Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Quick – can you explain a personal or career goal to me right now? Here’s 5 tips to help you achieve your goals and explore new ones.

Goals are more than dreams. They are guideposts along life’s journey. If your goal is to win the lottery or become a NBA Superstar – perhaps you aren’t grasping the actual purpose of having a goal. Sure you could spend all your money on quick picks or shoot hoops until dark every night – but winning the lottery is still an uncontrollable long-shot and unless you’re an athletic teen with scouting potential – well you are just fooling yourself!

Step #1 – Start with your biggest dream and define it. Create a dream journal where you explore all the aspects of how it would feel to reach this ultimate goal, why you want it and what are the requirements needed to achieve it. This will help you learn your goal’s potential and is how you’ll recognize the success steps along the way. As the cliché goes, it’s the journey not the destination.

Step #2 – Feel it, taste it, smell it, visualize it – this is your passion. Passion is what will keep you on the path when it seems lonely and long. Without passion, why bother? If you don’t have passion in your heart and gut – rethink your goal and redirect your efforts.

Step #3 -  Why do you want it – what does it give you? Wealth, fame, satisfaction, happiness, spiritual peace, personal challenges? The WHY is actually a reality check. Sometimes it’s the emotions surrounding the goal that are what we are seeking and not the perceived goal itself. Not all dreams are realistic and attainable but the emotions associated with the dream can be. Look for the “feeling” reasons to assess your goal’s viability.

Step #4 -  Review and create a priority list of the requirements necessary to reach your goal. Break these down into small tasks (think under 30 minutes).

Rank the tasks by Must Do, Helpful and Long-term.  You should plan on completing 10 Must Do’s to every 4 Helpful and 1 Long-term. Keep an eye on the ratio so you don’t get bogged down in non-critical tasks. It’s easy to get lost in the “well-at-least-I’m-doing-something” non-critical tasks instead of taking real action. Don’t let FEAR sidetrack you!

If you need to get a Master’s Degree, don’t write down Master’s Degree! Break it down into tasks such as obtaining your college transcripts, scheduling a meeting with a college advisor, researching loan programs, applying for a grant or visiting a campus.

Step # 5 – Set firm deadlines for your Must Do tasks. Be realistic about how much time you’ll have to hike towards the pinnacle (goal). Missing a deadline isn’t the end of the world but as with any investment it’s small regular actions that are the foundation of great rewards. Deadlines are a promise to yourself and you deserve to feel the sense of accomplishment (success) that reaching each deadline gives you.

I’d love to have you share your goals with us here. A public announcement (just like a pledge of love through marriage) is a powerful step in being successful.