What do you want to achieve? Do you dream of more time pursuing your interests? Do you want more money in your pockets? Do you desire better health and more energy?

Maybe in the past you have set New Year resolutions. These are okay but are they ever going to help you get what you want? What has been your experience in the past? I think you will agree, the answer is probably not.

To really get going and achieve what you want, you must set goals and follow through. Setting goals is not just writing down what you want. To turn a wish list into true goals you need to follow certain guidelines.

Goal setting is a formal process that takes some time to complete, but it will get you pointing in the right direction. It is a course of action that starts by understanding what your major definite purpose is. Where is it you want to go in life? Then working from there you identify values and clearly define your goals.

For each goal you need to define the steps and plan those activities. It is necessary to evaluate your goals to make sure they are SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time based. Goals that are not all of these things lack qualities that help you focus.

Lets look….

SPECIFIC - If it is not specific you can’t really see the target, so you can’t aim at it.

MEASURABLE - If it is not measurable you won’t know when you get there.

ATTAINABLE - If the goal is too far out of reach, it can actually be quite destructive. For example, If you earn $40,000/year and set a goal of $1,000,000 a year this may be quite de-motivating, but setting $60,000 would be attainable.

REALISTIC - If it is not realistic it can be discouraging. You need to believe it is possible.

TIME BASED - If it is not time based you will not be driven to finish it. Without the time limit there will be no urgency to act.

These characteristics are all important. They are what really qualifies a goal as a goal.

So set your goals now. Remember the feeling of success when you achieve your goals will motivate you further. With formal goal setting you will see possibilities you never even dreamed of and know which path is best for you! You will be able to focus on what will truly benefit your life.

Ritchie Hale is founder and owner of ELAH Group Pty Ltd. He is a consultant to large, global corporations in the areas of Marketing and IT and has developed eClass programs geared to small businesses based on proven marketing techniques. As a coach Ritchie guides small business owners and individuals to achieve success. Visit http://www.elahgroup.com

The Hasidic master, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach taught that on Passover night we are bringing our entire life stories to the Seder table to be freed. What exactly does this mean? To begin with, we are by nature, storytellers. Whether we are aware of it or not, we live in a world of stories. Stories that we tell our family, friends, coworkers, and clients. Stories we share over the phone, e-mail, in our journals and the stories that are constantly playing themselves out in our heads. Stories about what’s happening to those we love, stories about those we despise, stories that inspire the spirit, and stories that instill fear.

The sum and total of our life is that, from our birth until our death, we are walking stories, here upon the earth. Yet on Passover, it’s the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves that needs to be looked at and freed. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves have great power over us. Depending on how they are told, our life stories can either enlighten or mislead, inspire or discourage.

A good exercise for this Passover is to become more aware of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves and our past. What are the underlying themes of our stories?

Victory? Betrayal? Struggle? Victimization? Each of us has had key events in our pasts, whether it be from our childhood, or more recent episodes of hurt and loss, where a part of us draws a reactionary conclusion about our life stories — even when the conclusions are terribly incorrect. Many perpetuate these stories and our immature understandings of them often make a further mess of our lives in the process - unless a reminder comes to wake us up and reorient our perspective. Our Hebrew Sages teach that Passover is such a reminder.

Passover is a reminder that we need not live in our Egypts forever. There is a G-d, a Higher Power, that has an invested interest in our Liberation. Our job comes in our willingness to understand, heal and ultimately elevate the stories we hold onto that are no longer working for us. After all, it does clearly state in the Haggadah, “In every generation a person is obligated to see themselves, as if they themselves left Egypt”. What are we doing to leave THIS year?

We can simply begin by looking at our life stories and revising parts of the script. Remember, it’s not what happened to us that’s important but what we make of those events.

The following suggestions are designed to help us tell our stories well this year:

Become a Sympathetic Narrator

When telling your story about yourself, to yourself, become a sympathetic narrator.

