From Dreams to Reality: 7 Ways How You Can Increase Your Chances of Achieving Your Goals in 2008

Year after year people make New Year Resolutions: I want to get out of debt this year; I want to buy a new car in 2008; this year I’m going to Hawaii for my annual holiday – the list is endless.

But how many of these resolutions have you seen come to pass? One? Two? Three?

Yes, for some of us is only a few and the rest of us is none. Only one in a million people do have everything ticked off their list of New Year Resolutions when they come to the end of the year.

What is the cause? The absence of a detailed plan. A detailed plan? What do you mean?

1. Set definite goals

If you want to have ticked off everything or nearly everything on your list of New Year Resolutions when you come to the end of the year, the first thing that you have to do is to turn your New Year’s Resolutions into goals. Goals are the things that you set out to do to achieve your ultimate purpose in life.

You need to set SMART goals; goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

Your goals must be specific – what you want to do should be clear from the onset, e.g. to write a book.

Your goals must be measurable – it should be possible to measure both progress towards and the attainment of your goals, e.g. if your goal is to write a book, you’d look at how many chapters you’d have written to measure progress and the attainment of your goal would be the actual book ready for publication.

Your goals must be achievable – simply put, your goals should be attainable. It is possible for me to write a book, I have the talent, the skill and the capacity to do so.

Your goals must be realistic – sorry, I don’t believe in magic. Your goals must be realistic, they should not be an imaginary fantasy that nobody would attain even if the tried.

Your goals must be timed – you should set a specific date on which you want to see the completion of each of your dreams.

And that’s not all. Add ER to your SMART goals and you have SMARTER goals. Goals that are not only specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely but also excellent and rewarding.

Your goals must be excellent – who said you should not have standards when you set your goals. Well, I think that you should and your standard should be excellence. A simple definition of excellence would be giving be best that you can out of what you can give.

Your goals must be rewarding – ask yourself what’s in it for me? Or someone who you genuinely would like to benefit from your efforts. In other words, are your goals worthwhile goals?

2. Take each of your goals and break it down into sub-goals

The second thing that you need to do is to take each of your goals and break it down into sub-goals. Identify all the things, big and small, that you need to do in order to achieve your goal.
Your objective in doing this is two tired. First, to get a clear picture of everything that you need to do in order to achieve your goal. Second, to break down an unthinkably huge chunk into small chunks that you can manage.

For instance, if your goal is to publish a book within the next six months, you break down the process into writing the first draft, the second draft, the third draft… and the nth draft; editing; proof-reading; fore wording (if applicable); contacting the publisher; publishing; right through to organizing the launch.

3. Sequence your sub-goals

After you get your sub-goals down, arrange them in the order that you are going to pursue. What are you going to do first? Then what after that?
Make sure you do this before you start doing anything. This may take a considerable amount of your time as you will be actually doing it, but doing it will save you a lot of time and energy in the future.

Which do you prefer? Coming out of the shower to realize that you have no clean change of clothes left or coming out of the shower to see the clothes that you washed over the weekend are waiting for you to put them on. (Should I also add, I prefer that you pick out the clothes that you want to wear before you take the shower)

4. Identify the resource requirements

What resources do you need in order to achieve your sub-goals? Time? Money? Stationary? A laptop? Whatever it is that you need in order to achieve your sub-goals, set it aside or find a way to get it way before you begin working on your sub-goal.

Over and above identifying your resource requirements, quantify them. How much time do you need? How much money do you need? What type of laptop do you need? Try to be as specific as possible.

This will save you the hustle of trying to figure out where to find things when you desperately need them. When was the last time you missed something that was in your hand? Get the idea? I guess you do.

5. Identify the knowledge and skill requirements

It is also important that you identify the knowledge and skills that you need in order to successfully pursue your goals and sub-goals. After identifying them, ask yourself do I posses this or that skill or knowledge.

For every skill or knowledge that you do not have ask yourself whether you are going to acquire them or hire them. When I say hire them I mean asking or paying someone who posses that knowledge or those skills that you do not have to complement your efforts at what you will be doing.

6. Time the accomplishment of each of your sub-goals as well as your ultimate goal

If you are to accomplish your goals at the time that you set for them to be accomplished, you need to also time the accomplishment of each of your sub-goals.

If a sub-goal is accomplished later than planned, it may also delay the accomplishment of the sub-goals that come after it and also the accomplishment of your ultimate goal. The reverse can happen also.

But things do not always happen that way. Sub-goal one can be accomplished in time, sub-goal two may be delayed and sub-goal six may be finished earlier than expected causing you to accomplish your sub-goal in the time that you set out to achieve it.

Time the accomplishment of each of your sub-goals anyway. Having a rough idea of what you need to do and the time that you have to do it will help you manage your time more wisely. It will also increase your productivity.

7. Outline the benefits of each of your sub-goals as well as your ultimate goal

The seventh way you can increase your chances of achieving your goals is by outline the benefits that you will derive from pursuing your sub-goals and ultimately each of your goal.

Like all human beings, you are in constant need of motivation, and the easiest way to motivate yourself is to remind yourself of the benefits that you are going to reap from your activity. You should write down all the rewards that you are going to get from pursuing each of your sub-goals as well as your ultimate goal. Find out the benefits of each of your sub-goal in relation to your ultimate goal and in relation to subsequent sub-goals.

You’ll have sometime to motivate you each time you feel depressed. You just have to look at the benefits that derive from what you will be doing and automatically the knowledge that you are doing something that is rewarding should motivate you.

That’s all I have for today. Until next week, be inspired.

