Did you know that fewer than 10% of people who set New Year’s Resolutions actually achieve them? How can you ensure YOUR success? Try using the Top 10 Tips below.

1. Write Them Down. It’s a fact: writing down your goals gives you a higher chance of success.

2. Commit. Move beyond the land of "good ideas" to promise yourself to show up for your goals. Perhaps you can do a ritual or ceremony to symbolize your commitment.

3. Tell People. Let your biggest fans in on your new commitments and goals for the year.

4. Get Accountability. Even better than just letting others in on your "secret" dreams and goals-get some accountability. Meet for lunch once a month with a group that will ask you, "So, how’s it going with your goal?" Hire a Life Coach. Talk to your best friend. Get some support!

5. Make a Plan. Ensure success with a step-by-step plan. Electric Kites loves to work backwards by starting with the end vision of where you want to be and working backwards to where you are today. You’ll find an easy plan to make your goal a reality.

6. Do a Goal Check-In. Before you decide on what you’ll take on for the year, make certain you can answer, "YES!" to the following questions: "Am I the primary reason for setting this goal (vs. your mom, boyfriend, wife, boss, society)? Do I feel alive and energized by this goal? Is this goal in line with my life purpose or mission?"

7. Get Real! If you’re contemplating putting a goal down that you always put down and never achieve, take a second look. How will this goal end DIFFERENTLY this year? Is this goal something you need to let go of? What purpose is it serving you each year?

8. Focus With Reminders. Once you’ve got your goals and plan in place, figure out ways to remind yourself. Some Electric Kites’ clients post their goals in their bathrooms or cars. Others put reminders in their palm pilots or cell phones. Figure out what works for you.

9. Believe and Visualize. Do you know the story about the group of basketball players who spent one hour visualizing making baskets, while another group actually practiced? The visualizing players had better seasons! So visualize yourself on New Years Eve 2005 with all your goals achieved. What would that look like? How would it feel? Visualize once a day and see the difference it can make in your life.

10. Get Your Butt to the ReCHARGE Workshop! All of the above steps (and MUCH MORE!) are outlined in depth at the Electric Kites ReCHARGE Workshop in Los Angeles on Jan. 8th and the SF Bay Area on Jan. 22nd Imagine the difference it will make to take just one day out of your life and focus on yourself, your dreams and your goals. You deserve it! It is an investment that is guaranteed to bring success. (Electric Kites clients won big in 2004. Go to our website to see how: www.ElectricKites.com!)

May 2005 be the year that your goals and dreams reach full flight! Check out more articles and the Electric Kites website at www.ElectricKites.com

Amy is an International Certified Life Coach with clients in both the US and abroad. She has over seven years combined professional experience as a life coach, sales executive, actress, and teacher. She holds a BA from the University of California, Irvine in Drama and earned the CPCC (Certified Professional Co-Active Coach) designation from The Coaches Training Institute.

Contact: Amy Ahlers, CPCC
Co-Founder, Electric Kites
323.276.1864
LifeCoachAmy@yahoo.com http://www.ElectricKites.com

In the past, I’ve written about SMART goal setting, but after much reading and thought, I realize now that goals need to be SMARTER in order to be most successful.

SMARTER goals, broken down:

S - Goals must be Specific and the more specific the better. State your goal in as exact of terms as possible.

M - Targets should be Measurable. That which you measure will be treasured, so think about what will be the measurement of your achievement of your goal.

A - Goals should have Accountability. Who or what are you accountable to for the goal?

R - Goals must be Realistic. Unrealistic goals will lead to discouragement.

T - Targets should be Time based. Decide your time-table for completion, and stick to it.

E - Goals should be Exciting. Exciting goals will be met far sooner than boring, bland goals.

R - Goals should be Recorded, in a place where you can look at it every day.

OK, so let’s break down one of my goals for 2006, and see how this works in action.

I will earn by Competent Toast Master (CTM) designation by December 1st, 2006.

Specific - Yes, this is very specific. It says exactly what I am going to do.

Measurable - Yes, this is measurable. CTM designation is something that takes 10 speeches to do in Toastmasters, so if I do these 10 speeches, this goal will be achieved.

Accountability - I’m sharing it with you, so I’m accountable to all of you. I’m also including this in my goals at work, as public speaking is part of what I do, and letting my Toastmasters Mentor know about my goal (I’m sending him this post), so I am accountable to many others.

Realistic - This is absolutely a realistic goal for me. I have given 2 speeches in 2005, so I have to increase my output 4 times. I can do this, but it will take effort.

Exciting - Definitely an exciting goal for me to achieve. As a new Toastmaster, I will be able to improve my speaking ability by doing this, and it will also help our club achieve more distinguished status.

Recorded - I wrote it down here, I’ll be putting it on a note card with my other goals, it will be in my HR system at work, and I’ll review it every day to remind myself of its importance.

So what goals are you setting in 2006? How can I help you set SMARTER goals? Let me know because I’d love to help you make it great!

Phil Gerbyshak leads a team of IT help desk professionals in Milwaukee, WI, and finds that sharing his knowledge is a crucial component in his success as a leader and as a person. Phil’s personal philosophy is paraphrased from Tim Sanders’ fantastic book Love is the Killer App: "Share your knowledge, your network, and your love. The rest will follow." Read more of Phil’s ideas at http://makeitgreat.org

Much has been written about writing down goals and regularly reviewing and updating them as a major party of self improvement and success. Likewise, it is considered that a plan for the achievement of any goal, and breaking major goals into manageable steps are essential. If you are thinking of stating a new business or any major undertaking, thorough research is certainly required. It is also unlikely that any new businesses will get far without a well written and researched business plan, and the chances of raising money from a bank without one are probably zero.

