Life's Greatest Question

Finally Uncover Your True Path to Happiness & Success Life's Greatest Question The Quick & Complete Guide to Discoverin...

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Finally Uncover Your True Path to Happiness & Success

Life's Greatest Question The Quick & Complete Guide to Discovering What You Want in Life

JASON M. GRACIA Author of The Motivated Mind

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HE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS EXPLAIN how to quickly and easily navigate throughout this workshop. In addition, you’ll find information on printing this workbook or portions of it.

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Life's Greatest Question The Quick & Complete Guide to Discovering What You Want in Life

JASON M. GRACIA Author of The Motivated Mind

Published by Stonefield Publishing

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Copyright © 2007 VantagePoint Motivation Services Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or informational storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. IT IS ILLEGAL TO MAKE A COPIES OF THIS BOOK FOR DISTRIBUTION. IF ILLEGAL COPIES ARE MADE IN VIOLATION OF THIS COPYRIGHT, IN ADDITION TO LEGAL ACTION, THE ORIGINAL PURCHASER MAY BE CHARGED FOR ALL ILLEGAL COPIES TRACED TO CODED ORIGINAL.

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Please direct any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this book to:

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Contents

| Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………1 Section I: Where Are You Now?……………………….. 4 1.1 - Taking Inventory: Your Identity………………………………. 6 1.2 - Taking Inventory: Your Health……….……………………….13 1.3 - Taking Inventory: Your Career……….……………………….18 1.4 - Taking Inventory: Your Finances.……….…..………………. 24 1.5 - Taking Inventory: Your Relationships…….…………………30

Section II: Exercises & Insights………………………...37 2.1 - Exercise 1: Value Analysis (Part I)…………………………….39 2.2 - Exercise 2: Value Analysis (Part II)……………………………45 2.3 - Exercise 3: Strengths & Weaknesses………………………....48 2.4 - Exercise 4: Identity Spotlight………………………………….52 2.5 - Exercise 5: Recurring Themes …………………………………65 2.6 - Exercise 6: The Heart of Admiration…………………………70 2.7 - Exercise 7: Needs Analysis……………………………………..77 2.8 - Exercise 8: Health Spotlight................................................82 2.9 - Exercise 9: Pride from the Past............................................87 2.10 - Exercise 10: Source of Satisfaction......................................91 2.11 - Exercise 11: Cause for Disappointment……………………..95 2.12 - Exercise 12: Career Spotlight………………………………….99 2.13 - Exercise 13: Moments of Clarity……………………………..106 2.14 - Exercise 14: A World of Ideals……………………………….110 2.15 - Exercise 15: Financial Spotlight.........................................119 2.16 - Exercise 16: “I Must…”………………………………………..126 2.17 - Exercise 17: Defining a Legacy...........................................132 2.18 - Exercise 18: Relationships Spotlight..................................136 2.19 - Exercise 19: Your Mission Statement……………………….141

Copyright © 2007 VantagePoint Motivation Services Inc.

CONTENTS | V

Section III: Brainstorming………………………………145

Contents

3.1 – 3.2 – 3.3 – 3.4 – 3.5 –

Brainstorming: Identity Goals……………………...…………154 Brainstorming: Health Goals...............................................158 Brainstorming: Career Goals...............................................162 Brainstorming: Financial Goals……………………………….165 Brainstorming: Relationship Goals…………………………..171

Section IV: Creating Your Goal Sets………...………177 4.1 - Creating 4.2 - Creating 4.3 - Creating 4.4 - Creating 4.5 - Creating

Your: Identity Goal Set……………….…...………..180 Your: Health Goal Set……………………………….183 Your: Career Goal Set……………………………….186 Your: Financial Goal Set…………………………….189 Your: Relationship Goal Set………………………..192

Section V: Bringing Your Ideas to Life……….......…198 5.1 - Name Your Target………………………………………...……200 5.2 - Define Your Destination……………………………………....202 5.3 - Your First Steps Forward…………………………………....…204 5.4 - See It to Believe It…………………………………………....…206 5.5 - Spread the Word………………………………………………..212

Conclusion………………………………………………. 215


| Introduction Nothing happens unless first a dream. —Carl Sandburg

HAT DO YOU WANT? This is one of the most important questions you’ll ever answer and, up to this point, one of the most confusing. Knowing what you want in life, from your career and relationships to your finances, health, and everything in between, is the starting point of change, improvement, and ultimate happiness.

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Without the answers to this question, the path to a rich and rewarding life is hidden from sight, forcing you to guess your way forward—or backward. This, of course, is what most people experience throughout their lives. Because they were never guided through the process of uncovering their own unique path to happiness and success, they’re left to settle for less than what they’re capable of achieving and experiencing. Even worse, some mistakenly choose a path that ends up leaving them with feelings of emptiness and despair. You can’t simply move; you have to move in the right direction. But there is a solution. If you don’t know exactly what you want out of life, you soon will. By following a simple sequence, you can quickly and confidently uncover the goals and dreams you were meant for, the aspirations and ambitions that will create the life you’ve always wanted to experience.

What’s to Come This course is divided into five distinct stages. The first begins at the beginning. That is to say, it starts by examining where you are at present in your life. Only when you take inventory of how things currently stand can you accurately point the way forward. The second stage is one of exercises and insights. Through a series of thoughtprovoking and revealing tasks and activities you’ll begin to develop a clear and compelling picture of the life you truly want to live and the way in which you

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want to live it. But the purpose of this stage is only to draw out raw data from your mind. Putting this information to use requires a different form of activity: brainstorming. The third stage will give you the chance to bring together all that you’ve discovered and use it to successfully carry out several personal and powerful brainstorming sessions. This is the point at which thoughts begin to develop into concrete and compelling ideas.