In literature, a sympathetic narrator is one who takes the side of the story’s protagonist or main character. For example, when the Torah introduces the life of King David, it includes his shortcomings, yet does not let it take away from his greatness. Similarly, we need to admit mistakes yet not obsess over them. A sympathetic narrator casts daily failures as learning experiences, painful yet helpful steps on the way to success.

Choose What You Want to Emphasize

Any honest reporter will tell you that all stories have a slant. It’s not that reporters try to mislead, it’s just that in choosing what to cover, some things are always left out or minimized in order to create a perspective. And that’s OK. Likewise, in our own stories of loss or pain, deciding what to highlight can bring about the difference between lingering bitterness and a sense of closure.

Seek the Higher Purpose

There is a core spiritual principle that our lives are divinely designed for each one of us to get exactly what we need to support our own soul’s unique evolutionary process. As the Baal Shem Tov taught, “You are exactly where you need to be”, which implies that we should not get too caught up in our internal struggles against what is, or what was, which will only lead to more pain and suffering. According to this spiritual belief, nothing in our world occurs by accident and there are no coincidences, only synchronicity. When reframing our life stories, attempt to see the “Hand of G-d” or the pattern of events that have led us to this moment. These patterns of connectedness or synchronicity are the magical language of the Divine in our lives. When rewriting our stories, seek to see beyond the circumstances and instead at the Divine Order of the unique paths that have chosen us.

As for the Life Story that still plays itself out today:

Work on the 20 Percent

While it is not commonly known, according to the Midrash, when Moses left Egypt, only 20 percent of the nation of Israel left with him. The other 80 percent remained behind, and did not succeed in taking the risk of leaving an imprisonment that was all too familiar to them. An interesting correlation is found in the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups where the statistic is the same. It is known that only 20 percent of those in recovery will remain sober, the other 80 percent will inevitably relapse into old behavior as statistics have shown, because the life of addiction, no matter how painful and dark, is at least familiar.

Consequently, when we say we want to change our life stories, the important thing to remember is not whether we feel 100 percent confident and ready. The more realistic question to ask ourselves today is whether we still have a least 20 percent of ourselves that is strong enough to take the steps, and if we can agree to work on that 20 percent that is committed and willing. Passover asks us to at least look for that part, to find that part, and to work on that part, for it is there that we might find the secret of finding the life we want and deserve to live.

May this Passover be for all of us, the benchmark in time when we begin retelling our stories, but perhaps this time, in a slightly different way. May G-d release us this Passover from our pasts that we may be delivered to our future.

New Beginnings,

Rabbi Michael Ozair

Practical Exercise:

Write out three stories from any period of your life (no more than a page each) of something you did well, some problem you solved, and tell (yourself) how you did it.

About The Author

Rabbi Michael Ezra is a spiritual life coach, counselor and consultant. He can be reached at coach@kabbalahcoach.com or by visiting his site at www.Kabbalahcoach.com.

chemdah@yahoo.com

Goal setting is a task that is often overlooked until the New Year, when people decide to set resolutions. However, these resolutions are nothing more than wishes and are far from what we would call "goals". Hence these "so called" goals have very little chance of being realized. Just ask any fitness club owner when the greatest number of sign-ups occur and when the greatest number of drop-outs occur. Clearly, these "resolutions" don’t work! So just what does work?

When it matters and you really want to accomplish your task, you will want to use tried and true goal setting techniques. Among the more successful methods is the SMART method of setting goals. SMART=Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-sensitive.

Goal setting starts with making sure that your goals are indeed SMART. Let’s examine this briefly shall we. A goal cannot be something general. It must be substantial and detailed. The goal must answer the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why. As an example, if your goal is to get a raise, this is not specific enough and doesn’t meet our criteria. If your goal is to get a 10% raise within 6 months, this is specific. Measurable means exactly that. Your goal must be able to be measured or quantified. In the above example, a raise is not quantifiable, but a 10% raise is definitely quantifiable because the 10% number can be counted and verified.

