Taking Action!

Here is your challenge. Ten is a good number, so sit down and write out ten goals for yourself, and help your children to do the same. Write these out every day, and practice the habit of committing these to memory and taking action. It has been said that you must do something faithfully for 21 days to make it a habit, so I challenge you to do this for one month, every day, even on weekends. Who knows, you might be surprised where you are in one month!

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

To begin this process, you need to decide on your goals, write them down, commit them to memory, and then determine a plan to achieve them. We use the SMART goal method – you may have encountered this before.

SMART is an acronym:

S pecific
M easurable
A ction
R elevant/Realistic
T ime Specific

So let’s talk about SMART goals. First, they must be specific. This means you must detail exactly what you want. For example, it is not enough to say, “I want to lose weight.” You must state exactly how much weight you want to lose.

Goals must be measurable. In order to determine success, you need to be able to measure your progress so, make sure you can measure where you start and where you end.

All successful goals require action. If you do not change your behavior, you cannot expect different results! So, you must take the proper kind of action, steps that will head you in the direction of success.

Goals also need to be relevant and realistic. A goal of losing 50 lbs. in a week is obviously not very realistic, but on the other hand, you must challenge yourself and ensure you are strecthing your limits in order to feel a sense of accomplishment. Your goals may include various areas of your life: physical, spiritual, emotional, etc., but they should be relevant to you.

And lastly, they must be time specific. You need to set a deadline. This will keep you focused and on target. You may have long-term and short-term goals that you are working at the same time, but always give yourself a date or deadline for the completion of each goal.

Remember these guidelines:
1) State the goal as if you already have it.
2) State the goal in the positive.
3) Use I statements.

Tomorrow we will look at the difference between effective and non-effective goals.

Enjoy your Sunday:)

The path to success

When I was in my 30’s, I had some “revelations.” I realized that there is incredible value in setting goals. On my journey to understand success, I spent quite a bit of time researching successful people, their concepts and strategies. One of the overwhelmingly common characteristics that successful people share is goal setting. Up until this point, I had been aware of goal setting but I had never really done it formally. Sure, I had New Year's resolutions like everyone else, but I had no formal training in the process required to set goals that lead to success.

After studying the works of Napoleon Hill, it became increasingly obvious to me that to accomplish what I want, I need to focus on it, commit it to memory, and act upon it immediately. One of the terms that Hill uses is Definiteness of Purpose. This term requires total commitment to a goal by focusing your daily thoughts on the attainment of your goal. When we turn our mind loose and allow it to work on our clearly articulated 'definateness of purpose', what we need always becomes available. So, determine your definiteness of purpose, focus on it and keep the faith!