I’ve always been the type of person to keep my eyes on the prize, but the times in my life that I find were the most hectic were the times when I had no prize to keep my eyes on.
If you are to achieve anything significant in life or business you must have goals. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Do you disagree? Well tell me what you want to be? If you had any answer to that question then you must have a goal.
Whether your answer was Doctor, Lawyer, Senator, Millionaire or anything that states that you would like to be someone or something, what you are actually doing was stating a goal.
The only person without a goal is a dead person. And when I say dead I do not only mean that in the physical term. A person without goals can be very much alive but not living, they will spend time wandering through life aimlessly, spinning their wheels and running in circles chasing their tails until they are dead in the physical term.
Goals are what gets you up in the morning and give you something to aim for throughout your days. You must make your goals the pot of gold (reward or outcome) at the end of your rainbow (journey).
Now I like to K.I.S.S. (no not that one). What I mean is Keep It Simple Stupid, so my rules for goal setting are real basic. And that is the beauty of them. I am sure you heard theses before and I also add a little something to them to make them more effective.
Now as basic as my rules are you would be surprised at how many people skip the basics in favor of some, new found, edgy lengthy goal setting technique. Now I am not saying that those advanced techniques don’t work but if you lack the basic skills then believe me the advanced skills are going to be of no help to you.
I have always applied the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting, and because of the simplicity of this I will always apply SMART method and I think every one could benefit from its simplicity.
All of your goals should be.
Specific: You must hit the hammer squarely on the head of the nail. Your goals are no place for vagueness and generalities. You must be crystal clear on the outcome you seek. The more specific you are with your goal the easier it will be to plan and achieve; because if you don’t know where you are going how do you expect on planning to get there. Examples: I want a car should be I drive a BMW 760 LI that is black with a beige interior and has a silver trim. (One of my first). I want my own business should be I run a multinational company which helps people to learn how to build wealth (another one of mine).
Measurable: You must have a way to know if you are getting closer to your goal, further away from it or if your goal is completed. Give yourself some milestones to which will eventually be part of your plan. Example: I will put some money on my new car, is not a goal. It is better to say I have put 15k down on my BMW 760LI on Sept 3rd. (Now that is a pretty good milestone.
Attainable + Realistic: I grouped these together because the way they are used in goal setting goes hand in hand. This is where goal setting can get a little tricky. Your goal has to be something that you can realistically hope to obtain. This is the area where most people’s goal setting turns flat. It requires that you look at your goals and ask yourself is this goal something that I can do. In other words this is where reality steps in.
Most people tend to get a little too real (pessimistic) when with their goals at this point and start to down play their goals. Whatever you do DON’T DO THAT!! (Yes I am raising my voice at you). I believe in the human potential. If it has been done before it can be done again. In many cases even if it has never been done it is still doable. If you have to choose between aiming high and aiming low, aim high. I have a saying (well most of it is mine) If you aim for the sun and miss you may hit a star and you are still doing okay, but if you aim for the dirt I guarantee you will hit the dirt.
Timed: This is a biggie. You cannot have a goal without a date on it. Let me repeat that you cannot have a goal without a date on it. You must know when you expect to achieve your goals. A goal without a date is a dream without hope. If you do not put a date on your goals it will take forever to achieve them, and you don’t have that long.
A question I am often asked when discussing goal setting is timing. Someone will state a goal and then ask me how much time I think that they should give themselves to accomplish it. There are a lot of circumstances that go into how long a goal will take to accomplish. What I suggest that you do not do is try to keep up with the Joneses. Now don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of competition, but you can’t say to yourself “well Mr. X made his 1st Million in 10 months so I can make mine in the same amount of time. I know I said that if it has been done it can be done again but the timing for your goals should be based on your circumstances and talents no one else’s.
Now along with the SMART technique I also have a few other rules that I find useful in setting goals. And here they are.
Write them down: Sounds basic right. I am amazed at the amount of people that skip this basic step. I have even spoken to people that would swear by the goals that are in their skulls. But if you know the saying out of sight out of mind (yes I do use a lot of clichés) but ten out of the ten people who tell me they have their goals in there mind have yet to hit a single one. I say to those people with the goals in their heads; if you do not write down your goals I guarantee that you will not achieve them. Besides there is no way that your goals can be SMART if they are not written down.
Sign and date your goals: Make it a contract. This can be summed up in one word, COMMIT! (see there I go shouting again) Commit to your goals, commit to yourself, make it a contract, a promise. And if you are an honorable person (which I am sure you are you will not want to break a promise to someone you will have to face the rest of your life, You. This is where the rubber meets the road; make it a priority, a driving force in your day to day activities.
Review and revise: A few lines back we went over out of sight out of mind. Well it is not enough to just write your goals down and stick them in the back of you drawer. If you do not review your goals on a daily basis, you will lose sight of you direction. Also your goals are not written on stone tablets (well mine aren’t), don’t be afraid to change your goals if necessary. A word of caution , do not do this in haste, if you find yourself constantly revising your goals, then review the smart rules and make sure that the goal is stated correctly. If you fall short of your goal but you have given it your all by all means revise the goal to give yourself a victory, and celebrate.
Which brings me to my last rule: Celebrate your success; don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back. So many people are quick to punish themselves for a mistake yet never congratulate themselves for the things that they do right. Celebrate all your victories no matter how big or small, this motivates you to making and achieving more goals.
Amar Brown is the CEO of Gateway Real Estate Inc. a real estate service company located in New York City. His company specializes in creative real estate, mortgages, hard money loans for investors, credit repair and improvement, and consulting.
He is the owner of [http://www.GatewayREInc.com] and [http://www.Your1stMillion.net] a website which features information and education on wealth building techniques using Real Estate, Stocks, The Internet, Network Marketing (MLM), Mental Preparation and Motivation. He is an author and speaker on the subjects of , Real Estate, Credit Repair, Wealth Building, and Motivation. Please feel free to contact him with any subjects of interest.
Gateway Real Estate Inc
615 W 164th St Suite 33B
New York, NY 10032
718-395-2270
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