A goal is attainable when it is realistic or feasable given your skills and resources. If you wish to be a pilot in 2 days and you have no money and no one to teach you, this may be considered "unattainable".

Realistic refers to your goal being "reasonable", meaning you are not 35 years old and setting a goal to have 3 kids before you turn 36! Your goal must be reasonable or surely you will have no chance of achieving it under any circumstances. This doesn’t mean that goals that are "impossible" to achieve should not be attempted. History has shown us that what seems "impossible" to achieve for most people is indeed quite possible for others to achieve under the proper circumstances.

Lastly, "time sensitive" refers to all goals having a completion date. This is what separates goals from activities, activities do not require an end date. This is a very important distinction between a goal and an activity. Using our previous example, obtaining a 10% salary raise during your lifetime is not the same as a 10% raise within 6 months.

We certainly hope the above information will aid you in setting and achieving more goals during your lifetime. For further information, be sure to check out the many goal setting resources available to you online. In fact, make that your first goal!

Hanif Khaki is the acclaimed author of numerous business related articles and the founder of the popular business help site http://www.setting-goals.expert-knowledge.com

So you feel beaten up and bruised and you’re ready to quit. You have no support system or the one you have is pathetically inadequate for the goals you’ve set. You’re so tired that the couch is looking more and more inviting everyday. You have bills piling up and you probably ought to get a real job anyway. The failure rate is statistically high and nobody is going to fault you if you quit. Who really cares if you give up and quit now? You do.

Let’s look at each piece one at a time. You’re beaten up and exhausted. Congratulations! That means you’ve been working harder then you’ve probably ever worked in your life. You wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything of real importance if you weren’t willing to bust your rump plowing through everything on your to-do list. You may need some lessons in balance and patience, but not in how to apply good old fashioned elbow grease. If you can schedule a short break to replenish your strength, then do so, but don’t give up and quit all together. If there’s no way you can stop now because you have too many important deadlines then bust through the deadlines. Can you speed it up and finish things early so that you could squeeze in a break? After a full night sleep, do you think that you’d still want to quit or would you be ready to dive back in? The fact that you’re working so hard isn’t the problem, it’s that you aren’t getting adequate rest and relaxation. Find a way to create balance.

You have nobody that will pitch in to help you or else the help you have isn’t all that helpful. Kind of reminds me of when my two year old tries to help with the laundry. He picks the dirty laundry up off of the floor and stuffs it into the dryer along with the stuff that just finished drying. Well meaning, but not as helpful as he thinks he is. I wish I could give you magic solutions as to how to find helpful people when you’re working on your goals and dreams but the truth is, most people are too busy with their own lives to be able to offer much assistance anyway. Unless you can afford to hire people to help you or you promise to help them on something they’re needing help with, you probably aren’t going to find a whole lot of help. Also there’s the learning curve and how much time it takes to teach someone how to do what it is you need help with. It’s a rare and beautiful thing when the perfect person comes along with nothing better to do then to roll up their sleeves and help. It’s a tough reality, but basically, it’s your goal, your dream, and your job to make it happen.

If the project you are working on means anything to you, then you won’t really enjoy the couch potato solution as much as you might think. Funny thing about the really big powerful dreams, they haunt us. Every time you turn around there it is following you around reminding you that you haven’t finished it yet. It will keep showing up in everything you do and especially in the things that you don’t do. If it really matters, if it’s your calling, if it’s your life’s work, then it isn’t going to let you become a couch potato. Laying around not doing your dream will be more exhausting and depressing then when you were working your buns off trying to make it come true. Take a quick break if you need to, but don’t get too comfy sitting there and don’t even think that you aren’t going to get back up again. The longer you sit there, the further behind schedule you’ll be and the more you’ll have to do to catch up with where you were when you quit. You know how it is when you take a week off for vacation. You have to work two or three weeks to catch up with everything that fell behind. You have got to take your mental health breaks, but don’t make it a permanent vacation.

