Posts Tagged ‘goals’

Setting Goals: How To Do It

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

People set their goals differently, depending on their current situation, resources, physical capacity and other factors. You can, however, follow some key guidelines to make sure that your goals are credible and possible. Too many individuals set their goals too high unknowingly, only to fail and stay frustrated for the rest of their lives. Here are some tips for you to use in order to avoid failure and disappointment.

Being Specific

Being specific involves writing down the complete details of what you want. An example would be, “I have earned one million dollars by the end of this year.” Another is this, “I am the main sales supervisor of my division within 6 months from today.” or “My next door neighbor, Bob and I are forging a very good friendship between now and next month.” It is best to include amounts, dates, the title and names. The more detailed the better, so mention all aspects of what you want. Include them in your goal. This helps to condition your mind to begin working towards the accomplishment of your goal. You want to be specific and clear. Clarity and specificity increases your focus, which in turn, improves your odds for hitting your goal.

Make it Measurable

Your goal needs to be measurable. You need to have a goal that is easy to break down into manageable parts. If it is measurable then it is easier for you to determine your progress. By attempting to accomplish the separate parts you are more able to easily stay on track. You simply complete each phase and move on to the next. That way you are never stuck wondering if you are moving forward or standing still. A measurable goal gives you an added advantage.

Importance of Having It Time Bound

In order to achieve your goals set deadlines. Having deadlines protects you from the failure that results from procrastination. Keep very tight and specific time-lines when scheduling your goals. An example is, ” I am spending an hour a day with my family beginning next Tuesday. You want to be sure to write down the exact date and time. When you put a deadline on the goal you give yourself added incentive to get it done and not put it off to a more convenient time. It is better to set a date for your goal. That way you will want to start working towards accomplishing it now.

And to learn more about goal setting get access to my free special report “Setting And Hitting Your Goals” by going to http://www.setandhitgoals.com . From Anthony D. Carter - a leading expert on goal setting.

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Achieve Your Dreams With A Goal Setting Session

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Many people have ideas or visions in their minds of where they want to be in their life. Whether it is in your career or personal life, setting expectations and meeting them is one way of translating your visions into reality. Without goal setting your visions will most likely stay just that, a vision.

When you intertwine the goal process into your life, it will help you succeed in achieving what it is you want to achieve in. Take notice of the general goals in your life. The ones that sound a little like ‘I want to buy a new car’. This is a general goal with out any details of as to how you plan on achieving it. You have to pinpoint what are the necessary steps that need to be taken in order to achieve this goal.

Small steps leading you toward your goal are vital, because it is in these steps that you will find yourself making progress. Your journey will include a number of considerations that you will need to take in for your success. In order to be successful you must find a plan of action that incorporates your goals and works for you as well.

Helping you move forward is a journal that will help you set and track your goals. Whether you want to check back on a daily or weekly basis, this is up to you. It will most likely depend on the type of goal you are setting. If you are aiming to lose 15 pounds, you may want to check in regularly, on a daily basis with your journal. This will help you stay on track with both eating and exercise. It will also help keep you encouraged by measuring your progress.

If you have a monetary goal of saving $10,000 in order to invest, you may want to check in on a weekly basis. Write down how you avoided superfluous expenses at the mall and how much you have saved for the week, which is bringing you closer to achieving your goal. With a journal you can applaud yourself for the bad habits you are breaking and the good ones you are creating. You can actually see the progress you are making as well.

Before you begin writing down all of your goals, get yourself in a good mood. Listen to inspirational tapes, or read an inspiring passage. Take a deep breath or go for a relaxing walk in order to clear your mind beforehand. This is because when you are in your positive state you will most likely be true to yourself without the negative thoughts veiling your wants.

Once you are in this positive state of mind jot down your goals. You do not have to write the details down, just what you envision for yourself in this positive state of mind. This is the time to really write down your dreams (action plan comes later).

You may also consider setting time frames for your goals. These can revolve around short or long term periods. Set a time frame realistically in order to set yourself up for success as opposed to failure.

