Goals : Why They Help and Why You Need Them

Goals are a strange thing. Some people have them and some people don't, or rather, everyone has goals, just not everyone has clear-cut well defined goals. Having a well-defined goal is the first step in reaching it.

So, what are your goals? Some people's goals are very cut and dried: I want to make a million dollars. That is a very specific goal. I want to be successful. That goal is not so clear. What does success mean? How much money or time or friends or happiness does success equal? It's really up to each person to decide for themselves. If you have such an unspecific goal such as "I want to be successful" try to clarify it a little. What do you mean successful? "I want to be a prolific writer." Ok, what kind of writer? And what do you mean by prolific? "I mean that I want thousands in royalties coming in every month."

Once you've specified what your goal is you need to decide on a course of action towards getting there. How are you going to become a prolific writer? How do you start? The answer could be that you start writing for someplace that is guaranteed to publish you, perhaps a small-time online e-zine. Then you write for two or three e-zines. Perhaps after you built up a small portfolio you start writing for paper magazines, small at first and eventually more and more well known until you're writing for Time or National Geographic. Then once you've established yourself as a good, reliable magazine writer and you have the flexibility and time you can start working on that award-winning book.

Now this may all sound far-fetched and time intensive. It kind of is, but not really. It may be time intensive, but it's not so far fetched. You can break any goal down into smaller steps until you achieve your ultimate goal.

Here's an example. My goal is to own a residential investment property. What is the first step towards owning this kind of property? You have to make a down payment. I have figured out that I need ten thousand dollars for a down payment on a house that I can afford. I've figured out that I still need to save 9,135 dollars before I reach my goal. Every time I save an extra dollar I minus it from the total. Seeing the total number go down becomes more and more encouraging as I reach my first goal step.

While setting a goal and determining the steps you need to take to reach that goal is a push in the right direction, you can't stop there. You have to continue to re-evaluate your progress. As I save more money I re-evalutate how much I still need to save. I will do the same thing if there is an emergency and I have to spend some of my savings. I will re-evaluate my goal and what steps I need to get there.

Good luck!