Goal setting is a powerful tool, whether applied to one’s professional life, personal aspirations or health objectives. In fact, goal setting can make the critical difference between success and failure.

One obvious goal of many may be to simply stick to your diet and/or exericse program in the context of a busy, overscheduled daily routine, but effective goal setting goes far beyond this fairly elementary ambition.

While life may seem out of control at times and that you’re a passenger in life rather than the driver, remind yourselg that YOU hold the greatest power of all – that is the ability to design your own life. You can wake up every morning and decide to exercise, lift your own spirit through positive affirmations, and eat a nutritious breakfast, or you can choose other options that may be detrimental to your emotional and/or physical health. Ultimately, the decision is yours and yours alone.

Here are a few tips to make lifetime commitments through goal setting:

1. Don’t compare yourself with anyone except your self. This is not about winning or losing. This is about making your life better – whatever that means for YOU.

2. Focus on the present – How will you feel after your exercise session today? Will your ability to resist that danish fill you with a sense of accomplishment?

3. Imagine the results – literally. How you picture yourself is often a self fulfilling proficy. Day dream in detail about how you would like to look. Athletes picture themselves performing their event over and over again in ther minds until they finally perfect it. If you see your self as soft, sloppy, weak, tired, or stressed, this may very well become yoru reality for just thinking it. Picture yourself standing tall taking deep breaths, confidently striding forward as you approach life head on.

4. Take small steps – they DO count! It’s impossible to stop smoking, start drinking 64 oz of water, and exerising 5 days a week. Start slowly, one attainable goal at a time. Begin with taking a short walk and slowly work your way up.

5. Be patient – it make take weeks before you start noticing you have more energy, your clothes are fitting more loosely and you aren’t getting short of breath walking up a flight of steps. When you do recognize these signs of achievement, revel in the glory.

6. Put holes in your excuses. When you find your self coming up with an excuse not to exercise, go back to the reasons why you want to exericse in the first place. Put a stop to the negative self talk and obstacle formation. Grab that mental sledge hammer and break through!

7. Journal – If you do just one thing related to goal seetting, begin journaling. Tracking your progress can help you stay focused. Write down not only your goals, but what exercises you did, how you are feeling and what small changes you are noticing in your everyday life like, not being short of breath or lifting something with ease, or having less pain. Writing your goals in front of your journal would help you to review them daily.

Child health advocate, weight-loss industry veteran and former bodybuilding champion Merilee A. Kern is co-founder and CEO of Healthy Kids’ Catalog ® - an online resource offering Solutions That Foster Healthy ChildrenT. She is also author of the fictional children’s book, "It’s Not Your Fault That You’re Overweight - A Story of Enlightenment, Empowerment and Accomplishment for Overweight and Obese Kids". She can be reached through her Web sites at http://www.HealthyKidsCatalog.com and http://www.NotFault.com

In the fury of trying to accomplish our goals, we tend to lose site of our Vision. We get so caught up in "doing things" that we forget why we’re doing them. In the process, we lose hope, lose drive, and end up running in a circle trying to find our "reason" again. In our circular dance, we fill in the gaps with unnecessary activities, or "busy work", to make us feel as though we’re moving forward. Instead, we’re merely weighting ourselves down further to create a wall around our newly developed "comfort zone".

This cycle is actually more common than not as we all get caught up in the moment and forget about our ultimate objective, or Vision. We all require a target at which to aim so that we can determine which activities are necessary and which are "busy work". Keep an eye on the objective while working on the goals that will get you there, else, get lost in the shuffle and end up on the wrong path.

In some of my clients’ cases, we have to work backward to find their underlying Vision from the morass of activities in which they are involved. The approach allows us to determine why they’re so lost and why they’re working so hard. Ultimately, we’re able to extract their Vision from their activities. We then adjust their Vision to suite their desires and strip off the excess activities that serve little purpose in moving them forward. By the time we’ve evaluated their situation, they find that the stresses in their lives fall away, along with the unnecessary tasks that have kept them so isolated and busy.

In the hectic activities of your daily life, step back for a moment and figure out where these activities are leading you. Set a Vision and focus your activities to reach it without expending unnecessary tangential efforts. In this way, not only will your stress be reduced, but you’ll feel more motivated, prouder, and more focused knowing that your actions are building toward your desires.