Once you have this written down you can revisit the list you created during your goal setting session. It is now time to detail your goals. Visualize your goal to the tee and write it down. Then write down your step by step action plan that will help you realize your vision.

Athletes don’t become record holders by chance - it is only through effective goal setting. measure goals If you’re not absolutely clear about what your goal is, you can’t commit to it. Value assessment - You must find out which of your values are important to you in terms of job and career satisfaction.

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Public Speeches

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Public speaking is an art and similar to an art in order to perform if well you need to know the methods of the trade and practice them.

When it comes to your body language while talking in public, there are plenty of habits that you do want to avoid doing. If you’re twitchy, you need to ensure that the audience you are addressing doesn’t realize it. When you’re in front of all those people, you would like to make sure that you do not cross your legs or twitch with your feet.

You never let your eye off the ball otherwise you will miss a shot. Like sensible, keep your eye contact on the onlookers at all points. Instead have a chat with your audience with your eyes.

Now let’s go to the other intense of your body. Try to stand with both feet strongly on the ground pretty much the same distance apart as your shoulders. Keep them balanced so your body isn’t leaning to the side. Do not look like a pussy-cat walk model or if you are supping a pint at the bar of your local.

Pronunciation is essential in having your audience tickled in what you have to say because if you use catching words, they’re going to want to know more and stay tickled to see what you have got to say next.

Keeping your feet still transfers this energy to the top part of your body where it should go. Now I did not say you need to remain firm to the spot ; that’d be rotten for 20 mins. Not that much you can do with the trunk aside from keeping it straight. Not like the sergeant Major on the parade ground but not slouched either.

Now, if you are employing a plain help to further get your point across, you wish to use as an enhancer not as the main part of the speech. Whichever you use, you would like to make sure that you say what you are talking about while keeping eye contact with your audience.

If you use all these tips while giving a talk, you are most likely to get extraordinarily positive results. You are rather more likely to get positive results because you will show that you are confident in what you are presenting and you have the information required to present the item. Just always remember, body language, pronunciation, eye contact, and visual aids. Those are the keys to a fantastic speech.

Public speaking is very significant for many important jobs. If you ever want to do a fundraiser, public speaking is vital. You can learn about how to do a fundraiser, by visiting Effrim Mary’s site about how to do a fundraiser and put your public speaking skills to use.

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Top Ten Reasons People Don’t Achieve Their Goals

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Here’s a quick rundown of most of the things that keep one from achieving the success they seek. If you’re not accomplishing your goals or not reaching them as easily or as quickly as you think you should, use this as a checklist to see where you might be missing out.

1. Not Knowing What You Really Want. Mark Twain said he could teach anyone how to get what they want; he just couldn’t find anyone who truly knew what they wanted. I agree. Most people don’t know what it is they really want to achieve. They often know what they don’t want, but then that’s where their focus and energy goes-to what they don’t want.

Being unclear on what you want is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to success. Paul Meyer says if you’re not achieving the success you desire, it’s simply because your objectives are not clearly defined. Your goals need to be written, specific and measurable. When you talk to others about your goal(s), they should be able to understand it quickly.

2. Lack of Focus. You can be clear on your goal, but if you don’t stay focused, if you take on too much (have too many or conflicting goals), if you fill your life with busy things or operate inconsistently, you will likely fail.

Focus creates power. A river’s might is harnessed by a dam and focused into electrical energy. Some people say you can achieve everything you want. I don’t believe that. But I do believe you can achieve anything you want-with the right focus.

3. Not Enough Reasons. This one is often overlooked. Reasons come first, answers come second. If you have strong enough reasons, you can accomplish anything you desire.

Significant success demands passion. When your why is strong enough, the how will come. And your desire will sustain you when the challenges and obstacles come your way.

4. Distractions. All too often we’re distracted by other things. Some are outside of our control. Stuff happens. People do things. Events take place. At other times, we become distracted by our own choosing. I call it BSO Syndrome-Bright and Shiny Objects. You begin one goal or project and then start chasing after another.

Sometimes your “great” ideas can work against you. Your next “big idea” can be the enemy of your current project.

We encourage people to work on no more than three major objectives-ones that can have almost daily action toward their achievement. Focus and discipline is needed here (see Number 2 and number 10).

