Do you know what most young people and adults share in common? From my experience as an educational consultant and executive coach, the answer is the inability to plan and achieve their goals.

Please take a few moments to think back to your middle school, high school or college years. Can you remember how much time you spent in learning how to plan, write and implement your goals? Goal planning and goal writing are skills that in many cases are learned through what I call the “Osmosis Factor.” Within this strategy, a presumption exists that if I hear or read the words, in this case goal planning or goal setting, I will immediately be able to set and achieve my goals. Unfortunately, consistent goal achievement is comprised of five factors and these factors by and large are not taught within the K-12 experience or even corporate training.

Factor #1 – Whole Life Approach

Take the “See Level” approach and not the “Sea Level” approach where you can’t see the forest for the trees. Look at your whole life and not just one area. Think of your life as a wheel divided into important areas including: mental, physical, family, career, financial and ethics and beliefs. Assess yourself in each area and then set goals to smooth out your wheel. Both my personal and professional wheels have 6 key areas.

Factor #2 - Criteria

Write goals using specific criteria. I use an adaptation of the traditional S.M.A.R.T. criteria - W.H.Y. S.M.A.R.T. (Written, Habit Forming, Yours, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistically Set High, Time Driven)

Factor #3 - Tools

Utilize a proven goal setting tool that helps you work through the goal planning process. The tool that I use has 10 steps and recognizes the importance of reward, consequences, possible obstacles, possible solutions and affirmations.

Factor #4 – Affirmations

Construct positive affirmations or belief statements that will help you visualize the success that you desire for yourself. With all the negative energy and self-talk in the world, it is essential that you consistently reprogram your mental thoughts to overcome all the negative conditioning.

Factor #5 – Action Plan Implement a written or electronic (software) Action Plan where you can keep all your goals and review them on a regular basis.

The coming New Year can be one of great incredible accomplishments and with less stress provided that you believe that YOUR life is what YOU make of it.

Leanne helps individuals, small businesses and large organizations to double performance in real time. Click here to learn how to double or even triple your results for tne New Year. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don’t believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results.

One quick question, if you could double your results from 2005 in 2006 or possibly breakthrough that one roadbloack preventing YOUR success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.

Don’t you just love the leaves changing colors in the fall? Here in the Midwest we are almost at the peak of leaf peeping season. The trees are showing their true colors – glorious yellows, reds, and oranges.

While they appear green during the spring and summer, those vibrant fall colors are always present, just not seen by us. As the bright green chlorophyll fades away for the winter, the autumn colored leaves are exposed, providing a beautiful gift to the landscape.

People have hidden gifts, too. What skill or talent do you have that you aren’t using every day? Make a list of these skills for your own reference.

Here’s a sample from my list:

Now, what is something you can do this week that uses one of your dormant talents? Is there a child or friend you can teach your skill? Doing one of these activities for yourself or others will energize you beyond belief.

The trees are showing their true colors right now. As you admire the trees’ splendid display, challenge yourself to share your true colors.

About The Author

Written by Megan Corwin, Personal Coach. Subscribe to a monthly motivational newsletter at http://www.megancorwin.com/newsletter.html.

I don’t know about you but for me it seems that as I get older the years seem to go by faster. You know that cliché “time flies when you’re having fun”. Well I don’t know if that’s what happening but here it is again, another year gone by.

The end of the year brings about a lot of introspection about what you have accomplished or not accomplished for the year. As I reflect on the year, I feel a mixture of feelings. Some things I’m not too happy about while other things I feel pretty good about. All in all I know that I am blessed especially when I thing about the loved ones and others that were lost to death during the year.

This year has brought about heartbreaking devastation from the hurricanes, a tsunami, brush fires, earthquakes, mudslides, floods, tornadoes, and loss of jobs that have affected people not only living in other countries but people living right here in the United States. As I reflect, it also brings to mind how much we take for granted, but in reality life is so short. The time we have here on earth is so precious and valuable that we should not ever complain or take for granted what could be taken away in an instant. That’s why I have decided to set some simple goals for myself for the upcoming year to optimize my time.