About The Author

Edward B. Toupin is an author, publisher, life-strategy coach, counselor, Reiki Master, technical writer, and PhD Candidate living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things, he authors books, articles, and screenplays on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. Check out some of his recent print and electronic books as well as his articles covering various life-changing topics! For more information, and to find out about his upcoming title on book publishing, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his site at http://www.toupin.com!

Copyright (c) 2004 Edward B. Toupin

etoupin@toupin.com

There was a time when five-year plans were all the rage. But that was when workers can still count on signing up with a company for life. In the warp-speed world of technology, five years is an eternity. So how is one supposed to map out one`s career when the business landscape is always changing?

Firstly, a plan is useless but planning is still essential. Instead of a five-year plan, try formulating a five-year vision. In that way, workers can chart a course they would like to follow. For example, today I am on the team; in two years, I would like to be managing it; in three years, I would like to be relocated to build a new team in a new market; and in five years, I would like to be coordinating a group of international teams. Just keep in mind that the course will almost certainly change.

Secondly, workers should not confine their career projections within the framework of their current companies as they did previously. Instead, they should understand that while it is beneficial to set a goal of being a supervisor in five years, you might need to move to another company in another country to achieve it. Construct a portfolio of your achievements and market yourself by including your personal goals along with your career goals. It is important to include financial planning, as one cannot rely on employers` plans to manage one`s money.

Thirdly, workers should identify employment-related characteristics regardless of other factors. The key to planning is for workers to upgrade their own skills and stay relevant in the job market. This applies strongly to the engineering profession. For the first four to five years, the engineer`s plan will be broken into two major periods. The first two years will be learning key technical training and after that the engineer will be placed in the field for a couple of years. The engineer should take advantage of all opportunities to try out different aspects of engineering during these five years. After this incubation period, the engineer would need to be flexible and able to chart his own course, even into overseas countries with strong career growth opportunity.

Fourthly, workers should make their plans incremental and somewhat aggressive. This is very much the case in creative fields such as design and architecture. Creative people are expected to do rather than wait to be told what to do. But even the most creative businesses are businesses at heart. So, a career plan for a designer or decorator should include delving into the business side of projects.

In general, workers must first decide what specific path they wish to take, and then proceed down that road ambitiously, scooping up opportunities when they appear. Long-term plans can be used as guides, but they become folly if they are followed rigidly.

Set your goals. Map out a plan. Create a vision. Then six months later, be ready to rethink those goals.

Author Ken Yap is a director of Suwa Precision Engineering in Singapore and represents precision component manufacturers from Suwa, also called "The Oriental Switzerland" in Japan due to its Swiss resemblance for rich watch-making industry, its mountainous terrain and its precision component making industry.

Like the song by Linda Ronstadt, “a dream is a wish that your heart makes." To lose a dream is to die a little yourself. It means closing down the part of you that can soar above the reality of your current life to see new and exciting possibilities.

Whenever she walks down a street, a friend of mine notices details of architecture, shapes and colors. As a child she fantasized about being an interior designer, but her parents, Italian immigrants, discouraged her from pursuing what they felt was an insecure way to make a living. “I was crushed,” she says, “and the dream just died.”

Our dreams are fragile. It is important not to talk about them at an early stage to anyone whom we sense will not support them. Often others project their own fears and doubts onto us.

I have known since my teen years that I wanted to write fiction. No one in my family supported my dream, because anything in the arts was considered unreliable. Nevertheless for years I managed to write and sell short stories and work on novels while holding down a full-time job. As rejection slips started pouring in, it became more and more of a struggle to keep my dream alive.

By then I realized that I needed positive reinforcement from other writers and joined one writing group after another until I found the right team. Many experts in goal achievement stress the importance of getting support when pursuing a dream. “Isolation is a dream killer,” states Barbara Sher, career counselor and author of five popular books including Wishcraft and It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now.

Valerie Young, founder of Changing Course (website and newsletter) points out that assistance can come from a number of sources including colleagues, mentors and role models. Although friends can make a difference, she says, “you soar when you tap into the larger constellation of help that is available.”