What if you have financial problems or family obligations that are seriously nagging at you? That’s such a difficult position to be in. Only you can determine what’s in your long term best interest. Again, a support system would be nice, but if they aren’t there to help, then you have to create balance. If you give up on your dreams to take care of and support everyone else, you may feel like you’re doing the right thing in the moment, but was your life better off for it? If you disregard everything in order to stay focused on your dream, will it cost you the companionship of your loved ones down the road? Who will be there to celebrate with you when you finally do succeed? Not too easy to find a wealthy philanthropist to support your efforts to live out your dreams without earning a living. You have to make those really tough choices. Somehow you have to create balance between your dreams, your ability to keep a roof over your head, and your ability to keep loved ones near and dear.

It’s easy to quit where so many others have already gone and failed before you. Survival of the fittest dictates that not everyone is ideally designed to accomplish all goals. Not everyone is supposed to be an entrepreneur. Not everyone is meant to be a musician. Not everyone is meant to be president. The truth is, if you’ve picked a goal that is suited to your own natural talents and gifts and if it’s infused with your own passion and fire, then chances are that you are one of the lucky few who is meant to live that dream. Just because everyone else failed doesn’t mean that you are meant to fail too. Statistics don’t mean anything unless you decide to become one.

You are either going to quit or you’re going to find inspiration and keep going. You can quit if you want, but you already know if quitting will feel worse then trudging through a little while longer. Somewhere you know deep down if you’re meant to succeed or not. What if you were meant to succeed and role model tenacity to those around you? What if that’s somehow the divine cosmic plan all along? God loves an underdog! Don’t quit just yet.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow’s Edge

About The Author

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow’s Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. To read more of her articles and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To download free previews of her books, go to www.SkyeThomas.com.

Skye@TomorrowsEdge.net

A direct correlation between feelings and rational though as a complete thinking process has been under scientific study for at least a decade. It’s called the study of Neurocardiology.

Remember a time when you "had a feeling" that a result would occur. Of course you went against the grain of that inspiration and what happened?

A good majority of time the path you followed was a disaster. And you said, “I knew I should have done it the other way instead."

That’s your Heart talking. That gentle voice that whispers in your ear, providing you with inspiration to follow. The problem is that voice is so gentle; it’s hard for many people to hear.

The reason is conditioning. You are so used to listening to your rational mind SCREAMING its demands; it’s next to impossible to hear a whisper.

Let’s take that one step further. Is your business a direct reflection of how you feel about your life or is it something you do just to make money?

Here’s a simple exercise you can do tomorrow morning to find out

When you wake up, don’t just jump out of bed and start running. Instead, STOP for a second and evaluate how you feel about the new day ahead.

Do you feel like "Oh no, it’s Monday. I sure wish it was Saturday." Or do you feel energized and on fire; bounding out of bed waiting to start the new day.

About 90% the people reading this article are feeling the former, unfortunately.

If “Oh no” is your mantra, you are not expressing the full range of talent, knowledge, experience and value you offer to other people. You are not fully expressing your talent in business. As a result, you feel flat and uninspired.

Not too long ago, I had a feeling that I shouldn’t take on a project. In my heart I felt that it wouldn’t be in my best interest to have that person as a new client.

But my “salesman” mind took over and I persevered. I ran the drill: call, connect, clear and focused next step, mailing, follow up, repeat.

Fortunately, by the 3rd follow up I listened to my feelings and withdrew my offer.

With the time that opened up, I channeled energy into the Pull Your Life into Focus Forum. I attracted great people for the first program.

That fit my talent perfectly and added value to the lives of others at the same time. It was an authentic heartfelt fit.

I’ve seen the same thing happen with careers too. I have a client who tried everything to make money. One idea, then the next, then the next. Nothing worked. He bounced from one idea to another looking for that "magic bullet."