Here are some strategies that you may find helpful in setting goals for your life:

My hope is that you have found these strategies useful in starting this upcoming New Year off with a plan, a focus and a positive outlook toward the future. Good Luck!

My name is Marjorie Malone. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and over the years I have been involved in many MLM networks. I enjoy people and selling quality products and services. I am currently the founder and owner of an e-commerce speciality store called Blue Angel Boutique. You will find a variety of products and services to meet your gift buying needs. You will discover unique giftwares, inspirational items, home accessories, jewelry, and other resources. We are the Home of Universal Treasures because the products and services are universal to all. There is something here for everyone. Please stop by and visit at http://www.blueangelboutique.com

Also visit http://www.northwestcofc.com

What does it take to plan like a champion?

Well lets take a look into our minds a little bit to answer this question.

OK, I need you to be honest to yourself with these next questions. If you lie, you will only lie to yourself and will have learned nothing…

1. Do you regularly plan ahead?
2. Does your plans involve EVERYTHING you ever wanted?
3. Do you plan ahead for your business and family?
4. Do you visualize your plan being achieved?
5. ** How far ahead do you actually plan???

That wasn’t so bad was it???

Within this article, I will explain to you why ALL of these questions should be asked when planning anything in your life, whether it be for business or pleasure, it makes no difference.

1) Do you regularly plan ahead?

Come-on, be honest, do you actually sit there and make a good attempt to plan out your future, every single day? NO? Why not? Is it not that important to you?

Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail!

Planning everyday may seem like a lot of work to do but in actual reality once it becomes a habit, it becomes second nature.

Study shows that it takes an average of 21 times for something to become a habit. You must drive your car 21 times before you can drive sub-consciously.

One myth that people think about when writing out their plans is that if they don’t reach them, they have failed. Let me straighten that one our for you right now. Just because your didn’t hit your target doesn’t mean that you didn’t do anything right, it only means that your closer than before you ever had a plan.

Think about that for a second, who made you create your plan? (please don’t say me) you did! Who got upset from not hitting the mark (you did). See the key is not to allow yourself to feel bad about not being perfect with your plans. Its not the destination, its the journey that matters.

Instead, lets try to concentrate more on why you are doing this in the 1st place. Is it for your family? Is it for more time? More money? Whatever your reason is, think about that and only that when it comes time to revise your plans.

2) Does your plans involve everything you wanted?

When I say everything, I mean everything. I have this little special note pad that stays on my desk at all times. Within it are countless ideas of everything I ever wanted at that very moment.

At that very moment meaning, whatever it was that I wanted to have in my life "at that moment" that would make me happier. Doesn’t matter what it is. For you, exactly what right now would make you happy? A nicer car? $5,000 in your bank account? More clients? Better search engine ranks?

Anything you want, write it down. Your mind is like a "crew" on your ship. If you don’t walk out in the morning and command what it is you actually want done today, your crew won’t know what to do. You’ll have a bunch of mindless fools running around like chickens trying to find the plank to jump off the boat.

Writing exactly what it is that you want will give your mind a "TO DO LIST". Once your mind has its "TO DO LIST", your sub-conscious will search through your memory banks for an example of how to accomplish your "to do list". If your mind doesn’t find anything within your memory banks, it will eventually start shooting out ideas and tips for your conscious mind to complete.

I should also note that writing down something is like etching it right into stone when it comes to your mind. It’s like your mind is the paper, you need to write something down in order for it to come back later and revise what it is that you wrote down.

3) Do you plan ahead for your business and family?

Well why wouldn’t you? When I think about my business, I think of what it will do for me, my friends, and my family in the future. At the moment, I am currently not married nor do I have any children but that doesn’t mean that I am not thinking about the future with a family in it.

Always consider business & family the same. They are a both part of yours and the their future.

4) Do you visualize your plan being achieved?

Visualization is the fruit of success.

