Success can not be attained overnight. But, still, it can be attained. Funny how people can be so impatient most of the times. Just observe students in the middle of their school life. Instead of being excited that they’ll soon finish education, they would complain of getting bored and wanting to stop schooling for work or, worse, play.  Employees and office people, by the time they think they have earned enough money for their family, would plan leaving work to just stay in the house.

With these kinds of thinking and attitude, how would one expect to reach his goals in life?

Life is too precious to waste living it without a plan or goal. It is too short not living it to the fullest.  But let’s say you have a goal, a dream or a wish you want to fulfill, would that be enough? The answer would be yes, as long as you have the assertiveness to reach it. It wouldn’t be called a goal if you don’t have the plans of achieving it, right? On the other hand, having a goal without the will to make it into reality is not enough.

Another problem regarding this matter is that people do have a goal but just don’t have what it takes to achieve it, or so they thought. Again, they become blinded by the negativity of their minds. Money, socio-economic status, race, age, gender – these are just a few factors that hinder individuals to think that they have what it takes to attain success that everyone has been dreaming of.

So what if you don’t earn a lot of money? Will that be reason enough for you not to attend school or find a job? How about if you are not among the authorities in your society? Or you’re of a different race? Or you’re still young? Or you’re a female? Should they even be considered reasons to discourage you in turning your dreams into reality? I don’t think so. It is only your mind that says so. Hence, fight it!

What you can do is put your mind into something you want to happen. Say, you want to be a writer. Therefore, think as a writer, feel as a writer, and be a writer. Practice. Read a lot. Grab all opportunities that would make you a writer. Like everything else that we wish to happen, in reaching for a goal, we should make sacrifices – time, effort, responsibilities, etc. After all, success does not come overnight. But eventually, it will. And before anything else, believe that  “You can reach your goals in life”.

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If you are bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things-you don’t have enough goals. -Lou Holtz

When you set a goal for yourself your subconscious mind will work day and night to reach it.

In the book “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill states that your goal has to be specific and have a time frame. An example would be;

“I will earn $5,000.00 per month from my business as (state your business or service) on Aug 1 200? by helping folks learn to have a more successful personal and business life by providing a service of (state here) that will help these new friends and customer’s Personal Development”.

I have changed the way Napoleon Hill suggested how to make your goals a little bit, I do not believe in limiting myself, so I would state this example as over $5,000.00 and before Aug. 1 200?

Another example would be; “I will lose at least 10 lbs. before Aug 1 200? by eating healthy and exercising for at least 1/2 hour 5 days a week.”

Your goals need to be as specific as possible (color, size, shape, ect.) so your subconscious mind will be able to achieve them. Your goals need to state how you will make them possible, otherwise your goals are just wishes.

In order to reach your goals quickly read them (out loud) and/or write them out at least twice every day, once in the morning and once at night.

Your want your goals to be large enough that they make you feel uncomfortable, your goals need to push you out of your comfort zone, if you feel uncomfortable (in a good way) your goals are large enough to make your subconscious mind work.

Write out your major goal and keep it in your wallet or purse where you can read it and see it more often. Make a goals book (I use my Day-Timer) Write out 100 goals that you want to achieve in your life. Like 30 things I want to have, 30 things I want to do or places I want to go to, 30 things I want to be in my life. These goals do not need to be specific yet, just write them down and look at them from time to time, go back to them and fill after you have your list completed and fill in the details, start moving them into 1 year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year goals.

After you have achieved your goals, mark them with a check mark, a yahoo, I high light mine with a bright yellow marker. My daughters put their goals in a book from a store specifically designed for this purpose, you can glue in pictures, write, draw pictures what ever you like. This is like a dream board.

There are many different ways to make goals, affirmations and intentions. The main thing is to find something that has worked for someone else that feels right to you and do it, keep working on your goals every day and you will reach your goals and dreams.

Lee Stuckey is the owner of Key2Wealth.net, he writes on a variety of subjects concerning the 4 Pillars of Wealth Creation. To learn more about this topic Lee recommends you visit: Key2Wealth.net

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ~ Lao Tzu

Indeed, it does.

It also begins with knowing where you want to go. After all, you can take as many steps as you want and walk your entire life without arriving anywhere because you don’t have a destination. Once we choose a destination, not only can we begin to head in the right direction, we are also able to map out our precise path accordingly.

When set properly, goals act as markers. They allow us to establish where we are on our journey at any given point. They also help us steer our direction in life so that we can constantly be heading towards the destination we choose for ourselves.

Goals are extremely important because they serve as a focal point for our ventures. They allow us to choose what we believe to be most important for us and go after it with all of our will and might.

The first step in achieving a goal is to know what your goal is.

As simple as this may sound, the truth of the matter is a target cannot be hit if it is not known. Now that we can all see on the importance of setting goals, let’s go one layer deeper; setting goals is simply not enough, the whole goal setting process must be done in a certain way.

