Ask anybody on January 2nd 2006 if they have New Years Resolutions or goals and nine out of ten will say, "Yes!" …Ask the same people about their resolutions three months later and they’ll look at you like a small goat discovering a new fence for the first time.

All good intentions aside, exhaustive studies have shown only 3% of the population engage in some form of goal-setting and only 1% on average, write them down.

Moreover, there is no small coincidence in the 1% that write goals down and the highest achieving, highest income-earning men and women around the world.

Setting goals is the genesis from which things great and not so great are accomplished. Read any book on achievement or watch the Biography Channel and see the quintessential message is clear: Goals = Success!

If it’s that simple though, why then are most people so unsuccessful in the fundamentals of Real goal setting?

One legitimate answer may be, our generation is busier than any generation in the past. Life today is not static and our preoccupation with just trying to ‘get by’ runs juxtaposed to the activities needed for maintaining concentrated goal achievement. Fair enough.

On the other hand, these same studies, mentioned above, are just as clear on the real reason most people - the ones who bother to set goals - will never achieve them. They fail to write them down relying rather they be left to our memories to manage.

The Fact is: Your goals are future landmarks on paths created by You.

Goal experts, however, will be quick to point out, "Unwritten goals are nothing more than Wishes"… and we know the world is full of people with plenty of wishes. Go to any lottery office or anywhere they sell things like DotCom Stock. In one place, they wish they’d bought more, in the other they wish they hadn’t bought any at all!

Real goal-achievement has so nothing to do with merely thinking of what we’d like to accomplish and everything to do with Not Forgetting.

As the young man once said, "My memory is the thing I use to forget with". If we buy-off on the precept, we are now the busiest, most preoccupied generation, it’s no stretch then to believe the experts when they say, "Goals left only to memory are destined to fade like so many wishes".

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Before we look for the remedy to the goal-achievement challenge, it is important we understand the fundamental psychology of goal setting. That is to say, how it works.

Psychological studies on the highest achieving men and women demonstrate, people with clear, specific goals, immediately and by default, become psychologically Goal Oriented individuals. [No mystery there].

Since goals take place in the future, those with goals also by default become psychologically, motivationally, Future Oriented individuals.

Finally, since we can agree, we go to the trouble of having goals because we want to achieve them, another automatic psychological outcome is, we immutably become psychologically, motivationally, human-behaviorally and actively, Success Oriented individuals.

[To put that into perspective, we can all think of people we know who are naturally, ‘Failure Oriented’ individuals].

These hallmarks are known as the Three Unique Psychological Success Orientations - the stuff that governs everything we do in the present, the moment, the now, as we go about our lives putting people, places and things together to affect positive outcomes in the future, as it relates to our goals.

That is, however, if we don’t forget them!

The good news is, the simple act of reviewing our goals and activities on a daily basis, serves, in and of itself, to ensure we don’t forget them - thereby keeping them fresh, clear, specific and at the front of our mind.

As mentioned and psychological studies show, unforgotten goals quite naturally engender Unique Psychological Success Orientations that by default, impact in a positive way, our thoughts and activities as we go through our lives focused undauntedly in the moment on things we wish to accomplish.

The Bottom Line:

Those without goals, more often than not, find themselves directionless relying mostly on things like luck. Goal-Setting is only the first step. Constant Goal-Review is the activity that ensures Goal-Achievement and Success!

Paul Shearstone, international Keynote Speaker, Author and Chronic Fatigue Survivor, is one of North America’s experts on Stress-Reduction and Peak Performance. From his in-depth research and real-life experience, Paul developed a new and unique strategy he calls, The Resilience Formula based on his 3Rs [Recognize, Respond and Resolve]. This formula and the strategic tools Paul shares are the stuff that made him four-time National #1 Salesman in a Fortune 500 Company… the stuff integral to re-galvanizing employees by teaching them how to reduce Stress and increase Peak Performance.

Paul Shearstone’s Resilience Formula improves Performance, Profitability, and Saves companies Money …Guaranteed!

To comment on this article or to book Paul Shearstone for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul directly @ 416-728-5556 or
1-866-855-4590
paul@success150.com

http://www.success150.com or http://www.paulshearstone.com

Most marathons provide more than their fair share of heroes and heroines who provide great examples. The London Marathon in April 2005 provided one or two especially heroic examples. The competitors have much to teach about achieving goals.

On Sunday 17th April 2005, Paula Radcliffe was running in the London Marathon and had to stop for a call of nature. Instead of running off the course and possibly losing the race, she decided to answer the call close to a drinks table at the side of the road.

She knew that this might well be filmed and broadcast to millions but was determined not to stop for longer than necessary. I am more impressed by her answering the call of nature in public than by the fact that she won the marathon. Her priority was to win and not to save herself embarrassment. Her sheer guts and determination have never been more obvious.

Some really ignorant person wrote in to complain that Paula’s behaviour was disgusting. She clearly had no idea what running a marathon can do to your body. The organiser offered the critic a place in next year’s marathon to provide a chance to find out!

Paula stopped 5 miles from the end of the race and squatted on the ground. She had endured stomach cramps for several miles before that and was losing 10 seconds every time her stomach cramped up.

Later, after she had won the Flora London Marathon in 2hrs 17 min 42 sec, a world record for a women-only race, she apologized for having to relieve herself in the street. She was embarrassed but was also smiling because she had achieved her goal of winning the race.

