SETTING
MEANS GETTING by Tom Hopkins
The
average human being has the ability to achieve almost anything. Lack of
basic capability is rarely the problem, but rather finding out what you
want and being willing to sacrifice, change, and grow to satisfy the
want.
In
the seminars I conduct throughout the country, I teach a
20-step system of goal setting to help people achieve and I firmly
believe
it can be applied to all walks of life. Here it is:
1.
If it's not in writing, it's not a goal. An unwritten want is a wish, a
dream, a never-happen. If it's in writing, it's a commitment.
2.
If it's not specific, it's not a goal. Broad desires and lofty aims
have
no effect. It must be concrete.
3.
Goals must be believable. If you don't believe you can achieve a goal,
you won't pay the price for it.
4.
An effective goal is an exciting challenge. It must demand your best
and
a bit more or it isn't going to change your ways and elevate your
lifestyle.
5.
Goals must be adjusted to new information. Adjust them down if they
become
unbelievable or up if they're too easy.
6.
Dynamic goals guide our choices. If you want it badly enough, you'll
turn
off the TV and get to it. Goals will show you the right way to go on
most
decisions.
7.
Don't set short-term goals for more than 90 days. If you set a
short-term
goal that takes more than 90 days, you may lose interest.
8.
Maintain a balance between long-term and short-term goals. Long-term
goals
tend to be hidden in a fog of the future, so have some short-term goals
– like clothes, cars, vacations - to keep your excitement up.
9.
Include your loved ones in your goals. Involve them and they'll buck
you
up when you need encouragement.
10.
Set goals in all areas of your life. Have other goals besides career
objectives.
11.
Your goals must harmonize. Whenever you detect a conflict, set
priorities
that will eliminate the conflict.
12.
Review your goals regularly. Remember, long-term goals can only be
achieved
if they are the culmination of short-term goals.
13.
Set vivid goals. Define not only what you want but by when you want it,
and concentrate on it for a few moments every day.
14.
Don't chisel your goals in granite. Sometimes you have to change goals
to conform to your growing awareness of what's really important in your
life.
15.
Reach out into the future. The idea of goal setting is to plan your
life
rather than taking it as it comes. Begin by setting 20-year goals. Then
10-year, five-year, 30-month, 12-month, monthly, weekly, and finally
goals
for tomorrow and each day for the coming week.
16.
Have a set of goals for every day, and review results each night.
17.
Train yourself to crave your goals. Visualize yourself possessing what
you've set your goals for.
18.
Set activity goals, not production goals. Activity will lead to
production
by itself.
19.
Understand luck, and make it work for you. Expect good things to
happen,
and they probably will.
20.
Start now. Give goal-setting two hours of concentrated focus through
today.
Then set aside 10 minutes a day for the next 21 days to review and
revise.
After that, two minutes a day and one hour a week is all it will take
to
keep you on track.
Try
this system if you want to achieve your goals and within 21 days you'll
be well on your way to an immensely greater and richer future.
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