Success...One Day At A Time

Does Goal Setting Really Work?

Where success is concerned, I have a big problem with goals.

The whole purpose of goal setting is to have a target, work backwards from it, then break down what you need to do in manageable chunks.

Sounds fine on paper...and it seems to work for some people (especially for the authors who write books about goal setting!).

But...

- I have achieved things I wouldn't have imagined being able to
- I have NOT done things that I really thought I wanted to do...and now know that I would hate.
- Had situations thrown at me that overnight changed my whole perspective about who I am and what I wanted to do
- Met people and read books that, through single ideas, made immediate decisions about directions I wanted to take
- Realized that my 'ideal' five years ago meant that I would spend more time doing stuff that I didn't like, unlike today, where most of my day is spent doing stuff that is interesting and challenging.

I could go on.

Now...before you get angry with me about slating goals...I want to tell you that I DO believe in having them.

But...not in the sense that most people do.

You see...I set my goals purposely to be fluid, dynamic, moving targets...which I haven't got a hope in hell of back-working to nail down what I should be doing today instead of sharing this with you!

My goals are BIG, certainly...but they are missing an ingredient that most people tell you that you should include...

A specific income figure.

Why?

Well...I MAY end up earning a million dollars a year/month/day/minute...but if it means that I am doing stuff I don't really enjoy, or that I am missing out on being able to do things with my family etc...then it ain't for me.

I once even wrote an article when I started out online that is published in a book that talks about how I would become a millionaire in three years.

How naive I was back then!

Since then, I've realized that a BIG goal is all you need to aim.

I now aim for between one and three a year.

Last year was to sort out my finances.
This year was my health and the automation of my business.
Next year will be laying the foundation for the long-term future, and seeing how I can achieve even more (and better) work with less 'effort' (effort being having to do stuff I don't enjoy)

The year after that?

Well...that can wait until the other stuff is out of the way!

By using goals in this way...I don't force myself into doing specific tasks at specific times.

I always have an easy checklist whenever I do anything...

If it isn't, then I either find some way of getting done differently, or just move on and focus on something else that DOES move me towards my target.

It's simple because it has to be.

You may be a methodical, task-oriented person who enjoys ticking off the next task...but I'm too laid back for that.

Above all where goals are concerned is that you know what sort of person you are.

For example, I'm pretty self-motivated, and have some discipline for getting things done when I need to.

You may be someone who needs structure, daily routines, and set hours, to get things done....in which case, my type of goal setting may not work for you.

Remember, is it YOU that it has to work for...and if you find that you are struggling to follow something because you feel that you should, give some thought to the fact that the system may not suit you...and not the other way around!

Self Improvement Or Life Improvement? Only You Decide

Life has thrown me a very interesting couple of days this week.

On two separate occasions...I have lost important files, and in one of the cases, thanks to my hosting company, thousands of dollars of income.

That certainly didn't put me in a good mood, I can tell you.

Throw into the mix a 20-month old who has hit the terrible twos early, a 10-year-old who believes that her opinion is always the right one, and a wife whose patience is being 'challenged' by both of them - and it's an interesting time to work from home!

Here's a reminder of what those two 'little angels' look like:

Anyway...

I bet that YOU have been in similar situations...you know, where you go through a few days where you can't speak without an argument, or your relatives do something that winds your partner up, or where the kids just want to make you scream.

You see...ALL of us, by and large, have pretty similar things happen to us...

- We have interesting times in our relationships
- Things don't quite go as planned at work
- We have periods where we wonder what the point of it all is.
- We have 'bad things' happen to us...like losing loved ones, illness, accidents etc
- We might often have money worries in the back of our mind.

Sound familiar?

Yeh...thought so!

I don't about YOU...but I've had ALL of those things happen in my life over the last couple of years at different times.

And I expect that I will have more of them in the future too...whether I want them or not.

You see...as you and I are only human...we can't help but attract these sorts of things into our lives.

Even the most motivated people have challenging things happen to them.

(If they tell you otherwise then they're liars!).

It's because...even with the best will in the world...we CAN'T 100% of the time be forward looking, positive people.

Life and its challenges see to that.

But...

It's how myself and Lesley managed to deal with losing Connor at only four-and-a-half...and it's made us better, and more positive people because of it.

Even the most guru-est of gurus have challenges in their lives.

It may not be in the public eye...but there are many stories of bankruptcies, messy divorces, alcholism, drug abuse, and depression that never come out about some of the most successful and famous people in the world.

You only have to look in the history books to find examples of hugely successful people (who were once viewed as positive role-models) to prove this point.

Remember...

1 - Accept that 'life is sh*t' and complain about how unlucky you are (and therefore attract more crap into your life because of it).

or

2 - Accept that YOU are 100% responsible for your current situation - whether you believe it or not, and it is ONLY YOU who can move yourself forward from where you are by focusing on how you view what is happening to you...

And then do SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Sure...'bad things happen to good people'.

But...quite often, these 'bad things' are the very things that turn peoples' lives around as they use them as springboards to make sure that they make the most of their lives.

So, yes...you ARE allowed to have bad days.

But...don't going turning them into 'bad lives'.

You're too special and talented to allow yourself waste this amazing opportunity called life.

Tomorrow begins YOUR new life, free of the mental pressures that you put yourself under 'because...'

Use it as an opportunity to move on...and make the most of just being YOU...without all that 'baggage' that has followed you around for too long!