5. Lack of Belief-in Yourself and/or in Your Goal. This is often related to worthiness, but there’s more to it. You need to believe in yourself and in the creative process. Winners expect to win. A shortage of belief causes many people to give up or never begin in the first place. In many cases, it causes one to take shortcuts that sabotage their success.

Many people simply don’t feel worthy of success. This is a tough one. I can tell you it’s based on an erroneous belief, but you have to get that for yourself. Read the books. Listen to the tapes. Hang out with people who can help you see your highest and best. You deserve to be successful. There is no reason for you not to have what you want unless you ignore the principles of success.

6. Deficient Knowledge. A worthy goal usually requires learning new things. Buckminster Fuller said, “You can’t learn less.” Perhaps you’re not sure what it is you need to learn in order to get where you want to go. Find out. But don’t let lack of knowledge keep you from starting. If you wait until you know it all, you’ll never begin. Start from where you are and build the bridge as you walk on it.

7. Insufficient Skills. Most likely there are certain skill sets you lack which will hinder your progress. Discover what these are and start today in gaining the necessary skills. Perhaps you need to learn how to effectively use a computer and the Internet. Maybe you need to up-level your communication or time-management proficiency. Even a good attitude is a skill. Enhancing your skills is a lifelong investment that will pay you big dividends.

And if you need a skill that you don’t see yourself getting good at or enjoying, find a team member that IS good at those things and focus on what YOU’RE good at doing.

8. Not Enough Money. Most people think this is the number one reason why they haven’t achieved their dreams. They think that if they just had more money then they would be successful. But it’s rarely a money problem-it’s usually an idea problem. With good ideas and a tenacious spirit, you can get the funding you need.

9. Low Energy. Vince Lombardi said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” In order to have the energy and stamina to win, we need to take care of our bodies. Get adequate rest, eat the right foods and refrain from careless and unsafe behavior. Our achievement is our production. Our bodies, our minds and our intuition make up our production capacity. If we don’t properly care for ourselves, we’ll be unable to produce.

10. Inadequate or Nonexistent Support. Everyone needs help. You don’t need to go it alone. I’ve seen far too many people fail because they weren’t willing to ask for help or didn’t know where to turn in order to get it. There are always people who can help. Bring in talent and resources from others and make it a win-win situation. Align yourself with organizations that can help you succeed.

Michael Angier is founder and CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer) of SuccessNet–a support network helping people and businesses grow and prosper. Get their free Resource Book ($27 value) of products, services and tools for running your business more effectively. And most of the over 150 resources are FREE to access and use. http://SuccessNetResources.com http://SuccessNet.org

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Learning How to Write Goals That Will Tremendously Enhance Your Life

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

No matter what you are striving for, there are a couple of easy things to learning how to write goals that you can actually achieve. These tricks will succeed regardless of whether you want to lose weight, walk a 5K, or tone up your out of condition arms. These actions to achievement are to make your dreams possible and as precise as possible.

If your goals are not realistic, then you are assured to fall short no matter what you do. When you at the end of the day realize you have failed, the defeat can be devastating.

Let’s take weight loss as a case in point. If you state you would like to lose thirty pounds by the year end and it is already mid-November you have practically no chance of truly attaining that goal. When the year end arrives you will be dissatisfied no matter how much weight you did manage to lose.

A realistic option may be to say you want to lose six pounds in that time frame. This is something that could realistically occur, and in fact you could lose a handful of extra pounds and do better than the goal.

Your chances of victory are much higher with the lower, more practical goal. Yet, it still doesn’t hurt to persevere with the hope of losing a few extra pounds in your mental view. This may motivate you to work harder, increasing your chances of success all the more.

If you arrive at your goal of 6 pounds you will feel successful, but if you reach the higher mental goal you will feel an added flood of satisfaction. Either way, you come out a victor.

So, how do you track your progress and measure success in the end? The second tip is to make certain your goals are as specific as possible.

Think of our prior example of losing six pounds by the end of the year. A generalized goal may be that you want to look exquisite on New Year’s Eve. There is very little here by which to measure progress.