She commented: "I’ve got to apologize to the nation for having to stop but I was losing 10 seconds every time my stomach cramped up. I didn’t know how far I was ahead but I felt I just had to stop."

In fact, Paula had more than a two-minute lead over Constantina Dita, of Romania. Paula had joked about finding one of the 950 Portaloos. "That would have been OK but I would probably have had to fight my way through the crowd and then sign a couple of autographs on the way out." That could have taken at least two minutes and stopped her achieving her goal.

"I was annoyed because I was feeling good and looking forward to running faster in the second half of the race," she said. "But my stomach got so bad I thought, why not stop, and then I would be able to concentrate on running properly again."

In 1985, another top runner had felt compelled to take a toilet stop in London. Steve Jones relieved himself behind a sentry box at the Tower of London before going on to beat Charlie Spedding in the 1985 race.

However, he at least had some decent cover available and so I would not rate him in the same class as Paula!

Paula’s mind was focused firmly on the goal of winning:

"The main thing was to win the race - when you are in a race all you think about is getting to the line first and that’s what I had to do. Everyone is paranoid about it. You try to eat as plain food as possible but you can’t get much plainer than plain pasta. It’s the first time it has happened to me in a race."

The organizer tried to shed light on the loo situation: "We had every single Portaloo in the country around the start, finish and along the way. The route is lined with houses and pubs so for the average person it’s not going to be a problem but there is no way that’s an answer for someone running at the speed of Paula."

Paula’s call of nature has provided the world with an inspiring example of the kind of determination that might be necessary to achieve a big goal.

Clare Forbes, 10 years younger than Paula at the age of 21, provided another example of ferocious determination. She took 19 hrs and 10 mins together with a 3 hour break to cross the finishing line.

She was moving on artificial legs. 4 years ago she had suffered from meningitis. It was uncertain whether she would ever walk again. She entered the marathon on behalf of the Meningitis Trust to raise money to help sufferers. She must also have inspired many other people with artificial limbs to realize what can be achieved with courage and determination.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can both be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a daily motivational message.

The title of the first book is "36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now! - Acronyms, Stories, And Pictures…Easy To Remember And Use Everyday To Grab Your Life And Soar With The Eagles"

The book can be found at this URL

http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

The book uses acronyms, stories and pictures to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life if you apply them.

Ezine editors / Site owners. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include my resource box as listed above.

What will you do when February rolls around and you’re sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions?

Yes, that’s right you’re loosing that weight.

You’re paying off those credit cards.

You’re getting angry less often with your spouse.

Sound incredulous!

One of the reasons we groan at the mere thought of New Year’s Resolutions or setting personal and business goals is bad experience. Until just now hadn’t you all but given up on setting some viable goals for this coming year?

Why are we so lousy at sticking to our goals?

Well, when it comes to setting goals most of us fail to be SMART*!

But not this year! This year is different.

Because being SMART will change all that…and that’s a promise!

SMART goals do get results ~ even for the most ardent "unbeliever".

This "secret" to outlining goals that truly leads to action and accomplishment may not be new but it works every time if we follow five simple principles.

Goals that get results must be…

SPECIFIC

Motivating goals are clearly defined so that we know exactly what we are doing and where we are headed.

For example: A set of missionaries sets a goal to… ‘Solicit 1 prepared referral from each church member visited.’

Although this sounds specific, if the missionaries take it one step further and define "prepared" they will be significantly more successful.

MEASURABLE

Knowing whether or not we are making progress is key to sticking to our goal. This requires that qualitative goals are somehow quantified by using percentages or numbers.

For example: A couple commits to communicate more effectively… ‘Three out four Sundays a month we will have Companion Inventory [structured process used to discuss pertinent relationship issues].’

This couple is doing more than hoping they’ll communicate better they are taking measurable action to assure they do.

ATTAINABLE

Assessing where we are, is critical to determining where we can go. Sure we must set lofty goals that make us stretch, but if a goal is unrealistic we will abandon it in frustration somewhere along the way.

RELEVANT

Making sure that our goal leads us toward an overall, long term objective keeps us on track. Effective goals are in harmony with our Vision & Values.

For example: Business partners who both want quality family time… ‘Joint weekly production goal of $xxx must be met in 5 working days.’

A goal outlined in such a manner focuses on generating revenue without loosing sight of why it is needed in the first place.

TIME BOUND

Setting a dead line for completion with detailed, practical steps leading from here to there, and regular check points to evaluate progress goes a long way to eliminate, "I’ll do it tomorrow".

So there you have it, five straightforward principles.

To get started, jot down your general goal and work it with the SMART system. Yes, it will take a little more time. You may also want to set fewer goals. It is far better to have one or two highly effective goals than to have 10 you’ll give up on.

This New Year as you set goals, be they personal or business, make them SMART goals.

God bless you and may 2006 bring you joy and great rewards and be the foundation for great things to come.

*for more information about SMART and other great stuff check out ‘Leadership for Saints’ by Rodger Dean Duncan & Ed J. Pinegar available at Amazon.com

Margrit Harris, Your Relationship Expert, provides Helpful Answers to Tough Relationship Questions for life and business. Business clients include Wachovia Securities, Morgan Stanley and a variety of small business executives. While life clients range from college students to seasoned professionals. Author of StrataTips, practical weekly free Relationship Advice, and the popular goal setting ebook VisionRoadMap. Visit StrataTeam’s estore today.