When we started working together I asked one simple question. What are you most interested in? It turns out he had an exceptional technical background and was interested in using his knowledge and experience in ways that made a positive impact on the environment and people’s lives.

He went on a mission and today, as I write this article, he made his first major sale. He simply started talking from his heart about something he was passionate about and that energy, enthusiasm and conviction lead to him helping someone else solve a challenge.

I got a telephone message from him this morning. “High on Heart” is the best way I can describe his enthusiasm.

How about you? Do your days inspire or deplete you?

Enthusiastic people attract more of the same energy. Unfortunately, so do uninspired people. What you put into the world is what you get back. It’s one gigantic mirror reflecting back at you.

Let’s go back to that AM wake up call. How did you feel this morning?

If your days inspire you, email me your story at inspire@developyourvision.com and let me know. I’ll add the best couple of inspiring stories to my blog. Fame and fortune await people with an enthusiastic heart

If you are suffering from lack of authentic heart in your business, follow these ACTION steps:

1. Make a list of your greatest talents in life. Don’t limit it to just business. What are your talents? (Your talent, part 1)

2. Next, list your passions. What would you do if money was no object and you could do anything you want? (Your passions)

3. What is the greatest contribution you must make to other people? If you had only five years left to live, what would you have to do? (Your destiny)

4. What do other people see in you? What are you consistently told you are good at by other people? (Your talent part 2. Many times other people see things in us that we miss).

5. What will you put up with and what won’t you put up with in your life? (Your values).

6. Make a list of your talents, values, passions and destiny. Then take the # 1 point from each area and create a statement.

7. The purpose of your life is to live your greatest talents and passions and to add value to the lives of other people.

When you live your life as an authentic, heartfelt expression of your creative potential for the purpose of helping others, amazing things happen in your life.

It all starts the day you decide to change your mind and live from your heart instead of your head.

Bill Gluth is a Human Touch Marketing Expert, professional speaker, trainer and consultant. He is the first person to specialize in developing “talent” as a competitive business strategy.

Bill brings clear, simple and focused action steps to any business building program that spotlights controlling time, methods and mindset to stand out from the crowd. When in control of these 3 variables, business people can realize greater achievement and business growth in less time, with greater enjoyment and minimal stress.

Learn more about Bill Gluth and his Creative Business Strategy Training programs by visiting http://www.developyourvision.com

A great way of attuning yourself daily to what your deepest dreams and wants are is to create yourself a DREAM WALL.

Use books and magazines or search online for images of the things that you want in your life. These should be images of the materialistic achievements you wish to experience in reality in the not to distant future.

Once you have located these pictures cut them out and place them in a place where you can easily view them in all of their glory each day. This is to become your DREAM WALL. The place where you come to look at your dreams.

Position your dreams in any order you choose.

Visit this wall at least twice a day, spending around 5-minutes per visit visualising what you want in the future. Look deeply at each image and visualise yourself living inside the picture. The more detailed you can make the images on your DREAM WALL the more real these images will become and the easier it will become for you to visualise yourself actually being apart of these images in reality.

What’s the significance?

Each time you visit your DREAM WALL you are imprinting upon your brain a positive and clear message of what you want from life. Through repetition this positive habit actually programs the brain with a positive expectation and a clear vision of what you expect from yourself. The brain then goes to work on seeking out and providing you with solutions and strategy’s for achieving what you want. The more you want it, the quicker your brain will find a solution for attainment.

Practice this daily and you’ll amaze yourself at how quickly and easily you can actually achieve your dreams in the REALITY.

The quickest and most direct route to achieving success is to know what you want out of life and just as importantly when you want it? The DREAM WALL emphasises this and helps keep you focused, true and determined to achieve your deepest and dearest needs in life.

TRY IT, you’ll be amazed!