I affirm that because do you ever find yourself visualizing yourself in that car you always wanted? Who visualizes you and your family on some beach in Mexico somewhere? Who visualizes you winning the "entrepreneur of the year award"? YOU DO!

In order to be happier and more successful, you need to get better, you need to get better. I repeat, you need to get better.

Visualization should be a daily event. Take a moment everyday, even for 30 seconds and visualize all the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of everything involved with your daily plans.

For example, lets pretend that you have a presentation to do and like most people who have done a presentation, you are extremely nervous.

Take a moment about an hour before the presentation. Visualize yourself walking into the meeting feeling great, confident, and relaxed. Hear the people having a good time, see them smiling and paying attention to you. Try to smell a nice cologne within the room that makes you smile when taken in. Last but not least, see all the people around you congratulating you on a job well done after the presentation. See yourself having a nice, warm, rich tasting coffee while discussing your successful presentation with your boss, employees or even your potential clients.

I guarantee you that if you make it a habit to prepare yourself with visualization in that fashion before any presentation, you will have better, more vibrant feelings afterwards.

This very same technique applies for your goals. You must see yourself driving that car, the way the air feels in your hair, maybe the way the engine sounds. Whatever you can think of that lets your mind wander into your goals and dreams, use it!

5) ** How far ahead do you actually plan???

This is by far the most important. The most important only because it takes a little from all the above questions I’ve talked about.

What is the furthest you’ve ever planned ahead? I’ll put money on the fact that it’s not far enough. Dare to be bold, be strong in your convictions. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

So how far do I allow myself to plan ahead???

200 Years!

No joke, my goals have included a timeline of around 231 years ahead in the future. See I don’t only think about how I want to improve my life, I concentrate on something higher than life. I concentrate on my family history that is yet to be written. We all would like to leave a dinesty for future generations to prosper. Well, why aren’t you planning ahead for it???

Don’t be shy, afraid, uncertain or embarrased, just do it. Keep doing it within your note pad that you write in. Keep thinking about your children, their children, your great, great, great grand children to be.

Think about them. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could look back and say wow, my great, great, great grand father had the vision, the dedication and the will to think of me. Think of the impact you could have on those to be. Even go as far as writing a letter to the individuals who will be in your families future. Tell them what you have planned and why.

What if what you do now, affects someone 4 generations down the line in such a positive way that they feel the need to pick up were you left off? If it wasn’t for your vision, it would of never happened.

Better yet, it hasn’t happened, so how about you pick up that pen and start your future right now, this very moment.

On that note, I won’t keep you from writing your future.

Good luck & remember to see everything happen the way you want it to happen!

Sincerely,

About The Author

Martin Lemieux
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This is a ‘skeleton’ outline of the goal achievement path – the journey on which I might take you during coaching sessions.

There are many other ‘tools’ and ‘conversations’ that are included within and between each of these core steps.

Step One – Set Your Intention

Know and get crystal clear about what you are wanting and why you want to do that, specifically and honestly.

If there is no heartfelt emotional passion behind it then the first little hurdles will stop you dead in your tracks.

Try taking away the goal …what do you feel about it if you never did anything about this thing, at all…ever?

Why get into action with something that doesn’t personally inspire you?

Your reasons for creating what you want are allowed to be selfish and frivolous. E.g. it can be as simple as …I am bored and I’d like to try this because I’m curious and it would keep me entertained for a few months! This is a valid reason - just KNOW that this is your reason. Be really honest and real with yourself. OWN your reasons.

Step Two - Be Clear in Vision

Get crystal clear about what your intended end result will "look like” when all is accomplished.

What is in existence in the physical realm, what is it providing and producing? How is it making you feel?

At what date does all that exist? Get it down to colour, texture, smell, feel etc. KNOW what you are creating.

Can you "see it" vividly in your mind’s-eye?