To get specific, you might improve this goal to say you want to lose 6 pounds and fit into a specific dress for New Year’s Eve. As long as the dress size is realistic, you can now assess progress by trying on the dress occasionally and you will know accurately when you meet the goal.

These two tips to implementing how to write goals that end in success depend on your understanding exactly what you really want. Once you know where you want to go, you can set exact and attainable goals which will ultimately lead to that destination.

To get additional information on exactly “what are goals?” and how best to achieve them, go to GoalsSettingTips.com

categories: goals,what are goals,goal setting,personal development,self help

The Success Mindset

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Search deeply into your heart to identify what you desire in life. You may completely love working at things that are your passion. Each person, to experience truly and greatly, must define how he wishes to live and how to succeed. For great success, it is best to heed to your instincts and follow your heart’s desire. Acquaintances and critics may admonish you and point out on the improbability of your dreams. But before listening to their advice, appraise the achievements of the critics. Have they arrived at their aspirations? Do they dream big at all?

Setbacks, troubles, and obstacles could make reaching success more ambitious, but they should not deter you from following up on your goals. Set your heart’s desire to find ways to overcome roadblocks so that you may ultimately achieve the successes you want in life. Lay out and follow objective realistic goals. It is beneficial to minimize or avoid distractions in order to have a business success mindset with a clear vision of you reaching those rich goals. Focus and channel your attention specifically on one chore at a time. Set schedules and organize activities. For success, you don’t have to do everything on your own. You will be better off if you are able to learn new things and challenges, and are willing to accept other people’s ideas, thoughts, and inputs. You may need to ask for help, or even pay for help. In the end, you will harvest not only advantageous results, but also the esteem and admiration of others, as well.

The success mindset of devoting your attention, knowledge, methods, and entire being need not be strained. You might become physically worn out, but emotionally, you’ll be positively charged with a spirit full of reward. Success will leave you revitalized and invigorated. You’ll turn more passionate about your work and goals. This takes place as you love what you’re doing.Whilst your goals are completed, sweet success knocks on your door commending you for a job well performed.

6 Profit Producing Decisions - Part 3 - Entrepreneur Lessons from Extreme Marathons

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Hello and welcome. Jon Berghoff here. Before I start I need to acknowledge that as an entrepreneur one of the things you don’t necessarily get paid for is your time. I understand that you get paid for results that you make within that time. I’m saying that because I want you to know I’m doing all I can to make sure that this secret will be worth your time spent reading this article. I also want to recognize that as an entrepreneur myself, you probably share the opinion, that being a entrepreneur feels like you’re all alone on the planet, but being the person in charge, I think we both know that the value of a single decision sometimes is incalculable. The result of one decision is the difference between success and failure.

One of my personal goals is to learn something from everything. I share this because the tip that I’m giving you right now is an example of that. In my day job I’m a peak performance coach and I teach the science of influence. There are different types of influence - there’s influence over other people, which is what most people think of; but there’s also the influence over the self. If you’ve ever faced the challenges of running your own business, you know what I’m referring to. A lot of what I’ve learned in business as a coach and as a business owner and as a salesman has also helped me in these extreme marathons that I run. For example, last year I ran 100 miles on an ultra marathon across the Shenandoah Mountains on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. It was going up and down steep mountains through 100 degree heat and a lot of what got me to the finish line were the lessons I learned in business and sales.

Right now I’m going to tell you the third of 6 profit producing decisions that are critical for every small business owner to implement.

Decision 3:

The third profit producing decision is to begin with end goal in firmly mind. I try to do this anytime I leave my office or home to go on a training run for an extreme marathon. I always picture how do I want to feel, how do I want things to look like when I get to the end of the training run. This is a principle I really believe applies in business. If you ask me the question, ‘how does it apply’, I’ll say it applies in so many different ways.

