By Chris Christophi

Goal setting is something that is going to be able to help you to achieve phenomenal success in whatever you try to do. Whether you are trying to get great marks in some sort of exam, or trying to get that promotion that you need, setting goals is going to really help. Whatever it is you’re trying to do in your life, setting goals will be absolutely fundamental in helping you to stay on the straight and narrow and keep motivated. So how do you go about goal setting?

When it comes to setting these goals there are lots of different things that you need to take into account and consider. The first steps that you will have to take will be in creating a list of the goals that you want to achieve. You need to ensure that these are concisely and well written and that you can focus on them daily. An example of a long-term goal that you might have would be in trying to buy a six bedroom house in the future or to get a holiday home in the Caribbean. A short-term goal would be more the steps that you are going to need to take to get there. Therefore your short-term goal over the next two months might be to get that promotion that you are seeking.

The importance of actually having a list cannot be underestimated. You need to have a tangible written list that you can refer to at all times during your life to keep you motivated and know exactly what you want. You can also add to this list whenever you find something else that you want to achieve. You should also look to create some goal cards. If you do this you will be able to write your goals onto these cards and this will give you a more tangible thing to look at stop you can carry these wherever you go throughout the day, and if ever you are feeling demotivated in any way whatsoever you can refer to these cards and therefore pick yourself up again.

Creating positive affirmations is also a very good step to take. You need to talk yourself in a positive way with statements that are going to help to push you forward and not create a negative mindset. You should get up each morning to look in the mirror and say that you are going to succeed today in the goal that you have set yourself. Telling yourself something is a very powerful tool in actually achieving it.

The last thing that you would want to do is to actually visualise yourself achieving the goals that you have set out for. Every night before you go to bed when you are lying there trying to fall asleep you should imagine yourself getting to the end of the road and achieving the goal that you have always set for yourself. Doing these sorts of things are going to lead to the chance of greater success throughout your entire life.

By Freeman Brock

A 7th century Arabian genius once said, “Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning, and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself”. The name of this genius was Ali Ibn Abi Thalib, one of the most illustrious, noblest and brilliant leaders of the continent-sweeping Islamic civilisation that was left behind by the Prophet Muhammad.

However, it is not the object of this article to discuss a religious figure or the history of a civilisation. The quote provided above is to set the impetus for the rest of this article.

“Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning, and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself”.

It is impossible and illogical by definition and reality to achieve any measure of success without any thought, planning or goal setting put into it. Any attainment that is borne out of randomness and chance is not to be regarded a success at all, just as a momentous lottery winning should not be called an achievement.

The achievement of a goal, by definition, requires that there be an element of conscious planning and subsequent effort put into it, because a goal is a purpose that any person, entity or enterprise is working consciously towards. No matter how vague or clear the goal is, some degree of planning, implementation, tracking and refinement is definitely involved.

If you are to observe the life stories of achievers either in your lifetime or in history, you would realise that the truth about their success can be attributed to a number of very common, universal, timeless and unchanging factors - or principles.

These undying principles are universally applicable to almost every area or field of endeavour, from industry to academia, from the ivory towers of the corporate world to the warmth, comfort and safety of a nursery. Changes and challenges that are developing in the world neither add to nor subtract from the validity of these principles, they only serve to create permutations and evolutions in the application of them and not the essence.

Now, what are these principles exactly? Here I shall be listing a few of my findings -

1. The greatest achievers are driven by a huge, humongous, all-consuming Vision either for their lives or for the world. They view the world as a perfect playing field to manifest and make concrete their visionary ideas and are often driven by this vision, whether or not they are consciously aware of it from moment to moment.

2. They set targets and objectives that are in alignment with this grand vision of theirs. They also have the discipline to reject and ignore so-called opportunities, developments, innovations and temptations that are not in alignment with their great vision, often creating enemies because of this. Nevertheless, those who stayed faithful to these achievers and their vision prove themselves worthy as true friends and partners in bringing about their visions to reality.

3. They seek out the best possible methods to accomplish what they seek, never settling for mediocrity or lackadaisical efforts. To these achievers, the terms ‘laziness’ or ‘hard work’ are concepts foreign to them. What they are driven by is their vision and the goals they must achieve in order to meet that vision. Whatever it takes to accomplish those targets of theirs, they will accept, and although they are humans too and can feel exhaustion, they do not view the necessary work as something to dread, but something to live with, even enjoy.

4. The great achievers are constantly learning. They learn from their mistakes, from other people’s mistakes, from their observations of the necessary goal-attaining processes in which they are engrossed.

