Why It's Critical to Set Goals

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How and why a person sets goals is very personal, very necessary and very specific.  Over the years I’ve been to various sales training and personal development seminars and courses.  The one common link to all of the sales training and education I’ve received is goal setting.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great mentors over the years that impressed upon me the relationship between goal setting and success in life. 

Imagine for a moment that you were going to take a trip.  You live on the East Coast, and have always wanted to take a road trip to San Fransisco.  How would you go about it? Would you jump in the car and just start driving?  Or would you map out your travel plans, fill up on gas, pack snack and drinks, etc.?  Would you start driving and expect to arrive in 24 hours or would you plan on a realistic time frame?  I think we know the obvious answers.  If you expected to reach San Francisco safely from the East Coast, you’d have to have to have a well-planned trip in a safe reliable vehicle with plenty of fuel, maps and money.  If you were to substitute the mock S.F. trip with real life dreams, how would you do things different?   I don’t mean to over-simplify this, but why can’t we take the same approach?  

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If we put the things we want from our lives on paper (our goals), put a plan in writing (a road map), and pay attention to how physically and mentally healthy we are (like a vehicle that drives us to our destination), then we are well-equipped to reach our destination and achieve our goals." - Michael O'Grady 

How to Begin Setting Goals

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Far too many people have dreams and ideas that stay in their minds, never to be written down and spoken of.  Too many people allow their thoughts and ideas to run around aimlessly in their heads.  They don’t know how to turn their ideas into a goal, never create an action plan, and have little focus to see their goals through.  Are you one of these people?  It’s never too late in life to start working on a goal.  

Start by setting "S.M.A.R.T.E.R." goals: 

S:  Be Specific.  Be specific in what you want.  Write down the amount of money you want to earn, the amount of pounds you want to lose, the type of spouse you’d like to attract, or what ever goal you wish to set for yourself.     

M:  Measure your progress.  You should be able to track your goals while in the process of working toward them.  In sales, I use a monthly and yearly goal board in my office.  This board shows my total sales volume goal, the number of leads run, the amount of closed business and average sale.  By the way, this board is out in the open for all of the world to see.  Making your goals public will keep you honest and focused. 

A:  Make Your Goals Achievable.  You want to set goals that you can realistically achieve.  Now, that doesn’t mean you should set goals that are too low and won’t push you.  You have to have a solid plan in place for how you will achieve your goals and hold yourself accountable.  This is why goal setting is very personal - only you know the deep rooted reason as to why you set the goal in the first place.  Will the goal you’ve set give you that inner, very personal satisfaction when it is achieved?  It should.  

R:  Be Realistic, Think About Reason.  When I was a kid, I had dreams of playing professional baseball.  I’m now a grown man with a beautiful family and big career dreams.  I’m not going to set a goal of being a major league baseball player.  It’s not realistic.  Make sure your goals don’t defy the law of gravity.  Also, think about the reason you're choosing your particular goal.  Why and how is it meaningful to you? 

T:  Be Time-Sensitive.  When you set a goal, give yourself a time line as well as a dead line.  If I set an income goal for myself but don’t give myself a goal date as to when I will achieve my income, do you really think it will happen?  The time line and dead line keeps you focused and pushes you. 

E:  Make it Enjoyable, Ethical, and Exciting.    Will achieving your specific goal bring you enjoyment?  Is it going to excite you?  Is it ethical?  The answer to all should be yes, otherwise you might lose your motivation along the way. 

R:  Prepare Your Resources. Having all the necessary resources in place is crucial to achieving your goal.  Think about all the necessary people, places, materials and systems you will need in order to reach your goal.  Write them down and use them as you need them.  

To help you on your way toward acheiving your goal, I would recommend using a goal sheet and an action plan.  Here is what a S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal sheet looks like.  Its purpose is to help you answer the right questions to make your goals as concrete and precise as possible.     

Take the time to think about each section of the work sheet.  You should also answer these preliminary questions before you begin: 

• Does your goal fit into your core values and life plans?   
• Is your goal achievable? 
• On a scales of 1 to 5 (1 being the least motivated and 5 being the most motivated), how motivated are you to achieve your goal? 
• How will you measure your progress (numbers, dollars, scale, time, ratings)?
• How often will you measure your progress (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)? 
• How long will it take you to reach your goal?

Goal Setting Tips

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#1 - Focus on 1 challenging goal at a time #2 - Be sure you goal fits well with your values #3 - Make your goals positive-minded and work for what you want, rather than what you want to leave behind #4 - To create a more balanced life, develop goals in the following 6 areas of life: Family and Home Financial and Career Spiritual and Ethical Physical and health Social and Cultural Mental and Educational

Create an Action Plan now for your goals.
 
Read About Business Goals. 

Read About Overcoming Obstacles.

Learn More About Setting Goals at Home. 

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