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. —Anatole France

From here you will finally be in a position to answer the all-important question of what you want with confidence and clarity and proceed with creating your personal goal sets. After completing this fourth stage, the confusion and frustration of the past will be gone. You will know what you want and be ready to make it happen. But there’s one more step in the process. Having an idea in mind is not the same as putting an idea into action. And this is what it takes to change and improve your life. A list of goals and dreams won’t do you any good unless they leap from paper into your reality. This is where the fifth and final stage enters the picture. Using your most important goal as a template, the fifth stage will teach you how to bring your ideas to life and ensure they never waste away on a piece of paper. You will discover powerful steps to firmly establishing your goals and giving them the foundation they need for success. Combined, the pages ahead will help you create a personal roadmap to the rich and rewarding life you’ve always dreamed of experiencing and give you the tools you need to achieve the happiness and success you desire.

The Importance of Follow Through A final key to keep in mind: This course will only work if you do. Studies have shown that just ten percent of people read the books they purchase and even fewer follow through on the information they read. In order for this program to improve the quality of your life, it’s vital that you reverse the trend and take action. Resist the urge to passively read through each section and instead answer the questions you encounter, complete each of the exercises given, and record your thoughts and ideas wherever they are needed. When the temptation to move forward without acting hits, keep this simple truth in mind: If you can’t get yourself to write down your goals, how are you ever going to achieve them?


Where Are You Now? SECTION ONE

Section One

| 1.0 Where Are You Now? REATING THE LIFE YOU WANT TO LIVE entails more than simply grabbing goals out of thin air and charging forward. You must choose the right goals that are unique to you and your particular place in life and can never be chosen at random. And the first step to making those correct choices for the future begins with a close examination of the present.

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Every goal must include two elements: a starting point and a destination. When one is missing, the other is of no use. For instance, the goal to earn more money will do you little good without first defining how much you have now just as the desire to lose weight is impossible to accomplish without first knowing where you stand today. It’s because of this two-pronged nature of goals that there is only one place to begin the process: Taking inventory of where you are in each of the major areas or your life. With this information in hand, you will be able to uncover the goals and dreams suited to your unique needs and wants, the keys to enjoying the feelings of true fulfillment and lifelong satisfaction. In the chapters ahead, you’ll begin to piece together a clear picture of your life as it currently stands. In particular, you’ll complete three exercises for each of the major categories that make up your life. You’ll start with a detailed description of each aspect. For instance, within the category of Career you will find the aspect of Daily Tasks and Responsibilities. To complete this portion of the exercise, you would write out the details of what duties or activities make up a typical workday. An elementary school teacher, for example, may include things such as grading papers, developing lesson plans, attending teacher conferences and, of course, teaching young children the subject at hand. The second step asks the question: How satisfied are you with this aspect? Our schoolteacher may respond with satisfaction toward particular aspects of the

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position as well as negatives toward others. (Remember, you need to create a complete picture, including both pros and cons as you see them.) Determining how satisfied you are with each element will add even greater power to the inventory process by bringing to light certain areas of your life that need more focus and attention than others. It will also show you which areas provide the most fulfillment, information that makes it possible for you to create more of those feelings in the future.

Arriving at one point is the starting point to another. —John Dewey

You’ll conclude the process for each aspect examined by gauging your level of overall satisfaction on a rising scale from one to ten; the more satisfied you feel, the higher the number you choose. As you move through the chapters within this section, be clear, be honest, and be patient. Only through clarity can you create, only through honesty can you improve, and only through patience can you get to the heart of your happiness. By following these three steps for each of the many areas that combine together to form your life, you’ll discover not only where you stand but also in which directions you should head.


Inventory 1

| 1.1 Taking Inventory: Your Identity HO ARE YOU, what have you learned, and what exactly have you experienced? Your answers to these questions will combine together to give you a clear and concise picture of your identity and who you are as an individual.

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In the chapter ahead, you’re going to examine four distinct aspects from this area of your life, each of which are briefly outlined below: PERSONALITY The first aspect to consider is your personality and character. The point of focus is how you act on a regular basis with yourself and those around you. ATTITUDE The second aspect to examine is your attitude. This element focuses on how you view your life and the world around you in a context greater than “positive” or “negative.” SKILLS & ABILITIES The third aspect consists of the skills you’ve learned and the abilities you’ve gained throughout your lifetime. These need not be limited to your adult years— things you’ve learned in childhood are just as valid and valuable. HOBBIES & PASTIMES The fourth aspect to examine includes all of the enjoyable activities with which you fill your free time, from everyday hobbies and interest to more uncommon and unconventional pastimes. EXPERIENCES The fifth and final aspect is made up of the experiences that stand out in your mind as important, memorable, or remarkable.

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Personality The first aspect centers on the type of person you perceive yourself to be: your personality and character as an individual. For example, do you tend to be introverted and shy or confident and outgoing? How about your style of handling issues with those around you? Do you usually interact with others in a passive or indirect manner or is your style more aggressive and assertive? When dealing with the challenges of day-to-day living, do you typically worry and wait or take a more proactive approach?

It's never too late to be who you might have been.

Using the space below, describe your personality, including both the positive aspects you perceive as well as the negative. Be as specific as possible, describing distinct personality traits and characteristics.

—George Elliot

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your identity? Is it something with which you are happy or something you’d like to improve?

Indicate your overall level of satisfaction by circling a value below: Extremely Dissatisfied

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Attitude The next aspect to examine is your attitude and outlook on life. Do you consider yourself to be a positive or negative person? Hopeful or cynical? Do you often see the good in other people and the situations around you or do you immediately focus on what is wrong? Use the space below to describe this element of your identity, including both your attitude toward other people as well as your outlook toward life in general.

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.

Most important, resist the temptation to gloss over possible flaws you notice in this area. Remember, the purpose is to find room for improvement and not to paint a pretty picture when the truth is something different. Be honest with yourself—you’re the only one who needs to read what is written below.

—Seneca

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your identity? Is your attitude an area of strength or something you’d like to improve upon?


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Skills & Abilities What skills and abilities do you possess? What are you able to do? It’s common to begin with things such as a musical talent or athletic ability, but chances are good that your skills extend much farther than these areas alone. For instance, are you a creative thinker? Able to come up with solutions others don’t always recognize? How about your leadership skills? Do you have the ability to quickly draw a team together and lead them to victory? By taking a step back to look at the big picture, you’ll find more than a handful of personal skills and abilities you’ve learned up to this point in your life.