5. They do not stop at simply learning, they also put their learnings into action, dynamically and consistently refining their methods in real-time. Sometimes the growth and improvements they obtain from their gradual evolutions borne out of their learnings can be very minimal, sometimes they may achieve tremendous improvement, even breakthrough.

But in their minds, they do not discriminate between small improvements and big improvements, neither obsessing over making huge improvements nor being content with only small improvements. All sizes and manners of growth are welcomed by them.

If all the goal setting secrets of the greatest achievers could be condensed into a handful of principles, the 5 listed above would suffice. Every other discussion of planning, thinking, programming, intending, organising, managing or controlling are simply corollaries of the above 5 principles.

By Jayson Cardwell

There is a saying that goes something like this, “Before you know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been.” Very wise words, and very truthful, but I’d like to add to that statement, “Before you know where you’re going, you better plan ahead.” The last time I took a vacation, I planned out the path, and I made alternate routes incase the main route was blocked. Goal setting is nothing different from planning a vacation, or planning anything really. It takes time, focus, vision, execution, and S.M.A.R.T.S.

Time is money, this is a true statement most if not all business owners and managers will agree upon. So if this is true, why waste it to being a quarter into a new fiscal year and still not having a plan put in place. Let my dispel some a myth, an operating budget is NOT a plan, nor are they goals. To properly formulate an operating budget you need to first set the goals you wan to attain. How can you properly allocate capital if you have direction? When you plan for a vacation you save and allot the money to be sure you have everything covered. Goal planning should begin in July/August, or 4-5 months prior to the beginning of a new fiscal year. This will reserve time for brainstorming, formulating, Board approval (if necessary), and implementation through the budget.

For goal setting to be effective you need to devote energy and focus on the task. Haphazard goal setting will lead to haphazard results. Do whatever it takes to gain focus. Many entrepreneurs fail to understand the concept of retreat. Even if you are a one-man shop, you need time away to gather your thoughts, recoup your body, and open the doors of your mind. That is where innovation and imagination are given free reign is in retreat. Try this exercise, get away for 5 days, and leave behind the work phone, laptop, and anything else tying you to your company. Find someplace that relaxes you. Take the first day to detoxify your mind, and then take the next 3 days to become a free thinker. Grab a pen and paper and write down every idea that comes into your mind. No matter how ridiculous. Be sure this is done on un-lined paper no rules, no guidelines, and no restrictions. On the last day, prepare yourself to come back fresh, meditate. When you get back to your company take a look at the paper and begin to eliminate the ideas, until you reach those that are S.M.A.R.T.S (later in the article).

Vision is important in goal setting. For without vision we’re lost. You have to be looking out into the horizon, beyond the sight of employees and competitors. To find your goals you have to look forward and not behind.

Finally we reach execution. Execution is a fairly simple process; many people make it too hard. With each goal there should be a set of action plans. These are simply steps needed to attain the goal. For example if your goal is to increase sales by 3% in a certain market, then the action steps would be to increase the effectiveness of sales reps in that area through training. Step two could be to increase marketing by adding another advertising channel, and attaining better brand recognition and exposure. Executions then leads to you walk out the steps necessary to attain the goal(s) you have set.

A brief word on S.M.A.R.T.S this is an acronym that many people recognize but, I have added another letter. The first S stands for Specific. Your goals need to be specific, general goals do not push you to achieve success. The M is Measurable, without a way to quantify your goal(s), you have no idea if you are making progress. The A is for Attainable, goals that can not be achieved are goals you don’t want to set. R is for Realistic, this means your goals should line up with your company and be within the realm of possibility. T is for Time Orientated, not putting a limited time frame (6 mo. 1 yr, 3 yrs, 5 yrs, 10 yrs) means you can reach that goal whenever and it leads to laziness. The final S is my own addition, it stands for Stretch. Goals should stretch your thinking and ability. Making goals that are too easy to achieve will lead you no where. Yet setting a goal that is just at the tips of your fingers while you’re standing on your toes will cause you to achieve greater then that you thought you could. It pushes you, your company, your employees, and it is the stretch that leads you into greatness.

By Amy Twain

When you try to apply for a job, your objective is to pass the exams and interview to get accepted. When an athlete runs a triathlon, his primary aim is to defeat his competitors and win. When someone engages in a fitness program, there’s a certain weight goal that he or she wants to meet. As you may have noticed, the importance of goal setting is very essential so that you could meet a certain objective. When dealing and handling your finances, your career, or even your private life, the importance of making goals for yourself would let you create an action plan in order for you to work towards, and eventually, meet those goals.