"One stroke at a time." In an interview, Tiger Woods shared this simple formula for success. He further revealed that his habit to focus on the task at hand and not the previous stroke nor the next stroke keeps him self-disciplined. Tiger’s recent 4th win of the Masters and being the first golfer to achieve this accomplishment before the age of 30 reaffirms his personal success formula.

The Tiger Woods “One stroke at a time” is a brilliant example of short-term goal setting and more importantly goal accomplishment. Each stroke is a short-term goal. The obstacles are viewed from hazards to weather conditions. Solutions appear to be instantaneously created with action steps quickly following. With the completion of each short-term goal, Tiger Woods is that much closer to completing the long-term goal of completing and hopefully winning the game. Each completed game then reverts to a short term goal allowing him to work towards his long term goal or dream of being the very best in the game of golf ~ past, present and future.

Goal setting is a behavior that when used consistently and correctly guarantees success 98% of the time. The problem is that many individuals look to long term goals and do not include supporting short-term goals. Short-terms goals, “one stroke at a time,” are the foundation for the successful completion of long-term goals.

Tiger Woods’ positive attitude about the past and the future also greatly contribute to his ability to achieve his goals. Attitudes are really habits of thought. Tiger’s habit of thought by focusing on the present allows him to stay self-disciplined and self-directed thereby accomplishing both short and long-term goals.

With over 20 years of practice, Tiger has mastered the physical skill of golf and has developed extensive knowledge about this sport through years of application. His skill level supports his positive attitudes and goal setting behavior. Finally, Tiger Woods also revealed that even though becoming the best golfer the world has ever seen is his long-term goal, he realizes that his life must have balance. We can see and hear of this balance when Tiger talks about family and friends.

Everyone from business leaders to individuals can take a lesson from this young man on how to begin to accomplish your goals both personally and professionally ~

- Develop and maintain positive attitudes

- Become an expert

- Stay balanced and remember ~

“One stroke at a time”

Leanne Hoagland-Smith is President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS, The Process Specialist, located outside of Chicago, IL. With over 25 years of business and education experience, she partners with her clients to connect the 3P’s of Passion, Purpose and Performance to affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth and innovation with a variety of industries ranging from education to manufacturing. Leanne believes that training and development are investments that should deliver a positive return. Her solutions are ROI based and align the strategies, systems and people to develop loyal internal customers that drive loyal external customers. She is the co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential:Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for June 2005 release. Leanne also speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. If you are tired of doing the same thing over and over again hoping for different results, contact Leanne at info@processspecialist.com or 219.759.5601

Copyright(C)2005 Leanne Hoagland-Smith,M.S. http://www.processspecialist.com

2006 is a year of big opportunity and advancement if you are willing to work hard and push matters to a conclusion. This is a year of action, therefore good judgment, efficiency in business and confidence is essential. Avoid letting your emotions or sentiment gain an upper hand in your dealings, but face facts. You may have to let go of some things, but this may be good in the long run. It’s also considered a harvest year. Seeds you planted eight years ago in 1998 that you have nurtured can come to fruition.

A new year always gives us that new surge of energy that makes us say "I’m going to make it happen this year!" More often than not, by March you’re feeling behind schedule and it snowballs from there. The way to avoid the snowfall is to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a big plan, but if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Map out what you want to do for the year. Then break it down into three, six, nine or twelve month intervals. If you want to buy a house in September, what do you need to have accomplished by March? If you want a new job by March, what do you have to have accomplished by the end of January? Get the picture? The key is to work backwards.

For many 2005 was a great year. You became clearer on what you wanted and the foundation was laid for success. You took risks and achieved your goals. For many, new careers were formed. For those of you who took that leap you were pleasantly surprised. Things had a way of working out, bigger and better than you expected. Many of you laid the groundwork for things you wanted to manifest in 2006. Then, there were those of you who only thought about what you wanted to do, or came to the realization that what you were doing wasn’t working. Lastly, some of you had an important door closed in your face. All this is good believe it or not, because it made you look at your life. You possibly made overdue changes and planned bigger and better dreams.

This year offers more than just promise or hope. This is the year you can become the person you were born to be. Be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and claim the magnificent Being that you are. If you’re not sure where to start ask yourself the following question:

What is the highest good that my life is here to represent?

You can do this during meditation, while working out at the gym, driving, or before you go to bed at night. Asking this question opens you up to hear you Soul’s desire for your life. What will come is more than a job, or a career, but a mission to infuse into any and every thing that you do. It gives your life purpose and direction. Even if you’re already in a career that seems satisfying, there is another level to take it to. A deeper level. A level that will make what you do more significant and fulfilling things for others and the planet overall. It’s what you came to the planet to GIVE. We all have something to give. It may be as big as a cure for a disease, or as small as a smile to everyone you meet.

Make this a year that you go after your dreams, but make sure that your dreams contribute to your personal growth and the growth of others.

Doreene Hamilton is a Spiritual Muse! A Spiritual Muse is one who is able to inspire and motivate an individual using spiritual gifts. Those gifts include Intuition, Clairvoyance, Healing, Business Savvy, and Good Ole Common Sense. Doreene Hamilton is fortunate to be blessed with an abundant supply of each.