The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.

When you’ve taken inventory of your personal skills and abilities, use the space below to describe each.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your identity? Do you feel you are able to do all of the things you’d like to?


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Hobbies & Pastimes The next question to answer is how you spend your free time. Do you have a particular interest in which you love investing your time and energy? A hobby you get involved with whenever you have the chance? If ideas don’t immediately come to mind, think about what you do when you don’t have to do anything else. What do you like to do when you have a few hours to spare on a weeknight or weekend?

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.

Using the space below, describe the hobbies and pastimes you most enjoy. If there are none at this point in your life, describe your feelings about this situation.

—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your identity? Do you find that your life is lacking in special interests and hobbies or are you happy with the amount of activities in which you are currently involved?


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Experiences What have you experienced? This is the final aspect of your identity to examine. To get started, consider the following questions: Have you traveled to an exotic or interesting location? Europe? South America? Australia or Asia? How about exciting experiences such as skydiving or rafting down choppy waters? Have you gone swimming with the dolphins or scuba diving? Perhaps you’ve helped to build a home for those in need or completed a marathon?

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.

After taking time to consider each period of your life, use the space below to describe your most memorable experiences. Don’t worry if the things you consider to be important don’t fit into the examples above. Any experience you feel is significant makes for the perfect candidate to record.

—Epictetus

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your identity? Do you feel you are experiencing too little of what life has to offer?


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Inventory 1


| 1.1 Concluding Thoughts Your Identity With a clear picture of your current identity on paper, you now have a greater understanding about who you are as an individual as well as a solid starting point from which future goals and ambitions can spring. As you’ll soon find, each of the exercises ends with a Concluding Thoughts section. This step allows you to use what you’ve just discovered about yourself to develop new and valuable insights into your needs, wants, and true desires. In the box below, record any new thoughts or realizations this initial chapter triggered within you.


Inventory 2

| 1.2 Taking Inventory: Your Health ITHOUT YOUR HEALTH, little else matters. All the money in the world, the career of your dreams, or relationships deeper and more rewarding than ever before are of no use if you’re not around to experience them.

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This fact makes your health an obvious choice for examination. But the pages ahead reach into topics broader than your physical health. While this is certainly one of the most vital aspects, it’s not the only one to consider. Optimal health requires a balance between several key aspects. And in most cases, when one goes unattended, the others begin to fail. In particular, you’ll take inventory of the three categories described below: PHYSICAL HEALTH The first aspect of your health to be examined is your physical health. This area takes into account tangible qualities and characteristics that can be felt, seen, or measured in some way. You’ll be given the opportunity to taken inventory of your physical attributes as well as current or recurring health risks or concerns. MENTAL / EMOTIONAL HEALTH The second factor to consider is your mental or emotional health. This aspect can be described as the ability to express your emotions in an appropriate manner, rarely being stuck in a negative state of mind or focusing on disabling or destructive feelings such as anger, depression, or overwhelm. SPIRITUAL HEALTH The final aspect of your health to analyze is your spiritual health. Where your physical health focused on tangible elements that can easily be measured or tracked, your spiritual health is concerned with the intangible elements of connection, soul, and spirit.

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Physical Health The first category up for analysis is your physical health and well-being. Consider questions such as: What kind of shape are you in? What type of lifestyle do you live? Do you exercise on a regular basis while maintaining a healthy diet or skip the workouts and go for the desserts? Use the space below to take full inventory of this aspect as it currently stands. Include such specifics as your current weight, energy level, exercise schedule, diet, etc., as well as any other health factors known at present.

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

A note of caution: It’s crucial that you’re completely honest with this aspect of your health. Watering down certain negatives will only cause more harm than good in the end. Equally important, refrain from being overly harsh as critical.

—Michelangelo

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your health? Are you proud of the physical health and body you’ve developed or is it an area of concern for you?


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Mental/Emotional Health The next aspect to examine is your mental or emotional health. This area focuses on characteristics such as confidence and self-esteem, the degree of balance in your life, and the ability to successfully manage life’s challenges and setbacks. For instance, when something doesn’t go your way or you encounter a shortterm obstacle, do you typically remain positive and in control or feel lost and overwhelmed? You can also consider your level of happiness. Is your emotional state normally healthy and happy or fragile and inconsistent?

I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.

After taking time to fully consider your mental and emotional health, describe its status in the space below.

—Frank Lloyd Wright

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your health? Do you feel things could run more smoothly and that you could react and respond to the world around you in a healthier and more balanced manner?


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Spiritual Health The final aspect to consider is your spiritual health. While it can certainly play a large role, spirituality doesn’t necessarily have to revolve around religion. In fact, some of the most spiritual experiences in life have nothing to do with a particular religious sect or orthodoxy. Perhaps your sense of spirituality focuses on a strong connection with nature or the search for inner peace and harmony with the world around you. (This being said, focusing solely on your religious beliefs is just as acceptable.)

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk.

Using the space below, describe the current status of your spirituality and what role it plays in your life, be it a personal relationship with a higher power or a powerful relationship with the world around you and within you.

—J.C. Penney

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your health? Are you happy with the amount of time and energy invested in your spirituality?


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Inventory 2


| 1.2 Concluding Thoughts Your Health You now have a more complete picture of where you stand in regard to your health. By gathering together this information, you’ve laid the groundwork for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual growth and progress in the weeks, months, and years ahead. To gather even more valuable material, use the space below to write down any new thoughts or ideas that struck while taking inventory of your health. Did you discover particular areas that are in need of greater time and attention? Perhaps you stumbled upon a handful of possible health goals or objectives for the future?


Inventory 3

| 1.3 Taking Inventory: Your Career HE NEXT CATEGORY TO EXAMINE is your career. If you’re like most people, you’ll spend nearly one hundred thousand hours of your life on the job, and that’s using a forty-hour week for calculation, a timeframe often surpassed in today’s working world. But it’s more than mere hours that lends such importance to your chosen path.

