A Deeper Look At Goal Setting – First In A 3 Part Series
If you want to enjoy abundant success and bliss in your business and in your life, the single most important skill to master is the skill of goal setting.
Secret:
• Goal setting actually becomes fun and exciting once you master it.
• Mastery is merely a matter of practice guided by a mentor.
• A mentor is simply supportive direction from someone who has mastered the skill.
• So find a mentor and practice and you will become a master!
Why is this particular skill so important? Well, how can you get from point A to point B if you’re not sure what or where point B is? How will you know if you’ve arrived? You might blow right past it without even realizing it.
The unfortunate truth is that most people leave point A and wander, saunter or race int the wilderness of life or the business world (which is just a subset of life), and are then genuinely shocked at finding themselves at a destination which they never imagined they would find themselves. Once in a while this turns out to be a pleasant surprise – but only once in a while. I bet you know people that this has happened to.
I have a theory about the reason why The Lottery is able to sell so many tickets. It is because most people do not set goals. And why don’t people set goals? Not because they don’t have dreams about their future – they do, that’s why they’re buying tickets i the first place.
My theory is that people don’t set goals because they don’t know how. If you want the success you dream about, then you need to master goal setting. You can still buy a lottery ticket if you want to, but there won’t be so much resting on it anymore.
In a previous article (The 3 Secrets to Setting and Achieving Goals) I outlined the fundamental steps to effective goal setting. Let’s look more closely at the first secret of setting and accomplishing goals. “Choose a target.” It sounds easy enough and yet many people struggle with it. I was one of them for many years. It is very tiring to live without goals. You spend a lot of time and energy being busy with only a fraction of the available results. Choosing a target is nothing more than picking a desired destination – a point B.
Here are some point B examples:
• I want to make more money and work fewer hours
• I want to earn a six figure income
• I want to own a new car
• I want to retire to a warm climate
• I want to meet Oprah
• I want to own my own business
• I want to see the world
• I want to spend more time with my family
• I want to live my life with purpose
Remember, there are 3 secrets to setting and achieving goals and choosing a target is just the first one. Approach it with reckless abandon, exercising all the freedom, flexibility and imagination you can muster and rest assured that the other secrets will take care of tightening the reins.
If you dare, let your desire run like a wild stallion. Grab a legal pad and fill a page with “I want” statements. The second article in this series will show you how to apply the next goal setting secret to your list.
© 2007 Lisa Almeida and Planit Production
Lisa Almeida, founder and owner of Planit Production is an Author, Entrepreneur, Small Business Consultant and Mentor who publishes ‘Going Soul-o’, a weekly e-zine dedicated to the co-existence of profit and passion. To learn more, visit http://www.planitproduction.com
