Archive for the 'Goal Setting' Category

As 2007 draws to a close I wanted to share with you some ideas for the coming year. This is always a good time to reflect on the past and look forward to tomorrow.

For me 2007 was a watershed year. It was a time of preparation for the future along with a time of learning and testing. This was also the busiest year that I had in some time. My regular job would regularly run 60-70 hours per week over the past few months which causes all sorts of things to get out of whack.

I’ve learned…

How valuable time is and how easy it is to squander it away.

How stress can effect so many things in our lives.

Just because something is urgent doesn’t mean it is important.

This year has also had its exciting moments, with a trip with my wife to Alaska and seeing the amazing glaciers and wonderful small towns. Some other highlights were spending time with my daughter and her husband in Seattle, taking our annual trip to the wine country of Santa Barbara, and listening to some amazing audio books.

One of the greatest things I’ve learned this year is the importance of doing things that you are passionate about. A few weeks ago I published a 20 question Top-5 goal list. After spending about a half hour going through it and looking at my results I found that the answers really surprised me.

Almost all the answers relate to communicating and relating with other people. Learning new things, teaching others, and creating new products and services. I took an online test earlier this year from the Gallup Organization which revealed my top five strengths. They are…

1. Ideation
2. Positivity
3. Futuristic
4. Learner
5. Individualization

These strengths need to be a part of what I do for a living. Currently I have a regular job that is almost 180 degrees out from this. So I’ve put together a list of goals that will help me move in that direction.

One of the best things I’ve found to move forward with a goal is to find someone who has done what you are attempting before and has been successful at it. A mentor if you will.

Three amazing people come to mind that have done just that. I want to learn from…

Brian Gardner: The creator of the amazing Revolution Wordpress Theme, began 2007 without a domain name, had never touched a piece of WordPress code, and knew nothing about blog design. As of this writing he is going to quit his day job and go full time into his own web design business. His story is very inspiring.

Yaro Starak: I have learned an amazing amount of things from Yaro. His blog optimization site, Entrepreneurs Journey, has helped thousands of people create better blogs. He is one of the most open bloggers about his life and his business. The story of his year end wrap-up for 2007 is sure to inspire you.

Rosa Say: Rosa has been an inspiration and a friend since my first week of blogging. She has be a coach and mentor to me and many popular bloggers over the past few years. She brings a positive motivational message to all that visit her blog and she has created a great collaboration of bloggers at Joyful, Jubilant Learning. Read about the amazing things this group has in store for 2008.

All three of these people have inspired me to do what is really important in 2008. To put aside things that are mediocre and follow a new path.

Fellow readers, thank you all for your feedback and inspiration this year. You have made writing this blog a real enjoyable activity. I look forward to some great things in the coming year.

Why not take a minute today and reflect on your past year. Click on some of the links above and be inspired. If you haven’t taken the Gallup Strengths Test, Pick up the book today and take it online. For added inspiration, take a half hour and explore some lifetime goals.

Then put it all together and set a course for 2008. Happy Trails!

With the New Year approaching it’s time to review our goals for the coming year. It’s a great time to look into the future and go over our one, three, and five year plans. There is nothing better than to plan out a course of action… a roadmap if you will… of the roads and paths we will take to get there.

For myself I have been developing some printed documents that help me visualize where I am going. I am setting one up for each of my major goals. They list the goal in bold type and then the steps it will take to get there. Since they are organized by goal all the steps to accomplish them are easy to see and in one place.

The problem is, I like to keep my goals where I can see and review them during the day.

I have tried leaving them on my desk, posting them on my computer, and even framing them on my wall, but nothing seems to work better than a plain old…. Notebook.

This simple binder gives me easy access anytime I want it, yet allows me to store them away for a tidy work area. I have setup dividers for the different length goals so they are easily accessible for reference.

A cool trick that I have found is to use a business card page to keep some of my Goal Setting and Motivator cards in for quick access.

I like to keep a plastic business card holder on my desk to put my goals or daily motivator cards where I can see them at all times. The business card page gives me a place to store and access these cards that I put in the holder.

This notebook works great along with a Daily Planning Sheet. It’s easy to reference action steps from the goal documents and copy them onto my daily planner.

Over the next few weeks we’ll look at strategies for putting together a Goal based notebook. For a quick start you can download our Goal Setting Toolkit and Motivator cards. Modify the cards for your needs and print them out on Avery Business Card Stock.

In your notebook include a plastic Business Card Page. Store your numerous cards for quick reference. If you use a larger notebook you can setup a section to store your Daily Planning Sheets before and after you use them along with a section for your Lifetime Goals Questionnaire.

To keep up to date with our upcoming goal setting tools and notebook, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed and sign up for our Success-Connect Newsletter.

Have a Successful New Year!

 
Blink! The phone rings… it’s your boss and she wants you to sign on to a new 3 month project and she needs your answer now.

Blink! The e-mail notifier pops up on your computer screen… it’s an e-mail from a company selling online management courses and their latest course is now 50% off… if you act now.

Blink! Your fellow employee Bob pokes his head in the door… He says in a reassuring voice, “Remember that Toastmasters is meeting today at lunch in conference room A, I hope you can make it.”

In each case above, you need to make a decision and on average you’ll probably take about 3 seconds to make it. Yes or No … it won’t take long. The real question is… will your decision help you reach your goals?

Goals? You do have goals don’t you? You have spent the hour with pen and paper and written down the top 100 things you want to accomplish in life before you die? Or are they still locked away in your mind?

Surely you want to be featured on Jay Leno, and spend a few minutes on the Today show. You definitely want to climb a tall mountain and run in the New York Marathon. Most assuredly a job promotion is on your list. How about shaking hands with world leaders or speaking to a crowd of thousands about a cause you care about? And don’t forget, you certainly want to write a book!

Three seconds is all it takes…

Three seconds can make all the difference…

Three seconds can change your life… unless…

1. You give up before trying
2. Shun the challenge
3. Decide to stick with the status quo
4. Shirk responsibility
5. Do just the minimum required
6. Avoid taking action… out of fear

Author Les Parrott has written an amazing book on this very short subject. Three Seconds is the title and what you do in that time period can have a great effect on your future and your goals.

Over the next few days we’ll explore Dr. Parrott’s new book and see how three seconds can really change your life. In the meantime… you have written some of those goals down… haven’t you?