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For many people, what they produce with their own hands and minds creates a sense of pride, accomplishment, and satisfaction that few other experiences can offer. And while you may not currently enjoy these benefits, the potential is always there. You simply need to make a change within your career or within yourself. It’s because of these two reasons, as well as many more, that your occupation is an area in need of examination, a process that includes the following aspects: DAILY TASKS & RESPONSIBILITIES The first career aspect up for analysis includes each of the common activities you are required to perform throughout the workday or workweek. SALARY & BENEFITS The second aspect consists of the various avenues of compensation you receive for work performed, with your salary and benefits often playing the largest role. EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE The third aspect is built upon two factors: What you have learned about your chosen career path as well as how much you have done within it. OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVANCEMENT The final career aspect to inventory is the opportunity for advancement as you see it within your current position or field.

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Daily Tasks & Responsibilities The first and most important aspect of your career can be summed up in a single question: What is it that you do? In other words, how exactly do you spend the hours that make up your workday? Perhaps you were given a specific job description when you were first hired. This would be a great place to begin taking inventory of your position as long as your actual duties performed stick closely to this initial outline. If not, you can think of this exercise as your chance to create your own personal job description.

Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.

Thinking back to the past several weeks, months, or even years, use the space given below to describe a typical workday including your responsibilities, common tasks, and everyday duties.

—Robert H. Schuller

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your career? Do you enjoy what you do each day or do you find it unrewarding and monotonous?


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Salary & Benefits The next aspect to consider is compensation. This is a critical component of your career not only because it pays the bills but also because what you earn is a direct reflection of your value to the marketplace. If you feel that you are worth more than you are receiving, this is the place to begin the process of improvement. This is the place to describe exactly what you earn, creating a clear picture of your current compensation and a clear path to the salary you’re willing to earn or fight for.

What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.

Along with specific salary or hourly figures, include benefits in your description as well. If dental and medical coverage, vacation time, or investments (401k, IRA, etc.) are part of your compensation package, include their details below.

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your career? Are you earning what you are worth or do you feel you deserve more? What about your benefit package?

—Viktor Frankl


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Experience & Education The third aspect of your career to examine is your current level of work experience and work-related education. In essence, it asks the question of what you have learned and what you can do. Answering honestly, would you consider yourself proficient and knowledgeable in your particular area or an employee/employer in need of improvement? By zeroing in on where you are in these areas, you’ll open the door to clear goals of work-related growth and progress.

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.

Using the space below, describe your level of work-related experience and current level of education. Be sure to include any degrees, certificates, or technical certifications that apply to your current position.

—Doug Larson

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your career? Do you feel the need to increase your education or enhance your work-related expertise?


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Opportunity for Advancement The final aspect to inventory is that of advancement opportunity. While you might not be in the position for moving up through the ranks at the moment, the time will soon come when you seek an opportunity for new challenges and experiences. With this in mind, what type of opportunities does your current employer offer? Is there a clear path forward? Equally important, is this path attainable given your current position or do changes need to be made to clear the way for movement?

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

Using the space below, describe the opportunities for advancement within your current organization. This might require further research on your end, but the time invested will be well worth it in the end.

—T.S. Eliot

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your career? Are you happy with the road ahead or frustrated with a confusing or nonexistent path of advancement?


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Inventory 3


| 1.3 Concluding Thoughts Your Career A more thorough understanding of what you do for a living as well as your reaction to it is now yours. While most unsatisfied workers know only that they don’t enjoy what they do, you’ve taken the steps necessary to get to the heart of any discontent, opening the door wide open to workable solutions. Then again, you may have realized how much you actually enjoy your work, which is an equally important discovery. Using as much of the space below as possible, make a list of any new thoughts, feelings, or ideas this particular chapter brought to mind.


Inventory 4

| 1.4 Taking Inventory: Your Finances HERE IS A FOURTH ASPECT of health that affects all others, one that has the power and potential to add comfort, security, and even excitement to your life. It can also be the source of an endless and overwhelming stream of stomach-churning stress, constant pressure, and seemingly inescapable fear. The fourth and final aspect is, of course, your financial health.

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If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of financial difficulty or despair, you know too well the pain of such an experience. And the first step out of trouble, or the first step to avoiding it in the first place, is to determine exactly where it is you stand in regard to your financial health. This is accomplished by examining the major areas of your finances, which include the four aspects below: STANDARD OF LIVING The first set of exercises involves taking inventory of your current standard of living. While this aspect includes countless elements, the focus here is the quality of life your current income allows you to provide for yourself and your family. SAVINGS & SAFETY NET The second aspect of your financial health to be examined is the current health of your savings and/or safety net, including where their values stand today as well as their particular plans for future growth. INVESTMENT & RETIREMENT The third element consists of investment and retirement accounts you have in place to generate short-term gain or long-term security and comfort. PHILANTHROPY The fourth and final aspect to consider focuses on the amount of financial capital invested in individuals, groups, or organizations for the purpose of promoting humanitarian efforts.

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TAKING INVENTORY: YOUR FINANCES | 25

Standard of Living The first element of your financial health to consider is your standard of living. What level of comfort or lifestyle does your current financial standing allow you to provide for you and your loved ones? Would you describe your standard of living as low, high, or middle of the road? Would you say it is comfortable? Luxurious? Left wanting? Are you able to meet your financial obligations each month without worry or must you live paycheck to paycheck?

How soon “not now” becomes “never.”

Using the space below, describe your current standard of living. Remember, the key to improvement is honesty, regardless of what that picture might be at this point in your life.

—Martin Luther

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your finances? Are you happy with your standard of living or find that it brings stress, worry, and guilt into your life?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Savings & Safety Net The next financial aspects to consider are your savings and safety net. The first can be considered an ongoing fund of growth while the latter is a set amount of money set aside in case of an emergency. At this point in your life, what is the status of your savings account? How about the size of your safety net? Do you have an ongoing plan to build these aspects of your financial health or do you add to them when additional income is left over? Are these accounts in place?

