You only need goals if you want to succeed in life! If that is not important to you then simply carry on carrying on!

Sandy had goals – to get out of the job she was in and get into a new job. That was it! She was a hard worker and often put in 12 to 14-hour days. What she did not realize is that looking for a job is often an 8 hour a day job! Now that’s tricky – working and job hunting.

Once Sandy understood the need to be specific about the type of environment where she wanted to work, she could create the goals needed to get there.

Rich wants to get a promotion! However, it took some time for him to recognize the steps needed to get to the specific position he wanted. Once he recognized the steps needed, and carried them out, the goal was achieved. First of all, though, he needed to know which position it was that he wanted to attain.

Carla wanted to follow her husband into retirement. Exciting, right? Except she had no plan on how to achieve that goal. Step one was to connect with her financial advisor to ensure the funds were there that would support her retirement. From there she began to focus on what her retirement would look like and what she needed to do to prepare for this important step.

Regardless of your desired outcome it is important to have a plan to get there. These steps will help you achieve your desires:

• SPECIFIC – a job, promotions, weight loss or retirement are all specific IF you add the other elements they need to come to fruition – focus on who, what, where, when, why and how as you build your specific goals
• MEASURABLE – what is the new job, which new title, how many pounds/kilograms to lose, and which day do you plan to retire are all ways of measuring whether you will be able to say – got it
• ATTAINABLE – stretch yourself to ensure your goal is attainable and yet not too lame – the USA put a man on the moon before it was feasible – stretch yourself
• RELEVANT – is your goal in focus with your overall life plan – having a goal of owning a Ferrari may not fit with an overall life plan of living on an island with no cars allowed
• TIME BOUND – give yourself dated milestones so you urge yourself forward and know what has to be accomplished by when for you to achieve your goal
• SELLEBRATE – how do you plan to celebrate once you have achieved your goal – something special for you, friends included, or even work mates – be specific about the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings

Whether you are Sandy, Rich or Carla, goals can help you get where you want to go simply because you provide yourself with a time line. Be specific; know what you need to help achieve your goals and when you want to achieve them along with the most critical part, sellebrate and you are on the path to success! Believe it and you can achieve it!

Sherry’s CORNER

Recently I have taken a program that I found amazing. Great information, yet that is not why it is so amazing! This program with Bridgeport Network provided good work on corporate growth whether one is starting out or whether one has been in business for a long time. What’s amazing is the availability of support – it is constant – always there to answer questions and help one move forward.

It got me thinking. Are we doing enough (self included) to help our customers? Not the hand-holding let me do it for you kind of help. Rather the help that allows people to see their own strength and continue to move themselves forward. How do you help your clients, friends and family become more self sufficient rather than the “do it for you” variety of support?

Please share your ideas with me.

Just email me at sherry@dimension11.com.