Did You Write Down Your Goals for 2008?

Pull up a chair and let me tell you a story. In October of 2006 I met Joe Theismann who was the Notre Dame Quarterback who threw for 526 yards in the pouring rain in 1970. He jokes that his name was pronounced THEEZMAN his whole life, but the president of Notre Dame thought he had a better chance to win the Heisman if his name rhymed. So he forever will be known as "Theismann rhymes with Heisman." Joe went on to become a Hall of Fame Washington Redskin Quarterback, had a great career until in 1985 he met with Lawrence Taylor and another NY Giant who tackled him from opposite directions and sandwiched him breaking his fibula and tibia right there live on Monday Night Football for the nation to see. His career abruptly ended and a new life began.

In 2006, he spoke for 45 minutes to a group of vendors at the International Food and Dietary Supplements Trade Show. One of the main points he shared with this unlikely group of business men and women was about "WRITING DOWN YOUR GOALS." It's not-so-common knowledge that only 2% of the population actually take the time to write down their goals. And it's almost laughable when you consider that 2% of the population controls 80% of the wealth in the country. Is there a connection? Hmmm? I will let you be the judge.

OK, so I am a bit late in sharing my goal setting philosophy but actually I purposely held off until now with the express purpose that maybe you have fallen off the wagon from your New Year's Resolutions already. Is it true? How do I know this? From experience!

What you are going to read below is the Jack Canfield method of not just setting goals but attaining goals. Interested?

Before the process begins, consider these 7 areas to focus on in your life with your goals. This is my priority of ordering and you can mix up the order as you like, but for me money means nothing without health, therefore I moved that up to number one. Relationships are really important and maybe I will write about that in another article.

1) Health/ Fitness
2) Relationships/ Family/ Friends
3) Fun Time/ Recreation/ Sports/ Hobbies/ Travel
4) Personal/ Learning/ Projects/ Purchases
5) Business/ Professional/ Career/ Job
6) Contribution/ Service/ Community/ Legacy
7) Financial/ Income/ Debt Reduction/ Investments/ Net Worth

How to make it happen in 2008 and realize your goals:
If you do this process or some form of it, I guarantee that reaching your goals will seem almost effortless in comparison with efforts you may have made in years past without the real results.

The Process:

1) Reflect on these 7 areas of your life and identify 3 goals for each area. Set aside an hour one evening or one morning. It may be the most valuable hour of 2008. Note: each goal must be specific and include a date and time by when it will be completed.

2) Write these areas down on a piece of paper or type them into your computer so you can see all 21 of your goals. Note: if you want to have more than 3 goals in a particular area, go for it. However, set for yourself to the number of goals you feel you can realistically attain. Do be comprehensive for yourself so you feel complete with each area.

3) When you have your 21 goals (or more), write each one down on a 3 x 5 index card. This is the critical piece right here. On the back of each card, write down an accompanying Visualization of how you will feel when you have completed this goal. Use feeling words such as I am happily_________ or I'm enjoying. If you get lazy and skip this part, your chances of success have just diminished.

Example: "I am enjoying going to the gym 3 nights a week." "I am happy to get up for my 6:00AM cycle class." "I really enjoy my outing each Sunday with my kids." Use your mind to visualize these short sentences. Believe me this is the tipping point in making things happen.

When you have your index cards and priorities in place, review your index cards, flip them by reading the front goal and the associated visualization on the back once in the morning when you wake up and once again in the evening before you go to sleep.

For me, this process is a part of my hour of power in the morning and the last thing I do before I pray and go to sleep at night. This will keep your mind focused on what it is that you want to accomplish. It will heighten your awareness for opportunities to implement action to reach your goals and see your dreams turn into reality.

In 2007 this process created all kinds of good things for me and my family. I recommend it to you.

Advance Technique when you are ready to commit:
A) Go back to your list of written goals. Prioritize 3 goals from the 21+ goals as your focus for your intentions and attention. These goals should have activities around them every day. Ideally, identify 5 actions you can take for each of these each day to complete.

B) Again review the list of your written goals. Identify which one goal is your breakthrough goal for the year. This goal is a goal that will stretch you, that is not part of your normal routines, and one that you will have to work for.

This goal should have activity around it every day and ideally 5 actions associated with it.

After Joe's talk, I went up to the dais to greet him and I pulled out my visualization "map" I had in my pocket and shared it with him. He thanked me for sharing with him that you can write down your goals but you can also use pictures to point your mind in the right direction. Happy 2008!