find only 4-7 people out of hundred can give you an answer.
Setting goals is all fun; however, it is easy to get stuck there. Goals can be empty by themselves and needs a vision. That vision begins when you go through thinking about what you really want. What would make an extraordinary life for you?
Think about it. Look back here, read this, bookmark it, and send to friends. And most important of all remember. And remember to define your extraordinary life. It is crucial, as Solomon the wisest of them all said that without a vision people perish. And with that wisdom it does not require being a Christian, catholic, protestant or any other denomination. It requires simply thinking about how you want your life to be.
You might not achieve it exactly. It may take a day, a week, a month, even a year to create the whole picture. But, while you are creating the vision, you can start taking action on those goals you have formulated from the vision. If you shoot for the Moon and miss, at least you will have landed amongst the stars.

Spending time in Thailand which is 97% Bhudhist and getting used to walking at a slower pace due to the heat, I am reflecting on the ideas of goal setting.

When you are feeling pressured, stop that feeling of wanting to rip yours or someone else’s hair out with these 5 tips for peaceful goal setting and life success.

These tips help with laid back peaceful yet efficient and mature goal setting.

1. Become mindful of your emotional experiences of frustration and overwhelm and pause to recognize, acknowledge, and accept that at present it is a part of you, and that it is ok.

It is not wimpish to acknowledge our pains. It is in fact a much more mature way to live. If something is troubling you. It can be emotionally released by pausing and acknowledging that it exists at this time. Breathe into it, and when you feel ready, carry on with your day.

Might you be able to apply this to any hurdles to goal setting and life success right now, or will you do it when something comes up later?

2. See if you can mentally identify the top one or two major things that are causing you 80% of the current negative feelings that may be hindering your goal setting and life success.

If you can’t think of them, then spend some time alone writing down whatever ‘problems’ you can think of until you hit on the aha’s of greater concern.

Do you know what are the biggest emotional dramas revolving around your life at present?

3. Write down all of the little and medium and large responsibilities, tasks, projects, time-stealers, etc that you possibly can think of that are relevant to your goal setting and life success for your life in the short term.

By capturing it all on paper you might be surprised at just how much more satisfied and under control you feel. Even if there is an absolute ton of items to note down, it is much less taxing on the brain to be able to see it clearly rather than constantly be wondering if you have missed or forgotten anything.

How complete is your life of ‘things to do’. Does it scrape you through the day with minimal abrasions, or is it a rock solid comprehensive status of your affairs?

4. Reward yourself in some way for your efforts and small success’s in goal setting and life success.

I used to have a problem with doing this as I felt it was an indulgence given that there really REALLY was so so SO much to be getting on with.

However I have learned that the mind actually needs to be ‘tricked’ into efficient performance and stamina, and giving yourself rewards actually programs your deeper mind to stay on top of things more.

You might dedicate 30 minutes to a relaxing bath. Or a few pages of that novel that has been collecting dust on your bed side table until now. Self-rewards can sometimes seem childish, but it is the deeper part of our mind that functions in that way, so accept and utilize it for your benefit.

5. Prioritize goal setting and life success in a way that accepts the facts of finite time.

That is, you have 24 hours in a day. Better it is to do a good job on one major project dedicating 2 hours to it, than to attempt work on multiple projects which dilutes your effectiveness for any one.

Stay mindful that good learning, good writing, good work of any kind, requires a certain amount of time. Where do you need to invest a good quality block of time on one of your projects over the next day or two?

Wow. I remember when I first started writing. I wish I’d known then what I know now! But don’t worry – I’m going to tell you what I know now, so you can have a super fast and successful start to your writing career.

I did ok in those early days – a few letters got published in some big magazines, I got the odd article accepted here and there in some low profile magazines, and one or two short stories received publication and a few complimentary copies.

But as I say, I wish I’d known then what I know now. I was doing ok, but I was aimless. I had no real direction to go in. If I felt particularly inspired, I might write a couple of articles in one day; I remember once writing three in a single day and getting every single one published. But then I’d bask in the glory of my success for weeks… and it was ages before I summoned the muse to write again.

