July 2 is officially the middle of the year. So how are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions?

I like to think of July 2 as a checkpoint, to see where I’ve come since the beginning of the year, and to get myself oriented to finish out the rest of the year in high gear. So take out your list of goals that you made on January 1 and see where you are with them now.

List of goals…..hmmmm, it’s here somewhere:
Image by Budda

What? You can’t find yours either? OK – time to get ourselves organized .

Goal Setting

Here’s a review of the basic rules of good goal writing – S.M.A.R.T :

S – Specific – Your goal needs to be clearly defined. Having a clear goal will make it much easier to break it down into the individual steps you need to take to make it happen. Also, make it a bold goal, something you will feel really proud of accomplishing.

M – Measurable - Your goal needs to have parameters that you can measure so you can track your progress. You need to track your successes so that your feeling of achievement continues to move your forward. You need to track your failures so you can see what you need to change, allowing you to grow and improve.

A – Attainable – You need to believe that your goals are attainable – if you feel they are impossible, you won’t have the drive to pursue them in the first place. Part of your motivation comes from seeing small successes along the way.

R – Relevant – Make sure it is going to contribute to the bigger picture of what you want to achieve. Each goal you set is usually part of a larger goal – so make sure your goal is part of the big picture.

T – Time Bound – Set a deadline for the accomplishment of the goal. We seem to work harder as we get closer to a deadline and manage to finish in time, whereas if there is no deadline, we have a tendency to drift and it takes longer to get things accomplished. A time deadline with help you to get it done! Hold yourself accountable – or get an accountability partner – and make it happen!

Goal Accomplishment

OK, now that we have reviewed the basics of goal-setting, how do you go about accomplishing them?

1. Write them down – Write your goal in the format listed above using the S.M.A.R.T. system. An example of a well-written goal is “Increase sales 25% by the end of the fiscal year without increasing advertising spending”, whereas “Lose some weight” is not.
2. Break your goal down into manageable steps. This will give both a plan of action and a set of measures you can use to track your progress.
3. Read your goals OUT LOUD when you first wake up, before you go to sleep, and several times throughout the day. Reading them aloud gives you more resolve and helps you create the feeling of having accomplished the goal. Visualize yourself accomplishing it and feel the satisfaction of your accomplishment.
4. Track your progress. Every day check your list of measurables and record them. Once a week, review your progress, congratulate yourself for your successes and enjoy what you have accomplished. For those items that you didn’t achieve, determine why and come up with a new plan for the upcoming week. Beating yourself up about them is not allowed.
5. Celebrate when you have reached your goal!

Here’s to a highly successful second half of 2010!!

Feel free to leave any questions, ideas, and feedback below. I love to hear what you have to say. If you found this post helpful, please share it with your Twitter and Facebook friends by clicking on the share buttons, or if you have other bookmark accounts, please click on the any of the sharing icons below and share! I deeply appreciate it!! Thanks so much for your time and attention!

To Your Success!

When you first start a new business, you are excited, your enthusiasm is high, you are primed to dig in and get to work, with your big goals, your big dreams alive inside you – you can see yourself living in the big house on the lake with the hot tub. You can see yourself being able to provide your family with everything they could ever need. It feels great!

Then reality sets in – you find yourself spending endless hours in front of the computer after everyone else has gone to bed. You are tired and your eyes hurt. You look at what you have accomplished so far, and then you look at your hopes and dreams…they seem like a long way off.

How do you keep yourself going when it all seems like it’s just not going to happen?  How do you sustain your motivation on a day-to-day basis?

Definitely keep those big dreams and goals in mind. However, you will also need to set small daily goals for yourself, both in your business and in your personal life. As you accomplish each small goal you will create a sense of happiness and accomplishment that you are one step closer to the big picture. That sense of accomplishment then provides you with the fuel to keep going.

Do something that will fill you with a sense of gratitude for what you currently have – such as, having the time, the computer, the internet connection, the education, the resources that allow you to pursue your business in the first place. Look at the people around you, the ones that your business will help once it takes off. Be grateful that they are there to inspire you.

At the end of each day, take the time to review what you have accomplished, and pat yourself on the back. Know that you are one step closer to where you want to be. The size of the step doesn’t matter. What matters is that you took the step, and acknowledged yourself for it.

Feel free to leave any questions, ideas, and feedback below. I love to hear what you have to say. If you found this post helpful, please share it with your Twitter and Facebook friends by clicking on the share buttons, or if you have other bookmark accounts, please click on the Bookmark and Share button. I deeply appreciate it!! Thanks so much for your time and attention!

To Your Prosperity!