With the spiritual foundation of an ordained Minister and a Business degree from Howard University and Doreene can spiritually and professionally guide you to create a marketing plan to promote your business, or change your life. She counsels, coaches, and lectures people on how to create a life worth living.

Her book “Spiritually Speaking, Get Over It!” captures the true essence of her work in an easy to use exercise format. In her book she goes through the seven necessary steps to empower yourself to “Get focused, Overcome your limitations and be It - the person you were born to be!

To inspire, motivate and empower are the trademarks of a Muse. Doreene Hamilton brings all those gifts to the table and more in her own A- Muse - ing way!

I would venture to believe that most people have the qualities to make them a success. Then why are not more of them successful? One observation is; by not following through on actions that they started with. They have victory in sight and then do you want to know what they do?

Settle For Mediocrity!

Have you ever known someone who was full of immediate action with no ultimate purpose? Their body is moving, their hands are busy, but their destination is unclear! Even when their actions apparently seem right, they show they’re not fully aware of where they’re going.

Since they’re not really sure of where they’re going, they settle for something less than what they started after. Here’s an example: You decide you need to get some area of your life under control. Maybe you decide you need to stop worrying. And, that’s a good thing. That’s a very worthy goal to pursue.

So, you begin to read good motivational books, you listen to good motivational tapes and you’re busy as you can be to get this worry bug under your foot. But, all the time you’re doing this, there is a nagging thought in your head that says; "what if it doesn’t work this time?"

A Rotten Apple Will Spoil The Barrel!

In affect, what you’re doing is; tearing down worry on one side and building up fear on the other. If someone says to you, how are you coming along with eliminating worry? You say, "Yes, it’s going great!" And then you say, but, you know I heard they are going to be laying off a lot of people at the plant and I’m afraid I may lose my job.

What have you done? You showed "worry" the door, and invited fear in to play footsy with you. And, believe it; fear will cause just as much havoc as worry. They both come from the bottomless pit, and have no business in our thoughts.

Listen, even if they are going to lay off a bunch of people at your plant, you can’t do a thing about it by fearing it or worrying about it. If it happens, deal with it then; NOT NOW!!

And, don’t tell yourself you can’t stop worrying because it is too serious of a matter and could devastate your livelihood. !

For Crying Out Loud!

If you believe that then you’re saying that nothing bad has ever happened to you without you first giving it a real good dose of worry before it happened.

I tell you right now; many lousy troubles have happened to me, right out of the blue, and I never spent ten seconds worrying about them beforehand. I didn’t even know about them. The point is: if troubles are going to happen anyway, we need to know how to deal with them. And, worry and fear is not the way to do it.

Every Dog Has Its Day!

You have never fixed anything in your life by worrying about it. If it got better, it’s not because you worried about it; it’s more than likely because you didn’t settle for mediocrity and insisted on full victory. And, sometimes good things just happen. Hallelujah!

Now you can understand why some people’s actions seem directionless at times. They put all their efforts towards eliminating one obstacle while setting up another. They’re like the proverbial "unstoppable object hitting the immovable object." And, then on the way to success, they stop somewhere short and settle for whatever is there at the time.

Most of the time, you can be relatively sure, it was some emotion that stopped them short. It was an emotion that started them and it will be an emotion that stops them. Emotions are a funny thing: They can fuel us with enough fire to leap tall buildings, and at the same time, make us feel like it won’t happen until pigs fly.

A Fine Kettle Of Fish!

What a revolting development. What do we believe? What do we do? No wonder some people seem directionless in their pursuit of their goals. No wonder some people just settle for mediocrity in mid stream just to satisfy those conflicting emotions and shut them up. And, it’s a pretty good way to boast success since we didn’t follow through to see what would ultimately happen.

I’m thinking of too many times in my life as a young man that I stopped in mid stream to take what ever was there and stop the feelings that kept saying; "if you keep going you might not get it; better take what you got now." You know that ole saying, "a bird in the hand?"

I didn’t want to hear that bird in the hand crap. My head said that to me so many times I was beginning to feel as lucky as the only man in a women’s prison with a fist full of pardons. Talk about directionless; and settling for mediocrity.

Ah! That’s Where The Rub Is!

The problem is: someone can get into a habit of "settling", and then that’s the real source of the directionless and out of control life. As long as we live in this world, we will have opportunities to "settle" for something of mediocrity.

The more we "settle" the more of a habit it becomes and the more we sub-consciously start expecting a "settling point." We don’t think about it and we certainly don’t start out with the intention of finding a place to settle. But, when it shows up, and the "bird in the hand" voices start their song and tap dance on our forehead, we say, I know when to hold em, and I know when to fold em, and its time to fold em.

The point is: it’s not a bad thing to fold em if you can walk away ahead in the game. But, if it becomes an ingrained habit then the folding point will start showing up earlier and earlier till you find yourself folding right after the start.

Get To The Bottom Of It!

How do you know when to fold? This is not rocket science. It’s pretty simple really. Ask yourself a couple of key questions. Can I walk away ahead? Has this thing given me something of value? And most important; has something else presented itself in my life that I can replace this with?

For me, if any one of these three questions are "no", then I’m not ready to fold em; especially the last one.

Would you like to know why we settle for something less? This is not really difficult to understand but it might be hard to accept. So pay attention, and at least give this some serious thought. Don’t let the simplicity of it get away from you. The reason is, we don’t know "how" to fix it.