Step Three – List the Options

List ALL the possible ways that the above can be achieved. There are thousands of options! E.g. look at all the physical exercise programs there are in the world, all the possible diets, all the possible ways to generate income, all the possible ways to express gratitude or love, all the ways to structure a home or office environment.

Step Four - Decide and Choose

Choose ONE of the ways on that list and make it a priority focus for the next few months. DECIDE and choose!

Eliminate all others that will distract and those that are ineffective or not feasible.

Step Five – Increase Desire and Focus

Increase your level of desire and manage your thoughts. Stop trying. Replace every negative thought and doubt with a power statement or vision. EVERY thought that you have, harms or helps your project – live as though this IS the truth. Moment by moment, STOP any doubt or negative thought and continually refocus on where you are going. Each day spend many moments feeling your body experiencing the end result and visualizing yourself accomplishing and enjoying the completed goal.

Step Six - Plan

Action plan it. List ALL possible actions to accomplish your goal - as in a brainstorm exercise. Write all down, silly or not. Select the CRITICAL actions and put them on a timeline. Drop the smaller actions in amongst those. Give them all dates. Work in reverse from the finish date and back to today.

Step Seven – Align Your Environment

Share what you are going to do, with people who will be impacted by your plans or those who could help.

Do not share it with those who’ll throw a negative comment back at you immediately that you express your desires.

Declutter to remove unnecessary distractions; this includes activities, people, and things. Prepare your structures that support you such as calendars, displays, conversations, habits, daily creation of your days, people around you.

Step Eight - Action (put one foot in front of the other)

Take the actions on your plan on the dates that you said and continue to manage ‘Step Five’ EVERY moment.

©Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Western Australia. She is editor and publisher of a free, monthly newsletter at http://www.forwardsteps.com.au Thea also publishes a few blogs, visit here http://inspiration-daily.blogspot.com/ for directional links to each.

When driving, we need to check our rear-view mirror every few minutes to perceive dangers lurking behind — tailgaters, hecklers, over speeding cars, and drivers under the influence. Aside from anticipating threats, it helps us contemplate our next move, giving us enough time to be cautious before overtaking or stopping or . . . slowing down.

So for safety reasons, the rear-view mirror is essential when driving. In life, do we need to review the past to safely navigate the present and future and their unpredictable twists and turns?

Driving the highway of life is constantly accompanied by unforeseeable events. A reliable guide to the present and future is our previous experiences. A good handling of the past can enlighten us well today.

I know a woman who can’t seem to learn from her past. At a young age, she has had recurring unfortunate relationships — living in with men who have bad habits and vices. Abusive and exploitative, these men left her when she became inconvenient. Each time, she was left with children to take care of, with more physical injury, financial burden, and emotional hurts to endure. One man even sold her soul by forcing her to prostitution.

So far, she hasn’t reviewed her past and her life. In a few weeks or months, she will meet the same type of men — abusers and users.

Life’s patterns and perspective, whether productive or not, deserve a second look to determine their usefulness. Past mistakes likewise deserve a review so we can learn from them. An analysis of the past helps us see our strength in coping with challenges, losses, and defeats. In a significant way, a life review teaches valuable lessons better than a classroom.

Some people however are somehow stuck in the past in a harmful way. They constantly review past mistakes, losses, and problems without analyzing and realizing what they have learned and how they can avoid them in the future. They become preoccupied at the expense of their emotional health. Unable to live fully in the present, they overwhelm themselves with guilt, blame, and “what ifs” rumination. They focus on the hurts, tragedies, and disappointments.

As a result, they need a psychiatrist to help taper their turbulent emotions. Instead of learning from the past, they unlearned anything.

I know an elderly man who becomes obsessed with the past. He blamed his parents for his inability to finish school, blamed his friends for his low grades, his wife for his bad occupation, and his co-workers for his misfortunes. When I saw him, he was a bitter man and full of rage. He later became very depressed.

On further evaluation, I realized that this elderly man could have done something differently if he bothered to review his past. He could have corrected his unproductive patterns and ways early. Almost close to his death bed, it’s now too late.

