How To Set Goals

It's January. The time when everyone is talking about their new years resolutions. The new year brings a new start. A chance to learn from the past and to make this new year our best year to date. But before we can do this we have to know where we need to go, and know what we want to achieve. Most people have an idea of what they want. (More money, Get in shape, better relationships etc..) but it will do you no good if your goals just stay in your head.

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the Visible."  

-Tony Robbins

The first thing you must know before you set your goals is what do you want? How do you want your life to be? Where would you like to be in the next five or ten years? Don't be afraid to think big when setting your goals. Know exactly what you want, and not what your willing to except. When I was working as a security guard my goal was to get a security job at a nice hotel in Manhattan and make $20 an hour. Now that I think back on that goal, that's not at all what I wanted. That was what I was willing to except based on my mindset at that time.

People Fail in life not because the aim to high and miss. but because they aim to low and hit." - Les Brown

-Know Exactly what you want.

-Write your goals on paper.

-Set a Date for their Achievement.

The correct way to write your goals is to set a date for their attainment. Set 10, 5, 3, and 1 year goals. Then 6 month and 3 month goals. Also Monthly, Weekly, Daily and hourly goals. This will keep you focused and you will know exactly what must be done each day. Most people wake up and just let the day happen. And life has a way of throwing us off track. So to avoid this write everything that must be done tomorrow, Today. That way you will be proactive instead of reactive. Just keep in mind that your short team goals should be in alignment with your long term goals.

The book Think and Grow Rich talks about having a goal card. A small piece of paper with your long term goal statement and what your willing to give to reach your goal. You must read your goal statement at least 3 times a day, With the feeling of already having reached your goal.

Don't just sit around and wait for your goals to happen. You must take massive action on a daily basis to achieve your dreams. Everyday you should do something that will bring you closer to your goals. Remember a goal without a date and a plan of action is just a wish.

 Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Symeon_R_Brown

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Polish Up Your People Skills - Every Day of the Week

Are you a people person? It may surprise you, but there is only one answer: Yes you are! You need people skills in every aspect of your life, from personal or professional relationships and networking, to getting along with your in-laws during the holidays. How you use these skills is what sets you apart, or not! If you want to let the light shine on you in the office, at meetings, or during the annual dinner, you need to develop great people skills now.

Improving your people skills has endless personal and professional benefits, making it one of the most important assets you can develop. So here are five techniques for improving your people skills, one for each day of the week:

Monday: Smile and be positive. It's so simple yet, for some, so difficult. Remember Peter Pan's 'happy thought'? Well, come up with your own. It may be an upcoming holiday, goals you are working for, maybe your kids or your cat. Think your 'happy thought' when ever you need a pick-me-up to keep you smiling, energetic and in a positive mindset.

Tuesday: Use people's names. When speaking with someone, whether it is a long-standing colleague or potential client, use their first name in a casual way. For example, instead of saying "that's a great idea," try "that's a great idea, Bob." It acknowledges what the person said and makes the conversation more personal. It will also help you remember new names!

Wednesday. Use eye contact. Now this is a tricky one that most people want to skip over. But please don't. It one of the most basic and important social interactions. For starters, I suggest picking one eye and focus on it for a few seconds. Then the other one. Do this in a comfortable, casual manner. It may feel weird to you, but it has a big, positive impact on the other person.

Thursday. Listen! It's true that people love talking about themselves. And part of great people skills is learning to listen. Try to go through an entire conversation without talking about yourself. It is odd how challenging this can be. Instead, ask the speaker questions and show a keen interest. You will walk away from the conversation richer for having got to know someone better. And you'll also make their day because they will feel you truly listened to them.

Friday. Practice. The saying is that practice makes perfect, but perfection is rare. Practice does make a difference though. Get out there and interact. Meeting new people can be enlightening and invigorating. Conversations can be memorable and life-changing. Start a conversation with the taxi driver or the new neighbour who just moved in. With people come opportunities, so just get out there and enjoy connecting with your fellow humans.

So there you have it - people skills for every day of the week - well I've skipped Saturday and Sunday, so this is time for you to consolidate what you've learned! And the days are only a guide, so feel free to practice them all on any day!

You should find that each skill gets easier and more natural with time. And remember to relax and breathe! The ability to interact, communicate and connect is one of the greatest joys on this earth, so enjoy it.