However, it is possible to spend too much time in preparation, writing and rewriting, researching and exploring, or waiting for everything to be just right. This can even be a form of procrastination, or perhaps a fear of taking the first steps. One thing that you can rely on – conditions will never be just right!!

There’s great deal of invaluable self improvement advice available to help with all the steps necessary for achievement and success. But you can be certain that little will ever be achieved without action – sustained, determined and committed action. Many highly successful people and companies started out with little in the way of written plans, and almost certainly without having just the right conditions in place. But one thing you can be sure of - they took action, and probably massive action, in the direction of their clearly held visions.

Self Improvement Quote of the Day:

"You will never stub your toe by standing still, but the faster you go, the more chance you have of getting somewhere!" – Charles Kettering

Garry Zancanaro is the founder of Self Improvement Directory, a website dedicated to Self Improvement and Personal Development, and to helping people live more successful and fulfilling lives by providing a directory of the highest quality Self Growth resources available. Includes many FREE eBooks and much more. Visit http://www.selfimprovementdirectory.com/index.html

It is important to have goals because they are good for your physical and mental health. You can have goals for all areas of your life. Here are a few ideas: Career, Learning, Clubs, Money, Community, Politics, Contribution, Professional, Emotional, Reading, Family, Relationships, Health, Service, Home, Spiritual Interests, Travel.

What Makes an Effective Goal?

Not all goals are motivating. If a goal is too vague, hard to measure, or impossible to achieve, it will lack effectiveness and ultimately be a wasted exercise. Goal statements should be:

• Stated with action verbs

• Specific

• Measurable

• Challenging

• Written down, with completion dates

Effective goals have all five ingredients.

The 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 Rule (also known as Pareto’s Principle) says that 20% of what we do produces 80% of the results.

Here are a few examples:

• 20% of the area in your house requires 80% of the cleaning.

• 20% of the stocks in an investor’s portfolio produce 80% of the results.

• 20% of the kids in a class cause 80% of the problems.

• 20% of the books in a bookstore account for 80% of the sales.

It’s important to remind yourself not to get bogged down on low-value activities, but to stay focused on the high-value 20%.

High-Payoff Planning

High-payoff (HIPO) time is the 20% that produces the desired results. Low-payoff (LOPO) time is the 80% that produces only 20% of the results. The challenge is to find the HIPO tasks and work on those first.

The HIPO strategies:

• Setting a deadline increases the chances that you will accomplish a task.

• Setting a specific time to do something increases the chances that you will accomplish it.

• Divide and conquer: Break a task into smaller pieces and it becomes easier to complete.

• Motivate yourself by listing the benefits of completing a task.

• Motivate yourself in another way by rewarding yourself for completing a task. The LOPO strategies:

• Don’t do it at all.

• Do it later.

• Do it with minimum time investment or at a lower standard.

Think of your own life. Can you identify five high-payoff and five low-payoff targets and the activities that contribute directly to each?

Identifying and writing down these items increases the chances that they will be accomplished.

Force Field Analysis

For every goal that you set, there are conditions (forces) that encourage its completion. There are also conditions that discourage its completion.

The Force Field Analysis process helps you identify two kinds of forces: (1) the forces that are pushing with you as you work toward your goal (encouraging forces), and (2) the forces that are pushing against you (discouraging forces).

The process of force field analysis (developed by scientist Kurt Lewin) is based on a law of physics that says that when two equal but opposite forces push against one another, there is no movement.

Why is this important to a person working toward a goal? Because a similar dynamic can prevent you from achieving your goal.

The idea here is to avoid paralysis and encourage momentum by increasing positive (encouraging) forces and decreasing negative (discouraging) forces. For example:

Goal: Run in a marathon in 2002.

Discouraging forces:

• I haven’t exercised regularly for the past five years.

• I tend to start projects and then get bored quickly.

• I live in the Midwest and weather can be a problem. Encouraging forces:

• I am in good health.

• My neighbor is a runner and has encouraged me to take up the sport.

• My family thinks this is a good idea.

After identifying as many encouraging as discouraging forces, you can map a strategy to build on your strengths—the forces in your favor—and reduce the barriers.

I encourage you to choose a goal of your own and make a list of the encouraging and discouraging forces. This will help you develop an action plan and increase your chances of success.

Your Action Plan

Once you have identified the forces that both favor and discourage the achievement of your goal, it’s time to make an action plan. Here is an example:

Force: I haven’t exercised regularly for the past five years.

Actions I can take:

1. Start slowly.

2. Map out a plan where I start with a 20-minute walk this Saturday morning.

3. Buy a running magazine.

4. Visit a few running web sites.

5. Straighten up the room where my exercise bike has been serving as a clothes rack. Clear away the junk and move a TV in to encourage me to use the bike every other morning.

Who can help me:

1. My neighbor, the runner.

2. My family members will encourage me. I well tell them that I need this.

3. The woman in the next cubicle started an exercise program last year. Now it’s your turn. Just fill in the blanks.

Force:

Actions I can take:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Who can help me:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Garrett Coan is a professional therapist,coach and psychotherapist. His two Northern New Jersey office locations are accessible to individuals who reside in Bergen County, Essex County, Passaic County, Rockland County, and Manhattan. Garrett also offers online and telephone coaching and counseling services for those who live at a distance. He can be accessed through http://www.creativecounselors.com or at 201-303-4303.