This is a real stumbling block for the newbie writer. If you have real ambitions as a writer – if you want to get published (and paid for), and you have a list of magazines tucked safely under your pillow that you dream about getting published in someday… you need a plan. You need a goal.

This is something I never realised until a few years ago. You can be the most talented writer out there; you can be the next John Grisham, the next JK Rowling, or the next Stephen King… but it doesn’t matter a jot if you don’t have a plan for how you’re going to get there.

Goal setting can make the difference between doing okay, and getting a few pieces published here and there, or making a successful, full time career as a writer. Even if you only want to keep your writing in hobby status, setting goals for yourself can mean that hobby brings in several hundred pounds a month extra, and puts your name in several well known magazines every month.

So how do you go about setting goals?

Well the first and most important thing you need to do is to be honest with yourself. Grab a notepad and pen, and settle down in a comfy chair where you won’t be disturbed. Ask yourself what you’d really like to achieve with your writing. Be honest – don’t neglect to write something down because you don’t think you could ever do it, or it’s too hard, or you don’t think you’re good enough. This is like the ‘what would you do if you won the lottery?’ question – go all out and dream!

Would you like to write a book? Get a short story in a world famous magazine? What’s the one thing you’ve always wanted to achieve with your writing?

Let’s say you want to write and publish your own book. That’s a big goal. But you can do it – if you go about it in the right way. That’s where goal setting comes in. But you need to know how to do it properly – and for maximum effect.

First of all, write your goal down on a Post-It note. But don’t write it as if it’s something you want – write it as if it’s already happened. So you’d write something like this:

“I am a successful published author, and I make £1000 every month selling copies of my book online and in bookstores.”

This might sound a little strange, but it really works! The key is to write your goal down as if you have already achieved it, and then stick the Post-It note where you will see it often – ideally right by your computer screen. By doing this, you will impress the message upon your subconscious, which will get to work for you and start making your dream come true.

Sounds even stranger now, I’ll bet! Well, the subconscious is an amazing thing, but you don’t really need to understand a great deal about it for this method to work. The simple reason it does work is this – the subconscious cannot tell the difference between what is real and what you tell it is real. Whatever messages you bury into your subconscious, it will make them come true.

Think about it. Have you ever noticed how people who are down on their luck are convinced it’s because they’re naturally unlucky? And then something bad happens to prove it? And that convinces them even more… and so on, in an ever downward spiral?

And think about someone you’ve met who always seems to be doing well? They’re always optimistic, always looking for the best in every situation… and they always seem to be ‘getting lucky’?

Both these types of people have ultimately created their own surroundings. The person who expects to succeed does exactly that – because they work towards that goal, and their subconscious drives them there. The unlucky person expects to be unlucky because that’s what always seems to happen to them – so that’s what their subconscious ‘mirrors’ back to them.

So get your subconscious working for you, and think about what you would really like to achieve as a writer. I have used this technique for some time now, and I can tell you it’s amazing what starts to happen when you trust your subconscious and stick that little Post-It note where you can see it!

A while back, I set a goal to get some e-books published. I wanted to be earning £1000 a month by writing and selling articles and e-books, so I stuck my note on my computer monitor, and I found myself looking at it probably twenty or thirty times a day.

Within a couple of weeks of doing that, my first book was on sale with an online publisher, and I had an agreement with a second publisher to write another one for them. In the same short space of time, I found a website on which I could display and sell my articles (check it out at www.constant-content.com/?aref=5038 – I thoroughly recommend it), and sold a couple within five days of each other. It felt like I’d just ‘got lucky’ and stumbled across all this information… but I know it’s because my subconscious knew what it needed to do, and went for it like a heat seeking missile!

And all thanks to that Post-It note!

So you can see what’s possible. Think about what you’d really like to achieve, and set yourself some goals today. If you follow the technique above, I promise you you’ll be celebrating in no time!

Go to it – and enjoy the journey.