How can you get there if you don't know where THERE is?

3/31/05

Imagine planning a vacation — packing up the family and heading to the airport, luggage in tow. You get to the airport, excited about your big trip — but you have no tickets, you have no destination. You get to the ticket counter and ask the agent to sell you four tickets to . . . anywhere. Who would do that? Not very many people, right?

But that’s exactly what most of us do as we go through life because most of us don’t have any specific goals mapped out. An astonishing number of people do not have any goals for their lives — recent research puts the figure at approximately 95 percent of all Americans.

Now, imagine you know where you’re going on vacation, and you’re planning on driving to your destination, but you don’t have a map. You could rely on your keen sense of direction, use a compass, stop and ask people along the way — and eventually you’d probably get there. But wouldn’t your trip be a whole lot more enjoyable — wouldn’t you get there much more quickly to enjoy the vacation part of your vacation — if you had a map?

First you have to set the goal — then you have to write it down before you can begin to take
steps to achieve it.

Writing your goals down is like drawing the map. Remember how only 5 percent of Americans have goals at all? Well, only 3 percent of those people have taken the time to write down their goals.

Why is it important to have both personal and professional goals?

By setting goals on a routine basis, you decide what you want to achieve, and then move step-by-step toward manifesting it. The process of setting goals and targets allows you to choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you must place your focus to achieve it, and you become able to disregard those things that are merely distractions.

Determine your goals.

Decide what you want to accomplish in your personal and professional life. It doesn’t matter whether it’s to lose 10 pounds or make a million dollars by the end of next year. Just decide what you want to do in your life.

Of course, if you like the status quo — or the boat-tossed-about-by-the-sea direction of your life — there’s not really any reason to set goals. If, however, you desire to move your life forward, past your present reality and into the greatness you know you were born to achieve, goal-setting is an essential tool to help you get there. One trait shared by virtually every accomplished leader is that they set goals and then prioritize them.

So what are the steps to manifesting your dreams?

Set them in Writing — Writing your goals down will give power to them. Simply by writing them down, you are 10 times more likely to accomplish them. You will manifest your goals more quickly if you reread them regularly — but even if you never look at the page where you write them again, by writing your goals down, your brain begins to internalize them and starts to figure out ways to bring them to life.

Measurable — There's a saying, "That which is recorded gets done;" however a codicil to that saying is, "That which is measurable is valued and, therefore, important." If you can see where you've come from, you can know how much progress you've made, reassess your goals, if need be, and guage how long it will take to reach your ultimate goal.

Achievable — Setting lofty goals is a good thing! But if you set unrealistically lofty goals (like becoming a pro hockey player if you've never even been on ice skates), you're going to frustrate yourself and fail before you even begin. Remember that baby steps work. Break the big goals into smaller ones, and you will get there, one step at a time.

Reward your progress — Be gentle with yourself, and be sure to celebrate all of your success, no matter how small, along the way. Rewards will keep you motivated to continue in quest of your goal.

Timeline — If your goal doesn’t have a deadline, it’s a wish, not a goal.

Your goal will have one of three possible outcomes:

You will achieve it.
You will exceed it.
You will not achieve it.

If you do not achieve your goal, that does not mean you have failed. It simply means you did not achieve your goal. The bigger the goals we set, the more likely we are not to complete them exactly as we set them out. That doesn’t mean we don’t set them. It means we revise them, and tweak them, and adjust them until we get the steps in the right order. But we keep on making them, and we keep on achieving them, even if we do this in baby steps.

Areas in which to set goals

Spirituality
Health
Career/Business
Finances
Relationships
Family
Philanthropy/Community
Leisure Time

Timeframes along which to set goals

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Annual
5 Years
10 Years

And if you really want to play big: Set the goal for your Financial Freedom Date. The date after which you’ve earned enough income to be set for life.

One last thing about goals. It’s crucial to prioritize them. Prioritizing your goals may be the most challenging part of all. For example, if your daughter’s championship soccer game coincided with a client meeting whose investment in your company could mean millions of dollars, which would you choose to attend? If you truly do prioritize, you will know the answer to that question before it ever arises, and you won’t apologize for whichever decision you make.

If you need help getting started, you might want to visit mygoals.com.

You can get out of your rut! Start taking control of your life by making some decisions about it. Then write down your goals and watch the magic begin.

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This was my "Organize Your Speech" speech for my Toastmasters club. Airpark Toastmasters meets every Thursday at noon at the University of Phoenix campus located at Raintree & 101 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Check the TV monitor in the vestibule for the room number. Guests are always welcome!