Listed below are the steps I followed in keeping my dream alive. These can help you nurture your dream as well, especially when you are busy making a living and/or raising a family and do not have any resources set up to help you get started.

· Get support and encouragement

Find others in your field of interest. This could be through discussion groups on the Net, correspondence, or joining an organization. Workshops or seminars are also excellent ways to connect.

A wonderful thing happens once you connect with people doing what you love to do. You begin to see yourself as one of them.

· Find mentors

Speak to professionals who are already living your dream; see how they did it. I wrote to the best-selling novelist, Charlotte Vale Allen and received useful advice in revising my book as well as encouragement.

· Research

Read everything you can about your interest - and APPLY what you learn to your work-in-progress.

In my case I read many books and magazine articles on writing, covering topics from plotting and character development to marketing and used much of that information in my work.

· Fit a LITTLE into your life, as often as you can

Too many of us wait for the perfect time to do the things we are dreaming of. It is far better to feel the satisfaction of doing something now.

I went through a period where I was stretched between work demands (a reorganization at my company) and family needs. No longer able to find time to write fiction, I discovered tanka, a five-line lyric verse that conveys powerful emotion (example at the end of this column). This allowed me to fit creative writing into a very tight schedule.

· Use visual reminders

I pasted images in a scrapbook to remind me of my writing goals. I also gave myself a date when I would leave my office job to write full-time and put it on my fridge. Seeing these visual reminders on a daily basis motivated me to make things happen!

To develop a dream you also must make room in your life. This may require sacrifice – whether it’s a smaller income to buy time or fewer social engagements or outings with your family.

I believe that by paying attention to your longings, you are steered towards a more fulfilling life. Pursuing and achieving dreams is not for the select few. If you give your dreams the attention and support they need to flourish, you may be surprised at the results.

Copyright © 2003 by Thelma Mariano

About The Author

Thelma Mariano, life coach and author, is dedicated to bringing clarity and direction to people’s lives. See her on-line coaching programs, articles and column at http://www.u-unlimited.ca.

thelma@u-unlimited.ca

This moment is a funny thing to consider. When is it? It is right now and right now and now. It is every moment you breathe and every thought you embrace.

So many people take the precious moments of their life for granted. Do you find yourself thinking, “One day I’ll do that.” Or “Someday my business and life will be on the exact track I want it to be.”

I had that happen to me with golf. I wanted to play more, but it never seemed to happen. Then one day, I took a moment to schedule it in. Then I did it again. Pretty soon I was playing every week.

Knowing I had set this intention, my clients and friends started inviting me to play with them. I was actually being “forced” to play golf more. Opportunities opened because I understood what I wanted and took a small ACTION step in one moment.

The fact is you will only reach your greatest goals by taking steps toward them every day. If your days are filled with reactive thinking, worry and doubt, you will continuously get more of the same.

If there is something you want to change? Decide to take ACTION to change it, now, in this very moment.

Actions Speak Louder than ANYTHING Else

If you would like to make more money in business, focus on marketing to attract attention, your sales system to close more business and customer retention to maintain ongoing client relationships.

If you want more vacation time, just schedule it right now, this very moment. Not later, when you have more time. Realize that you will never have more time than you have right now, the moment an idea or inspiration strikes.

Whatever you want from your life in business, identify it and take one small step toward reaching it. Do it right now, while you’re thinking about it. The first step could be as simple as developing a plan or a schedule change.

To help keep you on focused on right now try repeating the phrase “I am living in the moment in every moment I live.”

Instead of worrying about a past that has already happened and a future that has yet to come, STOP! Focus on where you are in this very moment. What are the opportunities in front of you? What ACTION do you have to take to fulfill your greatest dreams?

In Simpleology 101, the backward target planner helps you see your end result with clarity and work backwards to this very moment.

By articulating a focused desire and an end result then seeing the path you’ll take to get there, you are better able to understand how to reach your goal.

Starting today, right now, this moment, admit what you REALLY want in your life. Write it down. Then focus on this very instant and create an ACTION step that will get you there. Tiny steps that focus on this very moment is the shortest path to reaching any dream, desire or goal.