These ideas have been taken from Jay Ball’s brilliant ’10 simple seeds to success’ 334 page paperback book, 12- hour CD course, and 334-page e-book.

About The Author

Jay Ball is a recognised Success Mentor in the UK. His visions and inspirations have helped many accomplish amazing results. Jay Ball is the author of ‘10 simple seeds to success’ and ‘Believe & Achieve’ Check out his website and downlod over 8 hours of FREE self-development seminars! www.successacademy.co.uk

info@successacademy.co.uk

If you really want to reach the goals you set for yourself this year, simply writing them down as a list and telling your friends is just not going to cut it.

Reaching your goals is easy when you use this formula…

Consistency + Desire - Fear = YOUR GOAL

There are 3 simple keys to setting and acheiving your goals…

Key #1: Consistency

If you’re going to reach a goal, you NEED to be consistent. Most people jump on the "goal setting bandwagon" around the New Year, setting goals for themselves with NO PLAN for how they’re going to reach these goals.

And before they know it, they get caught up in everyday life and never think about their goals again.

This is what I call "goal setting and forgetting". Consistency is CRITICAL when it comes to reaching your goals.

Here’s how to be consistent in reaching your goals…

Have a routine.

If your goal is to lose 10 lbs by the end of the year, do something every day (or week) that will bring you closer to that goal. It could be a morning walk or eating at least 4 healthy meals per week.

Or maybe your goal is something that is not as "cut and dry" as losing weight. Let’s say you want to improve your confidence.

To accomplish this, you still need to be consistent in your THINKING. You need to shift your ways of thinking and start a new ROUTINE. (There’s that word again.)

For instance, to help you remember what you learned from your favorite self-improvement book, write down on a sticky note next to your bed, the key points that had the biggest impact on you.

Key #2: Desire

Goal setting is merely wishful thinking if you don’t have a strong desire to reach your goal. You must organize your list, separating the goals that you desperately want to acheive from those that "would be nice".

Here’s how…

Write down all the goals that you’ve ever wanted to acheive. This is where key #3 comes in, so I’ll continue with key #2 in a moment…

Key #3: Be Specific

When writind down your goals, don’t just say you want to "lose weight". Instead, set a SPECIFIC amount of weight to lose.

Okay, back to Key #2…

Once you’ve finished writing down your SPECIFIC goals, rate your level of desire for each goal using a scale of 1-10.

(10 = "Yes, I want it the most!")

(1 = "It would be nice, but it’s not that important to me.")

When you’re finished, separate the page into 3 columns below your goals. Label the first column as "Easy", the second as "Somewhat Difficult" and the third as "Challenging".

Then re-write each of your goals into the 3 columns, including your level of desire for each particular goal.

Ask yourself, "How easy (or difficult) will it be for me to reach this goal?" and put the goal in the appropriate category.

Now that you’ve organized your goals, start with in the Easy column with the highest Desire score.

By starting with the easiest goal first, you’ll be mentally rewarding yourself by thinking, "Oh, I can do this!".

Once you’ve reached your first goal, continue with the next goal in your Easy column with the highest Desire score and so on until you eventually start reaching your most challenging goals.

By the time you reach your most difficult goals, you’ll have "trained" yourself to routinely think about and consistently reach your goals. This makes acheiving future goals a WHOLE LOT easier.

But before you jump ahead and start reaching your first goal, you must create your action plan for reaching it. Be sure to ONLY create an action plan for the goal you’re CURRENTLY working on.

There is no need to create a plan of action for your other goals. DO NOT try to reach more than one goal AT THE SAME TIME. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’ve got a lot to accomplish, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to get everything done in one month…or even one YEAR for that matter.

Take your time and you WILL reach your goals at your own pace. This is NOT a race.

There’s an old saying that’s been around for a long time…

"THOSE WHO FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL."

And it’s true. If you don’t have a clear picture of where you’re going, you’re not going ANYWHERE.