The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

Use the space below to describe the current state of your savings plan or safety net. If you employ both methods, describe each one as fully as possible including exact figures.

—Ayn Rand The Fountainhead

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with these aspects of your finances? Do you need to build a stronger safety net in case of emergency? Quicken the growth of your savings?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Investment & Retirement The next aspects to inventory are the investments you have in place for shortterm gain or long-term security. With the potential returns on your money and the uncertainty of the future, both play an important role in your financial health. Do you have short-term investments in place? If so, where exactly is your money? What are their current values? Have you created separate retirement accounts for long-term growth? Which type? Their current values?

Life is full of obstacle illusions.

Use the space below to describe in detail the current status of your investment and retirement accounts. Use exact figures wherever possible. (If you do not have either type of account in place, you may skip the write-in section below but should still complete the Satisfaction Level section that follows.)

—Grant Frazier

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your finances? Is this an area of security that makes you feel confident about your future?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Philanthropy The final financial aspect to examine is your level of contribution. Common examples include giving to causes in which you believe strongly or foundations that pursue worthy ends. But these aren’t the only vehicles for giving. Perhaps you contribute a portion of your income to a college scholarship fund or community project or donate a monthly amount to a local outreach program or place of worship. When it comes to furthering a particular organization or individual’s cause with your financial resources, the outlets are endless.

Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.

So now the question is put to you: In which areas do you contribute, if any? How much? How often? As always, use exact figures wherever possible to create as accurate a picture as possible. Use the space below to record your information.

—Woody Allen

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this area of your finances? Would you like to increase your contributions or are you happy with your current philanthropic pursuits?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Inventory 4


| 1.4 Concluding Thoughts Your Finances With your financial health inventoried and on record, you now have a solid foundation from which to develop the financial goals or objectives you will set in the sections ahead. To add to that foundation, space has been provided below for you to record your concluding thoughts not only about each individual aspect of your finances but also about the overall picture of your financial health. As you worked your way through each step of the chapter, what new thoughts or ideas came to mind? What realizations or revelations struck you?


Inventory 5

| 1.5 Taking Inventory: Your Relationships EOPLE ARE, BY THEIR VERY NATURE, social beings. From birth we have an instinctive and everlasting need to connect and relate, to bond and to develop deep and meaningful relationships with those around us. It’s through these relationships that the human experience is magnified most.

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Things are never as exciting as when you’re sharing the great news with a group just as experiences are as never thrilling, memorable, or touching as when they are shared among your closest friends. In this way and many others, the right relationships can enhance and improve every area of your life. But that’s not all. Along with magnifying the positive, the right relationships also have the power to dull the pain of the negatives in life. Alone, problems and short-term setbacks can take on overwhelming strength. With a friend by your side, however, the problem becomes manageable and a challenge to overcome. With these benefits in mind, it is easy to see why your relationships are a critical component of a happy, healthy, and successful life as well as an area to examine and constantly improve. That examination is built upon the aspects below: FAMILY Often the most important type of relationship, the first you’ll inventory are those you share with your family, both immediate and extended. FRIENDSHIP The second form of relationships to examine consists of your friendships as well as the status and health of your overall social network. COLLEAGUES & CO-WORKERS The third type of connection to consider revolves around the relationships you share with those you work with on a regular basis.

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TAKING INVENTORY: YOUR RELATIONSHIPS | 31

Family How would you describe the overall health of the relationships you share with your immediate and extended family members? How would you describe the health of each individual connection? How much time do you spend with each member? As much as you’d like? Are there recurring issues that need to be examined and resolved? Particular aspects you especially enjoy?

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps—we must step up the stairs.

Use the space below to record your replies to these questions as well as any other thoughts or ideas you have about the health, depth, and current condition of your family relationships. Be sure to consider these connections both as a whole and individually.

—Vance Havner

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your relationships? Are you right where you want to be? Are you happy being single? Married? With or without children?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Friendships The next aspects of relationship to consider are your friendships and overall social network. While this area is not typically as important as your immediate family, social connections still play an important role in a balanced and happy life. How would you describe the health of this area? How large is your network of close friends? How much time do you invest in these relationships?

As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living.

What role do your friends play in your life? Are they an auxiliary to a close-knit family or a priority? Use the space below to create a clear picture of your friendships and social network at this point in time.

—George Bernard Shaw

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your relationships? Is your circle of friends as large as you’d like it to be? Do your friends play a large enough role in your life? Do they play the role you need?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Colleagues & Co-Workers The final category to analyze may not hold the same significance as your immediate family or social network, but it does affect your life just the same, oftentimes more than you might at first suspect. With an average of one-third of your weekdays spent alongside your colleagues or co-workers (even more if you spend time with one another outside of work), it’s important to include these relationships in your inventory to form a more complete picture of how you interact and connect with those around you.

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.

Using the space below, describe the relationships you have with your colleagues or co-workers, including not only how well you interact on the job but also any activities you share outside of work.

—Japanese Proverb

Satisfaction Level How satisfied are you with this aspect of your relationships? Are you happy with the quality of these connections or do changes need to be made?


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Extremely Satisfied

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Inventory 5


| 1.5 Concluding Thoughts Your Relationships One of the most fundamental parts of a happy and healthy life is now down on paper and ready to guide you toward the changes and improvements that will provide the greatest level of satisfaction and fulfillment. While goals are common among such areas as your health or career, few connect them with relationships—a cost mistake. By developing these types of goals, you can bring constant growth to an area of your life that needs it most. To draw even greater benefit from the work you’ve just completed, take a moment to note any new ideas or insights that resulted from your analysis.


Section One

| 1.0 Where Are You Now? Wrapping Up ONGRATULATIONS on completing the first stage of the course! You’re already demonstrating your ability to take action and set yourself apart from the great majority who remain inactive and unfulfilled.