The ACTION Step

1. Write down exactly what you REALLY want in your life.

2. Then write down where you are in this very moment.

3. Develop one step you can take right now that will move you closer to where you want to be.

4. Repeat step 3 tomorrow and everyday from now on.

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.

Last month’s edition of Footprints and Monuments was about living your life going Mach3 with your hair on fire. Learning from the past, but passionately waiting for tomorrow to get here. The featured person, Richie, recently came to a goal setting seminar that I was leading. Last month you learned that Richie was setting twenty-year goals even though six weeks prior he had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. It saddens me to have to write that Richie died just a few days ago.

Vowing to not let his life, and death, be in vain this month’s edition of F&M is about priorities. Possibly in a way you have never thought about priorities. I once heard a story (summarized here for the sake of time) about a teacher that held up a completely empty two-gallon jar in front of his class. He began to fill the jar with large rocks. When the jar was full to the top he asked his class if it was full. They all responded with a unified, "Yes!"

He then told them that they were mistaken and pulled out a bucket of much smaller rocks and began to pour them in to the jar. He again asked them if the jar was full. The students being a little bit wiser didn’t know how to answer. Some thought yes, others no, and some not sure.

He then pulled out a final bucket full of sand and began to pour it in to the jar. He poured, and then he shook the jar good, and then poured some more until the jar was full to the brim. Finally he asked his students if the jar was full. Most responded affirmatively, "Yes!" He then told them they were right.

The moral of this story is: large rocks must go in the jar first. The same is true of our priorities. Our "big rocks" must come first or they will never make onto our calendars, to-do lists, or prayer lists. The question is, "What should our big rocks be?"

With many rocks to choose from, it is my opinion that there are four that need to go into the jars of our lives first. They are, listed in order, our faith, family, faithfulness, and fun. I understand that there are many more rocks to choose from. For instance, friends, finances, future, and frustrations are important - but we must keep our priorities in line if we are going to end our lives looking back saying, "Well done."

Our faith needs to be our first big rock. It is God who saves us from eternal death, becomes our best friend during the lonely times of our lives, heals us when doctors give us no hope, and allows peace to rest over us when our lives become chaotic.

Our family must fall in line second, not our careers. There has never been a person on his or her deathbed that wished that he had spent more time working and building his career. Most, if not all, wish that they had spent more time cultivating their family relationships. This was the wish of my friend Richie, something that he tried to do after he was diagnosed with the brain tumor that eventually took his life.

The word faithfulness is not often used in our American culture. The definition of faithfulness here is: Being there (being faithful). Many parents make decision and choices that result in being too busy to "be there" when their child scores the winning touchdown or sings their first solo. Business people routinely make promises that they can’t possibly keep, and marriage vows are broken everyday in our country. God does call us to be faithful, faithful to Him and to others.

Fun is the last big rock in our jars. It is my opinion that many live their lives in a ho-hum routine; working, cooking, cleaning, sleeping, and doing it all over again the next day. I challenge you to spice up your life a bit by adding times to just have fun to your schedule. Do something that you don’t ordinarily get to do. For instance, after the family has retired for the evening, grab a good book and head for a hot, steamy bath (guys this works great for us too).

The little things (small rocks and sand) in our lives are important too. Our friendships make life much more rewarding. When you can help that new widow get from today to tomorrow without shedding a tear you know you have been a friend. Our finances are also important. God tells us in His Word to provide for our family and our future. He also tells us to be content with what we have. If we focus more on what God wants for our lives and not what we want then our future will turn out just right.

The last little rock or sand in our jar are our frustrations, these are the small things that seem to keep us from focusing on the more important things. There are times when we must "sweat the small stuff," but we must keep our priorities in perspective.

I hope that you will take a close look at your life’s jar and the rocks that go in first. And, like last month, I challenge you to live like you are going to die tomorrow, while at the same time like you are going to live forever.

Footprints and Monuments is a free monthly leadership and motivational e-newsletter. No names receiving this e-newsletter are sold or distributed to any other source. You are encouraged to forward this monthly article to anyone in your address book. To un-subscribe please reply back with "Un-subscribe" in the subject field.

About The Author

JL Earlywine - www.jeffearlywine.com

jeff@jeffearlywine.com

For you history buffs, New Years Resolutions pre-date the birth of Christ by about 2000 years. The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays, first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago.

