"A person's worth is no greater than the worth of their ambition
and purpose."

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~Marcus Rurelius

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Goal setting can provide numerous personal and professional advantages; however, many of us fail to take advantage of this tool. Without goal setting, it can be difficult to attain your desires. It is far too easy to become distracted and sidetracked by outside forces. Goal setting gives you the discipline and control you need to harness your desires and use them to motivate yourself. With sharp, clearly defined goals you gain the ability to measure and take pride in what you have accomplished. By being able to take stock of all the hard work you have put into something, you can see the results of that work, which also serves to increase your self-confidence.

THE SECRET IS IN THESE SIX STEPS:​

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STEP ONE: DECISION
Decide what you want in life. Make a decision that comes from deep inside you. This means getting to know yourself. Identify the things you do well and the things you enjoy doing. Get familiar with the way you respond to your environment and why you respond that way. Learn where you are strong and play to your strengths. When you have defined yourself, you can also define the success you want – and you can begin the journey toward your dreams.

STEP TWO: COMMITMENT
It is one thing to decide what you want. It is another thing to make a commitment. A commitment is like your signature on a contract. Your signature binds you to a course of action. When you make a deep commitment to a goal, powerful forces come into play, propelling you toward that goal. The power comes from within you. It is there, and you may not even know it!

STEP THREE: PLANNING
Here is where one three-letter word separates losers from winners. That word is HOW. Losers ask, “Can I do it?” Winners ask “How can I do it?” Losers are guided by what’s impossible. They see barriers and they stop in their tracks. Winners are guided by what’s possible. They see possibilities and then build upon them. By devising a strategy one possibility at a time, they achieve their goals.

STEP FOUR: PREPARATION
Once you know where you want to go, your next step is to prepare yourself for the journey. Preparation involves acquiring the physical, mental/emotional, social and spiritual balance you will need to keep yourself on course, and the motivation to provide you with the energy to carry it out.

STEP FIVE: EXECUTION
Executing your life’s plan involves three phases: 1) Action; 2) Learning; and 3) Applying. A good coach knows that a brilliant game plan is no good without proper execution. The team has to act upon the plan. It is the same with your success plan. It is not enough to simply have one. You have to implement it through positive action. Coupled with the action must be a learning process that allows you to profit from your inevitable mistakes. We never know whether a specific action will be successful until we have tried it. Once we have tried it, we can observe the results, learning what works and what doesn’t. Winners expect to make mistakes, but they use them as lessons. They apply what they learn toward implementation of the plan.

STEP SIX: RECOMMITMENT
When you have achieved the last goal in your action plan, don’t stop. Your life is not at an end. You are at a new beginning – unless you plan to die as soon as your vision is fulfilled. Successful people know that life is a continuously unfolding process, and they remain in control of the unfolding. When they reach that long-sought plateau, they immediately create their next vision. They move on to new plateaus, making new decisions and new commitments, planning, preparing and executing until the new vision is achieved. Success builds upon success.