If we knew how, we would keep going. If we knew what to do, there would be no need to settle. If we knew what was going to happen in every circumstance, we would not worry! We would never worry. Think about it. The lack of knowledge.

Richard Vegas ©

About The Author

Richard Vegas is a popular recording artist and internet marketing professional. He invites you to subscribe to his FREE weekly ezine "Wing-Tips" Teaching The Success System That Never Fails, at: http://www.1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com. You may also hear some of Richard’s free music at: http://www.richardvegas.com.

webmaster@1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com

What is it about New Year’s resolutions that for so many people almost predict failure just by declaring them? The answer lies in the vacuum in which so many of us “resolve” to do better next year. To eat better, to work harder, to get fitter, to generally be better.

The problem is, when making New Year resolutions, we’re essentially deciding to replace old habits with new, and changing habits is not as easy as simply deciding to do so. It takes approximately three weeks to develop a new habit, and that means three weeks of commitment to behaving in the way you now wish to. For some lucky people, once they decide to do something, they just forge ahead and do it, and their dedication pays off with new habits formed in a short space of time.

But for most of us, it’s extremely difficult not to fall back into our “old ways”, and so in order to ensure a higher degree of success we need to do more than decide to behave differently. We need to put a structure in place that will make it easier for us to stick to our new behaviour long enough for it to become habitual.

So how do we do this? Well first of all, get clear on what it is you want to achieve. To take a typical new year (and my real) example: “I want to lose weight and get fit.” Simple enough goal, with a simple enough strategy: eat more healthily and take some exercise. The difficulty though is that if healthy eating and regular exercise are not part of your existing habits then putting this strategy into action will be less simple and more of a struggle than you might expect.

So what kind of a “structure” do I need to put in place to make it less of a struggle? Well firstly, I need to make my goal as specific as possible, write it down and keep it in a place where I will see and read it regularly – I need to visualise a specific outcome. In the given example, losing weight could mean anything from two pounds to eight stone and anywhere in between. If I leave the goal unspecific, it will be easier for me to let myself off the hook at the first obstacle. If however, I have a particular target in mind, I’m more likely to get back in the saddle should I go astray occasionally. In my case, I want to lose half a stone, reduce my cholesterol by two points and be fit enough to easily deal with my weekly canoe polo training sessions.

So now I’m clear on exactly what it is I want to achieve, the next thing I need to do is break down my overall strategy into baby steps. What this does is makes it easier to get started straight away. “Sure I can start eating healthily and taking exercise today, but I’ve nothing healthy in the house, and it’s raining outside… I’ll start tomorrow.” Sound familiar? However, if we take this overall strategy and break it down, a funny thing happens: we feel more motivated! And motivation is the key to both getting started and keeping going.

So my baby steps will be: plan a three week menu of delicious and healthy meals; shop for the right supplies (store cupboard staples for this three week supply, enough fresh fruit and veg to last three to four days, and healthy, low fat (but also tasty) snacks; recruit an exercise buddy and schedule regular exercise sessions together; find a photo of me at the weight I want to be (or stick my face onto a picture of somebody else at the weight I want to be) and stick it to my fridge!

So, I can start today without venturing out into the wind and rain. Just by browsing through recipe books and websites to plan my three week menu, I can feel my motivation increasing, and this drives my desire to go shopping as soon as possible to stock up on the foods that will support me in achieving my goal. And as I get started, it’s easier to take the next step and ring a friend to make a commitment to go for a long walk together the next day, no matter what the weather. With each little step, I further cement my resolve, and as each day goes by the easier it becomes to maintain my new behaviour.

But to keep it up long-term, I’m going to need even more support. Why? Because life will bring with it little obstacles that will make it more difficult to stick to my plans. I’ll have occasional unplanned meals out, my exercise buddy will cancel every now and then, I’ll probably even have the odd pig-out day! Without additional supports in place, these little hiccups could result in my resolution being abandoned before I have solidified my new habits.

To put that in place, I need to try and identify what obstacles might arise which would increase the chances of me abandoning my new ways before they do become more habitual to me. And then, anticipating these obstacles before I actually encounter them, put in place supports to help me either avoid them completely, or recover from them quickly and get myself back on track.

I have already identified some potential obstacles, so what can I do to overcome them? Well, I could recruit two exercise buddies, not just one. I could also have a back-up plan, such as a yoga mat and video. I could allow myself a couple of days a month to misbehave food-wise without beating myself up about it psychologically, or going the “hung for a sheep as a lamb” route. I could join Weight Watchers (in fact, I already have). I could educate myself about food, good fats & bad, cholesterol reducing foods etc. And to keep my motivation up, I can remind myself daily of what my goal is, and what “baby steps” I need to take today to keep moving in the right direction.

These are all small and simple steps I can take, but added together equal a support programme which will significantly increase my chances of success. Instead of simply making myself a promise, I am committing to real and lasting change that will positively affect my life. And I expect to succeed! I hope you manage to keep your own new year’s resolutions this year.

Hilda Carroll is a life coach who specialises in helping people to be happy right now, and see achievement of their goals as a bonus rather than the source of their happiness. Visit her website at http://www.thehappinessbusiness.com

Fortune will flow into your hands like a river flow into the sea if only you can invest a high percent of your time on a high value activity with big pay off.

I mean you can attract great riches into your life when you harbitually focus all your heart and mind on that critical action that will lead you to attaining your much cherish goal.Let me tell you, you can achieve anything in life when you concentrate all your mental and physical energies to work on one particular task that gives you the maximum result.