In the absence of goals, all your actions would be all for nothing; and that is the reason why goal setting is really important. In general, the importance of goal setting would let you transform your future plans into reality.

The Many Benefits of Goal Setting. Here are some of the several benefits that you could get to enjoy with goal setting’s help:

1. This activity is the important aspect to effective time management.

2. Making short term goals could be an effective and great motivator, especially if you keep track of your progress and development, and celebrate your triumphs in every small achievements that you have.

3. It would improve your self esteem since it enhances the quality of your life by allowing you to know precisely where you are headed in the near future.

4. Making some personal long-term goals would provide you that inner drive to exert and work harder in striving in your career or your personal targets and objectives.

5. It will allow you to determine the probable distractions that you might have to deal with in the process of attaining your long-term goals. And once these distractions are already recognized, then you could make an added effort so that you would not be drawn away from your aims.

Getting a Head Start in Setting Your Goals. Now that you already know and understand more about the importance of goal setting, how then could you start to set those objectives for your goals?

Here are some useful and practical tips for achieving those objectives that you can follow:

1. Begin by making a list of your short term targets while still monitoring your lifelong objectives in mind. Answer these questions: A. How will you like to make a difference in other persons’ lives?
B. How would you want to see yourself 5 years from now?

2. You should bear in mind that whether you’re setting short-term or long-term goals for yourself, they still have to be realistic.
Knowing and realizing what you truly want out of life is the best way in setting realistic and attainable objectives for yourself. Motivating yourself, getting rid of unnecessary distractions and increasing your self esteem are the steps that you have to pursue in order to meet the targets you have set for yourself. In summary, goal setting is simply a matter of deciding what is essential for you to achieve in your lifetime.

By Max Palmer

As part of the overall business planning process, establishing goals is of course fundamental in providing a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. Setting one or more goals seems to be a straightforward process. You establish a specific goal, one that’s measurable and has a defined time frame for completion. You implement your plan, measure your progress towards reaching your goal and then evaluate the outcome objectively to refine your process.

On the surface of things, it reads well and sounds easy enough to do. Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way for numerous reasons; primarily because we often fail to establish realistic goals. Additionally, we often casually set goals with only a hazy view towards how they’ll actually be accomplished. And while we’re typically motivated at the beginning of the process, it’s not at all unusual to lose our motivation somewhere along the way.

When preparing your own goals, it’s important to first understand that every goal you set must be realistic and readily achievable, given an appropriate amount of time and resources. For example, setting a goal to earn $25,000 per month within three months, when your present earnings are less than $1,000, is probably unrealistic. On the other hand, setting an ongoing goal to increase your earnings by 5% or 10% per month is not only realistic, but more likely to be achievable.

Once you’ve defined a goal you believe you can accomplish, the next step is to break it down into smaller, manageable tasks and scheduling them in sequence (assuming one task depends on the completion of another). Before defining the target date the overall goal must be completed, be certain that each task is given a reasonable amount of time for completion and allow the sum of the tasks to define the completion date, rather than arbitrarily selecting one.

Depending on how far into the future your goals are planned for, it’s very helpful to schedule regular progress reviews, even if you’re the only one involved. For example, scheduling time every Friday afternoon to review your progress and make any necessary adjustments will keep your goals current. Don’t be surprised if something unexpected interferes with your scheduling from time-to-time. That’s normal and you will simply need to identify some way to compensate for it.

Another artificial barrier to actually meeting your goals is the process itself. Be careful to avoid implementing a goal management process that consumes more time than the goal itself. On a smaller scale, a simple spreadsheet will often suffice to meet all of your management needs. For larger scale management, a variety of goal management software exists, usually scalable for most organizations.

Aside from actually working the process towards eventually realizing your goal, the final step is to take some time to evaluate the overall process and your performance at the end. This should be done objectively and embraced as a learning opportunity, one that will help you to improve your performance the next time.

With proper planning, setting realistic goals can only benefit you and your business in the long run, especially if you streamline the goal management process for yourself. If you think of it as an evolving process focused on continual performance improvement, over time you will see a measurable improvement in everything you do!

By OneCoach team

We’ve all been through it at least once in our lives. We decide to make a change: Make more money, lose weight, quit smoking, start exercising, whatever. We set goals and work toward them. And for a while, there is progress.Then we start to slip, and before we know it we are back where we started. This happens all the time. The source of the backsliding isn’t that people lack self-motivation or willpower. The primary reason that so many people don’t achieve their objectives is that they have no idea how to create workable goals and maintain the forward motion necessary to make them happen.

