Life’s Little Instructions :: Reaching Your Goals

Throughout your life there will be times when you feel like you are simply going through the motions and not making progress towards your goals. As you become more in tune with your goals, it will be easier to identify these moments and you will know what you need to do to get back on course.

This edition of Life’s Little Instructions, as found in the calendar from H. Jackson Brown, Jr. will focus on reaching your goals and getting ahead.

For more on reaching your goals, be sure to check out the recent guest post from Damien Riley discussing how Charles Schultz provided a real-life model on achieving your goals.

Get to the point. Don’t let a great idea get lost in a thicket of words.

It is very easy to lose sight of your ultimate goal if you allow yourself to get consumed by all of the potential distractions. You need to ensure that you are always making progress towards your goal and not simply spinning your wheels with the impression that you are making progress because you are busy.

With all of the recent political debates, have you ever noticed how long someone can talk without ever really making a point? Don’t let that mentality be the driving force behind your goals - get to the point and achieve your goals.

Your dreams are like campfires; unless attended to regularly, they go out.

One thing that really holds true with your goals (and dreams) is that the simple act of recording them on paper, or maybe the Interweb if you prefer, increases your odds of achieving success. To take that a step further, set aside time on a regular basis to review your goals in order to monitor your progress.

Without a routine review of your goals, how will you know if you are still on the right track? You may even find that what you once thought were your goals no longer seem quite as important to you. By taking the time to attend to your goals, you will ensure that you are maximizing your effort and getting closer to achieving your goals.

All major advances are the result of someone taking a risk.

Take a moment to think back to a few key advances or achievements in your life and consider the amount of risk that was involved prior to the end result. Chances are that there was some degree of risk involved.

When my wife and I were first married and had a newborn baby, I took a risk by leaving my secure job to work for a Dot Com startup. While that company eventually fizzled out, my career took a major advance due to the contacts that I had made at that job. For another example of someone taking a risk, look no further than our own Wendy Piersall and the risk that she took to expand eMoms At Home from a single blog into The Internet Home Business Magazine for Moms & Dads.

There are very few milestones, or turning points, in our lives that do not involve some level of risk.

Knowledge is powerless unless it prepares you to do the right thing at the right time.

You can be the smartest person in the world but if you do not know how to apply that knowledge, you may find it very difficult to achieve your goals.

It may sound a little daunting to try and always do the right thing at the right time. However, keep in mind that there will be times that doing the wrong thing truly was the right thing to do as our mistakes are often one of our best teachers.

Be the one who works hard even when the boss is gone. Someone is always watching.

Hard work. Determination. Dedication. Those are all characteristics that you need to reach your goals. If you tend to take it easy at work when the boss is not around, you need to think about how that may be impacting your ability to reach your goals.

In the end you are only cheating yourself by taking shortcuts when you think that nobody will notice. Commit to yourself and your goals and you will find that success is well within your reach.