Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

You are responsible for your future. 

There are things you can do right now to make certain that you have everything you want in your business and in your career.

The first step in creating your future is to set goals for yourself and your business.

Here are some important things to keep in mind about goals:

Goals should be stated in the positive.  Goals must help you focus on a positive outcome.  A goal such as – Get out of Debt by January 2008 – is only going to serve to help keep you in debt.  Why?  Because your subconscious mind only focuses on the debt aspect of that statement.  A better goal is – Achieve Financial Freedom by January 2008. This goal focuses you on the positive aspects of this goal.

You must write your goals down.  A goal that is not written down is just an idea.  Once you write them down they are cemented in your mind.  Writing them down gives them a sense of permanence.  Taking this step commits you to focusing on the goals in your daily actions.

You must review your goals daily.  Reviewing your goals each and every single day is the only way to make certain that you will achieve them.  You become what you think about most.  If you focus on your goals on a daily basis you are more likely to seize upon opportunities that will bring you closer to achieving them. 

Focus on the outcome.  Don’t spend your time and energy worrying about how you will achieve your goal.  As you intensify your focus on making your goal a reality, the path will become evident.  It will literally reveal itself to you.  Many analytical people ask me how this happens.  There are a number of ways.  Some folks say that the universe aligns itself based upon the vibration you put out. Others say that your unconscious mind works diligently on your goal and steers you down the path toward success.  Ultimately it doesn’t matter how or why this happens.  Focusing on the outcome works.   

Visualize yourself achieving your goal.  See yourself being congratulated by friends and family for your success.  See yourself accepting the keys to your new home or new car (if that was your goal).  See yourself shaking hands with your new clients.  Visualize yourself in front of television cameras telling your story of success. You mind does not know the difference between visualization and reality.  This visualization will help you break down any barriers you may have (subconsciously) to the success you deserve.

Act as if you have already achieved your goal.  This point is often overlooked by people because they find it “hokey”.  You need to act as if you have already achieved your goal in order to make it a reality.  Do this for the same reasons I have listed above.  Breaking down your mental resistance is critical to making your goals a reality.  In addition, other people will begin to see you as already achieving your goal if you act as if you have already made it happen. This will lead them to offer you opportunities that will accelerate your progress.

You should celebrate progress toward goal achievement.  This step is often overlooked by business leaders.  As you progress down the path toward goal achievement you should take every opportunity to celebrate achievement as you progress toward making your goals a reality.  This step will help you keep the momentum going.

These seven tips are the basics to making your goals a reality.  Although they are the basics, few people practice them.  If you truly want success you will use these guidelines to make you goals a reality.

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Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

I have always been a proponent of setting goals based upon the SMART goal development methodology. Many individuals have taken credit for the development of this acronym over the years and I would love to give credit where credit is due but it is impossible to determine who first developed this paradigm. What I do know is that it is helpful in developing effective goals at any level.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Tangible. A goal must fit all of those criteria in order for it to make your list.

The first quality of a goal is that it is specific. The more detail you can bring to your goal, the more likely it is that your brain will perceive it as real. A great test to measure the specificity of your goal is in answering the five “W’s.” The five “W’s” involved in goal setting are:

Who: Who is involved? Can you accomplish this goal by yourself or do you need the help of others?

What: What specifically do you want to accomplish?

Where: Is this goal specific to a location? Where will you be when you achieve this goal?

When: When will you achieve this goal? It is critical that you establish a timeframe for achieving each of your goals.

Why: Why is achieving this goal important? List the specific benefits of accomplishing the goal.The next step is to make certain you can measure progress on your way toward goal accomplishment. You know that your goal is measurable when you can apply specific objective criteria to help track your progress toward completion. The best question to use to test the measurability of your goals is, “How will I know that I have accomplished this goal?”

Measurement has a very powerful effect on progress. Simply put, things that get measured get done. To define how you will measure your goal, ask yourself questions that begin with How much, How many, and How often. Use strategies such as target dates to make sure you remain on track.

The next quality your goal must have is that it must be achievable. In other words, it must be possible. Initially, achieving your goal may seem like a stretch. That’s fine; you want a goal that will make you reach. When you set a goal that channels your passion, your brain goes to work figuring out ways to make it happen. You develop the attitudes, skills, and knowledge that help you move down the path toward achievement. Gradually, you begin to see opportunities that you may have previously missed. As you begin to take advantage of these opportunities, you bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goal.

You can attain virtually any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a timeframe that allows you to carry out those steps. A goal that initially appeared distant and unattainable gradually becomes closer and more possible, not because your goal changed, but because you grew and expanded to match it. The change occurs within you. When you write out your goal, you commit to it. This builds your self-image. You begin to see yourself differently. The work you do toward goal achievement helps you believe that you are worthy of the goal. When you realize that you deserve this success, you begin to develop the traits that will help lead you toward achievement. That’s the power of goal setting and achievement and why you must set goals that are achievable.

Next, your goal must be realistic. To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective you are both willing and able to spend time and energy achieving. A goal can be challenging and still be realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. You will stretch your goals as your self-confidence increases. It is critical to make sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a less challenging one because a minor goal requires a low level of personal motivation. Some of the hardest things you ever accomplish actually seem easy because you approach them with passion and zeal.

Finally, your goal must be tangible. A goal is tangible when you can experience it with at least one of the five senses. Can you taste, touch, smell, see, or hear the results? If so, then you have a tangible goal. If your goal is tangible, or when you tie a tangible goal to an intangible objective, you can envision it before it is achieved. This helps program your mind and reinforces the belief that achievement is possible.

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