GOAL DESIGN

1. ITEMISE - list possible goals - don't analyse at this stage

2. CATEGORISE - personal/family/work (use headings from Wheel of Life).

3. PRIORITISE - relate to what you value and rank.

4. CRYSTALLISE - make specific and clear, use KISS principle ("keep it simple, stupid"). Oops, sorry my dear reader!

Remember that goals are dreams which come true. Most people give up on their dreams too soon or, like me in past, don't aim high enough and achieve them too easily and quickly. Except in writing!

N.B: The essence of goal setting is:

COMMITMENT

DISCIPLINE

DETERMINATION I really believe that. This entire planning process might take a few days.

GOALS

1. If it's not in writing, it is not a goal. It is a New Year resolution. 2. If it's not specific, it's not a goal. 3. 'Goals must be believable, inspirational and expandable'. 4. An effective goal is an exciting challenge. 5. Goals must be adjusted to new information. 6. Dynamic goals guide our choices. 7. Don't set short-term goals for longer than ninety days. 8. Maintain a balance between long-term and short-term goals. 9. Include your loved ones in your goals. 10. Set goals in all areas of your life. 11. Your goals must harmonise with your life. 12. Review your goals regularly. 13. Set vivid goals. 14. Don't chisel your goals in granite/set in concrete. 15. Reach out into future. 16. Have a set of goals for every day, and review results every night. 17. Train yourself to crave your goals. 18. Set activity goals, not production goals (salespeople). 19. Understand luck, and make it work for you. 20. START NOW!

If you don't break your yearly objectives down into first quarterly and then monthly/weekly/daily activity targets, you cannot keep on track. Marathon runners keep going not by focusing on whole course, but on next drink station, bottom of hill, and when pain comes, next lamp post.

The plans we make to achieve our dreams are blueprints for success. A written plan focuses mind on goals. Intermediate steps move one step by step closer to success.

You should regularly review whether you are on track (e.g.. monthly, quarterly, yearly). Goal setting must be an ongoing process. Goals that are no longer meaningful must be replaced by ones that are.

" A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." - Mao Tse Tung I really like that one. No wonder I repeat it so often (the first signs of impending senility, perhaps???).

Mark Spitz, American swimmer, won nothing at Mexico Olympics in 1968. Bitterly disappointed, he dreamt of winning 7 goal medals at next Olympics in Munich in 1972 and set a target of times he would achieve in each event. He won those seven medals with times within 100th of a second of what he had said he would do. He developed his plan and a rigorous training regime. His goal became an obsession which overcame everything else... yet he achieved greatness.

Thomas Edison tried 2000 times to invent a light bulb. He didn't see it as 2000 failures, but rather as a process to be gone through. He didn't take it personally, but saw his efforts as 2000 ways that did not work. Every time an idea didn't work, it got Edison a step closer to his ultimate goal - SUCCESS. That is what kept him going. In a word, PERSISTENCE.

Even countries have set goals. After being defeated n World War II, Germany was totally devastated. However, Germany is now one of economic giants of Europe. Another defeated nation, Japan, which only had .3% of world's land and 3% of population now has 10% of global trade. The nation's leaders set goals for these countries after war, which seemed impossible at time, but were achieved.

The motto: Forget mistakes of past and press on to greater achievements of future. Remember that setting a new goal is first step towards a positive plan of action; because without a goal you have no target, nothing to aim for.

"Challenges are a chance to boost motivation, seize them like gold dust."

SUMMARY

There is nothing more exciting and inspirational than new goals. Our attitude to ourselves determines our ability to set and achieve goals. Whatever your self- image, you project it to other people and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

With positive attitudes (subject of following chapter) and a good self image, your enthusiasm for challenges will be heightened, as well as for life in general. This results in greater job satisfaction, as well as living an emotionally healthy life filled with meaning and purpose. Remember, negative attitudes in other people can easily block your goals. I don't expect people to understand what I'm trying to achieve in my personal goals, but I'm getting there. They are MINE alone and I believe are right for ME! Raise your sights high and dare to be different. In our society we are conditioned to follow leader. N.B: Follow your own heart in setting your goals.

If you've set goals, but have had difficulty with your goals in last 3 months, it may be because of following: 1. Your goals were not realistic. 2. Your goals were not clear and specific. 3. Your goals were not written in present tense. E.g.. 'I have now cleared all my short term debts and I have saved X$ (or pounds')...'I now weigh my ideal body weight of...' Well done "Jumbo"! 4. You weren't really committed to your goals and/or they were not appropriate for you.

A final few words of wisdom (even if I say so myself) to end off this chapter...

WE GET WHAT WE EXPECT

DON'T ALLOW THE FUTURE TO ACT ON YOU

ACT ON THE FUTURE

"There are those people who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who don't even know it happened."

WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Craig Lock

P.S: WITH FAITH AND PERSISTENCE, YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING YOU SET OUT TO DO.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." - Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German philosopher)

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. No goal achievement is a leap across some huge canyon. Many are intimidated and driven away from going after what they really want in their lives for fear they will have to take a giant leap across that canyon and, hey, what if I don't leap far enough? Disaster.

Let's say you have a goal to get an additional $10,000 in savings two years from today. Make up a picture of your new bank statement two years from now showing additional $10,000 in your account. The goal is in writing. It is quantified and a deadline has been set. Now you can break that goal into its little steps for achievement.

To get $10,000 over next two years requires getting an additional $5,000 per year. A year is made up of twelve months, so that means you need to get approximately $400 per month. A month is made up of four weeks, so that's $100 per week. And a week is made of, let's say, five business days. That's $20 per day. (I have not added in interest to these calculations just for simplicity.)

I don't know about you, but notion of going out in world tomorrow and getting an extra $20 is a whole lot more realistic and certainly a whole more doable than getting $10,000. Getting entire $10,000 is leap across canyon. It scares me. $20 is single step. That's something I can handle. Now goal seems realistic and is realizable.

But until you write out your goal, quantify it, and set a deadline so that you break it down to its small steps, it will forever appear to be too big a stretch and therefore unattainable. But every time you follow these three steps and break goal down, you will always find that you have within your control what it takes to accomplish that next step. And once you begin, you are on your way!

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