First of all when you look at peak performers, world class performers, both in athletics and on wall street, one trait they share is that they focus into the future and they often begin with asking, how do I want things to look when I’ve arrived? How do I want it to look completed? And then they work backwards to determine how to get there. This isn’t only a long term strategy, it’s also a short term tactic. When I do sales consulting, I’ll do a sales presentation analysis. I’ll sit down with a customer and say we’re going to design a business changing world class sales presentation guaranteed. And of the 4 tools we use, the first one is just to begin with the goal in mind. What’s the result we want? It may sound simplistic but sometimes it’s the most valuable reminder to get clarity as to where it is we’re trying to get to. Anytime we’re going to have a meeting, many of my clients joke with me because they hear me say that most meetings are a waste of time. Of course I say that. I run them and ask for meetings all the time. But I say that only to help keep in mind that they are a waste of time when people go into them without knowing what the product is supposed to be. So begin with the goal in mind.

To get all 6 profit producing decisions, visit my website: www.400milerun.com

Profit Producing Decision #3 - Learned on the Running Trail

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

Hello and welcome. Jon Berghoff here. Before I begin I appreciate that as an business owner you don’t necessarily get paid for your time. I you that you get paid for profits that you make within time. I’m saying that because I want you to understand I’m doing all I can to ensure that this secret will be worth your time spent reading this article. The other thing I want to recognize is that as an entrepreneur myself, you most likely share in this opinion, that being a business owner feels like you’re all alone in the world, but being the person in charge, I think we both understand that the value of a decision is sometimes life altering. Sometimes the outcome of one decision can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

One of my personal goals is to learn something from everything. I mention this because the secret that I’m giving you right now is an example of that. In my day job I’m a peak performance coach and I teach the science of influence. There are different kinds of influence - there’s influence over others, which is what most people think of; but there’s also the influence over the self. If you’ve ever dealt with the challenges of running your own business, you know what I’m referring to. A lot of what I’ve figured out in business as a coach and as a business owner and as a sales person has also helped me in these extreme marathons that I run. For example, last year I ran 100 miles on an ultra marathon through the Shenandoah Mountains and it just so happens that that day was the hottest day of the year. It was going up and down steep mountains through 100 degree heat and a lot of what got me all the way to the finish line were the lessons from sales and business.

Right now I’m going to tell you the third of 6 profit producing decisions that are crucial for every business owner to understand.

Decision 3:

The third profit producing decision is to begin with end goal in mind. This is something I do anytime I leave my office or home to go on a training run for an extreme marathon. I always picture how do I want to feel, how do I want things to appear when I get to the end of the training run. This is a principle I really believe applies in business. If you ask me the question, ‘how does it apply’, I’ll say it applies in so many different ways.

First of all when you look at peak performers, world class performers, both in sports and on wall street, one thing they have in common is that they focus into the future and they often start by asking, how do I want things to look when I’ve arrived where I want to be? How do I want it to look completed? And then they work backwards to determine how to get there. This isn’t only a long term strategy, it’s also a short term technique. When I do sales consulting, I’ll do a sales presentation analysis. I’ll sit down with a client and say we’re going to design a world class sales presentation guaranteed. And of the 4 steps we go through, the first one is just to begin with the end in mind. What’s the outcome we want? It may sound too easy but sometimes it’s the most important reminder to get clarity as to where it is we’re trying to get to. Anytime we’re going to have a meeting, many of my customers joke with me because they hear me say that almost all meetings are a waste of minutes (or hours). Of course I say that. I run meetings and ask for meetings all the time. But I say that only to help keep in mind that they are a waste of time when people go into them without knowing what the result is supposed to be. So begin with the goal in mind.

To get all 6 profit producing decisions, go to my website: www.400milerun.com

Business Success: Time to Think and Set Goals

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Whether you are operating a business right now, or proposing to set one up, success is highly likely if you carefully take proper steps from the beginning. With meticulous planning and by using your creative thinking faculty you increase the chances of your business success.

Perhaps one of the most critical matters you need to think about is the need to write clear and precise business goals. When goals in written down, success in your business will be more assured than if you neglect spending time setting them. When you set them, you will have a specific direction to take along your route to your success. When goals are missing, it is easy to wander along a route and arrive at some place, but it is very unlikely it will be where you want your business to go.