So it’s especially meaningful in 2006 that somewhere around Baghdad, Iraq is where New Year celebrations began. There is no truth to the rumor that Dick Clark hosted the first one.

Their celebration lasted for eleven days. But it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities don’t even come close.

Most Americans watch it in their pajama’s on TV. Let’s flip the channel and see what our options are. There’s Time’s Square with Regis. Oh, then there’s Time’s Square with Ryan and Dick. And don’t forget Time’s Square with that other network. Thank God and the beer companies for college football bowl games or New Year’s would really be boring.

It’s that time again. So what is it about New Year’s Resolutions that makes people want to make a significant change in their life?

We secretly or not so secretly hope that 2006 will be better than the year we just went through.

Stop smoking, start training, lose some body fat, start eating healthier,.etc. According to a study conducted by GNC, 50% resolved to exercise more, 38% wanted to lose weight, and 55% promised to eat healthier.

From previous experience, there are very few of us who actually follow through with resolutions.

Only 20% of us actually have the perseverance and patience to stick to our new promises we make to ourselves. Most new years resolutions are the same every year, and, tend to fade away by February, if not sooner.

Here are a couple of lists of the most common resolutions people make, and continually break.

Top 10 Most Common New Year Resolutions

Or how about this one:

1) Spend more time with family and friends

Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. What about the other 50%? Don’t they care?

2) Take time for fitness

Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some diseases, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis.

In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

Sounds logical enough, yet most people will exercise for a few days to half a month, then quit. Logic alone just doesn’t do the trick for sustaining your motivation.

3) Lose the Flab

At least Fifty-five percent of adults in America are overweight and the alarming rate of child obesity is outrageous! Put down the chips and cheeto’s!

So it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. Ever notice the abundance of weight loss commercials in January. It’s their biggest time of the entire year for new sign-ups.

Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program. Yet why does all this goal setting fail year after year for most people?

4) Quit Smoking.

Even if you’ve tried to quit before and failed, that’s okay. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement products now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids.

On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.

Here’s a good reason to quit smoking. Add up what you are spending on your cig’s and you probably can make a car payment with the money you’ll be saving. But again, will power alone does not help you carry out this resolution.

5) Enjoy Life More

Given the hectic, stress lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that "enjoying life more" has become a popular goal. But what does that really mean?

Working less does not equate to enjoying life more. A lot of people dream of “retirement” until they retire. Then they’re bored stiff and end up getting a job somewhere just to ease the boredom.

Or they discover that they’re busier than ever after retirement, apparently catching up on all the running around they couldn’t get done when they were working. Nice try, but that resolution just doesn’t cut it either.

6) Quit Drinking

Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they learn to moderate their drinking. If you have decided that you want to stop drinking, there is help and support available.

7) Get Out of Debt

HELP! American’s are drowning in debt. Paying unending interest on credit cards is literally slavery. But how in the world do we get out of the trap, dig our way out of the huge hole we’ve sunk into with a wallet or purse full of credit cards. Especially since we just maxed out our limit on X Box 360 and other Christmas “must have’s.”

Maybe our real resolution should be to just say NO to more and more “stuff.”

Was money a big source of stress in your life last year? What’s the answer? Where do you begin? Read on.

8) Learn Something New

Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Excellent choice.

Maybe you’re considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to use your computer or selling on E-bay.

Whether you take a psychology course or read a book, you’ll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year’s resolutions to keep. Challenge your mind in the coming year.

Take the 30 Day Mental Fast to prepare your mind for this one. Get it free below.

9) Help Others

Many people have experienced a new surge of personal energy and excitement by spending a few days or weeks with the American Red Cross or Habitat For Humanity, for example.

Whether you choose to spend time delivering relief supplies, or building a house, these nonprofit volunteer organizations could really use your help, especially since Hurricane Katrina.

10) Get Organized

Whether you want your home straightened out enough that you can invite someone over, or your office organized enough that you can find the paper clips, begin small so it doesn’t interfere with resolution #5.

Resolutions do not involve luck to be effective.

Traditional New Year foods are thought to bring luck. The Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year’s Day will bring good fortune. Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts heartily agree.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by eating black-eyed peas. These are typically eaten with either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas have been considered good luck in many cultures.