How can you benefit from the past?

Review your life every few weeks or months. Some people even benefit from a daily review.

Check for patterns, habits, attitudes, behavior, and mindset that are counterproductive.

Correct those unproductive ways of living your life. Do you need to change your life’s perspective? Please do so and do it quick.

Learn from these reviews. These lessons can’t be acquired through expensive formal education.

Who needs a rear-view mirror? All of us! Only those who don’t want positive change will do otherwise. Remember, living a life is more important than driving.

Life is the product of actions and reactions interwoven in our daily existence. Life therefore requires a meticulous review of the past.

About The Author

Copyright 2003 Michael G. Rayel, MD. Dr. Rayel, author of First Aid to Mental Illness (Finalist, Reader’s Preference Choice Award 2002), has pioneered the CARE approach as a first aid for mental health. As an expert and an award-winning author, Dr. Rayel has appeared on radio and prominent newspapers. As a first aid advocate, he has conducted Mental Health First Aid workshops. To learn more about his work and books, visit www.drrayel.com.

mike@drrayel.com

I have no need to point out what time of year it is. It’s time for us coaches to come out and say to you, “Will you fulfill your intentions for your new year?”

If you have a history of New Year resolutions that do not come to fruition by the end of each year then you may even be about to skip this article and move on to something less challenging!

Let me celebrate with you - our last year was a complete success. We totally produced the results to which we were committed. There is no such thing as “failure”; there is only “feedback”.

What is it that finds us reproducing results or similar outcomes year after year? For me, the words congruency, authenticity, belief, resolution and acceptance, spring to mind. In the moment that a goal is declared, what does the “little voice” say? What is the automatic response of our subconscious? There’s a part of our minds that "knows us" so well that it keeps our “identity” intact and that is in fact, its primary job.

Therefore the first job that we need to assign to our aware and conscious mind is to resolutely “choose” the intended outcome. We need to get a crystal, clear description of what we want and express it in a context that we can wholly accept. For example, as an alternative to “I make $80,000 per year”, consider shifting your language a little and say, “In 2006 I choose fun ways to effortlessly and easily accept $80,000”.

The difference lies not in the target itself, rather what your subconscious will do with your declaration. The moment you state an overtly affirmative goal such as, “I make $80,000 per year” you can already hear the internal whisperings and thoughts that strongly negate the utterance. However, what are the likely negatives to arise in the subconscious when instead we say, “In 2006 I choose fun ways to effortlessly and easily accept $80,000”?

Consider that the creation of a goal is a marketing strategy tool for selling new beliefs and ideas to your subconscious. The larger the goal, the more effective an advertiser that you will need to be.

In a nutshell, here are a few other pointers for designing goals that have more clout with the subconscious:

state them in the affirmative; avoid comparative language such as ‘more than’; be as specific as is possible and avoid general statements; include vocabulary that triggers positive emotion; share the goal only with a fan club and not ‘friends’ who squash your ideas or talk you out of pursuing your dreams; include all the aspects of your life in your goal setting; set goals that provide you a little challenge and stretch yet that fall short of leaving you unmotivated; your goals ought only be about you and things within your realm of influence; always state ‘what you want’ and leave out any references to ‘what you don’t want’; check that your goals are ‘moving toward’ goals rather than goals that are ‘moving away’ from something.

Consider too, adding the following lines to each of your intended targets: “I accept this or something better and I ask that whatever takes place is for the highest good of myself and everyone else involved.”

Remember that whatever you focus on WILL expand - so watch your language!

©Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Western Australia. She is editor and publisher of a free, monthly newsletter that you can receive by going to her website http://www.forwardsteps.com.au
Thea also publishes a few blogs, visit here http://inspiration-daily.blogspot.com/ for directional links to each.