Good morning 2008: Five Ways to Create a Great Life

It’s the start of a new year! Doesn’t it feel great? You have yet chance to create yourself a great life – a life that is full of both success and satisfaction.

Just as a reminder to all those that have been subscribed to us for over a year and a bonus to all those that joined us a little later, here’s how you create a great life.


1. DREAM MORE…
And BIG! Let your imagination to run wild. Think of everything that you want in the great life that you want to create. Do not allow anything to place limitation to your imagination. Dream, dream and dream.

2. PREPARE MORE…
From dreams to goals: Counting on sheer luck has and will never take a man to his dream. After conceiving your dream you must make an action plan – a detailed plan of how you are going to achieve everything that you set out to achieve in the coming year. Just as a hint, make your action plan as detailed as possible for best results. [I will write explaining this next week.]

3. ACHIEVE MORE…
Achieve more? Yes. Take your action plan and start doing the things that it says you need to do in order to make your dreams come true. Each day do something that will take you closer to your dream. You might hate the discipline but I am 100% sure you will enjoy the reward!

4. GROW MORE…
As you dream more, prepare more and achieve more in 2008 it will be impossible for you not to grow more. No doubt, BIG dreams, A LOT of preparation and PLENTY of action will stretch you – it is meant to! But beyond that you need to constantly and progressively equip and train yourself for greater and continual achievement in life.

5. CELEBRATE MORE…
This is the biggest secret that I know of how to create a great life: Celebrate every success that you make along the journey to your greatness. I do not mean you throw a party every time there is an achievement. But do something that reminds you that you are an achiever: take a couple of friends out for pizza, make a fuss over a new discovery, just do something.

2007 may have not been as great as you’d wanted it to be but you have the chance to change that this year. From today onwards, you can dream more (and BIGGER), prepare more, achieve more, grow more and celebrate more.

Be inspired.

Take Comfort in the Promise

Life?s not all rosy. Sometimes you go through a rough patch: things don?t
work out the way you anticipated or there is just an unprecedented twist of
events. Overwhelmed by the experience, the bible is usually the last thing on
your mind? But there here?s a little secret that the psalmist discovered:
each time you go through a rough patch you always have the Word of God to
Comfort you. [Ps. 119:50]

Be Inspired.

Psalm 119:50

This is my comfort in my affliction,

that your promise gives me life.

Moving from Success to Significance

What is success? A friend of mine asked me this
question the other day while we were sitting in the
coffee shop. I was a bit reluctant to answer his
question but he insisted that I do… so I did.

When I gave my friend his response, I explained the
difference between success and significance, which
exactly what I want to do here.

SUCCESS
Strictly speaking, success has no general definition.
The definition of success differs from one person to the
other. To one person it may mean building an empire
for oneself; to another person it may mean being a
superstar; and yet to another it may mean owning the
largest retail chain in the world. Whatever you
consider to be an important achievement in your life all
falls in the scope of your definition of success.

MOVING FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE
Success is good. But there is something better:
Significance!

SIGNIFICANCE
Having significance in life means counting for
something, that is, simply put. It denotes adding value
to the lives of others. In other words, it calls for self-
sacrifice for the betterment of your spouse, your
children, your community, your nation and the rest of
the world, both today and in the future

In a nutshell, “Success is adding value to yourself,
Significance is adding value to others.”

Will you settle for success? Or will you go on to gain
significance? Have this question at the back of your
mind even as you begin to plan your 2008.

Be Inspired.

How bright is your night?

So, you say the odds that are against you are to much
to bear? You cannot believe that what God promised
you can come to pass? Well, take a look at the life of
Abraham and let him show you how to come to grips
with the plans and purposes that God has for your life.
Nothing is TOO BIG for God. Enjoy!


He looked up at the heavens. "One, Two, Three, Four
…," he began to count the stars that hang in the sky. It
wasn't before long that he lost count. “Look up at the
heavens and count the stars… So shall be your
offspring," the words rang in his mind again.


“As many as the stars…” Abraham began. “Wow!” he
exclaimed after a brief moment of silence. Excitement
written all over his face, Abraham simultaneously raised
his eyes and hands as if to reach out to the heavens.


Shining its brightest over the past weeks, the moon
gave such an illumination on the camp that Abraham
could see the steady death of activity in the camp. The
camp was now totally deserted except a handful of his
fighting men whom he could see patrolling the camp.


Smoke drifted from the remains of fires that were the
habitation of children, men and feeble hands as they
awaited the evening meal. Abraham could still hear the
songs, shouts and laughter of children at their play; the
hoarse voices of men discussing the day; and the silent
hum of women bent over the stew pot at the cooking
area.


Standing along the outskirts of the camp, Abraham felt
the evening breeze grow colder. Succumbing to the
growing strength of the coolness, he turned to face the
camp and made his way down into the camp. On
reaching his tent, he entered, gave his wife a gaze,
smiled, and then joined her on the mat. He embraced
her. "You are going to be with child," he thought to
himself.


Be Inspired.

Do It Anyway: Mother Theresa’s Philosophy

Short, but very insightful, Mother Theresa’s philosophy reminds us that we each carry a responsibility to humanity and that, despite all the risks we face when we set out to fulfill it, all we can do is to carry it out.

Mother Theresa’s philosophy is that:

If you are kind people will accuse you of selfish motives, be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win both false friends and real enemies, succeed anyway.

The good you do today, most people will forget, do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may not be enough, give the best anyway.

In the final analysis it is between you and God, it was never between you and them anyway.

Be Inspired.