So since New Years resolutions and luck don’t bring permanent success, what does? Your change must come from within. What you believe about who you are will determine your success or failure every time. When you change your mind, you can change your future.

About the author: David Henning is the President of the Freshstart Company, LLC and has over thirty years experience as a radio talk show host, radio and television copywriter, newspaper editor and public speaker. He has authored hundreds of articles about helping people get a fresh start in life. For more information go to http://davidhenning.com For a free CD that includes a copy of the 30 Day Mental Fast, go to http://afreshstartnow.info Copyright © 2005 David Henning and the Freshstart Co. LLC All right reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced without the express permission of the author. Reprints by permission only.

In one sense there are three parts of our lives. Past, present and future. How each of these is viewed has huge consequences.

The past:If one looks back at the past for anything other than experience, the past can paralyze today. Many times our memories of events, and results from those events will seem relevant to a situation we might be facing today when in reality today’s situation is totally different. If we treat the current event like the remembered event, we probably have not addressed it correctly. Each problem, challenge, and situation today requires a fresh new outlook and solution. To be sure, we can use look at past experience for suggestions, but today’s solution will always be different.

The future:The future is not real. One of the biggest blocks to living a full life is to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the future. Many people fear an unknown future which makes it impossible to live today. This is especially true for those in business for themselves. When one is beginning a business, with no revenue, no customers and startup costs depleting financial reserves, fear of the future can be overwhelming. In fact, this fear can easily incapacitate one to the point that nothing at all gets done due to the ‘what if’ scenarios developing from visions of a horrible failure sure to come.

What if - I fail?

What if - no customers show up?

What if - I run out of money?

What if?

The cure for fear of the future is to keep reminding one’s Self to live in the present moment as much as possible. To fully focus on what is happening right now is challenging. When bank accounts are shrinking, customers and clients are slow to arrive, and the gut reaction is to extrapolate the current conditions into the future, fear has an opening and will take full advantage!

In the time it takes to think through the process and create this fabricated future, fear steps into a life and plays havoc. The truly sad part is many will create that fabricated future because they already believe it. They will unconsciously make choices to bring that future to reality.

The present:The present is a daily, minute by minute gift to us from the Universe. The present needs to be appreciated, caressed and cared for.

It is possible to break this vicious cycle of fear based on unreal projections of things that might happen..

1. Understand the process. Be aware when it is happening to you.
2. Create the future you want in your mind. (Visualization)
3. Make a plan to achieve your future. What would you have to do in order to make it reality?
4. Work your plan.
5. Measure your progress and adapt your plan.
6. Have faith in your Self and the Universal laws that will come to your aid.
7. Stay in the present moment.

Being present is a learning process. Simply being is the first step in that process. To Be who you are comfortable being, and to Do what you love to do provides a very good foundation for the strength required to eliminate the fear of the future and to have faith in the present.

Your Coach and online friend,

Miami
Helping others find their path - and stay on it. www.creativemasterminds.com

Quotation of the Week·

Learn from the past, plan for the future, and live in the present.

Duane Alan Hahn

About The Author

Miami Phillips is an ANSIR Certified Personal Coach and the founder of Creative MasterMinds who believes personal growth is an essential ingredient to being happy and contributing to this world. While his main focus is affordable personal and business coaching, he also offers motivational teleclasses, ebooks, reading recommendations and much more. To find out more visit his site at http://www.creativemasterminds.com or send him an email at coach@creativemasterminds.com

The effectiveness of goal setting has been criticized recently but many still believe that goals create achievers. They give direction and focus to the frenetic who might otherwise waste their time in pointless activity. They help the over busy to focus on their priorities rather than the next urgent problem that arises.

On the other hand, goals can create energy amongst those who love to plan what they will do but never follow through. As they begin to visualize their goals vividly, the energy will start to flow in.

If you have energy but no goals, sit down long enough to write down some possible goals and the steps to achieve them.

Jim Rohn teaches that we should never begin a day until we have ‘finished it on paper’.

If you have goals but no energy take one first step towards your goal and you will start to feel energy. As you press on other people and even events will help you.