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Uncovering your true purpose and unique ambitions and aspirations cannot start in the future. It takes more then merely looking down the road and grabbing randomly at ideas. It must begin with a clear understanding of who you are and exactly where you stand at this point in your life. With this work now complete, you can effectively begin the process of looking ahead. By taking inventory of the main areas of your life, you can uncover and develop the ideas that build on this foundation of facts and figures and know with certainty the goals you choose are perfectly suited to you and your needs. You’ve taken action and gained greater insight into who you are and what you want. But you can’t stop here. Keep the momentum going strong and continue taking action as you enter the next section of the course: Exercises and Insights.

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Exercises & Insights SECTION TWO

Section Two

| 2.0 Exercises & Insights OU NOW KNOW WHERE YOU ARE—you’ll soon know where you’re going. However, while most people attempt to uncover their goals by staring at a blank slate and searching their minds for answers that won’t come, the pages ahead offer a different method.

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The goals and dreams that are uniquely suited to you and your life are already within you. The only problem is, getting at these desires isn’t always an easy process. Merely asking, “What do you want?” often leads to more confusion than concrete answers. What you need is beneath the surface. Fortunately for you, the pages ahead will teach you how to dig them out. In particular, you’ll work your way though a series of short and revealing exercises, the results of which will provide you with all the material you need to piece together your unique goal sets. They may not ask the question of what you want directly, but the responses they pull from you will certainly lead to the answer. As you proceed through each exercise, it’s important to keep four things in mind. First and foremost, be honest and open with your responses. Holding back your true thoughts and feelings—such as replacing an inspiring dream with a more “realistic” alternative—will only serve to defeat the purpose of this course. As you encounter each question, write down the things that immediately come to mind without taking time to edit, limit, or narrow their reach. You need to get to the heart of your needs, wants, and desires, which requires complete honesty throughout. Second, don’t be concerned with providing answers in the typical goal format of “I want…by this date…” At this point in the course, the purpose is not to

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SECTION II: EXERCISES & INSIGHTS | 38

pinpoint specific goals but to draw out as much valuable information from your mind as possible. The time will soon come when this material is molded into specific goals and dreams for the future. For now, the only concern is to let your answers flow from your mind to paper in any format they arrive. The third key is to proceed with patience. There are no time limits or restrictions ahead. If you need more time to fully answer a particular question, take a few minutes to think things over or even a few days if need be.

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals. —Aristotle

You can take as long as you need to complete this section, given that you stick to the fourth and final rule from beginning to end: Follow through. It’s been said before and it will be said again: This course can only work if you do. You must take action when action is called for, never settling for a quick skimming of the material coupled with an empty promise to return at a later time to fill in the blanks. It may be easier in the short term to avoid the effort needed to complete this course, but doing so will cost you in the long run; you’ll finish exactly where you started. However, if you’re willing to see each exercise and section through to the end, the blueprint to a life of lasting happiness and unbelievable success will be yours.


Exercise 1

| 2.1 Value Analysis – Part One HAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN LIFE? Which values rank among the lowest? When you answer these two questions, you’ll have uncovered an important and telling key to creating a life that never fails to satisfy and fulfill.

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As you know, setting and achieving goals is the process of moving from where you currently stand to where you wish to be. And within this process, your core values serve as guiding lights toward these desired destinations; they help to reveal the path to true and lasting happiness. While thoroughly knowing what you value is an integral part of a rich and rewarding life, most people never take the time or are given the opportunity to closely examine this aspect of their lives, leaving them to guess in which directions to head. It’s a common error that creates an environment of confusion and frustration. However, you won’t have to worry about that problem any longer. This is your opportunity to remove the confusion and bring your most important values to light. Completing the following exercise will allow you to gain an in-depth understanding of these guideposts and open the door to countless goals and dreams.

Instructions What follows is a list of values, each accompanied by seven levels of importance. Your task is to indicate how significant you find each value by checking one of the seven numbers for each item on the list. The higher the number checked, the more important you find that particular value. Carefully consider your answers as the results of this exercise will be used in future activities. Additionally, you will find ten empty slots following the main list. These have been provided to allow for write-ins of values you find important that were not included initially.

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EXERCISE 1: VALUE ANALYSIS – PART ONE | 40

This one step— choosing a goal and sticking to it —changes everything. —Scott Reed

Achievement

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Adventure

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Art

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Career

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Challenge

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Change

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Church

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Community

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Companionship

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Control

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Creativity

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Discovery

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Education

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Excitement

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Exercise

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Family

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Flexibility

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Freedom

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Friendship

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Generosity

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Growth

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Happiness

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We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success. —Henry David Thoreau

Hard Work

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Health

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Hobbies

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Honesty

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Humility

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Improvement

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Independence

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Integrity

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Intellectual Stimulation

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Justice

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Knowledge

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Leadership

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Leisure Time

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Love

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Mental Challenge

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Morality

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Music

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Nature

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Order

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Patriotism

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Peace of Mind

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Physical Challenge

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Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. —Theodore Roosevelt

Power

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Quality

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Reputation

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Respect

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Security

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Self-Acceptance

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Self-Development

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Self-Knowledge

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Self-Reliance

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Service

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Spirituality

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Spontaneity

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Sports

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Teaching

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Teamwork

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Time to Yourself

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Tolerance

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Travel

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Truth

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Understanding / Comprehension

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Volunteering

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Wealth

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Your Personal List of Values The open spaces below are available for values not listed that you find to be important. Because not every value ranks at the very top of your list, four levels of priority are given beginning with priority-level four. After writing in your additional values, check one of the choices to the right to indicate how important you find that specific item.

Write-In Value

A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder. —Thomas Carlyle

Level of Importance

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Exercise 1


| 2.1 Concluding Thoughts Value Analysis – Part One Congratulations on completing your first exercise. Having discovered the values you hold most important, you now have insight into the types of goals and dreams that will create the greatest sense of fulfillment and satisfaction when achieved. For instance, if adventure ranked at the top of your list, setting goals that will help you move toward this value are guaranteed to bring you the happiness and joy you seek, for the achievement of your values is a requirement of happiness. Now it’s time for your concluding thoughts. What did you learn from this exercise? What new insights did you gain about yourself and what you want for your life? After taking time to think it over, write down your personal conclusions in the box below.


