Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Goal Setting - Make Your Life a Masterpiece Starting Right Now

Successful Goal Achieving can be learned and it can be learned by you and by anyone with a sincere desire and willingness to follow through . Whatever your past experiences in Goal Setting, you can learn new distinctions, new approaches, new philosophies and breakthrough any previous barriers to achieving them.

I think we all agree that there is a huge gap between passively learning a thing and the actual Mastery of it. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush and splash some color on a canvas, but not everyone will go on to create a masterpiece. While everyone CAN create a masterpiece, everyone has the capacity, not everyone will employ the belief, drive, discipline or even the desire to develop their inborn dormant talent or skill.

There is one area in which each of us must become the master of, and it is that of our own life design. We are given the blank canvas at birth and for a time, we are guided by others on how to fill it in until we realize that we can begin anew with a blank canvas anytime we choose. In fact, we can add as much color and depth as we want and we can paint over whatever we previously created.

Don't wait for someone else to give you permission to paint your canvas. Choose your own color palette, mix it up and fill your life with rich textures, and make your life full of color, depth and expression. Aim high, think big and go for your dreams with all of your might.

You are the artist.

Your life is the canvas.

Make it a masterpiece.

Goal Achieving is the #1 life skill, but most people become complacent about it and take it for granted. They understand it to some degree in theory, but rarely activate the immense power of integrating it into their day to day life.

Goal Setting is very easy to do. It's also just as easy not to do. And herein lies the danger. It is one of the most powerful "unseen" forces in the world, yet it is one of the easiest to take for granted or engage in sloppiness and mediocrity.

For example, most people only think about Goals once a year. You guessed it, January 1st. Millions of people take a stab at setting some half-hearted New Years Resolutions. They make random wishes in the hopes of achieving or obtaining things they have no commitment to and within a few weeks, they are forgotten... until next year. And then they do the exact same thing. Most resolutions have little motivation attached to them, no plans for their attainment, no strategy for measuring their progress and no support or success system to ensure their progress.

One of my early mentors said to me, "Find out what failures do and then don't do it. Find out what successful people do and then do it."

So don't do what the failing Resolution crowd does, which is clearly "set it and forget it." Learn how to stay plugged in to your Goals every single day, 365 days a year. Here are some helpful tips:

The Three Stages of a Goal

In my observation of those who embark upon the journey of Goals, I estimate that 97% of those who attempt to pursue a Goal barely succeed beyond the first stage of Goals and therefore never progress to the second or third stage. It's easier than you think to realize your most significant Goals once you understand the magnitude.

Stage 1. Goal Setting

Over the course of my life and in my decades of studying success and leadership, I learned key distinctions about how to create success systems™. A system is a formula that dictates a sequential order of a process. Call it what you will, in sports, it's a game plan, in cooking it's a recipe, in business it's a business plan. For example, when someone start a company and it succeeds, in many respects, they can model the steps that led to a successful outcome and duplicate them when creating the next company.

And the greatest success system™ you could ever learn is that which leads to the advancement and achievement of your most cherished Goals.

The Goal Rush success system™ is your recipe, a formula that when followed will lead you to a successful result. I found that those who consistently achieve their dreams, whether consciously or not have followed a system. The system and the first stage of the process is critical for your success. At this juncture Goal Setting is more than just making a wish. Goal Setting in it's essence is deciding, visualizing, planning, beginning to take the necessary actions, measuring, adjusting where necessary which will then lead to the Goal's advancement and finally Goal Achieving.

You see Goal Setting is only one aspect of the equation. The setting of the Goal is the envisioning stage. It's one of the early steps in a process of having, being, doing or giving something. Did you know that there is a surefire process for selecting Goals? Then and only then, can you pursue your most cherished Goals based on a holistic perspective of your life and from there, from only the Goals that pass the test and meet the criteria, you will begin the journey of moving towards it and attracting it. The only thing worse than not setting Goals, is tying up your time and energy on Goals that have no meaning. Even more damaging, is the habitual act of pursuing Goals are detrimental to you and the people around you, the Goals that rob you of your most precious resources and detract from the other areas of your life.

Goal Setting is the stage of decision. Deciding what you want and clarifying it in precise detail.

Stage 2. Goal Achieving

Goal Achieving is the outcome or result of actually hitting your target. After you learn the art of Goal Setting, you will drastically increase your success rate. I don't know anyone who achieves every Goal they set, not even me. Bill Gates, Tiger Woods and others who are world class Goal Achievers don't reach all of their Goals either, but they are winners in the game of life because they aim higher than most people ever dream and therefore they reap a higher level of reward. World Class Goal Achievers know the simple process of selecting Goals that are in harmony with your life's purpose, planning for their attainment, and increasing the likelihood of it's success. There are a multitude of things you can do to stack the odds in your favor. Goal Achievers understand it is possible to live in a constant state of joy, even when things don't go as planned, even when things don't work out.

The joy is in the journey.

Stage 3. Goal Mastery

Goal Mastery is the state of habitually and consistently being in touch with your life's purpose and leading a Goal directed life. In this state most or even all of your life areas are working at optimum levels, meaning your relationships, career, health, financial and spiritual lives are all feeding and adding to each other. You easily attract what you want. Some call it balance, but it is rare to have all of those areas living in total balance. Instead, strive for harmony. Your life Goals allow you to live a life where no one area gets neglected or suffers. Whatever you call it, Goal Mastery is a state of positive growth in all areas.

Mastery of anything is not a one time event. It is a constant process of never ending improvement. When you think you know it all is precisely the moment you will begin to backslide and regress. That is what leads to complacency and depression. How many people do we know who were incredibly gifted at something but stopped developing their God given gifts because they got comfortable or distracted? How many people do we know who settle for much less than the are capable of and go on to lead lives of quiet desperation.

If repetition is the mother of skill then just like I and so many others have, you too, have the power to condition yourself for success, and along with that comes the means to choose and achieve your destiny.

You are the artist.

Your life is the canvas.

Make it a masterpiece.

Score...Score

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