Welcome to Weekly Wisdoms. Last week I found a new way to communicate over the internet with audio. After you listen, if you’d like to try it for yourself, click here for a chance to make your own free audio postcard… Too cool! Have fun! What a busy week! The lumber package for the barn is on the way. Malcolm is here to saw up the rest of the logs for the siding. We are building a new riding arena. Three new potential clients. And we planted 3 acres of grass! Actually we put down twelve thousand pounds of lime, fertilizer, grass seed and clover seed. I feel like a farmer! I woke up this morning thinking about all that seed and what it might look like next year.

We spent the summer getting ready for this day. Land was cleared, logs carried off, limbs and stumps burned; sticks, roots and rocks collected and removed. A tractor was used for hours to turn the dirt and level the ground, making sure the water would run off into the creeks. Now there is nothing more I can do. I have to give up worrying about whether or not the grass will come up, what it will look like, or if I have done it right. Now I must have faith in myself and in the Universe that we have done all we can to make this dream of pastures full of thick green grass for the horses a reality. And I have to wait until spring to see it! It seems to me that much of what we do in life is like this. We have the choice of how we prepare for something.

We have the choice to give all we have toward a dream or goal, but at some point we have to give up all ownership of that dream and realize that whether or not it happens is beyond us. I think of it like this… If I give all I have and whatever I am working on does not come to pass, or looks different than I imagined, then it is perfect. It is perfect because that is what was created for me. If I want it different than I have received it, I have the choice to work toward that change or not. I think many people never start on a dream, goal or project because they have no faith in themselves or the Universe. I realize one of my strengths is my faith that anyone can do anything they set their mind to; including you. Is there something you really want to do? Just get started. Enjoy it while you do it. Give it all you have. Then let go of the consequences and understand the result is perfect! As always ,Your online Coach and Friend,Miami PhillipsFounder of Creative Masterminds Email: coach@creativemasterminds.com

Quotation of the Week

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success. - Dorothea Brande -

Weekly Wisdom Newsletter Plant! — And Accept The Consequences! November 13, 2003

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@miamiphillips.com.

You have twelve months to accomplish your goals for the New Year. It is a lot of months and you can be successful if you set your goals properly. Here is a good a good formula:

1. Make a list of all you want to accomplish during the year. Think the following categories:

Health — nutrition, exercise, wellness, weight loss

Prosperity — stuff you want to have, finances or income, jobs, businesses

Relationships – friends, life-partners, family, co-workers

Lifestyle – fun and recreation, travel and culture, self-improvement

Education – classes, courses

Community Service – volunteering, advocating

2. Write down the strategies that you will use to accomplish each of the subcategories.

For example: Your goal is to increase your revenue participating in a Network Marketing program. Think how many people you will need who will buy from you and who will join your group; how much money you want to make; how many hours you will put in, etc, for each month.

Another example: you want to gain muscle and become stronger. Think how many times per week you will need to exercise and for how long and how much muscle weight you want to put, etc.

3. Divide the strategy in 12 segments, beginning from the end.

Suppose you want to have $12,000.00 in your bank account. You will need to save $1000.00 per month.

So, how much money can you realistically put away each month? Perhaps in November you can only put away $500.00 because you need to buy Christmas presents. You know you will receive money from the IRS in May, so you can put more that month, and so on.

4. Work backwards, from December to January.

5. Choose a day each month, perhaps the first day of the month or the last Saturday of the month, to check how you are doing and make adjustments if necessary. Keep your mind in December and the accomplishment of your goal.

This is not a complicated process, really, but you need to make time to write everything down and organize your life. Success is much more easily accomplished when you put your mind to it and act accordingly.

At the end of the year, check all your accomplishments and celebrate. You deserve it.

Repeat the process for the following year.

© Maria Moratto 2005
About the author
Dr. Maria Moratto holds 5 degrees and is a life and spiritual coach/educator. She promotes seminars and courses in attracting abundance and loving relationships, time management, stress management, diversity, goal setting, career discovery, values clarification, leisure, self-improvement, college life, communication and learning styles, spirituality, natural health and lifestyle. Visit her website at http://www.rx4bliss.com and sign up for a free e-zine that is short, informative, and fun. Visit her fun blogs at: http://www.rx4bliss.blogspot.com and http://www.thedollarbillgame.blogspot.com You may reprint this article in its entirety as long as you add this source box.