Exercise 2

| 2.2 Value Analysis – Part Two NOWING WHAT YOU VALUE most in life is only half of the story. The second part is whether or not these values currently play a large enough role in your life. This piece of information serves you in two ways. To begin, it helps you to focus your time and energy on the areas that can bring you the greatest level of progress and satisfaction.

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Imagine the value of security is not only important to you but also being met on a daily basis. You can certainly create new goals around this value, but not nearly the amount that could be developed around a value that you’ve never before focused on. By realizing that a high-priority value is missing from your day-to-day activities, you have the perfect opportunity to introduce a brand new element of happiness and success into your life. In addition to bringing into focus the goals that will lead to the greatest amount of growth and fulfillment, discovering which values are missing from your life can also shed light on the problem of periods of unhappiness or discontent. Few people feel like changing anything about their lives when sadness hits; the energy and desire to move forward are swept away with the unhappiness. One of the major reasons for these feelings? Unsatisfied values. It’s easy to understand why an individual who values creativity would experience at least some amount of loss or unhappiness if this value were nowhere to be found day in and day out. And without realizing this fact, the sadness would remain firmly in place. When the time is taken to examine whether or not certain values are being met, however, the problem of inexplicable unhappiness can be improved if not solved altogether. Discovering your unmet values helps to reverse the negative feelings as well as makes way for a new source of goals and dreams.

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EXERCISE 2: VALUE ANALYSIS – PART TWO | 46

Instructions In the blank spaces below, write down the values that ranked at a level of 6 or 7 from the previous exercise. Next, place a checkmark in one of the ten boxes to indicate how strongly that value is being met: the greater its presence in your life, the higher the number.

An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding. —Robert Louis Stevenson

For example, if independence ranks among your most important values and you happen to operate your own business, this would most likely be a value that is represented in your life, perhaps at a level of 9 or 10. If, on the other hand, you feel dependent on someone or something else at every turn, you would place a checkmark on the lower end of the scale, such as a 1 or 2.

Chosen Values

1

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5

6

7

8

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10

Ex: Adventure


Exercise 2

EXERCISE 2: VALUE ANALYSIS – PART TWO | 47

| 2.2 Concluding Thoughts Value Analysis – Part Two What did you find after finishing this exercise? Chances are good that several of your chosen values are not being met as fully as you’d like, which is exciting news. As you know, it’s impossible to improve upon a situation until you first know what needs improving, and now you have at least part of your answer. By determining the values missing from your life, you’ve revealed a goldmine of possible goals and dreams suited to your specific needs and wants. Use the space below to write down the insights this exercise has brought to mind. Be sure to include not only the values that are missing and your thoughts about them, but also the values that are a part of your life.


Exercise 3

| 2.3 Strengths & Weaknesses HAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL STRENGTHS? How about your weaknesses? In just a moment, you’ll get the chance to discover the answers to these questions and, in turn, gain new insight into which goals and ambitions are best suited to your style and ability.

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It’s no secret that people enjoy pursuing activities and objectives in which they are competent or skilled, which makes the process of uncovering your strengths synonymous with uncovering direct connections to goals that will leave you feeling accomplished and fulfilled. For example, discovering you have a knack for numbers opens the door to countless avenues for growth. This information could alert you to specific goals such as a career in accounting or even helping your children with their math, but there’s another exciting aspect to consider. In addition to triggering new goals, discovering a particular strength can also help you to achieve ones already in progress. Your ability with numbers could be used, for instance, with one of your health goals. By adding elements that incorporate this strength—like keeping track of your vital numbers and measuring the information on a chart—you can engage the power of your particular talents or abilities to help you attain success. The flipside of this exercise, knowing your weaknesses, plays just as vital a role in your long-term happiness. Instead of unknowingly walking into situations—or future goals—that exploit your weaknesses, you can avoid these scenarios or take steps to turn shortcomings into sources of strength.

Instructions In the spaces provided, list your three greatest strengths—from any area of your life—along with three specific opportunities they help to create. Next, list your three greatest weaknesses followed by specific actions you can take to avoid or improve upon them in the future.

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EXERCISE 3: STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES | 49

Strengths What are your personal strengths? In which specific areas or abilities do you excel? Consider both mental and physical qualities including personality traits, learned skills, and natural gifts or talents. STRENGTH #1

Begin, be bold and venture to be wise.

STRENGTH #2

—Horace STRENGTH #3

Opportunities What specific opportunities are created as a result of these strengths? Do one or more of them translate directly into potential goals? Could one or more be used to help you achieve any current objectives? List three such opportunities below.

OPPORTUNITY #1

OPPORTUNITY #2

OPPORTUNITY #3



Weaknesses What are your three greatest weaknesses? Are you as patient as you’d like to be? Do you struggle to get your creative juices flowing? Work better with concepts and intangibles than numbers and concretes? WEAKNESS #1

Your goal should be out of reach but not out of sight. —Anita DeFrantz

WEAKNESS #2

WEAKNESS #3

Opportunities Now that you know your weaknesses, it’s time to put that information to use. With the factors listed above in mind, are there certain approaches to achieving your goals you should avoid? How can you turn these weaknesses into strengths?

OPPORTUNITY #1

OPPORTUNITY #2

OPPORTUNITY #3


Exercise 3


| 2.3 Concluding Thoughts Strengths & Weaknesses What conclusions can you draw after having identified your greatest strengths and weaknesses? Did a theme of strength arise that could be taken advantage of in the future? Particular abilities that should be utilized more often? Did you find similarities of weakness that may signal an underlying issue that needs to be dealt with? Limitations that need to be kept in mind as you begin to develop and work toward your goals? Use the space below to describe in detail any conclusions or ideas that were brought to mind while working through the exercises in this chapter. New information is there for the taking—you simply need to discover it.


Exercise 4

| 2.4 Identity Spotlight ELCOME TO YOUR FIRST CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT. Spread throughout the exercise portion of the course you will find segments featuring a specific area of your life. The purpose of these chapters is to help you gather new thoughts, ideas, or even specific goals you may never have considered before.

