Do you get to the end of the year and say to yourself "Wow, time flies, where did the year go?". I can tell you now, the only people who say that are people who don't plan, set goals for the year and go out and attack them. Instead of this, imagine saying at the end of the year "Wow, what a year, I got married, I went on a 6 week European holiday, I started a business and grew it from $0 profit to $300k profit and I ran a bloody marathon!".
A little bit different right!?
You have probably all heard it before but I am going to say it again, goal setting is one of the most important steps to having a successful life. So many people gloss over this step thinking it is irrelevant, I can tell you now, all the most successful people I work with have set goals!
I think Tony Robbins sums it up when he says "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible". No one wants to go through life 'going through the motions'. You want to do things with purpose. Know exactly what you are currently doing and how that is helping you achieve what you set out to achieve.
So what is the best process?
Simple.
Find out where you are now;
Find out where you want to go in 10 years, 3 years, 1 year and 90 days;
Work out ways of achieving this.
Throughout this process you need to continually ask yourself these questions:
What do I really want?
Why do I want it?
What is my action plan?
You have probably already heard of the SMART way of putting together goals but it really is relevant. Your goals need to be:
Specific– clear and easily understood
Measurable– can be easily measured and monitored in order to remain on track
Achievable– there is a fine line between ambitious goal setting and wishful thinking
Relevant– it must be right for you, based on your values, dreams and aspirations
Time Bound– there needs to be a sense of urgency– goals without timeframes won't be achieved.
Let's go through an example,
"I want to turn my business into a profitable business making $150k net profit per year by the end of the year"
Specific– YES, business making $150k net profit
Measurable– YES, measuring profitability on a business is quite easy through a profit & loss statement
Achievable– it depends, if the individual really wants to achieve it and they put the relevant steps in place to do so, then I can't see why it wouldn't be achievable
Relevant– YES, if a business is not profitable, then turning it into a profitable business is a must
Time Bound– YES, the target is to achieve it by the end of the year
Quite easy right? Now work out the "How" and the action plan.