Goal setting is a skill I learned early on in life, and it’s a skill that has helped me immensely in creating a life I love. Did you know that only 4% of the population actually achieves the goals they set? Here are some great ideas about how you can use goals to create a life that you love.
1. Get a buddy!
Everyday at 7:30 am my success partner Janet and I share the one thing we’ll each do that day to be Happy, Healthy and Wealthy. Sometimes we talk for three minutes, sometimes 15. The point is to set tangible action items for the day that get you one step closer to your heart’s desires.
2. Determine what you want in life.
One of my mentors, Brian Buffini taught me to set goals in 5 areas of my life: Spiritual, Personal, Friends & Family, Career, and Finance. What a difference having goals makes! There is no one right way to set goals. Just do it, and when you do, grant yourself permission to think really big.
3. Set tangible goals with time lines. Consider making weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly goals. Why not create goals for 2-10 years out? Once all of your goals are set you will have a map ready to lead you to achieving your dreams.
4. Set a Quantum Leap Goal.
Jack Canfield, co-author of the internationally renowned Chicken Soup for the Soul series, taught me to take the time to set a goal so big that it can only be achieved by shifting your thinking and by engaging the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that what you focus on expands. And it’s true. Throughout my career I’ve leveraged this law for success.
5. Have a quarterly Vision Day with a success partner.
Write your successes from the last 90 days (you’ll be amazed at what you’ve done!). Set goals for the next 90 days in each area of your life (hint: use your annual goals as a guide to determine quarterly goals).
6. Re-purpose your time.
Get really particular about what you do with your time – ALL of your time – especially the time you spend with other people. Leverage your commute into an educational experience! Take one week a month and listen to CD’s on personal development.
7. Record and listen to your goals.
My friend Craig records his goals and then creates play lists in his iTunes that have goals mixed in between his favorite songs. So he listens to music, and then gets to hear himself saying an affirmative goal. Talk about being intentional!
Become part of the minority and take the first step in achieving the goals you set! I guarantee that as you add goals and benchmarks to your new intentional life, you won’t be able to help but pass on the keys to your success to others. This is the beauty of living a life you love – once you get there, you’ll want everyone around you to find the same happiness and success that you have. It’s simply contagious.
Kristen Marie Schuerlein is a fourth generation entrepreneur who is committed to living intentionally by harnessing the power of affirmations. After 11 years at the helm of a successful graphic design and marketing company she founded Affirmagy, a company that creates fleece blankets silk screened with positive affirmations. Kristen’s positive life force inspires others to design – and live – a life they love. Contact Kristen by email here.
Image by Celestine Chua – CC license on Flickr
CNN reported on a child artist prodigy who, despite being raised in an athesitic home, describes her vivid visions from the age of four as coming from God. Thanks to Marylyn K. for submitting the story! (I found the CNN video on YouTube, after the original version on CNN.com was unavailable.)
A violinist who left his $4 million Stradivarius instrument in an airport taxi is playing a private concert today to thank the driver who faithfully returned it to him — a 30-minute performance in the cab waiting area at Newark Liberty International Airport.