It was the nineteeth century economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto who propounded the principle that given a large number of items, a high percentage of the value of the item is concentrated in relatively few of the items.This principle came about over time when Pareto discovered that eighty percent of the land in Italy then were owned by twenty percent of the population. When you applied this principle into your life your productivity will notch up by as much as fifity percent. And you can get this done when you identify your most important task and focus singlemendely to doing it. Then delegate, outsource or completely eliminate tasks that of low value.

Do you want to succedd in life? Success begins with a clear decision. Decide exactly what is it that you want. Then commit yourself zelously to its attainment with unswerving determination. Clarity is everthing. You must be absolutely clear about what you want. Then set a goal which must be clearly written down. A goal is a deliberate selected result towards which you choose to channel all your activity. A goal is like a harbour where the captain directs his ship. After you have set your goal then construct a step by step plan that will take you to that goal. You must develop a dogged resilience to follow through your plan regardless of obstacles.

If you decide exactly what you want in life, make a realistic plan and confidently pursue that plan I tell you, there is absolutely nothing you can not achieve as Paul J. Meyer observed; whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass.

About The Author

Motivational speaker,prolific writer, international award winning poet and author Matthew Oye wrote the popular column THINK TANK WITH MATTHEW OYE in the EVENING NEWS. MATTHEW has had a flourishing career in banking, journalism and diplomacy until he answered the call of God to full time ministry. He is noted author of 12 books, 3000 gospel songs and over 50 poems.Matthew has a heart for the poor and the homeless as he has picked up about 10 street children and put them in various schools in Accra, Ghana.

matthewoye@yahoo.ccom

Based on years of experience in the employment field, and augmented by the inexhaustible sources of information from numerous resources, I offer you a review of RETIREMENT PLANNING that you can consider and compare against whatever retirement efforts you may have already undertaken. In this review, we’ll identify the real advantages and details of sound retirement planning elements that many millions of employees and self-employed individuals rely on as a regular part of their workplace experience.

Those elements below will be in the form of questions and queries about your current status relating to the elements. Your answers will reveal how effecient, or not, your retirement planning has evolved. If your answers are lacking, then the questions themselves expose a map to implement a sound retirement strategy to fit your circumstances.

To start, lets consider PRIMARY ACTIONS one should consider for a secure retirement:

1. Create your individual retirement needs list.
2. Begin a step-by-step plan for reaching those retirement goals.
3. Assess your current assets.
4. Begin to build up savings.
5. Find good professional financial advisers
6. Learn about how to make the most of tax strategies

Let’s look closer at what the government has to say about it; from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union: “Now more than ever before, Americans are changing employers, indeed careers, several times during their lifetime. To adequately prepare for your future, it is important for you to establish, and manage, your own retirement plan. With the secure days of drawing from a hefty pension plan from one company gone, you may find that you must rely on several sources of income during retirement. These sources may include a company pension, Social Security, investment income, savings, part-time work, the sale of assets, and others. The sooner you begin planning for and contributing to your retirement, the better off you will be. Only you can determine whether your retirement will be spent counting pennies or living life to its fullest.”

Now, let’s consider some SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS that will affect your retirement: For instance, at what age will you retire? Or… how many years do you have for creating retirement savings? The answers to those two questions help to form much of your retirement strategy.

Next, put the results down on paper – actually create a retirement worksheet from which you can refer to as you make your way through the other elements you should consider. There are some free resources that you can access to help you create such a worksheet. For instance, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union web site offer a retirement worksheet. Go to Google search and input the keywork-phrase “Planning your retirement.” Resource Center: Planning for Your Retirement is typically the 7th or 8th link on the first page of search results. In that article, there is a link on the first page to the Retirement Planning Worksheet.

Some of the starting points to consider are: Your company’s Retirement Plan and what it offers. Often your 401K IRA (usually with company matched contributions) will give you the most for your money. Contribute what you can afford.

Other company choice often include Annuities and Mutual Funds. If you don’t have a company plan, or you’re maxed on your contributions, you would do well to consider Annuities and Mutual Funds. Annuities feature fixed annual return rate, and are considered by many the most secure investment. Many insurance companies sponsor annuities. Mutual funds feature higher returns, but they are more volatile, therefore more risky. Many investment professionals consider Mutual funds in the same risk category as stocks. A good strategy for minimizing the risk when investing in mutual funds, is to spread any investment across a number of different funds. Both annuities and mutual funds pose some risk to your initial capital investment. You should always bear in mind, that financial risk is inherent in any investment venture.

Another choice is to set up an Individual Retirement Account (IRAs). Traditional IRA accounts are well known. Traditional IRAs are considered Low risk. To begin with, they are federally insured. IRAs also carry significant tax advantages. Another choice is a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs are available to many who do not qualify for Traditional IRA because of participation in a company retirement program or because of income considerations. You may contribute to a Roth IRA until age 70.

As you continue to consider your personal Retirement Plan, remember to assess your financial state. There are a number of factors to be considered in making that assessment. For example, the amount of money you have in your savings; your net worth; what Real estate you may own; your stock portfolio, if you own any stocks; Bonds; Insurance policies; Valued possessions; your combined Income totals.

Don’t forget to establish your retirement goals. At what level do you want to live in retirement? Most folks require a 25-30 year budget for you total retirement dollars; but that doesn’t fit all needs. Be specific and rational.