My husband and I recently spent a weekend at a bed and breakfast inn in New Hampshire. One of the selling points of this particular B&B was that the room had its own fireplace. When we came back from dinner, I set about making a fire for us. I’m not exactly Mountain Woman, but I know how to make a pretty good fire. Try as I might, though, I could not get this one going. Neither could my husband . . . until he figured out what was wrong. He said, "There isn’t enough draft from the flue. We have to open some windows." Which of course made perfect sense: midwinter in New Hampshire, open some windows to let in some cold air so we can have a nice cozy fire! One thing I’ve learned being married for 28 years is that the path with heart doesn’t always "make sense." He opened some windows a bit and in no time we had a rip-roaring fire.

Lighting and tending a fire requires attention and skill. Sometimes the fire gives dramatic cues – a spray of sparks, a burst of flame. And sometimes the cues are subtle – as in the case of the missing draft.

Igniting and tending the fires of personal intention also require attention and skill. Getting the fire going in the first place typically requires three elements:

– Clarify your intention.
– Identify some next steps.
– Get started taking those next steps.

The greater challenge seems to come during next stage, which requires that you:

– Take the action.
– Listen to the information that the action produces.
– Apply that information to determine your next step.

This stage can last a very long time. You essentially repeat these steps until you reach your intended goal, change your intention, or lose heart and let the fire go out. Did you know that the most common reason people let the fire go out is that they haven’t learned how to listen to, and apply the feedback from their actions?

Here’s an example. A small business owner I worked with several years ago wanted to increase her customer base. Although her marketing strategy was delivering very poor results, she remained stubbornly committed to it because, as she put it, "it should be working." Meanwhile, her business was dropping off and she was getting more and more discouraged. Her fire was going out, but she was unwilling to move the logs around, use the bellows, or put on another log. I could not convince her to use the feedback. She eventually stopped working with me and closed the business.

Another client of mine used "negative" feedback much more effectively. Her intention was to strengthen her boundaries at work and to stop doing other people’s jobs at the expense of her own. This meant going against her natural instinct, which was to always help other people. When she started paying closer attention, she noticed that she felt angry when she was doing work that she didn’t want to be doing. She learned to use the anger as a cue. As soon as she noticed herself feeling angry, she would step back and ask herself whose work she was doing. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the anger signaled that she was doing someone else’s work. She would then do something about it, such as return the work to the person whose job it was. Over time she became quite skilled at this and learned to not take it on in the first place unless she really wanted to and had the time for it.

THE FEEDBACK OF "YES"

It’s just as important to honor the positive feedback – no matter how subtle or unusual it looks. While engaged in some activity, you may feel flow, or you may have the sense that you’re just getting going and you don’t want to stop. This is feedback that you are on course. Don’t discount it. Let it in. It will fan the flames of your intention. Or you may notice a delightfully synchronous occurrence. As my friend Chris sat in her mountain home writing about her connection with animals, her cats gathered outside her window, looked toward her and meowed. This is the feedback of "yes."

And every once in a while, your action will result in what I call a "huge nod from the universe." You will experience a resounding "yes!" A client of mine had a very clear intention to reach more people with her work. One of her action steps was to hold a series of workshops. Several things happened. First, a local retail store decided to sponsor and publicize her workshops. Second, the turnout for these workshops was high. Third, the response at these events was very enthusiastic. Her energized, excited participants swarmed around her after the workshops to express their appreciation and gratitude. They became private clients, they signed up for her clinics, and they came back to her subsequent workshops with friends in hand. Can you imagine how this positive feedback affected the fire of her intention??? Like putting a match to crumpled newspaper under kindling. Foooooom! A HUGE flame!

Sometimes the huge nod from the universe seems to come from within you: the creative breakthrough you experience after writing every day for several months; the blast of exhilaration you feel finishing your first Walk for Hunger; the sheer fun of finally "getting" swing dance in your body. These are vivid experiences of affirmation. The message is clear: "keep doing this."

Possibly the hardest feedback to interpret is what feels like no feedback at all. You see minimal results - neither a yes nor a no. Often this means there just isn’t enough information yet. Hang in there, keep doing what you’re doing, and pay attention. Sooner or later, you’ll receive the critical mass of information you need. I urge you to pay attention to the information your actions generate in a way that keeps the fires of your intention burning. If your actions are producing satisfying results, know that you are on course, and see if you can turn it up a notch. If your actions are not bringing satisfying results, do something different. You may need to open a window!

COACHING TIPS:

Answer these questions:

1. What are you working on, currently?

2. What action steps are you taking toward reaching your goal?

3. What is the feedback from taking these steps?

4. Are you using that feedback to determine your next steps?

Copyright 2003 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.

Sharon Teitelbaum, http://www.stcoach.com, a Work-Life and Career Coach, works with high achieving women with young children, people at mid-career, and professionals seeking greater career satisfaction and work-life balance. She coaches by phone and in person in Boston. Her newsletter, Strategies For Change, offers practical tips for work-life success.

Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, Sharon’s first book, was published in 2005.

A motivational speaker, Sharon also also delivers keynotes & workshops on work-life issues. Clients include Children’s Hospital Boston, SunLife Financial, Arnold Worldwide, and many parent and alumni groups. She’s been featured in national publications including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, and Working Mother Magazine.

Married for 30 years, she is the mother of two amazing young women.

If you’re considering hiring a coach to help you with challenges like these, contact me for an initial consultation at no charge.

