If I give you the following 6F’s to re-arrange based on your order of priority, how would yours shape up? Here goes: fitness-finances-family-faith-future-friends. The order of your 6F’s determines if you are living a balanced life or not.

A lot depends on your value system. Your value system drives your priorities. It determines your definition of success and the role of money. We may not agree on definitions, but one thing is basic, if your doctors tell you that you will be dead in ten days, you will act different. This begs the question, “Do we have to approach our death bed before we get our priorities right?”

"No man on his deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I’d spent more time at the office.’" Sen. Paul Tsongas

Do we have to look back in regret?

The foundation to our future is being laid in the present. The pursuit of any dream or goal has to be placed in context. Success has to be all round. Succeeding in one area and failing in others still amounts to failure overall. We cannot jeopardize our family life, spiritual life, health or relationships in pursuit of finances or goal. If we achieve our dreams, and look back to find our family gone, or end up in hospital or feel empty or suicidal, you begin to wonder whether it was worth the trouble.

In the heat of the pursuit of our dreams, it is easy to forget about our priorities and live our lives out of synch. It is an ongoing battle. There is a price to pay for our dreams, and we must be ready to pay the price. However, there is a limit to the price we have to pay. This depends on our priorities. Herein lie the conflicts in the pursuit of our dreams.

There are questions that others cannot answer for us. For a Christian, the priority system is pretty well spelt out: faith-family-friends-finances-fitness-future. Some may still have issues with this. In the final analysis, the decision is still up to us.

Ultimately, we have to make a conscious effort to make choices in consonance with our value system, and be ready to bear the consequences. We must not lose sight of the big picture. We need all the 6F’s intact as we breast the finish line. If we leave any one behind, we end up with a hollow victory.

If things are no longer at ease and you are experiencing any of these symptoms:

- tension in the home, the children avoid you and everyone snaps at each other
- lack of peace within, you feel hollow and empty inside
- you are always feeling tired, you wake up tired and go to bed tired
- you cannot remember the last time you exercised
- your friendships have become a distant memory

It may be time to shut down, take a deep breath and exhale. Something is wrong somewhere. If you look hard enough, you will find out where.

Sit back and take a second look at how you’ve been going about pursuing your dream. Admit to yourself that there is a better way. Go back to the basics, and begin again. It is possible to have the 6F’s right by you as you breast the finish line. Anything less is hollow, empty and not worth the trouble.

Usiere Uko is the webmaster of the Financial Freedom Inspiration website and editor of the monthly Financial Freedom Inspiration Newsletter, a free ezine to inspire you to exit the rat race and fulfill your God given dreams. To subscribe or visit the site, please click on the URL below. http://www.financial-freedom-inspiration.com. He is also webmaster of http://www.newdawninspiration.com

Have you ever made up your mind to do something, did it and then had disappointing, lackluster results?

Well, you’re definitely not alone in that.

Recently, I came to realize that there are people who make up their minds to do something and take "Action" right away, only to become defeated and never look back and stick with their idea. Tjhey don’t achieve the results that they desire and self improvement and sucess seem a distant dream.

You see, the problem is not necessarily with the idea but rather in their need for immediate gratification and taking "Action" right away. Immediate gratification has become so inherent in our society that even "Action" has become a problem just like fast food and diet pills.

Sure, there are entire billion dollar industries built on fulfilling the need for immediate gratification but, sometimes the cost is too high and often it is more than just money.

I’ve personally seen men with reputable and thriving businesses make such immediate gratification "Action" decisions and lose the trust and money of the customers that they worked years to acquire. They ruin the success they worked hard to achieve.

Our personal lives and businesses are not the only things that are affected by such decisions. Our customers and family are too.

In the end there is really only one course of "Action" that should be taken and it is often not even considered. It is "EFFECTIVE ACTION" that makes all of the difference in our lives and businesses. Strange?

Effective Action can only be taken and applied when we use the SMART Goal Setting Principle with a twist.

