Posts Tagged ‘goal setting’

MPG isn’t an acronym for miles per gallon.  No, not this time.

It stands for My Phenomenal Goals!

My Phenomenal Goals are displayed in my office where I can see them, reflect on them and check them off in celebratory fashion when I’ve reached them.

The end of the year is fast approaching and now is the time to start thinking about what your 2011 goals are going to be.

Here’s some tips to help formulate your best goals for 2011:

1.  Sit down and revisit the goals you had for 2010. Review the questions below.  Your answers will help you create your goals for 2011.

• What goals did I reach in 2010?
• What stood in the way of me reaching any of my goals?
• What do I need to put in place this year to make sure I reach my goals in 2011?

2.  Sit down and formulate your goals for 2011. Haven’t developed any?  Well get cracking on that task.  Think about these questions to get you started:

• What’s working in my business?
• What’s not?
• What action(s) would take me closer to my commitments in the next 90 days?
• What opportunities exist right now?
• What new strategy(ies) could I implement so I can reach these goals?

3.  Determine if your goals are realistic given where you are currently and your action steps. For example, consider how you plan on bringing in revenue for the year, what program, services, or products are you launching in 2011 and what marketing strategies are you planning on implementing in the year?

3.  Next revise your goals or the plan to achieve them or maybe both so that they are in total alignment with your vision…oh, and make sure they are doable. I like to tell my clients that when developing goals you need to feel the friction between too hard and too easy…that place in between.  When you find it, that is where your goal should be.

You must take the RIGHT action in the RIGHT way at the RIGHT time while keeping a clear and positive mindset about what you want to achieve.  This combination will catapult you forward to your goals and nothing else!

Want to make sure that you are formulating the RIGHT goals, at the RIGHT time, in the RIGHT order?  Call me at 978-794-4991 or email me at maureen@daretobephenomenal.com for a strategy session to see if I can help you formulate the right plan!  It’s a simple, easy and cost effective way to make sure you are on the right track!

If you’re like most people you started out 2010 with lofty goals for your business.  They were probably full of passion and you were totally motivated to accomplish them. But before you knew it, the energy and enthusiasm started to fade.  So, here is my question:  Have you lost track of your goals and gone back to your old ways?

Don’t fret!  The good news is you can get back on track by following these simple steps.

Review

Review your goals and their purpose. What’s the bigger why?  Once the excitement dwindles, most people forget why they set the goal in the first place.

Ask yourself:  Are these goals still important to me or did I set them with because of someone else’s expectation?

If truth be told, the reason most goals fall off the map is because the goals were not fully evaluated and the why not fully explored.  Make sure the goals you set are tied to your bigger why and really benefit you and your business and business strategy.  If not, get rid of them.

Take Action

First off, get real and know that your goals will NOT be achieved overnight.  It takes time, that’s the plain truth.

I once wrote an article about wanting, willing and committing.  The same principle applies here.  Do you want to achieve your goals or are you committed to achieving your goals? When you want to achieve goals you typically work on the easy stuff to make it happen – the stuff that take minimal effort on your part.  When you are committed, you are investing the time and effort that it requires to achieve your goals – you’re willing to work on the hard stuff to make it happen.

Take action and stick to that commitment.

Accountability

Get an accountability partner.  This can be a friend, trusted advisor, mentor, or business coach. No matter who it is having an accountability partner will help put you in the proper mindset and ensure you meet your goals.

The beauty of the accountability partner is they will help you stay on track when you just don’t feel like it. They will push you past those rough patches and help keep you focused on the bigger outcome.

Celebrate

When you reach those important 90 day milestones go ahead and celebrate!  You deserve it!  Better yet celebrate with your accountability partner.

Every goal reached is just one step closer to your overall success.

I wish, I want, I commit. How do you start a goal statement?  Do you wish it will happen, want it to happen or commit to making it happen?

The language that you use and the feeling associated with that what you say has a big impact on your ability to reach your goals.

Take for example, if you wish that you could make $100,000 in a year chances are you won’t because you are only wishing for it to happen and there isn’t much effort behind wishing.  In essence, all it takes is sitting there and hoping that the money will fall from the sky into your lap.  Even though we learned that wishing makes dreams come true, I’m here to tell you it only happens in fairy tales.

Wanting is a bit better.  When you want something, like wanting to make a $100,000 in a year, you are willing to put a bit more effort in achieving it than the person who is still sitting around and wishing for the money.  But wanting still lacks something critical.  It lacks that powerful energy that moves us from wanting to really making it happen.  It lacks YOUR commitment.

Saying, “I commit to making $100,000 in a year means that you are taking your responsibility in achieving this goal seriously.  Think of it this way…when you make a commitment to your children to take them to the zoo you know that if you don’t you will really be letting them down.  You know that you have made a promise to them and that your integrity is on the line if you don’t follow through.  The same thinking applies to achieving your goals.

Now alot of self help guru’s will tell you that you must keep your commitment and I agree, but we all know that for some reason or the other often times we break our commitments.  Usually it’s because we don’t have the personal resources to ensure we maintain integrity in our commitments.  Does this sound familiar?