"Oh that would be too hard for me — I could never learn to do that."

We’ve all heard these words… you may even have said them yourself. Tackling new skills can feel intimidating. But we only feel intimidated because we overestimate the task and underestimate our own abilities. We aren’t confident enough in our natural abilities. Take learning to drive for example.

Today, millions of very mentally un-gifted people got into automobiles and drove them. And most of them had no accident today. So how hard can it be?

Or maybe you’re thinking of writing a book. Millions of people every year write books.

Millions more:

- save money

- start businesses

- find jobs

- lose weight

- get into shape

- discover someone to love

- get married

- find a way to attend school

- start new careers

And many other things you may have been thinking are too hard, too complicated, too far beyond you.

The truth is, they’re not beyond you at all.

DO THIS: ========

What have you been holding yourself back from doing? No, you don’t have to list EVERYTHING you’re putting off. Just take the top one.

First: ======

Whatever it is, write it down on a piece of paper.

Second: =======

Now think of somebody who isn’t particulary smart, but who is now doing the very thing you want to do.

Been putting off learning to drive? Look at all the idiots on the road who somehow manage to get from here to there without wrecking the countryside.

What about marriage? True, most people botch it completely, but many millions actually do get it right and live in happiness.

Or maybe you’re putting off starting your own business. Same thing — you’ve met people barely clever enough to get in out of the rain, but they have businesses. And they haven’t gone bankrupt — at least not yet.

Chances are, the one thing you’re lacking is not intelligence, nor ability, nor talent. Training is no real stumbling block, either, since people regularly go get the same training you’re wanting.

No, you’re probably only lacking permission. You’re waiting around for somebody to validate you, then pick you up and prove to you that you can do it.

It ain’t gonna happen that way. The good news is, it doesn’t HAVE to happen that way.

All it takes is just deciding you’ll do it. Then just begin.

Several years ago someone told me a great two-step formula for success in any field.

Step one is start; step two is don’t stop.

So we come to…

Third: ======

Make a beginning, no matter how awkward, then just keep moving forward in the direction you want to go.

Honestly, it’s just about that simple.

While great intelligence can make things simpler, it can also make things much more difficult if you never learn to use it FOR yourself instead of against.

Please notice that beginnings are almost always awkward. That’s okay. Give yourself permission to be a beginner when you begin. And if you feel a compulsion to be perfect, then just be a perfect beginner.

But do keep moving… forward.

Charles Burke is the author of Command More Luck, the book that shows you why all those things keep happening to you. Learn why "luck" doesn’t work the way you’ve always been told. Not even close. The bad news — There’s no such thing as luck. The good news — There’s something even better. Learn how it works at http://www.moreluck.com

Goals. Most people have a love-hate relationship with goals. They love them because they are such a great idea and a wonderful way to motivate us to achieve, as well as evaluate our progress, but hate them because for many, they more often than not go unattained and simply frustrate them. This isn’t what goals should do!

So here are some simple ways to set goals so that we achieve them! After all, what good is a goal if it isn’t something you achieve? Here are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you see change in your life this year.

Narrow your focus. That’s right, start small. Pick two or three areas tops, that you want to work on. Too many people say to themselves, "I want to do this, and this, and this, and this…" and they end up doing nothing! Most of what you do throughout your day can be done without a lot of mental or emotional exertion, but change isn’t one of them. So focus down to a couple. This way you can get some victory in these areas. Here are some areas to think about: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, Financial, and Relational. What areas need some work? Now, what one thing should be the first item on the change list? The others will come later, but for now, you should focus on two or three total.

Keep the long-term in mind, but set your sights on achieving your goals in the short-term. Do you want to lose 75 pounds? Good. Long-term you will. But for now, think short-term. Don’t think about losing 75 pound by summer 2002. Think about losing 5 pounds by November 1st. This does two things. First, It makes it urgent. Instead of blowing it and saying, "Oh well, I still have 17 months to lose the 75 pounds" (because eventually that becomes 2 months to lose 75 pounds) your goal is only a few weeks out. This is better in terms of reaching your goal. Secondly, as you reach these shorter goals, it gives you regular victories instead of regular progress. Progress feels good, but achieving a goal is awesome!

Reward yourself when you achieve the goal. When you lose the 5 pounds by November 1st, go get yourself a grande whole-milk mocha. But just one! Then get back to your goal for December 1st. This puts a little fun back into the process of self-control and self-discipline. You will look forward to the reward and when the going gets tough, you will say, "two more weeks, two more pounds, then…"

That’s it. I truly believe that it can be that simple for you.

This adds some ideas to the above article.

1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Instead of saying, "I am going to quit my three pack a day habit cold turkey," say "I am going to drop to a pack and a half a day." You can always make new resolutions when you have achieved the first ones. Give yourself small victories a little at a time. Instead of saying "I am going to lose 75 pounds," say "I am going to lose 20 pounds."

2. Be specific in your timeline. Don’t just say, "I am going to lose 20 pounds." Say, "I am going to lose 20 pounds by April 1st." This way, when you start to be tempted in the ice cream aisle in the middle of November, you can say, "Nope, only 10 more pounds to go in a month and a half and I am not going to blow it."

3. Post your resolutions where you will see them every day. This will keep the resolution in the front of your mind at all times. Instead of forgetting that you are trying to lose weight and ordering a big, thick porterhouse, you will have been reminded earlier that day that you need to go with something a little more on the lighter side. It will help your will beat your desire.