SMART = Specific + Measurable + Achievable + Realistic + Timely

Specific: A goal needs to be exact and clearly stated. Vague and general terms are not goals. Your brain needs to focus on a specific target.

Measurable: How do you know when the goal is completed? When stating your goal you should state how you are going to measure when it is complete. If you don’t know the measurement then you will never know that you have achieved it.

Achievable: Your goal must be attainable. If you have not learned what you need to know in order to attain your goal, then you must either learn it and then apply or find someone to assist you that already knows what you don’t. Think about past achievements or failures in your life and apply some of the lessons that you learned.

Realistic: Being realistic is a bit tricky. What may be realistic for you may not be realistic for others. You can see this truth throughout your life. Keep your goal within boundaries that you set and upgrade how realistic it is as you get closer or achieve more.

Timely: Keep a specific time of day for working towards your goal. In addition to that, keep a timeline of when you intend on completing each portion of your goal. Keep track of each item completed and when. Tracking is an essential element in achievement.

The twist in taking Effective Action is in the asking of specific questions. The questions are not asked of others but they rather are asked of you!

For example, if you wanted to lose weight and didn’t have a lot time to exercise; your question would be:

Q - What is the most time efficient or effective way for me to lose weight through exercise?

A - The most time efficient way would be through interval training or sprint training type of activites that involve little time and maximum effort, which result in maximum fat loss.

Thanks to the information age and your own subconcious mind, the answers are available but you just have to ask them.

Effective Action involves a little planning, thought, and question asking but, the results will be available as proof that this method is better than just taking plain "Action."

So in the end it is "Effective Action" that gets the results you want and they are not always immediate. Self Improvement and Success are guaranteed!

Copyright 2005 Rasheed Ali

Rasheed Ali was once homeless and penniless on the streets of New York and is now helping to change the lives of THOUSANDS of people around the world with his innovative coaching, mentoring and newsletters. He is the worlds first Solution Coach and 80/20 Mentor. You can learn more about him and his newsletters at http://www.SleepYourWayToRiches.com

You’ve heard it before, "The key to succeeding is make sure you write down your goals plan and review them daily!" The problem is the onus is on you to remember to review them and if you are able to review more than once a day, you’re better than most.

But is 1,2 or 3 times daily enough to make them happen. Is it often enough to engrain with certainty, your goal objectives will be met? If you’re truly serious about your goals and achieving them, why would you even want to leave that to chance?

Why not put your daily goal review on autopilot. Imagine having your goals fed 1000’s of times a day to your subconscious mind unobtrusively while all the while you’re working, typing, playing or surfing on your computer.

If you want to have the most impact, you have to engage the other 5/6ths of your brain ( your subconscious) to work harmoniously with your conscious will ( 1/6th of your brain power).

Today, we have the technology to do precisely that. Open up your mind to these new proven techniques and watch your goals transform and gravitate to your desires. Your goals deserve everything you have in your arsenal to make them happen.

Rich Douglas is a self improvement newsletter columnist and the creator of an amazing software program that will recondition your mind to positively impact over 31 key areas in your life. His simple as pie approach means it works unobtrusively while you’re in front of your computer, working, surfing, typing or playing a game. Click Here Now ==> http://www.easymotivation.com Click Here Now ==>http://www.easymotivation.com/familyeditionfull.html

In 75 years time almost every person reading these words will probably be dead. Some, like me, will be long gone before that time - unless, of course, some scientist creates a miraculous anti-aging pill. Scary huh?

The way that so many people keep putting off significant life goals you would think that they had thousands of years to live. "Ah, I’ll leave it till tomorrow / next week / next month / next year / whenever…" These words are thought and uttered by millions every minute of every day.

Life is short. It’s shorter than most people realize.

When it comes to time everybody gets treated the same way. It doesn’t matter whether you are a pauper or a king. Time does not discriminate. No matter how much money you have you will never be able to purchase any units of time. Time does not care what you look like or how talented you are. It doesn’t care where you were born or who your parents are or what nationality you are.

Apart from the air we breathe, water, food and shelter, it is our most precious commodity. From the moment we are born we begin to use it up.