Another important step is to determine how you will manage your assets. Investment asset management falls basically into three categories: budgeting and growth and savings.

Budgeting. Your retirement must be as much a priority as food and bills. Financial considerations and decisions must be viewed from the perspective of the potential impact on your retirement.

Growth. With retirement security as a major driving force, active management of assets becomes important. Consider finding a personal financial adviser you trust.

Building Up Your Savings. Savings are the best “hedge” against the future – there’s nothing like cold, hard cash. A savings plan is very helpful – For example, budgeting a certain amount from every paycheck to be deposited in your savings, and insuring that the deposits are made on a regular basis. Savings can also be a ready resource for further investing at any time.

Now let’s consider: Finding Professional Financial Help. There are thousands of financial firms that cater to individuals. You should research, reliable, well-known firms and interview their people to find one you trust.

And what about creating customized Tax Strategies? Each of the avenues we’ve discussed has tax advantages and/or liabilities. The laws are many, and can be confusing. Consider an independent class on retirement planning to educate yourself, so you don’t have to rely blindly on professionals who live on commissions for their advice.

Creating a Retirement Plan - Creating a Retirement Plan can be a daunting task. It can seriously impact the quality of your life in your golden years. Consider continuing education courses, to stay on top of strategies, trends and legislation that will impact your retirement investments. Such courses are offered through Community Colleges and online organizations (many offering Continuing Education Units).

By addressing the aspects of retirement planning and management reviewed herein, one can determine the value of their current retirement situation, or verify some alternative avenues for retirement that may fit a specific circumstance. Don’t neglect your retirement or put it off till later in your career. There are choices available for all levels of income. The information reviewed here could help to start you on a path towards a secure retirement.

Mark Baber has 20 years experience as an Executive Search recruiter, with placement background in many industries, including: Retail, Manufacturing, Sales, Accounting/Finance, MIS/IT, Petro/Chemical, and others; enjoying client relationships with firms like WalMart, OfficeDepot, Texaco, CircleK and other national and international firms. Mark has written many articles and books on recruitment and other topics, like Marketing strategies, Sales psychology, Training and other business related subjects. He studied at the University of Texas, focusing on Communications, Marketing, and Journalism. Later became Managing Editor for "Treatment Today Magazine," a publication focused on psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and drug treatment. Mark Baber is Recruit Consultant to http://www.JobNewsRadio.com where Jobseekers access 2 Million job transactions monthly, and can submit their Resumes Free and have them distributed freely to Employers they choose by industry, vocation, City or Region. Or submit your resume directly via: http://www.mcbaber.com

“Man is a goal-seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” –Aristotle

“Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal.” –Elbert Hubbard

Millions of words have been written about goal setting. Millions of people set goals. Yet, most goals set by most people remain unfulfilled. I have distilled (from experience and education) the eleven essentials of successful goal setting here for you. Follow these and you will accomplish your goals. Fail to follow these and you probably will not. No hype. No rah-rah encouragement. No fluff. Just the simple explanation of how and why to set and ACCOMPLISH goals.

Your goals must be:

1. Original

2. Inspirational

3. Harmonious

4. Realistic

5. Idealistic

6. Specific

7. Adaptable

8. Visualized

9. Affirmed

10. Time related

11. Written down

1. Goals must be original. That does not mean that they cannot be the same or similar to the goals that others may have; it means that they must be yours, not secondhand. Many people set goals according to the hopes and expectations that they have been programmed to have by parents, teachers, society or cultural norms.

As a consequence they do not own these goals. You cannot generally have or hold what is not yours or even if you do manage to keep it, it will not have any value or meaning to you. What’s the point then of having it? The real reason you set and hope to achieve goals is not just to have the thing, it is to be happy and fulfilled in the accomplishment.

Set goals that are yours; not inherited or assumed. If they are not your own original goals, even if you manage to accomplish them, it will mean very little to you. Why waste your life pursuing something that will end up as meaningless?

2. Goals must be inspirational. They must arouse your passion. This must be a consuming passion, not some whim or ‘someday I’d like to’ feeling. You must desire passionately to achieve what you set as a goal. It must drive you to action and you must feel fulfilled in that action because you know that it is leading to the fulfillment of your goal.

It is passion that drives you to move continuously toward your goal. It is passion that keeps you from getting distracted. It is passion that keeps you from getting discouraged. It is passion that fuels your motivation. It is passion that draws others to you to assist in your goals. It is passion that inspires you and others. It is passion that lights your way through the darkness that you will find along the way.

Get passionate about your goals or get passionate about someone else’s. Life without passion is not a life; it is merely an existence.

3. Goals must be harmonious. Obviously, you cannot have conflicting goals in life or you will be conflicted. That’s the easy part. Your goals, however, must also be in harmony with your core beliefs and your self-assigned purpose in life.

It is easy to understand that to having conflicting goals will raise your stress levels and frustrate you. Yet, people do that to themselves all the time.

It is not so easy to understand that you may have some deep set unconscious game plan for your life (whether from some basic spiritual urge or from some sense of undefined purpose) and the goals you set may actually be in conflict with that real, but hidden, game plan.

First, decide who you are and what you are here to do and then set your goals in alignment with that; or you, yourself, on a subconscious or super conscious level will continually be sabotaging your goals.