4. Find an encouraging person, who you respect, to keep you accountable. This person should ask you, at an interval established by the both of you, how it is going. They must be the encouraging type, though. If you are blowing it, they can say, "Well, that’s okay, get back to it tomorrow." If you are doing well, they can say, "Awesome job. I’ll talk to you next week." You will look forward to their weekly encouragement.

5. Find a partner. That’s right, someone who is trying to accomplish the same thing (or something different if need be). Just make sure that they really want to change, or they will end up just bellyaching about how hard it is and you will both fall into the abyss.

6. Write down a list of all of the benefits that will come if you accomplish this. If it is losing weight it might be something like this: Feel better, better self-esteem, longer life, clothes are more comfortable, no more time spent sewing on popped buttons, wife says you look 22 again, etc. If it is quitting smoking, it may look like this: Better breath, no more brown fingers, no more wrinkles on my face, no more red eyes, no more smelly clothes, longer life, wife don’t make me spend two hours a day on the back porch, etc. This will help you see what you will get from accomplishing your resolution.

7. Plan a reward if you accomplish your resolution. It can be anything from small to large. If you drop the twenty pounds, go out for dinner and dessert. Then get back to lose the next 20. If it is quitting smoking, go on a mini-vacation. Whatever you do, reward yourself. Or let a spouse or a friend pick the reward. Then splurge and enjoy!

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

IF I WON THE LOTTERY, I

WOULDN’T NEED TO JOB SEARCH!

Let’s take a look at how many people win lotteries in a year’s time. We all know the numbers are small.

But what if you won a lottery with oodles of money at your disposal. What would you do?

A lot of people immediately say: "They would quit their jobs". Others say: "They would travel". Some say: "I’d pay off my debts" A few say: "I’d help the world reduce its problems of disease, poverty, etc." It’s possible for others to say: "I’d help my relatives".

Whatever the reasons for using lottery money, these are the reasons you need to use to job search, regardless of what financial

state you find yourself in.

Try it this way. As you make mental plans about how to spend your imaginary lottery winnings, look at your choices. They are your life values. Don’t discount them!

Whether you have won the lottery or not today, do some of the things that you ascribe to the values you believe in. If it’s in helping Uncle Joe, then just do it!

This is a small tip to help you decide where and how you want to use money. Your values will always rule!

c, 2004-05

Marilyn J. Tellez, M.A.

Certified Job & Career Transition Coach

Email: doitnow@nwinfo.net

Web: http://www.doitnowcareers.info

When asked during an interview how he managed to reach the top as a professional bodybuilder and Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger replied with a single word, "Drive!" All great success ultimately begins with an idea, but what makes ideas become reality is the fuel of human desire. An idea by itself can give you a temporary feeling of inspiration, but burning desire is what gets you through all the perspiration necessary to overcome the inevitable obstacles along the way.

Take a moment to think about the goals you’ve set for yourself. (You have set goals, haven’t you? If not, go read the article on setting clear goals.) How committed are you to achieving these goals? Under what conditions would you give up? What if you could significantly increase your desire to achieve these goals? What if you wanted them so badly that you knew with absolute certainty that you would absolutely, positively never ever give up? When you are truly 100% committed to reaching your goals, you move from hoping to knowing. If you want something badly enough, then quitting is simply not an option. You either find a way or make one. You pay the price, whatever it takes.

Those with an intense, burning desire to achieve their goals are often referred to as being "driven." But is this special quality reserved only for a privileged few? Certainly not. With the right approach, anyone can cultivate a deep, burning desire within themselves and move to a state of total commitment, knowing with certainty that success is as inevitable as the sunrise.

So how do you cultivate burning desire? You begin with an outside-in approach, altering your environment in ways that will strengthen your resolve while eliminating doubt. If you take the time to do it right, you’ll establish a positive feedback cycle, such that your desire will continue to increase on a daily basis.

Here are eight steps you can take to cultivate burning desire to achieve any goal you set for yourself:

1. Burn the ships.

I’m not going to pull any punches with this one. If your goals are really important enough to you, then you can start by burning the proverbial ships, such that you have no choice but to press on. For instance, if you want to launch your own business, you can begin by making the commitment to quitting your job. Write a letter of resignation, put it in a stamped envelope addressed to your boss, and give it to a trusted friend with firm instructions to mail the letter if you haven’t quit your job by a certain date.

One Las Vegas casino manager made the decision to quit smoking. He didn’t feel he had the personal willpower to do it alone, so he took out a billboard on the Las Vegas Strip with his photo on it along with the words, "If you catch me smoking, I’ll pay you $100,000!" Was he able to quit smoking? You bet! (Ok, bad pun.) This is called willpower leveraging. You use a small bit of willpower to establish a consequence that will virtually compel you to keep your commitment. As Andrew Carnegie once said, "Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket!"

In the classic book The Art of War, Sun Tzu notes that soldiers fight the most ferociously when they believe they’re fighting to the death. A good general knows that when attacking an opposing force, it’s important to create the illusion of a potential escape route for the enemy, so they won’t fight as hard. What escape routes are you keeping open that are causing you not to fight as hard?

If you don’t burn those ships, you are sending the message to your subconscious mind that it’s ok to quit. And when the going gets tough, as it inevitably does for any worthwhile goal, you will quit. If you really want to achieve your goals, then you’ve got to burn those ships to the ground, and scatter the ashes. If you’re thinking that the average person won’t do this, you’re right — that’s why they’re average.

