direction

dedication.

determination discipline deadlines

That is what differentiates a desire from a goal. Goals are dreams with a deadline and an action plan. Goals can be worthy or unworthy. It is pa.s.sion, not wishing, that turns dreams into reality.

Steps to turn a dream into reality:

1. Have a definite, clear written goal.

2. Have a plan to accomplish it.

3. Read the first two twice a day.

Why Don't More People Set Goals?

There are many reasons, including:

1. A pessimistic att.i.tude--Always seeing the pitfalls rather than the possibilities.

2. Fear of failure--What if I don't make it? People feel subconsciously that if they don't set goals and if they don't make it, then they haven't failed. But they are failures to begin with.

3. A lack of ambition--This is a result of our value system and lack of desire to live a fulfilled life. Our limited thinking prevents us from progress. There was a fisherman who, every time he caught a big fish, would throw it back into the river, keeping only the smaller ones. A man watching this unusual behavior asked the fisherman why he was doing this. The fisherman replied, "Because I have a small frying pan." Most people never make it in life because they are carrying a small frying pan. That is limited thinking.

4. A fear of rejection--If I don't make it, what will other people say?

150*5. Procrastination--"Someday, I will set my goals." This ties in with a lack of ambition.

6. Low self-esteem--Because a person is not internally driven and has no inspiration.

7. Ignorance of the importance of goals--n.o.body taught them and they never learned the importance of goal-setting.

8. A lack of knowledge about goal-setting--People don't know the mechanics of setting goals. They need a step-by-step guide so that they can follow a system.

Goal setting is a series of steps. When you buy a plane ticket, what does it say?

Starting point Price Destination Starting date Cla.s.s of travel Expiry date

If you ask most people what is their one major objective in life, they would probably give you a vague answer, such as, "I want to be successful, be happy, make a good living,"

and that is it. They are all wishes and none of them are clear goals. Goals must be SMART:.

1. S--specific. For example, "I want to lose weight."

This is wishful thinking. It becomes a goal when I pin myself down to "I will lose 10 pounds in 90 days."

2. M--must be measurable. If we cannot measure it, we cannot accomplish it.

Measurement is a way of monitoring our progress.

3. A--must be achievable. Achievable means that it should be out of reach enough to be challenging but it should not be out of sight, otherwise it becomes disheartening.

4. R--realistic. A person who wants to lose 50 pounds in~30 days is being unrealistic.

5. T--time-bound. There should be a starting date and a finishing date.

Goals can be:

1. short-term--up to one year.

2. mid-term--up to three years.

3. long-term--up to five years.

Goals can be longer than five years but then they become a purpose of life. And having a purpose is very important because without one, it is possible to develop tunnel vision, where we are only obsessed with achieving our goals. Goals are more easily achieved if they are broken into small ones.

Life is hard by the yard, but by the inch, it's a cinch.

--Gean Gordon

Goals Must Be Balanced

Our life is like a wheel with six spokes.

1. Family. Our loved ones are the reason to live and make a living.

2. Financial. Represents our career and the things that money can buy.

151*3. Physical. Our health, without which nothing makes sense.

3. Mental. Represents knowledge and wisdom.

4. Social. Every individual and organization has social responsibility without which society starts dying.

6. Spiritual. Our value system represents ethics and character.

If any of these spokes is out of line, our life goes out of balance. Take a few minutes and just think. If you had any one of the six missing, what would life be like?

BALANCE.

In 1923, eight of the wealthiest people in the world met. Their combined wealth, it is estimated, exceeded the wealth of the government of the United States at that time.

These men certainly knew how to make a living and acc.u.mulate wealth. But let's examine what happened to them 25 years later.

1. President of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt.

2. President of the largest gas company, Howard Hubson, went insane.

3. One of the greatest commodity traders, Arthur Cutton, died insolvent.

4. President of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail.

5. A member of the President's Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail to go home and die in peace.6. The greatest "bear" on Wall Street, Jessie Livermore, committed suicide.

7. President of the world's greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide.

8. President of the Bank of International Settlement, Leon Fraser, committed suicide.

What they forgot was how to make a life! It is stories like this that give the readers the false impression that money is the root of all evil. That is not true. Money provides food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, clothes for the needy. Money is only a medium of exchange.

We need two kinds of education. One that teaches us how to make a living and one that teaches us how to live.

There are people who are so engrossed in their professional life that they neglect their family, health and social responsibilities. If asked why they do this they would reply that they were doing it for their family.

Our kids are sleeping when we leave home. They are sleeping when we come home.

Twenty years later, we turn back, and they are all gone. We have no family left. That is sad.

Quality Not Quant.i.ty

It is not uncommon to hear that it is not the quant.i.ty of time that we spend with our families but the quality that matters. Just think about it, is it really true?

Supposing you went to the best restaurant in town where they gave you white-glove service with cutlery from England, crockery from France, chocolates from Switzerland, and on and on. You picked up the gold plated menu and ordered a dish of barbecued chicken. The waiter within minutes brought back a small cube of the most deliciously prepared chicken. You ate it and asked, "Is that all I am going to get?" The waiter replied, 152*"It is not the quant.i.ty but the quality that matters." You said that you are still hungry and he gave you the same reply.

I hope the message is clear. Our families need both, quality and quant.i.ty.

Health

We lose our health in the process of earning money and then we lose money in trying to regain health.