Successful people are masters at setting and reaching goals. If you interact with people who have “made it,” you will see patterns that anyone can apply. Here are seven goal-achieving “musts” from the “success masters”:

1. Balance your goals to balance your life.
Develop goals in six areas of life: relationships, spiritual, contribution, financial, health and business. By pursuing goals in each area, you will create a more balanced and integrated life.

2. Aim high.
As the now-cliched saying goes: Shoot for the stars, if you miss you’ll still be on the moon. Get out of your comfort zone. Make your goals slightly unreasonable; in other words, don’t allow your (perceived) limitations to get in the way. Don’t allow your old conditioning to stop you from going after what you really want.

3. Write out goals in detail.
Just the act of writing down goals sets the process in motion, so be specific. Instead of writing, say, “A new home,” write “A 4,500-square-foot ranch home on five acres of lakefront property with vaulted ceilings, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a private boat dock.” The more information you include, the more probable the final result will be. By being as accurate as possible you invoke some of the natural laws of the universe in your favor as well as getting your brain to work for you in the most efficient way possible.

4. Make your goals consistent with your values.
Most people don’t do what they value first and therefore find themselves stressed and out of alignment. Create a list of your highest values and then create your goals around them. This will give you a sense of being on purpose consistently. Every goal must have two things: 1) A detailed plan to achieve it and 2) the right beliefs and mindset. You can kiss your goals goodbye without these two items. So, what do you have to believe and what can you start to do immediately to move you towards your goals and dreams?

5. Review your goals daily.
This is an important part of achieving success and must become routine. Review your list of goals each morning when you wake up. Visualize your completed goals and how your life looks and feels as a result. Each night before you go to bed, repeat the process. This is a great way to train your brain to expect your goals to materialize.

6. Finally, don’t get discouraged.
You will either achieve your goal, or you will gain insight into whatever is in the way of its achievement. This is not a setback; rather, it is part of your forward progress. Stay focused on what you want to achieve and you will find ways to solve difficulties or break through barriers.

Celebrate every success and contextualize your accomplishments within the framework of your goals. Before you know it, you’ll have to make a whole new list for “next level achievement!”

By Sally Bath

Setting Goals for yourself and your business are important for any entrepreneur wanting massive success. Here are my top five tips for effective goals setting that have assisted me in my business.

1. Get clear on what you truly desire.

The most important aspect of goal setting is to have goals that you truly want to achieve. Your goals must be something really motivate you. It is not just enough to simply want something, you have to truly desire it. When you truly desire something, it makes it much easier to achieve the goal as you are more likely to stay motivated and focused on achieving the goal.

If you are new to goal setting, it may take time to get clear on what it is exactly that you desire in your life. For example, you may set a goal and after a week or two realise that you are not as passionate about it as you once thought. So the key is to find out what you are truly passionate about and go after it.

2. Have a plan of how you are going to achieve your goals

Once you are clear on your goals, it is essential to create a plan of how you are going to actually achieve your goals and by when you want your goals to be achieved. This will help to create a sense of urgency for you.

For each goal, you should create a number of actions that you need to complete. They could be daily, weekly or monthly actions that you need to undertake. This creates momentum and focus to achieve your goals.

3. Choose one activity that you must complete each day - no matter what.

When staring out with creating goals, something you can do to get into the habit of achieving your goals is to choose one activity that you must complete each day. This could be anything like doing one sit up or eating a piece of fruit. This is important so your subconscious starts to take notice and becomes aware that you are serious about achieving what you set out to achieve.

4. Focus on your goals every day.

It is essential that you read your goals at least once everyday, more times if you can. First thing in the morning and again before bed are good times to focus on your goals. Another good idea is to carry a photo or picture of your goal with you everywhere you go. For example, you could carry a photo of your dream car in your wallet and view it often throughout the day.

5. Celebrate your goals when you achieve them.

Lastly, and possibly the most fun aspect of goal setting is to celebrate when you achieve a goal. Take the time to acknowledge your hard work, be proud of yourself for achieving your goal, and enjoy where you are now and what you have achieved before embarking on the next adventure.

By: John E. Stone

The following guidelines will help you to set successful goals:

#1 Affirm each goal as a decisive statement: Express your goals positively - ‘Accomplish this method well’ is a much better goal than ‘Don’t make this ridiculous misstep.’

#2 Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can gauge achievement. If you do this, you will know precisely when you have achieved the goal, and can take thorough satisfaction from having achieved it.