2. Fill your environment with desire boosters.

Let’s say one of your important goals is to lose weight. Get some poster board, and make your own posters that say, "I weigh X pounds," where X is your goal weight, and put them up around your house. Change your screensaver to a text message that says the same thing (or to some equally motivational imagery). Get some magazines, cut out pictures of people who have bodies similar to what you’d like to have, and put them up around your house. Cut out pictures of healthy food that looks good to you, and post those around your kitchen. If you work in an office, then alter your office in the same manner. Don’t worry about what your coworkers will think, and just do it! They may poke a little fun at you at first, but they’ll also begin to see how committed you are.

3. Surround yourself with positive people.

Make friends with people who will encourage you on the path to your goals, and find ways to spend more time with them. Share your goals only with people who will support you, not those who will respond with cynicism or indifference. If you want to lose weight, for instance, get yourself into a gym, and start befriending those who are already in great shape. You’ll find that their attitudes become infectious, and you’ll start believing that you can do it too. Meeting people who’ve lost one hundred pounds or more can be extremely motivating. If you want to start a new business, join the local chamber of commerce or a trade association. Do whatever it takes to make new friends who will help you keep your commitment.

Although this can be difficult for some people, you also need to fire the negative people from your life. I once read that you can see your future just by looking at the six people with whom you spend the most time. If you don’t like what you see, then change those people. There’s no honor in remaining loyal to people who expect you to fail. One of the reasons people fail to start their own businesses, for instance, is that they spend most of their time associating with other employees. The way out of this trap is to start spending a lot more time associating with business owners, such as by joining a trade association. Mindsets are contagious. So spend your time with people whose mindsets are worth catching.

4. Feed your mind with empowering information on a daily basis.

Inspirational books and audio programs are one of the best fuel sources for cultivating desire. Nightingale Conant has some of the best. If you want to quit smoking, read a dozen books written by ex-smokers on how to quit the habit. If you want to start a business, then start devouring business books. Go to seminars on occasion. I advise that you feed your mind with some form of motivational material (books, articles, audio programs) for at least fifteen minutes a day. This will continually recharge your batteries and keep your desire impenetrably strong.

When you absorb material created by an extremely passionate person, you’ll often find yourself feeling more passionate as well. A great book I read was Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. As I read the book, I was absolutely amazed at how someone could be so fanatically enthusiastic about coffee. Other enthusiasm-building authors/speakers I highly recommend are Harvey Mackay and Zig Ziglar.

5. Replace sources of negative energy with positive energy.

Take an inventory of all the sensory inputs into your life that affect your attitude — what you read, what you watch on TV, the cleanliness of your home, etc. Note which inputs influence you negatively, and strive to replace them with positive inputs. I’ll give you some good places to start. First, avoid watching TV news — it’s overwhelmingly negative. Do you really need to hear about the woman who was mauled to death by her neighbor’s dog? Fill that time with positive inputs instead, like motivational tapes and CDs. If you like to watch movies, then watch movies that are full of positive energy, such as light-hearted comedies and stories of triumph over adversity. Avoid dark, tragic movies that leave you feeling empty afterwards. Dump the horror books, and replace them with humor books. Spend more time laughing and less time worrying. If you have a messy desk, clean it up! If you have young kids or grandkids, spend some time playing with them. Some of this may sound a bit corny, but it will really help increase your overall motivation. If you have a hard time motivating yourself, chances are that your life is overflowing with too many sources of negativity. It’s far better to happily achieve than it is to feel you must achieve in order to be happy.

6. Dress for success.

Whenever you pass by a mirror, which is probably several times a day, you get an instant dose of image reinforcement. So what image are you currently reinforcing? Would you dress any differently if your goals were already achieved? Would you sport a different hairstyle? Would you shower a bit more often?

Although for years I enjoyed the ripped jeans and T-shirt look, I noted that when I visualized myself in the future, having achieved certain goals, I was dressed a lot more nicely. With some experimentation I found a style of clothing that looks professional and is also comfortable. So I gradually donated my old clothes to charity and replaced my wardrobe with clothes that fit the new identity I was growing into. (Consequently, there’s a Salvation Army store with quite a stock of gaming industry T-shirts.) I learned this idea from an ex-Navy Seal, who stressed to me the importance of taking pride in your appearance, and I can say with certainty that it makes a noticeable difference. So make sure the clothes you wear each day are consistent with your new self-image.

7. Use mental programming.

This is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that will help you associate strong positive emotions to whatever goal you’re working to achieve. Find some music that really energizes and inspires you. Put on your headphones and listen to it for fifteen to twenty minutes, and as you do this, form a clear mental picture of yourself having already achieved the results you want. Make your imagery big, bright, vivid, colorful, three-dimensional, panoramic, and animated. Picture the scene as if looking through your own eyes (this is very important). This will help you form a neuro-association between the positive emotions elicited by the music and the goal you want to achieve, thus strengthening your desire. This is a great way to begin each day, and you can even do it while lying in bed when you first awaken if you set things up the night before. You should cycle the music periodically, since the emotional charge you get will tend to diminish if you listen to the same songs each time.

Keep in mind that this form of mental programming is already being used on you by advertisers. Watch a fast-food TV commercial, and you’ll note that the food is big, bright, and animated — spinning burgers, lettuce flying through a splash of water, ripe tomatoes being sliced — and don’t forget the catchy tune. So instead of letting others program your desires for you, take charge and mentally reprogram yourself.