Why then are so many people prepared to waste time? You know that you are not going to live forever. You know that every passing day just reduces the amount of time you have to fulfil your life goals. Set a date. Make a promise to yourself. Put some checkpoints in place. Measure your progress on a consistent basis.

How important are your goals? Are they significant enough for you to expend the required time on bringing them to fruition? Well? How just important are they to you?

Father time will not wait for you. Make a start today. Write yourself a plan. Stick to it. Spend your time wisely. You will never get it back. Become inspired.

This article comes with reprint rights providing no changes are made and the resource box below accompanies it.

Become inspired: Click here to receive Gary Simpson’s short "zenspirational" weekly message PLUS an immediate FREE copy of his inspirational e-book "The Power of Choice." Read this and you will NEVER waste time again - guaranteed!

In previous articles I discussed Purpose and Potential (you can visit my website to see these articles). Your purpose defines your basic motivation in life and your potential is the capabilities that you have and can further develop in support of achieving your aspirations. I have also spoken about Presence, which relates to the state of being in which you are fully aware and knowledgeable about your self, others, and the world around you and that allows you to be fully aware of your purpose and potential. Knowing who you are, your place in the world, what motivates you, and your capabilities, however, are not sufficient to ensure that you are on the path to achieving your aspirations. You need to have a plan that builds upon this knowledge and that helps you define and clarify the vision that you have for your life. Preparation is the work that you do to ensure that you have a vision as well as the plan for achieving that vision.

The first step in Preparation is to clarify your short-term and long-term goals. What do you want to achieve? When? Why? How do these goals serve your purpose? In answering these questions, you will be better able to understand where you are going and why. Without this knowledge, you are more likely to go through your day-to-day life without satisfying your purpose or fulfilling your potential. Envision yourself leaving your home and walking the streets without a particular destination in mind. While it might be interesting or fun to begin with, at some point you will begin to ask yourself where you are, why are there and where are you going. Anxiety is likely to set in when you are unable to answer these questions. It is in our nature, as human beings, to have a destination or goals. Even at the most fundamental level of existence, we have goals that are driven by our need for security, shelter and food. At a more complex level, we will have goals that are driven by our need to satisfy our purpose. Through the intentional setting of goals that serve our purpose, we are in a better position to fulfill that purpose and to lead more satisfying lives.

It is also important to ensure that you have goals that are both short-term and long-term. If all of your goals will take many months or years to achieve, it will be too easy to get frustrated and discouraged. You need to have goals that will allow you to gain a sense of accomplishment on a fairly frequent basis. As well, goals need to be clearly defined, measurable, realistic, and have a timeframe attached. You need to know that what you are striving for can be achieved, when it will be achieved, and how you will know that you have achieved it.

The second step in Preparation is to understand what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals. You need a plan that defines the steps required for you to follow in the pursuit of your aspirations. Our lives are very complex. If you think about the last time that you tried to put something together, such as a child’s bicycle or a new computer, without following the instructions, you will have a sense for how important it is to have a plan. Knowing your potential is particularly important in this step as it provides the context in which you will build your plan especially if your goals require you to improve on or develop new capabilities. As well, you need to understand what might keep you from achieving your goals. Presence is very important here as it will be your ability to be present that allows you to know what needs to be done, to discover possible roadblocks or challenges, and the path that you will need to follow in order to overcome these challenges.

The final step in Preparation is to write it all down! A written plan is much more real than one that you keep in your head. As well, you can put your written plan in places that will remind you of where you are going and what you need to be doing to get there. If your plan is out in the open and accessible to you, you are more likely to follow it and keep it up to date. Start with your vision and the ultimate goal that is defined by your purpose. From there, define the sub-goals that will move you towards this vision. If you need to, further sub-divide you sub-goals into sub-sub-goals and so on. Finally, write down the specific actions that you need to take in order to achieve your lowest level of sub-goals. Each level of your plan should be more specific and more actionable (i.e. something that you need to do that has very clear and measurable results).