I recently spent some time revising my personal vision/mission statement for my coaching practice. While doing this, it occurred to me that the vision I have for my work is closely related to my personal vision. Having a job that reflects my personal vision is powerful because it has allowed me to create a business life for myself that truly reflects who I am.

Companies know all about vision and mission statements and getting their employees on board. Vision and mission statements propel the company in the direction that they want, and ultimately towards success. Many of us have spent countless hours working on these statements for our employers, and doing our part to contribute to their vision as a part of the team. Much like a business, we, as human beings have a purpose or mission in life.

What if we spent as much time getting to know who we are and what we want for ourselves? A personal vision/mission statement is the framework for creating a powerful life. Unlike a goal, a vision or mission rarely changes. It is a reason for our existence. It guides us in the decisions we make and the directions we take.

Your Personal Vision

Close your eyes and picture yourself in the future. It may be a few months or years from today. See the person you are; what you are doing, who you are with, what you have accomplished, what is important to you, and how people relate to you. How does it feel to be you? Feel the person you are, your true self. Now, open your eyes and see your life and yourself in the present, through those eyes. You will begin to notice the changes you need to make to honour this vision and lead a powerful life. A Personal Vision is a picture of your True Self in the future. An effective personal vision includes all the important elements of your life and career; it is who you want to be, what you want to do, how you want to feel, what you want to own, and who you want to associate with. Although your personal vision helps you to see into the future, it must be grounded in the present. It is a statement of who you are, and who you are becoming. It is the framework for the process of creating your life. Your vision is where you are headed, how you get there is your mission statement.

Your Personal Mission Statement

A Personal Mission Statement is how you will manifest your Personal Vision in your daily life. It may be a few words or several pages, but it is not a "to do" list. It reflects your uniqueness and must speak to you powerfully about the person you are and the person you are becoming. Remember, it’s okay to be where you are, while heading somewhere else. In fact, the only place you can start, is where you are right now. Having a personal vision does not mean your life changes overnight. But it will change. Your personal mission statement provides the steps to get you there.

Your Personal Mission Statement should answer three questions:

1. What is my life about (Purpose)?
2. What do I stand for (Values)?
3. What actions do I take to manifest my Purpose and my Values?

Stephen Covey writes that an empowering Mission Statement: Represents the deepest and best within you. It comes out of a solid connection with your deep inner life. Is the fulfillment of your own unique gifts. It’s the expression of your unique capacity to contribute. Addresses and integrates the four fundamental human needs and capacities in the physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions. Deals with all the significant roles in your life. It represents a lifetime balance of personal, family, work, community-whatever roles you feel are yours to fill. Is written to inspire you-not to impress anyone else. It communicates to you and inspires you on the most essential level.

"Creating a Personal Mission Statement will be, without question, one of the most powerful and significant things you will ever do to take leadership of you life. In it you will identify the most important roles, relationships, and things in your life - who you want to be, what you want to do, to whom and what you want of give your life, the principles you want to anchor your life to, the legacy you want to leave. All the goals and decisions you will make in the future will be based upon it. It’s like deciding first which wall you want to lean your ladder of life against, and then beginning to climb. It will be a compass - a strong source of guidance amid the stormy seas and pressing, pulling currents of you life." Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

A Personal Vision/Mission can help propel you into a new job, or make your present job work better for you. The more connected your Personal Vision/Mission is to yourself, the better it can guide your career and your life.

About The Author

Cecile Peterkin is a trained Career/Life Coach and speaker whose work centers primarily on middle managers and their various challenges. She also works with individuals who are ready to move forward, take action, achieve goals and experience overall life improvement, both in personal and in career.

Cosmic Coaching Centre

www.cosmiccoachingcentre.com

416-486-5000

cecile@cosmiccoachingcentre.com