By: Gregory McGuire

I'm amazed at the amount of research that shows that people who set goals are much more successful than those who don't. And yet, I meet so many people who have no idea where they're going, or even the first clue about how to set and achieve goals. To most, goals are synonymous with dreams. But there's a big difference.

When you set a goal, it's important that you stretch yourself. Don't make it impossible to achieve, but don't make it easy, either. Set it to where you'll have to work harder than you are right now to bring it to fruition. It should be difficult, but doable. If you consistently set your sights too high you'll get discouraged, and want to quit.

To be effective, your goals must be written down. I cannot overemphasize how important this is. A goal that's not written down isn't really a goal at all; it's just a pipedream which will probably never see the light of day.

Writing your goals and reviewing them daily is a practice virtually every successful person I've ever met have in common. There's something magical about it, something that makes your goals more concrete. It almost forces you to focus, and writing your goals enables you to come up with details you probably wouldn't have thought about otherwise.

When is your goal to be achieved? This is a question that is vital to your success. Will it be next week, next month, or by March 31, 2010? Without setting a deadline, you're telling yourself, "Just whenever." This lacks the necessary urgency to achieve your goals and take action.

If you know you've only got three weeks to reach your goal, you'll bust your butt much more than if there's some fuzzy time in the future you'd like to have it done by. I find that 90 days is the optimum time frame for most of my goals. It doesn't create a panic, but it's definitely a short enough period of time to where I feel compelled to take action every day.

Finally, when you set your big goal, it's important to break it apart in smaller, bite sized chunks. This makes it more workable, and much less intimidating.

For instance, let's say your goal is to make $10,000 a month. Start off with the goal of making $100.00 a month in 90 days. Your next 90 days, you might set the goal of $500.00 a month. You can increase this appropriately, and each time you realize your goal, you'll find your confidence grows leaps and bounds.

If you don't know where you're going, then any destination will be good enough for you. Is that acceptable?  

About the Author

Gregory McGuire is a successful network marketer and hypnotherapist living in Smyrna, Tennessee. Discover why our team is the fastest growing team in Success University." Visit http://www.calling-my-own-shots.com

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