#3 Set priorities: When you have several goals, give all a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to order your attention to the most significant ones.

#4 Write goals down: This solidifies them and gives them more strength.

#5 Keep operational goals minor: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too heavy, then it can seem that you are not making evolution towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today’s goals from larger ones.

#6 Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take consideration to set goals over which you have as much rule as possible. There is nothing more dispiriting than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your rule. In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, for instance, these reasons could include poor judging, bad weather, injury, or just simple bad luck. If you base your goals on personal accomplishment, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.

#7 Set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can attain. All sorts of people, employers, parents, media, society can set out of reach goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. On the other hand you may set goals that are too high, because you may not appreciate either the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much abilityyou need to develop to achieve a special level of performance.

Achieving Goals

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to benefit from the satisfaction of having done so. Soak up the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a substantial one, treat yourself accordingly. All of this helps you manufacture the self-confidence you deserve!

With the knowledge of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:

If you achieved the goal too effortlessly, make your next goals harder.

If the goal took a disappointing length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier.

If you learned something that would direct you to change other goals, do so.

If you noticed a insufficiency in your skills in spite of achieving the goal, come to a decision whether to set goals to mend this.
Failure to meet goals does not matter much, as long as you be taught from it. Feed lessons learned back into your goal setting program.

Remember too that your goals will vary as time goes on. Change them systematically to display growth in your education and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go.

By: Jeff Clark

Know the results you want
You cannot set your first goal unless you know what you want. Make a list of what you want to accomplish and write them down. Although a trusty notepad will usually suffice, you might also use an organizer, computer software or an online website account that lets you manage your time and organize a list of tasks.

Make sure the goals are precise. Don’t just say, ‘I want to sell to more customers.’ Instead, say, ‘I will call a minimum of 10 potential customers a day’.

Review this list and then identify which goals are short-term, which are long-term and continuous. Short-term goals are goals you set with the intention of completing them soon, either out of necessity or desire. Long-term goals are goals that you want to achieve in the near future while continuous goals are those that you sustain over time and thus have no deadline for.

Set your priorities
Separate the goals depending on their importance. Some goals just naturally have to be completed first, such as those that have deadlines while others can be completed in the future. There are also goals that can be set above others because of the types of knowledge and skills you already have.

By prioritizing your goals, you are more likely to complete many of them and avoid getting overwhelmed.

Consider forces or factors that are beyond your control
Certain things will affect how successful you will be at goal setting. These factors include: market behavior, customer demands, injury, bad weather, even wrong timing. Any of these factors will affect the outcome of your performance. There’s also a good chance you may not get the results you want.

To avoid this, set goals according to your performance instead of outcomes. This allows you to make goals that are realistic and achievable with an outcome that is much more satisfactory.

Remember to always set your goals in a positive way
Do not begin a goal with a negative, such as ‘I will NOT waste time’. Instead, say something like ‘I will manage my time by prioritizing and scheduling.’ That way, you give yourself a clearer vision about what you want to do and the steps you want to take to get there.

By Brandon R Allen

I was doing some reading last week and came across a great piece by Zen Habits that gave 16 Ways To Get Motivated When You’re In a Slump. The key point in staying motivated that the post makes is their first point which is to focus on one goal. There is a lot of power in being able to have that singular focus.

The reason that this post resonated with me right now is that I feel that I have personally been in violation of the one goal rule. I took a step back and looked at some of the different ventures that I am involved in and wondered to myself how I had gotten in the position that I currently stood. I realized that if you aren’t careful, it’s really easy to overload yourself with projects and ventures as an entrepreneur.

This brings me to the topic of one goal. Success stories begin with this concept. You hear of people and organizations who are successful because they have that laser focus on one goal that they want to achieve. You don’t hear of people like Bill Gates or Lance Armstrong being successful at multiple things at the same time. They may have success in one arena and then once they have gotten as far as they can (or want to) with that arena, they move onto something else.

Entrepreneurs have a hard time with staying focused on one goal typically because of money. We figure sometimes that the more things that we are involved with, the more of a chance we will have at stumbling upon success. The problem with the many irons in the fire mentality is that it never works out to the kind of financial and business success that we are looking for in the first place. In the end we master nothing and then end up starting over.

There is a lot of power in one goal for the simple fact that it’s simple. One goal allows us to avoid over-complicating our lives and gives us the space to focus on that one goal that we feel is most important. The power ultimately lies in our ability to master that goal that we have and when we master something, we are able to create the highest potential value in the marketplace for our clients.

What’s your one goal?