Steps to Set and Achieve Goals
Every so often I like to remind myself what the goals are of my life and what my intentions and motivation for doing things are. I’ve spread myself across many trades related to Internet Marketing and Web Development lately and I need a sticky note to reference once in a while, to remember what it is I’m actually trying to achieve and how I’m going to achieve it. So as I define for myself again my Steps to Set and Achieve Goals, I hope that you can benefit and learn something as well.
Setting Goals
I think it’s really important to have well define goals.. always. It’s funny, I remember back to Grade School being taught that individuals that set goals and write them on paper or communicate them, are highly likely to achieve them over someone with the same unspoken goals. Goal setting is not a hard thing to do, and they don’t take long. So why don’t more people set goals? I think because there is so much mystery in life. Some think that goal setting will lead them to a anal-retentive life style and stop them from being spontaneous and crazy. But this is simply not true, I’m one of the craziest and most spontaneous goal-setters you’ll ever meet. Along with that, I think that people avoid self-discovery. Often times we let the world define us and we don’t want to look in our own hearts and decide for ourselves what we want or should have in life. Shame on society.
So set goals. It’s simple. Do it right now, before you even read any farther. Write down one thing that you really want or at least say it out loud, and then continue on to find out how to reach that goal.
Following a Course of Action
This is one of my favorite terms to use. “Course of Action” simply means, “What do I do next.” Many times the course of action is rather small and highly attainable. Say you want to become President of the United States. Most would agree that’s a really high goal to try and achieve. Rather than just talking about becoming president or dreaming big dreams, you have to look at what you can do initially to get you there. So to specify the setting further, pretend you’re a college student currently and Presidency is your ultimate goal. A good course of action would be to find either a politacal college group on campus, or find an alliance or association of other students looking to reach similar goals. This is something you can do immediately with little to no cost, which also helps you to network and meet people that can help you reach the next level.
Course of action can also be define as doing. Meaning.. what can you do right now to reach your goal. If you can’t do it this instant when is the soonest you can do it and what will get you there faster. Though if you have to plan that much out for a dream, then it may be best to setup a hierarchy of actions. I’ll get to that in a minute though.
Tracking Deliverables
The next step after your course of action is defining your deliverables which are simply tangible objects — what can you physically touch, see, give, receive, and so on.. to track your progress towards your goal. Once again, using the scenario I created of a college student trying to become President, the first deliverable might be an official membership in a group, maybe a few business cards of potential partners, or maybe a few contacts and friendships formed of people with the same dreams. I’ve theorized for some time now that your work ethic and sense of business is most heavily influenced by your five closest friends. If this is true, a friendship with someone that has the same goals in life as you can potentially be one of the most important relationships you make and is a very valuable deliverable indeed.
Rinse and Repeat
I could talk for quite some time about business strategy and how a cash-flow diagram, solid business model, or a client network are crucial for doing business, but that would break away from the goal of this post. The deliverable I’m trying to give you is plain and simply a easy way to set and follow goals.
With that said, setting goals > following a course of action > delivering a result are all you need to get started. These components can be used and stacked together.. a team of goals working towards one vision. Some goals require micro goals and some micro goals have to lead to some macro goal. It’s all about building blocks and following steps. Crazy similes.
–
Along this same concept, my good friend, Ravi Vora has a good post on following your dreams that you should definitely check out.