No Goals + No Plan = The same results as LAST YEAR.

I’ve laid out a step-by-step system you can use to accomplish your goals, so now there’s NO WAY you can fail, right?

WRONG.

Fear of failure can stop you. THAT is what stops most people from reaching their goals. Don’t let it happen to you! You will never TAKE ACTION if you let your FEAR get in the way of what you want to accomplish.

Oh, and one more thing…

DON’T listen to other people who try to discourage you. Some people may try to discourage you whether it’s out of pure jealousy or just plain ill will.

I don’t care if they’re your family members, your spouse or your best friend. NOBODY knows what you’re capable of so it’s up to YOU to prove them wrong.

So what are you waiting for? Get started on this today. This is YOUR YEAR, the year you’ll prove to everyone else (and yourself) that you can accomplish ANYTHING when you set your mind to it.

Larry Bilotta’s FREE, 7-day email course shows you how to instantly eliminate your negative thoughts, STOP dwelling on your problems and START feeling better about yourself. Just go to http://www.selfesteemsecrets4women.com/self.html

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that there is a way to get what you want? Whether it’s in business or your personal life, this article will clearly show you the steps you need to take to achieve your goals.

I heard it said once that vision without action is only a dream, but action without vision is a nightmare. In my first article, The Road To Success - A.C.T.I.O.N., I discussed action. So today, I’d like to discuss vision with you.

The first thing you need to do is to establish what your vision is. In order to accomplish goals, it is very important to be focused. To be focused, there must be something to be focused on.

The reality is the future is coming whether we’re ready for it or not, and those who don’t create the future they want will have to endure the future they get.

What does your future look like? Take some time and think about what you would like your future to look like. Write your ideas down. Once you have some ideas to work with you can begin developing a plan to create your future.

For example, let’s say you are currently employed outside of your home on a full time basis and your vision is to be able to work from home. Now that you have defined your vision it becomes much easier to develop a plan to achieve that vision.

Part of your plan should include research to find out if your vision is realistic or a pipe dream. So using our example of wanting to work from home, you would begin researching options that would provide you with an income from your home. The more research you do, the more focused your vision will become, and the more likely you are to succeed.

Depending on what your vision is, you may get overwhelmed by the size of the task ahead of you. Remember these sayings, the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and Rome wasn’t built in one day.

The next step is breaking the task down into manageable chunks that you can handle.

Completing this step is crucial. Many people give up at this step and get lost in what I call “action avoidance strategies”. What are action avoidance strategies? Here are a few of them:

Now, once you are 70% of the way to being ready to begin, start moving forward. If you wait until everything is perfect to begin working towards your vision you will never start. The other 30% will unfold as you move forward and this allows you to select, reflect and correct your plan along the way.

Intentions + Action = Results

It’s imperative to move out of the planning stage and into the action stage if you want to create your future and accomplish your vision.

Get a big vision and then go after it!!

About The Author

Liane Wood is a stay at home mom and the owner of http://income-opportunity-home-based-business.com.

So how was your 2005? Was it by far the best year of your life? I mean over the top, you can’t wait for more? If you are like most people, you probably answered no. If you had the choice of spending the same 365 days and just surviving it or having the best year of your life, which would you choose? Of course you would choose the best year of your life! You know what you would prefer, you always get the same 365 days each year, so what is getting in the way and how do we get it out of there?

First, let’s start with the question, how did you do on your Top 3 goals in 2005? Most people don’t even have a top one goal, let alone a history of what they did on their top 3 goals. Well, let’s turn that around right now.

Step 1: (Spend only 30 seconds on this. REALLY!) Pick your number one goal in each of the following categories. Physical, Financial, and Relationship. STOP! Do it now. We are talking only 30 seconds and then write the goals down.

If you had achieved these 3 goals in 2005, do you think 2005 would have been your best year ever? If you answer is anything but YES, redo Step 1 with bigger goals.