On a final note, it is very important to be focussed in the pursuit of your aspirations. While a well-defined and visible plan will help you keep this focus, you also need to have a manageable number of goals. Too many goals will only serve to confuse and discourage you. As Neil Young sings in the single, “The Painter” from his new album Prairie Wind (2005), “If you follow every dream you might get lost”. Staying focussed will help you to always know where you are, where you are going and what your next step is … and keeps you from getting lost.

Copyright © 2005 by Peter Cartmill, All rights reserved.

Peter Cartmill is a Personal and Career Coach and the founder of GreatAspirations.ca. To learn more about how Coaching can benefit you, visit http://www.greataspirations.ca.

If your like me, know doubt you have had a time happen where you had a super idea, but for whatever reason you let a month or so pass and the next thing you know your ’sure winner’ was little more than a fleeting thought. My friend it happens to us all. The important thing is that we take that important ‘first step’…

How’s this accomplished you ask? Each day set for yourself an action step that you must take towards its completion. For example, say I tell myself that today I want to spend x amount of time researching my idea. In doing this I have taken an active step that will keep the idea fresh in my mind. Remember, goals are accomplished with daily (often times in tiny steps) steps!

Even more important than daily steps is to try and give your goal a time frame. For example if I say, "ok Josh I want to be able to be at such and such a point by (pick your particular time frame) I am far more likely to achieve it then if I do so without giving myself a deadline (make certain your deadlines are realistic. Be careful not to choose unrealistic time frames. Doing so could leave you feeling extremely discouraged).

A bit about deadlines. We need to be careful that our self- imposed deadlines are realistic. I can think of nothing as discouraging as having chosen a deadline only to find that it wasn’t reached (not because we didn’t act, but rather that time simply would not allow for its achievement).

To your success, Josh Hinds

Josh Hinds specializes in helping people set and achieve their goals and live the life of their dreams. For expert advice on goal setting visit http://GoalsSuccess.com now!

One of the worst things you can have in your life is a dream.

Dreams are inconsiderate. They demand your attention when you’re busy doing less important things with your life. There you are, unconsciously whiling away your day when — BAM! — out of nowhere comes this crazy dream, prodding you in a different direction; what a nuisance that can be.

Dreams are unreasonable. They always seem to involve something new, or something bold, or something just downright wonderful. Not your average fare, to say the least. Where do these dreams come from? Disneyland? I mean, talk about having your head in the clouds.

Dreams are pests. You ignore them. You cleverly explain to them why they’re impossible. You even give them a shot every once in a while, only to watch them fail miserably. And yet they keep coming back. Don’t they learn?

Dreams are flirts. They tease us. They’re constantly showing us more leg, more cleavage, whatever it takes to get us aroused yet again. And the worst part is that it works. Off we go on yet another tantalizing dream date, only to trudge back to reality months, weeks, days, hours or even minutes later, feeling not a little ashamed for our indulgence of fantasy.

Yes, dreams suck.

Fortunately, I’ve found an effective way to get around all this. I must warn you though; it’s a radical approach. Do this, and your dream problems will be over once and for all. Here it is…

Believe your dream will come true.

Believe your dream will come true, and suddenly it won’t be demanding your attention, because it will already have it.

Believe your dream will come true, and suddenly it won’t be unreasonable, because you believe it is possible.

Believe your dream will come true, and suddenly it won’t be a pest, because it will always be there, encouraging you.

Believe your dream will come true, and suddenly it won’t be a flirt, because you’ll finally get to go all the way with it.

Yes, dreams suck. But only if you don’t believe they’ll come true.

Copyright (c) Grant Pasay 2005. All rights reserved. You may forward this article in its entirety (including author bio/links) to anyone you wish.

Grant Pasay is a professional website copywriter, advertising copywriter, and SEO copywriter serving clients in Vancouver, BC and everywhere. Grant is also the author of the FREE e-book, "The Internet Is Like A Refrigerator."

For copy that captures your business message without any of the hassle, go to http://grantpasay.com/

Check out Grant’s FREE e-book at http://grantpasay.com/refrigerator/