Get excited about a goal or, at least, pretend to be excited and energy will follow. One way to get excited is to vividly visualize the accomplishment of your goal and the benefits that will follow. See yourself achieving your goal now.

There are several helpful acronyms about goal setting. One I created is the acronym DAWNING. If you start to achieve your goals, you will see the dawning of a new day and a new year.

The words that create the DAWNING acronym are as follows:

Detailed - Make your goals detailed e.g. I will make an extra £1000 or $2000.

Achievable - If you don’t believe you can achieve your goals, you are unlikely to achieve them. If necessary, set an easier and smaller goal e.g. I will make £100. Enlarge it later.

Win Win - Make sure that your goal is not achieved at the expense of some one else. If you are selling something, make sure it has real value. Try to over deliver.

Now - State your goal in the present tense: "I now have £1000 or $2000 in my account." When you imagine a goal as if you have achieved it already, it becomes more compelling.

In The Future - Even though you are imagining that you have achieved your goal already, you still, strangely enough, have to set a date for its actual achievement. The subconscious mind pulls you toward a deadline. You could say: "I will have an extra £100 or $50 by the end of this month." Write down what you have to do each day to reach your deadline and take action to do it.

No Negatives - The subconscious mind ignores negatives and focuses on whatever the negative is about. If you say: ‘I do not want to have a debt of £1000′, your mind will latch on to the idea of debt and will bring you into debt.

Goal Achieved - Focus on the moment when your goal will have been achieved e.g. when you receive news on paper or online that the £1000 or $2000 is now in your account. Imagine how you feel and what you see as vividly as you can. If you have felt you were a loser in the past, change your self image and start seeing yourself as a winner.

There is only one way to find out whether goal setting is effective. Give it a try and see what happens.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and fifth degree black belt martial arts instructor. He has recently written several books about achieving your goals and dreams. They can be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a motivational message and books by other authors

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Ever notice when you start a new hobby or fall in love with a new shrub or flower you start to see it everywhere? This isn’t necessarily because everyone else has the same new hobby it’s because you have the flower or shrub or hobby at the top of your mind.

You are focused on it, thinking about how much you enjoy it and you end up noticing it when you never did before. It’s not merely a coincidence it’s your Reticular Activating System located at the junction of the base of the brain and the spinal cord that is responsible for stimulating this top of the mind response.

Every minute our body receives thousands of stimuli; sounds, smells, sensations, tastes, and changes in environment. All these stimuli are filtered through the Reticular Activating System and the most important ones are passed onto the largest portion of our brain, the cerebrum; the central portion, which is responsible for cognition and then, translated into thoughts and emotions.

Understanding how this system functions allows us to better filter the distractions in our world. You can focus on the work or play at hand and only process the things that are most important to you at the moment. It’s a great way to filter out all the distracting thoughts while you are fishing or gardening. Or to come up with the best ideas for the new brochure you’ve been working on.

Use the Reticular Activating System to help you reach your goals or solve a problem. Keep it on the top of your mind by thinking about it, writing about it, even doing affirmations. Talking about the things you want to achieve as if you already have achieved them.

Another good tool is to create and image book. Clip pictures that reflect the idea or desired outcome and keep adding to the book. Look it over every day and keep your goals foremost in your mind. You can use the same system to keep you from being overwhelmed. Don’t look at everything that needs to be done. Pick out three of the most important things and break each one down into two or three steps and work in a methodical fashion to complete each step. Then list the next three things that need to be taken care of and continue to focus on the most important things first.

Do some spring-cleaning of the clutter in your brain and make your year more productive. Write down the five most important goals you would like to achieve in the next 6- 9 months. Then list three or four steps under each that will let you reach each goal.

Put the paper some place clearly visible so you will look at it several times a day. By keeping it on top of your mind your Reticular Activating System will help increase your focus, creativity, and resolve to reach your goals this year.

About The Author

©BZ Riger-Hull. Author of The Soul of Success http://www.in-spiros.com For valuable free articles, mailto:A1@smartautoresponder.com Certified as a Success Coach, “Four Agreements” Facilitator, & Tele-Course leader We help you communicate powerfully, reduce stress, Strategically Attract success, & increase your financial well-being. Our coaching programs and Tele-Courses give you the Tools you need to Succeed.

bz@in-spiros.com