Here are a couple of tips to help you maintain those commitments so that you CAN reach your goals:

1.  Don’t Rationalize – When you break your next commitment (and I hope that you don’t) don’t rationalize your behavior.  In essence, rationalizing is acceptance of what you know in your heart and soul to be wrong.  Every time that you rationalize, and therefore justify your behavior it makes it less likely that you will keep your commitments in the future.  With every rationalization you lower your standard of an acceptable life and make it harder and harder to keep commitment in the future.

Instead, acknowledge that you didn’t keep the commitment, think of ways that you can ensure you don’t break your commitment in the future.  Figure out why you broke the commitment in the first place and learn from this experience.

2.  Come Up With a Plan – Figuring out why you break your commitments is a very important step in gaining the resources that you need to keep them in the future.   Brainstorm all the reasons why you failed in keeping your commitment and then develop a new strategy so that you don’t repeat the mistake.  This helps to give you a plan for your future and increases your chance of success.

3.  Try Again – Now that you have rid yourself of rationalization and have a plan on how to not fail at your commitments in the future, it’s time to try again.  You have new tools at your disposal and you can keep your commitments as you retrain your brain into moving closer and closer to your goal.

Use the “commit” language when developing your goals and commit to keeping your commitments and you will see a vastly different business a year from now.

Lots and lots of people are talking about setting goals and making the most of 2010…including me!  But don’t let all the talk of goal setting throw you off track from what is really important about this process.  It’s about making sure that you are doing the right things at the right time and in the right order.  It’s about being as productive as you can be with your time, talent and energy!  Here are seven “must implement right away strategies” so that you can stop feeling exhausted and start moving your business forward!

Throw Away The Old To Do List

You heard me right!  Get rid of the old to do list because it’s missing a critical element – an end time.  Simple fix isn’t it?  The problem and the solution are simple.  Most entrepreneur to-do-lists have the start time but no end time built into them.  By scheduling in the due date or end time it helps you get focused and completing the project by that specified date.  Without it, it can stay on that list and never get crossed off and that my friends is just plain inefficient.

Create A Schedule and Stick to It

I keep a schedule and I rarely let anything bump the time that I have allocated in my schedule for things that MUST happen like writing, creating new programs and services and marketing tasks.  So here is what you must do:  create a schedule and purposefully plan out your top priorities for the day and then don’t allow anything to come between you and your schedule.

This schedule should include things that you must do each day until you have established a routine and even then I wouldn’t take it off your schedule.  I schedule everything this way I don’t miss anything important.  My schedule is tied to my 90 goals that I have established and these two systems allow me to accomplish a great deal each day, month, quarter and year.

Whatever system you develop make sure that it works for you and allows to continually move your business forward.

Time:  Once It’s Gone, It’s Gone

Time is something that once it’s gone you can’t get it back.  That’s why it is so important to always be conscientious with your time and how you spend it.  For those moments when you have not scheduled your time according to your plan ask yourself this question:  What is the most effective use of my time right now? Think about it and then use your time wisely knowing that you are using your time effectively, efficiently and on the tasks that are guaranteed to reach your goals.

Post Your Goals

I have my three year plan posted right in front of my desk where I can always refer to it!  It is a constant reminder to me of why I am doing what I am doing and great a great motivator!  Additionally, I have my vision board where I can see all the things that I am working towards…the new car, the beach front property, etc.  Seeing the reason behind doing what you’re doing is a great subconscious motivator for you to get the job done so you can proudly say, “I reached my goal.”

How Much Are You Worth?

Do you know the answer to that question?  If not I suggest you do the following exercise.  If you want to make $50,000 next year and assuming you will work 8 hours each day, then you know that each hour you work has a value of $25.61 and every minute is worth $0.427. Double it if you want to make $100,000 next year.  The reverse if that for every hour that you waste and let’s say you waste one hour a day each week you are losing $6,658.60 on a $50,000 income and double that on a $100,000 income.  My point:  wasted, unfocused time is a loss of revenue…and a big one at that.

Delegate and Follow Up

There are some tasks that I really hate doing and then there are tasks that I like to do but understand is not a good use of my time.  Whether its tasks you hate or ones you love remember that delegating is an effective tool and strategy when trying to make the most of the time that YOU have.

But along with effective delegation is also the responsibility to follow up and not leave issues hanging out there with no resolution.  Make sure you check in to make sure things stay on track and according to schedule.

Celebrate Your Success

Each time I reach a goal and complete a project I do a little celebration dance!  I know it sounds corny and who knows what I look like when I do my “dance of joy”, but I love to celebrate my wins and success and you should too.  Find a system that feels right for you even if it simply jotting down on paper in a journal.

Keeping on track and focused can be a daunting task if you don’t have a system.  Follow these simple tips here to make it simple and easy.   And remember, time cannot be replaced.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone so use it wisely.

Today’s business success strategy is about goal setting.

Do you know where you want to be next year, month or week?  How will you know if you have achieved what you are aiming for?  What are you focused on each that day that consistently moves you toward the goals you have for your business?

If you can’t answer these questions its because you don’t really know the goal!  Goals need to be written down and referred to often.  When you take the time to write out your goals you are making a commitment to yourself and your business.  Goals are what keeps you focused when times get demanding and when you start to loose your way.  It’s a reminder about what you are trying to accomplish.

Check out my free report at www.daretobephenomenal.com to learn some additional tips about goal setting.  By following these simple tips, you can start planning and goal setting with an eye on the future  success of your business!