Live the Life of Your Dreams lV - Goal Setting

When writing down your goals try to be as specific as possible in your description, ie. "I want a five bedroom victorian style home on two acres on the bay. It will have a tennis court and beautifully landscaped swimming pool..." The clearer the picture you have of your goal, the easier it will be to visualize its attainment.


Once you've spent some time filling up the three columns with things you'd like to do, be, have, etc., (see my blog from 6/28) go back over each entry and estimate how long it will take you to reach that goal. Some may be short term (six months to a year) some may take two years, five years, ten years or longer. Next, go back to your list and pick out your three most important goals - those that really excite you; those that, when achieved, would make your feel like your life was a success. I've taken my three main goals, printed them on a card the size of a business card and had the card laminated. I carry them with me every day. I think of my goals whenever I reach into my pocket. I think of them when I put the card in my pocket in the morning and I think of my goals when I empty my pockets at night. The card helps me keep my goals in the forefront of my mind.

An important element of achieving your goals is to visualize the attainment of each goal and really pay attention to how good you feel getting to that point. Savor the good feelings as you see yourself living the life of your dreams.

Another strategy is to put together a vision board. Cut out pictures and words that illustrate your main goals. Keep it in sight so you can refer to it often during the day. Again, it's important to feel good as you see yourself becoming the person you want to be.

The important thing is to WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS! Don't just think about them...WRITE THEM DOWN!

There was a study done some years ago in which graduates of Harvard Business School were asked two questions. The first question was, "Do you have wirtten goals?" The second question was, "What is your annual income?" The results were that those MBA's who had written goals had incomes three times higher than those MBA's who did not have written goals. Any questions?