Goal Setting Basics 2012

Goal Setting 2012

Teaching & Speaking on Goal Setting is one of my greatest joys!  I love to teach people how to accomplish their own Dreams.  Here are some basic principles that you can apply to your own life to enhance your Goal Setting Experiences.

Moving Forward: The Power of Goal Setting

 IMPORTANCE OF GOAL SETTING

1. 1. Most of today’s Experts, Millionaires, Top Business Leaders such as; Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Denis Waitley, Jack Canfield, Zig Ziglar & many others – today all state that Goal Setting is or was the primary key that got them where they are today.
   2. Experts on the Science of success have proven that whatever goal you give you subconscious mind, it will work day and night to achieve.
   3. Statistics have shown that less than 10% of Americans have clear, written, measurable goals.

1. HOW TO GET STARTED
   1. 1^stcriteria for Goal Setting – Decide exactly what you want in each key area of your life:
      1.  Income/Financial – how much you want to make per year, how much in savings, how much invested etc.
      2. Business & Career – What area do you want advance in your career, or to what level in your Business.
      3. Fun & Recreational Goals – Vacations, Vacation Homes, Golfing, or other sports you enjoy on a regular basis.
      4. Health & Fitness – Working out, weighing a certain amount, walking, running, etc.
      5. Relationships – What would your ideal relationships look like – if married, how to perhaps improve the marriage, if single; who would be your ideal partner, Family relationships with siblings, children, parents etc. Ideal Friendships.
      6. Personal – Whatever it is YOU want – just because you want it: New car, new house, personal growth, take classes those types of things.
      7. Contribution & Legacy – What do you want to leave the world or help contribute to in order to make this world a better place.

1. 2^ndCriteria For Goal Setting:
   1. (The biggest key here) Write them down – you can’t hit a target that you cannot see:
      1. You can use 3×5 cards, special journal/notebook = Goals Book etc.    (I personally like to have a small journal with tabs and keep my goal in there).  Pick whatever works for you.

1. 3^rdCriteria For Goal Setting – Define them in detail
   1. How much by when
      1. Examples of properly written goals: Instead of saying “I want to loose weight” – You want to state something like; “I will weigh 140# by September 30^th 2011.  Instead of, “I want a new car” – You want to state: “I will own a 2011, Royal Blue Suburban with Grey interior, custom seats, pioneer stereo with Ipod deck, entertainment system in the back, etc.” You want to use clear, vivid details.  ** Here is why; The mind cannot tell the difference between vivid imagination & reality. When you define your goals with clarity and detail the subconscious mind immediately goes to work as it now has a clear target.

1. Set deadlines – You want to be specific in your dates or deadlines – how far – start with 90 days – 90 days is like a season, just out of reach but not out of sight.  So 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, to 5 years goals – of course on the long term goals you will break those down into sub-goals of what it will take to get there eventually.
2. Do not worry about missing a deadline – if you do – simply re-set the deadline.  There are NO FAILURES in Goals – you either change the Goal, or you change the target date.
3. Get pictures – A fun idea is to have a vision board where you take a piece of cardboard, or poster board and you paste some pictures of your goals – then hang the board in your office or somewhere where you will see it daily to help keep your goals in front of you.  The idea with this part is to ‘have fun with it’ and be creative.

1. 4^thCriteria for Goal Setting – READ YOUR GOALS DAILY
   1. Read your goals preferably twice per day – once in morning upon rising, once before retiring – by repetition this firmly plants them in the sub-conscious mind and it goes to work to change your external reality so that it is consistent with what you want internally by creating great ideas;
      1. Suddenly they’ll be coming to you in the shower
      2. Or you will be doing something and you’ll get a new idea for a product line or website.

This is the mind at work helping you create your dreams.

(I actually have an ‘idea journal’ in my bathroom because so many ideas have come to me when I was taking a shower or getting ready to go somewhere)

1. I personally like to use Jack Canfield approach (I am so thankful and grateful that ….. )
   1. Always write in positive tense: instead of “I will” state “I am” or “I have”.  Then at the end, “all this or something for the greater good is on it’s way”.

1. 5^thCriteria for Goal Setting – VISUALIZE YOUR GOALS
   1. When you read your goals daily, you want to create clear pictures in your mind as if you already have achieved them – again the mind can’t tell the difference between vivid imagination & reality.  If I tell you to close your eyes and imagine biting into a nice crisp dill pickle, your mouth is going to start watering, as your mind believes that you are biting into that pickle.  It is the same with your goals.

1. WHEN YOU REACH A GOAL
   1. Check it off
   2. Do something to reward yourself: if it’s a weight goal – go buy that new dress or those pair of slacks, or that suit.  If it’s a relationship goal – go on a week-end getaway.  Find something to reward yourself with.
   3. Add new goals as they come to you – if you are reading them daily – you will have new ideas and new goals form in your mind as you go along.  Some goals may even drop off and not be important anymore or they may change.

1. CONCLUSION
   1. Resolve that no matter what – you will not give up – it has been proven that the mind must have AT LEAST 30 DAYS of un-interrupted consistency in order to fully plant that ‘seed’ and create working habits.
   2. So – Decide what you want, write it down in detail, make a plan, & work on it daily.  When you do this it becomes habit & you will accomplish more in a very short time than many other people accomplish in years.

The actual POWER in Goal Setting lies in activating the sub-conscious mind & learning to use the ideas as they come.