Where are you going?

This isn't about location...It's about focus and achievement in your life. Pretty big stuff, but not so big you can't get your hands around it and get down to basics so you can achieve your life's goals.

Did you accomplish what you set out to do last month? Or did you even have an idea of what you wanted to accomplish?

If not, did you play blame game? Was it economy again? or competition? or your boss changing rules again? If these are your reasons (excuses) then you are involved in manipulation. I mean you are being maniuplated toward achievement, not self-centered principled achievement.

If you have read anything about goals, principled leadership or even goal setting from an achievement perspective you realize that everyone of us allows something to get in way. It's part of that negative, sceptical thought pattern engrained inside of us. You just naturally create barriers. But there is good news--Barriers are meant to be jumped over!

Periodically, I set down and review where I have been, what I have been driven to do, where my interests are and what I am 'on fire' about. I've been doing this for about 20 years now and I have to say I have not always been satisfied with what I saw in myself. I'm kind of person who sees opportunity around every corner and wants to try lots of new things. It can get pretty distracting when trying to accomplish larger goals in life.

Two years ago I realized that I had to change several things in my life and I began an experiment with internet. After about six or eight months of reading and study I launched AeAutomation.com. as a marketing newsletter. So far it has been a great success my many of my measurements, but not in all of them. The greatest success was it forced me to write and explore forces at work in my life that were moving me to accomplish an very long standing life goal. In that perspective AeAutomation has completed central goal of it's existence.

It spawned fertile ground that focused my thoughts and completed framework for over three years of adhoc writing and research I have been doing.

Now I am looking at what kind of objective I want AeAutomation to achieve in future. The jury is still out but I do know it will continue for a while yet. I suspect AeAutomation will always exist as marketing and news arm of all my future efforts. After all it is girl I brought to dance and you should always take that girl home.

All this is to say you can't understand where you want to go if you dont realize where you have been. Pretty obvious, but not easy to face when you have to acknowledge both failure and success. I like to remember that Thomas Edison often referred to 10,000 possibilities that failed to make an electric light bulb. Failure is only teacher for success. When you realize what they are you can move on to more success.

I have a collection of articles from a lot of great columnists, one of them is Jeffrey Gitomer. Several months ago Jeff wrote about this process of getting in focus and he used several steps that make it easy to figure a lot of this hour.

Jeffery used four categories to digest your life stuff.

1. Once was. 2. As is. 3. Can be. 4. Become.

I'll start with "Once was." History, autobiography, water under bridge. All that great, terrible, wonderful, unique experience in your life that makes you who you are. If you look back in your life I'll bet you remember those pivotal experiences in life that were surprises not looked for as well as those experiences you wanted to happen and then found not so rewarding as you anticipated. Remember old saying "Be careful what you ask for, you might get it"? I certainly remember what I got and often it did not make that much difference to me after I got it. I perceived a new perspective afterwards and found out more about what really makes me tick.