My greatest mentor, Timothy Krupa, once shared with me, “Success is not doing certain things, it is doing things a certain way.”

Nothing could be closer to the truth with it comes to setting goals. Just setting goals will not make you achieve them and in turn cause you to become a success. It is the process through which you go about setting and achieving goals which will over time guarantee your success.

There are many aspects to setting and attaining goals. In my opinion, S.M.A.R.T. goal setting captures the essence of those aspects which are most important to successfully going about setting and attaining goals.

When goals are set in accordance with the S.M.A.R.T. model, the results can be phenomenal. S.M.A.R.T. goals consist of the following five aspects:

S – Specific

T – Timely

Please allow me to elaborate further on each of these crucial aspects of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting.

Specific

“When you get specific, things happen.” Art Sobczak

Vagueness will not get you anywhere when it comes to knowing where you want to go in life. The most important aspect in setting and achieving goals is being specific. Simply said, the more specific your goals are, the clearer your direction for the future.

When a goal is clear-cut and definitive, it allows a person to focus on tasks at hand in a much more efficient manner. It also helps one clearly define the course of action they will need to take. Over time, this definite-ness is certain to translate into results.

For example; a goal such as, “I want to earn more money,” would translate into “I am going to earn more money by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing” in accordance with being specific.

Measurable

“You cannot manage what you cannot measure.” Anonymous

When something is measurable, it is manageable. By knowing exactly what is to be accomplished, you can go about the entire process in an efficient and systematic manner. By specifically knowing what you are after, you can also be certain to know when it is finally accomplished.

Measurable goals allow one to track progress and determine where one stands at any given point. This accountability enables a person to alter their approach until any given goal is attained. Following our example from above, we would add the following to our goal of wanting to earn more money; “I am going to earn $10,000 a month by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing.”

Act As If

Acting as if simply means that you must think, feel, and act AS IF the goal you want to achieve is already attained. Now you may say, “But how? I know it is not!”

Acting as if will be challenging at first because the intellect will constantly try to point out that you have not yet achieved your goal, however over time it will become easier and easier.

When you act as if, your subconscious mind accepts your new thoughts, feelings, and actions as the normal state of mind for you. This will allow you to take actions which you would not otherwise perform.

Acting as if is all about faith and belief. It is about your belief in the unseen and faith in yourself that you will be able to accomplish your goal no matter what it takes.

After all, why should acting as if be so challenging if you are certain that you will achieve your goal anyways?

When it comes to our example of earning $10,000 a month by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing, acting as if would consist of getting in the feeling of asking and answering questions such as; how will I manage my finances when I am earning $10,000 a month? How much of it would I spend and what would I spend it on? How much of it would I save? How much of it would I invest back into my business? Would I buy a new car? If so, what color, year, make, and model?

It would also include considering and researching which seminars would I go to for Internet Marketing? How will I continually educate myself to stay atop the latest information in my chosen field? What would my day to day schedule be like?

How would I contribute to others? And the list can go on and on… The more you contemplate on your future as if it is already here, the faster you will be able to attain it.

Realistic

Your goals must be realistic enough for you to believe that you will be able to achieve them. You are much more likely to commit to achieving a goal when it is believable for you in your mind. Realistic does not necessarily mean easy, instead the goal should certainly make you take action which puts you out of your comfort zone.

You see, if you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting. When you set a goal that stretches what you consider the norm for you, you grow by doing what you would not normally do.

If you set a goal of losing 30 lbs in one week, you will only be disappointed when the week is over. It would be much more realistic if you were to give yourself three months to accomplish the same goal.

Following our example of earning $10,000 a month by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing, you would want to research if it is possible to earn such an amount and what would you need to learn to pull this off. You will also want to ask yourself; can I picture myself making this happen? If the answer is no, adjust your goal to what is believable for you.

If the answer is yes, then it is time to move on to the final step of S.M.A.R.T goal setting.

Timely

It is extremely crucial that you give your goal a time or date element. Without a time or date aspect, it is not possible to have a specific enough goal to get you to take action towards its fulfillment.

Humans are creatures of habit. Almost always, we will continue to do what we have always been doing. By setting a time frame or date on our goal, we are much more likely to take action. You are also able to break your goal down into smaller chunks by having an end date in mind.

Following our example of earning $10,000 a month by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing, you would want to add a time frame by rephrasing the goal as following:

“I am earning $10,000 a month by becoming an expert in Internet Marketing exactly one year from today.”

So, if your goal is to read more, its’ S.M.A.R.T. version would be; “I will read books and articles on health and financial prosperity one hour a day, four days a week.”

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, having goals is simply not enough. We must take a systematic approach to achieving our goals.