8. Take immediate action.

Once you set a goal for yourself, act immediately. As you begin working on a fresh new goal, don’t worry so much about making detailed long-term plans. Too often people get stuck in the state of analysis paralysis and never reach the action stage. You can develop your plan later, but get moving first. Just identify the very first physical action you need to take, and then do it. For instance, if you’ve decided to lose weight, go straight to your refrigerator, and throw out all the junk food. Don’t think about it. Don’t ponder the consequences. Just do it immediately.

One of the secrets to success is recognizing that motivation follows action. The momentum of continuous action fuels motivation, while procrastination kills motivation. So act boldly, as if it’s impossible to fail. If you keep adding fuel to your desire, you will reach the point of knowing that you’ll never quit, and ultimate success will be nothing more than a matter of time.

If you apply these eight strategies, you’ll add so much fuel to your desire that the fire will never burn out. You’ll move towards your goals like a guided missile to its target, and you’ll enjoy the process because you’ll be so focused on the positive rewards instead of the difficulty of the tasks. If you get enough positive energy flowing into you, you’ll soon have positive results flowing out of you. And you’ll quickly become the kind of person that others refer to as "driven."

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)

Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.

Bunker Hunt, a man who rose from a bankrupt cotton farmer in the 1930s to a multi-billionaire when he died in the 1970s, was once asked during a TV interview what advice he could give to others who wanted to be financially successful. He responded by saying that it’s not terribly difficult to be successful and that only two things are required. First, you must decide exactly what it is you want to accomplish. Most people never do that in their entire lives. And secondly, you must determine what price you’ll have to pay to get it, and then resolve to pay that price.

Clear Goals Are Essential

Study after study has shown how essential clear goals and objectives are to the success of any business, and this is no less true of building your own career. If you don’t take the time to get really clear about exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish, then you’re forever doomed to spend your life achieving the goals of those who do. In the absence of a clear direction for your life, you will either meander aimlessly or you will build a career that you don’t feel good about. You may make some money, and you may do some interesting work, but the end result will not resemble anything you ever made a conscious decision to build, and ultimately you will be left with the sinking feeling that maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Do you ever look at your career and think to yourself, "How on earth did I get here?"

If setting goals is so critically important, then why is it that so few people take the time to define exactly where they want to go? Part of the reason is a lack of knowledge about how to set clear goals. You can go through years of schooling and never receive any instruction on goal setting at all. A failure to understand the immense importance of establishing clear goals is also common. But those who truly know what they want often outperform everyone else by an enormous degree.

A frequent deterrent to goal setting is the fear of making a mistake. Teddy Roosevelt once said, "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." Setting virtually any goal at all is better than drifting aimlessly with no clear direction. The best way I know to guarantee failure is to avoid making clear, committed decisions. Every day is already a mistake if you don’t know where you’re going. You’re probably spending most of your time working to achieve other people’s goals. The local fast food restaurant, TV advertisers, and the stockholders of the businesses you patronize are all very happy for that. If you don’t decide what you really want, then you’ve decided to hand your future over to the whims of others, and that’s always a mistake. By taking hold of the reins yourself and deciding where you’d like to go, you gain a tremendous sense of control that most people never experience in their entire lives.

Many people assume that because they have a direction, they must therefore have goals, but this is not the case and merely creates the illusion of progress. "Making more money" and "building a business" are not goals. A goal is a specific, clearly defined, measurable state. An example of the difference between a direction and a goal is the difference between the compass direction of northeast and the top of the Eiffel Tower in France. One is merely a direction; the other is a definite location.

Define Goals in Binary Terms

One critical aspect of goals is that they must be defined in binary terms. At any point in time, if I were to ask you if you had achieved your goal yet, you must be able to give me a definitive "yes" or "no" answer; "maybe" is not an option. You cannot say with absolute certainty if you’ve fully completed the outcome of "making more money," but you can give me a definitive binary answer as to whether or not you are currently standing on top of the Eiffel Tower. An example of a clear business goal would be that your gross income for the month of April this year is $5000 or more. That is something you can calculate precisely, and at the end of the month, you can give a definitive answer as to whether or not your goal has been achieved. That is the level of clarity you need in order to form a goal that your mind can lock onto and move towards rapidly.

Be Detailed

Be as detailed as possible when setting goals. Give specific numbers, dates, and times. Make sure that each of your goals is measurable. Either you achieved it, or you didn’t. Define your goals as if you already know what’s going to happen. It’s been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Commit Goals to Writing

Goals must be in writing in the form of positive, present-tense, personal affirmations. A goal that is not committed to writing is just a fantasy. Set goals for what you want, not for what you don’t want. Your subconscious mind can lock onto a clearly defined goal only if the goal is defined in positive terms. If you put your focus on what you don’t want instead of what you do, you’re likely to attract exactly what it is you’re trying to avoid. Phrase your goals as if they are already achieved. Instead of saying, "I will earn $30,000 this year," phrase it in the present tense: "I earn $30,000 this year." If you phrase your goals in future terms, you are sending a message to your subconscious mind to forever keep that outcome in the future, just beyond your grasp. Avoid wishy-washy words like "probably," "should," "could," "would," "might," or "may" when forming your goals. Such words foster doubt as to whether you can really achieve what you are after. And finally, make your goals personal. You cannot set goals for other people, such as, "A publisher will publish my software by the end of the year." Phrase it like this instead: "I sign a North American retail publishing contract this year that earns me at least $50,000 by the end of the year."

Objectify Subjective Goals

What if you need to set subjective goals, such as improving your own level of self-discipline? How do you phrase such goals in binary terms? To solve this problem, I use a rating scale of 1 to 10. For instance, if you want to improve your self-discipline, ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate your current level of self-discipline? Then set a goal to achieve a certain specific rating by a certain date. This allows you to measure your progress and know with a high degree of certainty whether or not you’ve actually achieved your goal.