Good luck on your path to developing positive people skills.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shirley_Taylor

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Success Factors: Possess a Burning Desire for Success

A BURNING desire is one of the most important success factors. To have desire is one thing, but to have a burning desire is another thing entirely. All success stories begin with a burning desire. The extent to which you succeed in any endeavour is largely influenced by certain success factors, and in this case - the intensity of your desire. Your desire for what you want to achieve must be so strong that you would find it hard to sleep at night; you literally lose sleep over it. It becomes such an obsession that it dominates your thinking, making it difficult to concentrate on anything else. If you can't get that wound up about something, it's only lukewarm - not really a burning desire.

A burning desire is intense and urgent as opposed to something that is nice to have, like desiring an ice cream. It is to success what rocket propellant is to a rocket engine. It is a burning desire that propels a person into action. A burning desire is creative power that HAS to manifest or express itself in the external world. It is an emotional force that attracts. The emotion attached to your desire moves you towards your desired outcome and magnetically draws your desired outcome towards you. A burning desire has a sense of desperation to it and, as an ingredient of success, it is comparable to air, the most basic element for life's sustenance.

A Student's Quest for Success

A student went to his spiritual teacher and said, 'Guru, I want to experience success. How can I become successful quickly?' The teacher smiled and said, 'All right, I'll teach you the secret of success. Meet me at the Ganges River at 5:00 am tomorrow.'

The next morning the student showed up at 5:00 am at the appointed place only to find his teacher already bathing in the river. The teacher beckoned the student to come into the water and join him. Keen to learn the secret of success, the student obeyed the teacher without question.

The teacher then put his hand on the student's head and firmly held it under the water. Gasping for air, the student struggled to get out, but the teacher maintained his grip keeping him under the water for more than a minute. The teacher knew the precise moment he had to release his grip on the student. Coughing up water that he had swallowed, the student angrily demanded, 'Why did you do that?'

The teacher then said, 'Before I answer your question, tell me: what were you thinking of under the water? What was it that you were looking for? Success? Status? Wealth?'

'None of that, sir. I desperately wanted air. Nothing, but air.'

The teacher then said, 'If you want success in your life as desperately as you wanted that breath of air, then you will have it - and as quickly as you want.'

Whatever it is you want, it must be personal; it must be something that you really, really want for yourself, not for anybody else. It is said that the hand will not reach for what the heart does not long for.

Ultimately, your want will come down to a feeling, a feeling that will 'turn you on' and motivate you to take effective action the moment you get up in the morning. If it does not do that for you, then as soon as you encounter a significant challenge, you will say it is too hard and give up on your dream. To be regarded as a burning desire, on a scale of 1 to 100, your goal or desired outcome must be ranked at 100. A ranking of 80 or 90 on the scale just won't cut it. Even a goal that is ranked 99 on the scale is not good enough.

It must be 100!

Let's use an analogy. If you heated water to 99° C, you could make a great cup of tea. But, if you heated that water just one more degree to 100° C, it will boil and generate steam, and you know what you can do with enough steam: move a steamship or a locomotive. That one degree makes a huge difference.

For you to achieve your goal, you must literally be steaming with emotion to:

- Learn whatever you need to learn!

- Become whatever you need to become!

- Do whatever you need to do!

- Have whatever you want to have!

You can tell how badly you want to achieve your goal by observing your actions each day. When you have a burning desire for something, you will do whatever it takes to make it happen. If you don't have a "Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!" attitude, it's an indication you haven't hit 100 on the scale.

Achieving your goal has little to do with your ability or intellect. It has to do with HEARTFELT DESIRE! Genuine desire is powerful! As mentioned before it is one of the most important success factors. It focuses attention, establishes commitment and empowers you to deal with any challenge you might encounter as you move towards your goal.

As you are driven forward by your desire, you'll hardly notice the effort. You'll develop new skills and abilities, new beliefs, new attitudes and behaviours, and a new sense of self - in fact, a whole new consciousness!

You are what your deep driving desire is;

As your deep driving desire is, so is your will;

As your will is so is your deed;

As your deed is so is your destiny.

~ Maitri Upanishads

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Verusha_Singh

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Things That Determine Success Or Failure

It's your life. Have you ever heard that? I think we all have at some point. But let's make no mistake about the point being made here. The SUCCESS or FAILURE of your life and your life's experiences, whether in relationships, business, finances, family, etc. will be based on three things.