As we achieve smaller goals, it gets easier and easier to set and go after bigger goals. It is also essential that you write your goal down and post it somewhere such that you will see it at least twice, three times a day. An excellent idea, which I use myself, is to print your goals out and post it your shower after laminating the page. This will certainly make you look at them consistently everyday.

I would like to finish this article with an absolutely brilliant quote found in Stephen Covey’s best selling book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:

“Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; show a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Imran Rahman is a young entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and author living in Tampa, FL. His deepest passion in life is to share the exact science of creating results and achieving dreams. He currently writes for Dream Manifesto weekly on success, health, finances, and relationships.

Setting personal goals is just that – personal, and if someone does not have deep-seated reason for setting his or her goal, their chances of success will be reduced dramatically. A goal setting lesson plan constructs a pathway for self development but formulating the plan correctly ensures you achieve your goals. This is truly a great skill.

Setting achievable goals means breaking a challenging goal into smaller parts, each one more easily achievable than the whole. Like the answer to the riddle, how do you eat an elephant? the answer to achieving your goals is the same – one bite at a time. Achievement of goals is the key to success, be it in business, education, career or personal development.

Successful people find the courage to take action and have a plan in place to help them stay focused on achieving their goals. You may need to change the way you think in order to awaken to your life’s purpose. Successful people know that without being a good goal setter, it’s hard to rise above mediocrity. You might get by without setting goals but you’re far less likely to be successful. Success only happens when you are working for your own well being because doing it for others will almost certainly ensure that you sabotage your own success. The only way to be true to your self is to truly know yourself.

Success comes from failure, and often from frequent failure. Success isn’t always guaranteed. If you want to set up your own business for example, but despite all your efforts you can’t get enough clients and you’re sinking too much money into the venture, you may want to re-think this goal and go into a different type of business. Successful business people continually update and re-prioritize their goals.

Dreaming big has the added benefit of inspiring others to assist you in your pursuit of the goal. If your personal goal setting is too limited you are unlikely to inspire others to help you achieve them. So dream big because the dream precedes the goal. And goals are dreams with an ending! Dreams are frequently quite abstract and if you do restate them into a meaningful vision and achievable goals, you deprive yourself of the ability to pursue the dream. Focus on one goal at a time. Begin with the most urgent or the most meaningful goal. Focus on that task and make it crystal clear. Close your eyes and feel what it will be like when it’s achieved.

But also remember that if you don’t achieve your goals, that it may be okay. Goals need to be reevaluated as our life changes, so if your goal was to graduate with a degree in chemistry but you’ve instead decided to become a psychologist, that’s okay. However, it is also important to be specific in certain goals so instead of simply saying, “I want to lose weight”. Try instead, “I want to lose 15 pounds by Christmas”. Answer the questions what, why and how in relation to your goal. What is the goal that you want to achieve, why do you want to achieve it and what will you do to achieve it?

Success won’t happen overnight. No matter what those enticing headlines claim, achieving worthwhile goals takes hard work and discipline. Success comes in so many different ways and you need to decide what you consider success and work towards that goal. Success in all facets of your life is obtainable once you know how to set goals.

A goal setting lesson plan is simply setting goals they can be achieved over a period of time – often a lifetime. However, plans mean nothing if you don’t set a reasonable time frame for a goal to become reality. You can make plans all you want and set goals, but if you do not a specific date for completion, success will elude you.

Everyone should now recognize that goals are meant to inspire a certain behavior. The belief and the behavior will inevitably lead to success. Hopefully, some of these suggestions will assist you along the path to long term goal achieving success.

Alison Stevens is an online author and maintains The Goal Achiever Website to assist anyone who wants to discover how to set and achieve goals. Find out more about Goal Setting here.

What are your goals? Really, what are your goals? Do you want to lose 10 pounds, have shinier hair, land that cute guy in your Algebra class, or get an “A” in basket weaving?  Goals are important for everyone and identifying them up front helps you keep your eye on the prize.

Why set goals? Life is tremendously varied. At any given moment, there are thousands of things you could do. When you’re driving, you could turn left, turn right, speed up, slam on the brakes, stop for lunch, stop for gas, decide to drive to Alaska to see what Kodiak bears look like, and on and on. But what is it that keeps you from ending up in Alaska every time you get into your car? Why don’t you end up at random locations all the time? The answer is that you got into your car with a clear idea of where you wanted to go. You knew at the beginning.

Life is the same way. If you know at the beginning where you want to go, you’ll probably get there. Even if detours and delays arise, eventually you’ll get there. But if you don’t know where you’re going, you probably won’t get there.

It might help to divide your goals into time frames (immediate goals, short-mid-term goals, and long-range goals).  You don’t have to have firm answers to those gripping questions about what you want to be or do when you’re done at college to make this work; your goals are likely to shift and change over time anyway. All you need to do right now is think of a handful of goals to get started. Write down a list of goals now before reading further.