Goal Setting Is an Activity

Setting clear goals is not a passive act. It doesn’t happen automatically. You must take direct conscious action in order to make it so. Everything counts, and nothing is neutral. You are either moving towards your goals, or you’re moving away from them. If you do nothing or if you act without clarity, then you are almost certainly a victim of "being outgoaled." In other words you are spending your time working on other people’s goals without even knowing it. You are happily working to enrich your landlord, other businesses, advertisers, stockholders, etc. Each day you spend working without a sense of clarity about where you’re headed is a step backwards for you. If you don’t actively tend your garden, then weeds will grow automatically. Weeds don’t need to be watered or fertilized. They just grow by themselves in the absence of an attentive gardener. Similarly, in the absence of conscious and directed action on your part, your work and your life will automatically become full of weeds. You don’t need to do anything at all to make this happen. And when you finally get around to taking a serious look at where you are and where you want to go, the first thing you’ll have to do is pull out all those weeds.

Reading this article will do absolutely nothing for you unless you turn it into some form of physical action. The best thinking unfortunately gives you zero results. In reality, you won’t even be paid a penny for your thoughts. You can have the most creative idea in the world, but ideas themselves are utterly worthless. You only get results from the physical actions you take, never for the ideas you have. In order to get any kind of tangible results at all, you must act on an idea. You must communicate it, build it, implement it, and make it real.

Clarity Is a Choice

If you’ve been running your career in an unfocused manner, just waking up each morning and seeing what happens, then it is absolutely crucial that you take the time to decide and write down exactly where it is you want to go. How much longer will you continue to climb the ladder of success, only to realize too late that it was leaning against the wrong building? Just pick a point in the future, whether it’s six months from now or five years from now, and spend a few hours writing out a clear description of where you want to be at that time. I know many people who aren’t sure where they want to go, so they avoid committing anything to writing in order to "keep their options open." What would happen if you pursued that attitude to its logical conclusion? If you always kept your options open and never made any firm commitments, then you’d never get promoted, start your own business, get married, have a family, move to that new home, etc. except to the degree that someone else made that decision for you.

I used to have a friend like this, who still hasn’t decided what he wants to do with his life. He yields control of his life to others without even realizing it, simply because he’s unwilling to take the time to define a vision for his own life out of fear of making the wrong choice. His life is ruled by others who push their goals onto him, which he accepts by default. Ask yourself if you’re in the same boat. If a friend of yours became totally committed to getting you to change something in your life at random — your career, your living situation, your relationship, etc. — could s/he do it just by being absolutely certain and committed that it’s the right thing for you? Could a business associate come along and radically alter your plans for the week without you ever deciding consciously that such a change is consistent with your goals? We all suffer from problems like these to the degree that we fail to set clear goals for ourselves. There is a big difference between recognizing and acting on a true opportunity and being knocked off course without making a conscious decision to shift gears.

Waiting for something to inspire you and hoping that the perfect outcome will just fall into your lap is nothing but a fantasy. Clear decision making doesn’t happen passively; you actually have to physically put in the time to make it happen. If you don’t have clear goals simply because you don’t know what you want, then sit down and actively decide what you want. That sense of knowing what you want isn’t going to just come to you in a form of divine inspiration. Clarity is a choice, not an accident or a gift. Clarity doesn’t come to you — you have to go to it. Not setting goals is the same thing as deciding to be a slave to the goals of others.

Clear Goals Sharpen Present-Moment Decisions

Your reality will not match your vision exactly. That’s not the point. The point is for your vision to allow you to make clear daily decisions that keep you moving in the direction of your goals. When a commercial airliner flies from one city to another, it is off course over 90% of the time, but it keeps measuring its progress and adjusting its heading again and again. Goal setting works the same way. Maintain a clear list of goals not because that’s actually where you’ll end up but because it will give with tremendous certainty in deciding what you need to do today. When someone contacts you with an "opportunity" out of the blue, you’ll know whether it’s a real opportunity or a waste of time. The long view sharpens the short view.

As you begin moving towards your goals, you’ll gain new knowledge along the way, and you’ll have to adapt your plans as you go. You may also change your vision if you get partway there and decide it’s not quite what you really want. Ill-formed goals are still far superior to no goals at all.

I was once told by someone that I should end each day by crossing it off my calendar and saying out loud, "There goes another day of my life, never to return again." Try this for yourself, and notice how much it sharpens your focus. When you end a day with the feeling that you would have lived it the same if you had the chance to repeat it, you gain a sense of gratitude that helps you focus on what’s really important to you. When you end the day with a feeling of regret or loss, you gain the awareness to try a different approach the next day.

You’ll see a measurable difference in your life the very first day you establish clear, committed goals, even if your first few attempts aren’t perfect. You’ll be able to make decisions much more rapidly because you’ll see how they’ll either move you towards or away from your goals. On the eve of his death, Walt Disney had a reporter crawl into bed with him so he could share his vision for Disney World, six years before its completion. When Disney World finally opened, another reporter commented to Walt’s brother, Roy, "It’s too bad Walt did not live to see this." Roy replied, "Walt saw it first. That’s why we are seeing it now." Clear goals allow you to achieve the first half of Bunker Hunt’s success formula. By deciding exactly what you want to accomplish, committing it to writing, and reviewing it on a daily basis, you bring your goals into reality with the power of your focus.

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)

Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.