But business success requires you to have more than a few goals. What you need is the right attitude which is a combination of your thoughts, feelings and actions. The thoughts you have generate feelings in your body and they will bring about actions - the things that you actually do. Your actions will either lead you towards or take you further away from your goals. These outcomes will be visible in one form or another and you will know, possibly before the action is complete, whether your business success goal is any closer.

If the outcome leads you down the road to success, then progress in your business is being made. If the results are not heading in the right direction, then you need to be re-thinking what you are doing. It is imperative that you know what you are thinking because everything in your life and in your business begins from what you are thinking about. Being positive is crucial to your business success.

There is a saying that was formulated over 5000 years ago and it is this: ‘What you ultimately think about you become’ and what is interesting is that this was created by great thinkers, philosophers, scientists, theologians, historians and even industrialists; a group of people not typically known for agreeing on anything, but they did in this case.

It is a matter of fact that if you think about your success and take appropriate action, you will be taken down the road to success. But if you start to think negatively about your business, your actions could lead to you not achieving the desired outcome. Positive thinking and having creative thoughts are crucial parts of your success and will help you ensure this is exactly what you achieve.

Goal setting is such an important part of your business and your whole life depends on them too. There is no substitute for setting goals. Once your goals are in place, your actions will be reflected in the directions you take to achieve your goals. But what you also must do is determined what success actually means for you. No mentor can say what your success should be since it is different for every person. But unless you decide what it is, it will be difficult to know when you are indeed successful.

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Clarity of Purpose

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Living a Rich Life

If becoming rich is part of your dream-and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be-just be careful you don’t confuse being rich with living a rich life. I think we should all become financially rich. If we are, we can give more to our families, our communities and our world. But it’s living a rich life that should be our primary objective.

A rich life is created by being more concerned with who you become than what you acquire. It’s created by clarity of purpose. And clarity leads to power.

In my opinion, the most important thing you can do for yourself is to invest the time and perhaps even money to become absolutely clear on what you want out of life. I’m not talking about goals here. I’m talking about the essence of what you truly want-what you will feel good about when your life is over. This is not an easy process. Perhaps that’s why so few people do it.

All the information is inside you. You need only to think carefully and intuit deeply in order to gain this insight and allow yourself to live with a keen focus and real clarity.

The old adage, “Know thyself,” has become such a clich that it’s lost much of its meaning. But when you’re completely clear on who you are, what you want, where you’re going and have a plan to get there, you’ll not only be more effective, you’ll experience better health and more fulfillment. You will lead a rich life.

If we were sitting across from one another, here’s what I’d ask you: “What’s the most important goal/dream/mission in your life?”

I would look for a description that shows your passion for it-something where you have a sparkle in your eye and emotion in your voice. I believe that everyone has a dream-that it’s not something to be invented, but rather to be discovered. It may take some time to uncover it, but living a life filled with verve and excitement is certainly worth it.

Your plan, your vehicle to get there may change over time, but the vision-the mission-will not.

The next question I would ask is, “Why do you want to accomplish this dream?” Your reasons are critical to your success. When you have sufficient reasons, you can overcome any challenge. One way you can strengthen your reasons is to visualize what your life will be like when you’ve accomplished your dream. The more real it becomes-the more you see it and feel it-the more you’ll believe it.

It’s also a way to check out if this is really your dream. Sometimes, after envisioning what we think is our dream, we find that it’s not really what we want. Better to find out now than to spend our lives achieving something that will not provide fulfillment in the process.

And it is that process that is the real value. Remember, it’s not so much what you accomplish, but rather what you become in that process that’s important. Which leads me to my next question.

“How will you have to grow and change in order to accomplish your dream?” “What will you become on your journey?” Any worthy goal involves change. If you don’t think you’ll have to grow and change, then you don’t have a very inspiring goal. A worthy goal involves risk. It involves getting out of our comfort zone. That’s where real growth occurs.

So the short version of our conversation goes like this: what do you want, why do you want it and what are you willing to do to get it? These are questions you need to constantly be asking yourself.

If you do-if you take the time to think and ponder the answers, you’ll gain greater clarity, more fulfillment, live longer and feel better. You will live a rich life.

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