4. Goals must be realistic. There is not much point in setting a goal to personally live on Mars, if you are today (in 2003) over 95. The goals you set for yourself must be achievable within the framework of what is humanly possible.

But (and this is important) realistic does not mean what the majority commonly accepts as realistic. Most people did not think that it was realistic to attempt to fly a bicycle with wings and a motor attached, but two brothers named Wright did. Most people did not think it was realistic to build a personal computer for people to use in their home, but two guys named Steve did.

These 4 guys changed reality for all of us. Their goals were obviously, in retrospect, quite realistic. Don’t let your imagination be hemmed in by the crowd.

5. Goals must be idealistic. In two ways—they must involve your personal ideals in the five mentioned areas of your life and they must be progressively higher or further ahead than you are at now.

If your goals are not in tune with your ideals, you will be conflicted. Most people are, in some way, in conflict with the different aspects of self: Material and Financial ($$$ & Things); Physical and Environmental (Health of body, home and world); Emotional and Relationship (Happiness, Love, Social contact); Mental and Educational (Learning, Awareness, Self-knowledge); Spiritual and Ethical (Unity, Life purpose, Values, Sacredness). This is why they are unhappy and why they do not achieve their highest potential. Set your goals in harmony with your ideals.

If your goals are not idealistic (in the sense that they are progressive), you will get bored and unsatisfied. People (those who don’t understand) often wonder why those who are already extremely wealthy continue to pursue more wealth. It is because the ideal is always being extended or raised. Great achievers don’t rest on their laurels. Each goal achieved is merely a stepping-stone to more and greater achievement. It is not the end in itself.

6. Goals must be specific. Goals like “I want to be rich” are not worth the paper they are printed on. Rich must be defined. $1 million in the bank might mean rich to most people but it means poor to many others. It is the same for more ethereal goals. I want to be happy means nothing. Happy must be defined just as rich must be defined. I want to be spiritually fulfilled is the same…meaningless, unless defined.

What does rich mean to you? Exactly. What does happy mean to you? Don’t know exactly? Then how on earth will you ever even know if you get there? I have met a lot of people who say that they are on a spiritual path. I like to ask where that path is leading. Most can’t say anything specific. It is all very nebulous. If your destination is not defined, how in heaven’s name will you know if and when you get there?

7. Goals must be adaptable. One of my favorite jokes (which would offend some readers so I will not quote it here) involves a guy who had set a specific goal but when a gal came along to offer a much better fulfillment, he asked her to help him to accomplish his original one. Many people miss the better fulfillment of a goal because their focus on the one they had originally visualized is too intense and narrow to recognize the better one when it shows up.

Be sure that you are focused on the best possible fulfillment of your goal, not just on the method that you foresaw that goal fulfillment happening.

8. Goals must be visualized. If you cannot see it as real and as true and as a part of the way you live your life…it will not happen.

Many folks, when confronted with some seemingly outrageous possibility or goal, will comment, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it made real, not just some imaginary ideal.’ The dreamers, schemers and achievers of history all had a different approach…’I see it. I believe it. It is real if it exists in my imagination.’ Tiger Woods ‘sees’ his shots landing on the green a few feet from the cup before he takes the shot. The average golfer looks up (usually too soon) from his shot to see where it went. Guess whose shots end up where most often. Visualize the reality in your imagination and it will become real in your manifestation.

9. Goals must be affirmed. You must tell yourself all day, every day, in your constant conscious and subconscious self-talk that your goal is real and achievable. AND, you must tell others what your goal is so that they can ‘buy into it’ and contribute to it. If you don’t believe in it enough to make it a part of your daily conversation and are not passionate enough about it to be compelled to talk about it to yourself and others, it is NOT real for you and it will NOT become real.

You will be surrounded by naysayers. Someone must speak the truth of the reality of your goal. That is your 24/7 job. Constantly affirm where you are headed and why. You’ll end up not only convincing yourself but the world as well.

10. Goals must be time related. Everything exists in space and time. If something is not defined precisely in space and time, it does not exist. A goal of someday, I’d like to be financially secure, or someday, I’d like to climb that mountain does not, and it is highly likely that it WILL NOT ever, exist as anything other than nebulous wishful thinking. You must set specific times for your goals to be made manifest OR you will be forever going towards you goals and never quite reaching them.

Almost everyone in developed countries sets the goal of retirement in financial security, but the overwhelming do NOT achieve that. Why? One of the reasons is that it is always a ‘someday’ goal not a ‘by June 21st 2004’ goal. Of course, it is also likely that these people are also not applying the other 10 rules of effective goal setting.

11. Goals must be written down. If it exists only in your head, it is only wishful thinking. This is the basic, proven by experience, truth of the matter…95% of people who have specific written goals, accomplish them; and 95% of people who have unwritten goals (specific or not) do not. If you can read that sentence and not begin immediately to write down your goals, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that you will not accomplish what you imagine you want to be, do and have in life.

Yes, there are those few high achievers who manage to set clear distinct goals without writing them down and also manage to stay focused on them for their entire lives. Don’t kid yourself…you are not one of those people. I’ll prove it to you. Tell me (or anyone) right now exactly, specifically and in full detail what goals you held 1,000 days ago.

Write them down. Period. Now.

This article was excerpted from the book, Destiny. To obtain your copy, visit http://LeslieFieger.com/success-store.htm

© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra’s DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.

Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.