1 - The people you meet - whether positive or negative, successful or barely getting by, will impact your life one way or the other. Not only the people you meet, but more so the people you associate with will have a direct, sometimes powerful impact on your life. This may include your friends, your business associates, or maybe even a significant other or spouse. But make no mistake here, we tend to emulate the people we associate with. This can be a very good thing in your life or a very bad thing.

Did your mother ever tell you 'You better watch out who you were hanging out with?' I know my mom surely did. And wow, Moms are always right. If you have great people in your life that support you, and truly care for you, then I say congratulations. If you have people in your life that are holding you back, always in need, keeping you from your destiny, then I say love them from a distance. Stop the madness. Stop associating with those type people daily.

2 - The information we process - the information we process go hand in hand with #1 above, the people we associate with. But it also includes other information we process such as the books we read, the TV we watch, the music we listen to, the audio we take in, etc...

Have you ever heard the 'ole saying that "You are what you think you are?" I wonder where we get these thoughts? It's from the information you process. If you are not where you want to be in life, or with the person you want to be with, or have the job you would like to have, then take a look at what you are processing. Then CHANGE IT.

3 - The HABITS we have - We develop our habits differently. Some people let the world around them, their environment dictate their daily habits. They live their life somewhat with a 'VICTIM' mentality. Others develop their habits proactively.

Here's what I mean. For example, do you get up before work daily for a workout? If not, are you overweight? Do you eat the same foods knowing they are harmful to your body? Do you spend money on frivolous items you know you don't need and at the end of the month complain about a lack of money?

To some extent, we all do. However, if you want to have more, then you have to learn great habits to get more. You have to take control of your daily habits. DO IT NOW.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Doe_Ford

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How to Have the Mindset of a Successful Entrepreneur!

The mindset of a successful entrepreneur is distinctly unlike the rest. Successful entrepreneurs think and act differently. They consistently defy conformity, doing things that others WILL NOT do so that they can achieve results that others BELIEVE they cannot. What seems like the right thing to do for most people is actually NOT the norm for the 1% at the top. To be the best, it is imperative to go against the grain of conventional wisdom.

To recreate a new reality, reinvent yourself. It's not possible to change your current life with the same thinking that created it. You might be familiar with Einstein's famous quote:

"We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."

Eradicate the mindset that created your present circumstance to open the way for a success mindset, the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. Success in life requires a single shift in mindset, from a position of powerlessness to a position of true power.

So how does one begin this shift?

Change from...

- Thinking lack and limited supply TO thinking abundance and unlimited supply

- Short term, immediate gratifi cation thinking TO long-term, delayed-gratification thinking

- Win-lose thinking TO win-win thinking

- Security thinking TO opportunity thinking

- Survival consciousness TO prosperity consciousness

- Competing and cloning TO collaborating and creating

- Focusing on getting TO focusing on giving

- Making an impression TO making a difference.

Throughout history, the strong-willed have constantly tried to dominate, imposing their practised ways upon others, especially their beliefs about life and how it should be lived. Those who are submissive are taught to fit in; to adapt; to conform; to go along to get along. It may seem easier to adapt to their ideas of what is best for you rather than work things out yourself. However, your meek or forced acceptance of other people's ideas can seriously disadvantage you, suppress your individuality, hamper your progress and stunt your growth.

While it is important to learn from the accumulated wisdom of others as you evolve and grow, your instincts may tell you to take a different path - a path less travelled. It's a choice only you can make, that is, whether to take the beaten trail or follow your instincts - and there's nothing more exciting!

If you're feeling frustrated with your life, you probably have relinquished your freedom to consciously create your own life experiences, the very things that ultimately bring you joy. Often a frustrated life means you've chosen the path of least resistance. Effectively, you're stuck. To move forward, it's time to get 'unstuck'.

Each of us has our personal desires or goals. The achievement of our personal goals generates deep personal happiness. When we fail to embrace our true passions, it's harder to achieve genuine, lasting success. For a successful entrepreneur, success comes faster when we do the things we enjoy and WANT to do. Doing the things that give us no personal satisfaction is exhausting, demotivating and soul destroying.

When you consider the many elements that have influenced and shaped your current reality, you may realise that there is much to undo and reprogram. However, when you understand your divine nature and the unfaltering natural Laws of the Universe, you see that everything you've done has brought you to this; you can now consciously choose more empowering thoughts and actions. Such a realisation releases you from a victim mentality. Understanding how your past created your present empowers you to recreate your future by confronting your greatest challenge - your comfort zone!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Verusha_Singh

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