Take a look at your list of goals. How many of the tasks you intend to do today contribute to accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself? Are you actively working on these goals? Are you putting any of them off for a later time? What would you have to change in your life to make it possible to work on these goals?

Sub-dividing those goals into manageable pieces can help.  Once you have a set of goals, it is useful to decompose the goals into manageable steps or sub-goals. Decomposing your goals makes it possible to tackle them one small step at a time and to reduce procrastination.

Consider for instance the goal of obtaining your degree. This goal can be broken down into four sub-goals. Each sub-goal is the successful completion of one year of your program. These sub-goals can be further broken down into individual courses within each year. The courses can be broken down into tests, exams, term papers and such within the course or into the 13 weeks of classes in each term. Each week can be further subdivided into days, and each day can be thought of in terms of the hours and minutes you’ll spend in your classes and doing homework for today.

While it may seem challenging to take in the whole scope of that convergent goal, thinking of your goals in this way helps to reinforce the idea that there is a connected path linking what actions you take today and the successful completion of your goals. Seeing these connections can help you monitor your own progress and detect whether you are on track or not. Take some time now to think through the goals you’ve set and to break them down into their smaller constituent parts.

Now that you have a list of goals, pre-experience them in your mind. Visualizing the steps you will take to obtain the goal increases the probability of actually reaching it. Successful athletes pre-experience over and over in their minds how they are going to perform in a game so they can be at their peak effectiveness once the game begins.

One mistake made in seeking a goal is to focus so much on reaching the goal that we fail to enjoy the process of getting to it. We enjoy life more when we find satisfaction in our immediate efforts rather than thinking how nice it is going to be when we finally arrive at our distant goal.

For example, we enjoy a trip more if we decide to take an interest in the landmarks along the way rather than just enduring the ride until we arrive at our destination. Similarly, we enjoy a class more if we explore the content beyond what is required rather than just do the bare minimum to pass the class.

Don’t make the mistake of setting unrealistic goals or having so many that it is impossible to reach them. We frequently do this at the beginning of the semester. We soon become discouraged when we realize we have neither the time nor the energy to accomplish all of our goals. Recognizing our physical, mental and emotional limits is an important component to realistic goal setting.

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I thought is was necessary to write about goal setting since this is the end of January and most people have probably given up on their New Years resolutions. If you haven’t, I commend you; keep it up.

It’s been proven by Harvard University that people who write their goals down are twice a likely to obtain their goals. But there’s a flaw in the way most people write their goals. Most lists of goals state: “lose 30 pounds,” “get a promotion,” “make a million dollars,” “buy a new 3000 sqft. House,” “trip to Europe,” trip to Hawaii”, “new 50 inch TV”, “new cloths”, “new furniture”, and “a new car,” etc. Some people might even go as far as to have a picture of the exact item they want and look at it every day. I’ve heard speakers say be very specific in setting your goals. While these thoughts are good, I think you have to do more than just write down: “I want a new car” and look at its picture every day. Let me explain.

If you need to travel by car from Michigan to California you would undoubtedly have a map. While it is possible to drive straight through, most people would make some stops for fuel and a couple of hotel nights. You know the entire trip would take 48 hours and you decide to drive 14 hours per day. So your first hotel stay would be 14 hours way. Then the next day you would have 34 hours before reaching California. So you drive 14 more hours and get a hotel. That night at the hotel you think, “Wow, I can’t believe I’ve driven for 28 hours in the last 2 days and I only have 20 more hours to California”. The next day you drive another 14 hours and get a hotel. However, you wake up extra early the next day because you’re only 6 hours away from sunny California.

I wrote out this long example because this is exactly how you should set your goals. If your goal was to visit California and you had no map how would you get there? The point of preparing a map for your goals is so that you can evaluate if you’re still on the right road. Writing your own map for a goal is not necessarily easy but neither is setting a goal and never obtaining it. So, if your goal is to have a new 3000 square foot home that cost $250,000, this is how your map should look.

To obtain this 3,000 sqft house which cost $250,000, I will need 10% for the down payment which will be $25,000. Each sale of product X will net $150. Therefore, I will help 300 people by selling them X service or product. I will need to sell 25 products each month for one year. To find 25 buyers a month, I will need to set 50 appointments. To set 50 appointments, I will need to send promotional material to 1000 people. (assuming I can obtain a 5% response rate)

1000 Promotional Packets = 50 Appointments which = 25 sales per month which = NEW House

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If you want to accomplish anything in life, setting goals is going to be the first step. From losing weight to career success to making a business profitable, life is really all about having the right goals.

Unfortunately many people are not setting goals for themselves in their life, which explains why so many people never achieve their true potential. Actually, one of the main reasons that people are not setting goals today is that they really don’t even know where to begin. So, if you are ready to start learning how to set goals, here are six essential tips to keep in mind.

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