We have done it. In only 30 seconds. Can you believe it? Finally, you are starting your new year off with actual targets that will make your 2006 the best year ever. How much better do you feel knowing you now have clear targets to go after? It kind of takes the anxiety out and allows you to get down to business. You know what you want, now let’s get you there with Steps 2 through 5. Remember, you have only 4 and ½ minutes left.

Step 2: Turn your Top 3 Goals into your Top 3 one year goals. If you can not complete your Top 3 Goals in one year, reduce them down to where you can complete them in one year. Make sure you don’t reduce them down to the point where they don’t inspire you, but just enough to make them one year goals.

Step 3: Choose 3 people to hold you accountable to your top 3 Goals, one person for each goal. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We jump from goal to goal never achieving any of them. Once you achieve one of your goals, the new ideas that you will start having will be 1000 times greater then the ideas you are having right now. Just know that these goals you just wrote down ARE the ones that are truly important to you, because you were not given enough time to think about choosing them. They were already there.

Step 4: Get out a blank piece of paper. Choose one of the persons that will be holding you accountable. Write Dear at the top of the paper. Followed by. I, promise to consistently make progress on for the entire year of 2006 until it is achieved. I will give you monthly updates on my progress. Sign your name on the bottom. Do the same thing with your other 2 goals.

Step 5: Give those papers to the respective persons and post your goals in a location where you can review them daily. Update your new accountability buddies on your progress and look out 2006.

Congratulations on completing this exercise. I hope it took you 5 minutes or less. It is actually better the quicker you do it. It prevents all the second guessing that naturally takes place. If you skipped over these exercises you will never understand their power. It’s like the difference between imagining you are standing at the edge of a cliff and actually standing at the edge of cliff.

Once you achieve any of your top 3 goals, you will be flooded by ideas that are 1000’s of times better than before you started on these goals. You can not imagine what you will have access to once you complete just one of these goals. Good luck on your best year ever!

Fracka Future, founder of Accountability Buddy, is dedicated to helping people achieve that which is most important to them. Accountability Buddy uses technology you already know to remind you, track your goals, and build a team of friends to help you achieve your goals. For a two-week free trial visit http://www.accountabilitybuddy.com/new_year.html.

I have been with this marketing business for a few months now, and before that I was reading motivational books and listening to tapes and talking to people and inhaling all this knowledge like oxygen. During this time I started a habit of setting goals for myself; goals like buying a house in 12 months time, being financially free in ten years time, I’m sure you all know the sort of goals I’m talking about.

In the back of my mind during all this time was the goal to let my Dad know how much I appreciated him. I had moved out many years beforehand, he hadn’t really wanted me to, and we were barely on speaking terms. I still went and visited him and my mum every now and then but not often becasue invariably we would end up in an argument abuot nothing. I know, however, that he cared about me and that his temper was thin partly because he was annoyed at all the drugs he had to take for his cardiomiopathy (and of course, the trips to the hospital as well).

He was always willing to help me out, when I went through a bad patch with my credit debt he loaned me the money to pay it out, saying that I shouldn’t have to stress about the interest. He always gave me good advice and he always made sure I knew that he cared about me.

I never got the chance to let him know how much I appreciated this as he passed away a few weeks ago.

What this has done is really driven into me the need to be really selective in what I am doing. To make sure that I am happy with what I am doing, and to make sure that I am making other people happy with what I am doing.

Most importantly, I am now going to make sure I let people know how much I appreciate their help and their support with whatever I do. In the long run I think it will serve me well, and I think it will for you too. Just remember, you may not always have the chance to do the things you keep putting off, especially when it comes to personal relations. Happiness is the name of the game, and it should be your top priority. Your happiness, and the happiness of those around you.

Copyright 2004 Panos Dionysopoulos

About The Author

Panos Dionysopoulos is an active member of the Network Marketing community and enjoys helping people reach their goals. His website can be found at: http://www.market-with-panos.com