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For instance, one such exercise offers a list of possible travel destinations. By determining your level of interest in visiting each one, you may stumble upon a an idea that strikes a chord with you and becomes one of your own future experience goals. When you discover which areas are of most interest to you, you’ll better know what types of goals and experiences are suited to your tastes, style, and desires. Some spotlights will be longer than others—this one in particular—offering different approaches of gauging your interest or level of desire in the various categories and sub-categories of your life. Together they will open your eyes to new possibilities and add greater clarity to your personal path toward fulfillment.

Spotlights As you know, the category of your identity can be broken down into smaller groups, three of which are the focus of this chapter. A brief overview of what they cover follows. Character Traits: You will be given a list of positive and negative character traits to rank in terms of your desire to gain or avoid each. Skills & Abilities: Do you want to take up a new skill? A new instrument or sport? Perhaps learn a language? You’ll be given interests lists for each area. Experiences: You’ll find a series of potential experiences from traveling to faraway places to once-in-a-lifetime moments to rank in terms of personal interest.

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EXERCISE 4: IDENTITY SPOTLIGHT | 53

Positive Character Traits Below you will find a series of positive personality traits each followed by three boxes. Your task it to indicate how strongly you wish to gain or develop each by placing a checkmark in either Box 1 (weak desire), Box 2 (average desire), or Box 3 (intense desire). If you’re happy with a trait, leave it blank.

Positive Traits

Slight not what's near through aiming at what's far. —Euripides

1

2

3

Positive Traits

Accepting

Diligent

Active

Dutiful

Adaptable

Efficient

Adventurous

Eloquent

Affectionate

Encouraging

Ambitious

Energetic

Appreciative

Enthusiastic

Assertive

Exacting

Attentive

Expert

Available

Fair

Calm

Faithful

Capable

Fearless

Careful

Flexible

Cautious

Forgiving

Charismatic

Fortunate

Charming

Friendly

Committed

Frugal

Compassionate

Generous

Concerned

Gentle

Confident

Giving

Conscientious

Grateful

Considerate

Helpful

Cooperative

Honest

Courageous

Hopeful

Cultured

Humble

Curious

Humorous

Daring

Imaginative

Decisive

Independent

Dependable

Industrious

Determined

Inquisitive

1

2

3



Positive Character Traits (Cont’d) Below are the remaining positive personality traits that you may or may not wish to pursue as part of your personal goals. The process is the same as before: Place a checkmark in the box that indicates your level of desire in terms of gaining or developing the trait. Skip the traits for which you have no desire.

Positive Traits

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. —John Pierpont Morgan

1

2

3

Positive Traits

Intellectual

Responsive

Intelligent

Risk-Taking

Kind

Satisfied

Logical

Self-Controlled

Loving

Self-Reliant

Loyal

Sensitive

Mature

Shrewd

Open-Minded

Sincere

Optimistic

Skillful

Orderly

Sociable

Organized

Studious

Outgoing

Supportive

Passionate

Tactful

Patient

Talented

Perseverant

Temperate

Persuasive

Tenacious

Pleasant

Thankful

Polite

Thorough

Positive

Thoughtful

Prudent

Tolerant

Punctual

Tranquil

Quick

Trusting

Rational

Trustworthy

Refined

Truthful

Reflective

Useful

Reliable

Versatile

Resolute

Virtuous

Resourceful

Warm

Respectful

Wise

Responsible

Witty

1

2

3



Negative Character Traits Are any of the negative traits below a part of your character? If so, indicate to which level you wish to eliminate each by placing a checkmark in the appropriate box: 1=Weak Desire, 2=Average Desire, 3=Intense Desire.

Negative Traits

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows whither he is going. —David Starr Jordan

1

2

3

Negative Traits

Argumentative

Negligent

Arrogant

Noisy

Bossy

Obnoxious

Close-Minded

Obsessive

Complacent

Obstinate

Conceited

Offensive

Controlling

Opinionated

Cowardly

Passive

Critical

Pensive

Cynical

Pessimistic

Dishonest

Pompous

Disorganized

Quarrelsome

Disrespectful

Rash

Finicky

Rude

Greedy

Sarcastic

Gullible

Scornful

Harsh

Self-Centered

Immature

Selfish

Impatient

Shy

Impolite

Skeptical

Impulsive

Stingy

Inactive

Stubborn

Indignant

Submissive

Insecure

Talkative

Insistent

Temperamental

Irritable

Timid

Judgmental

Touchy

Lackadaisical

Unfriendly

Lazy

Unruly

Naïve

Unscrupulous

Negative

Vulgar

1

2

3



Skills & Abilities While the list below is by no means exhaustive, it will help to trigger new ideas and perhaps even add an item or two to your personal list of potential goals. Complete the table below by indicating your level of interest in each item with a checkmark placed between 1(no interest) and 5 (intense interest).

Skills & Abilities

1

2

3

4

5

Acting

We're all pilgrims on the same journey—but some pilgrims have better road maps. —Nelson Demille

Bird Watching Calligraphy Collecting Computer Skills Cooking Dancing Decorating Drawing Driving (Truck, Motorcycle…) Flying Gardening Knitting Painting Photography Pottery Public Speaking Scrapbooking Sculpting Singing Storytelling Wood Carving Woodworking Writing



Sports & Activities Have you ever wanted to learn how to play golf? Chess? How about tennis? If so, now is your chance to put that desire in concrete form by placing a checkmark in the appropriate box below. If you have an intense desire to get involved with a particular activity, check Box 5. The lower your desire, the lower the number.

Sports & Activities

1

2

3

4

5

Archery

A goal properly set is halfway reached.

Chess Cricket Cycling Diving

—Abraham Lincoln

Fencing Gliding Golf Gymnastics Ice Skating Martial Arts Racquetball Rowing Running, Jogging Racecar Driving Sailing Skating Skiing Snowboarding Surfing Swimming Tennis Volleyball Weight Lifting



Musical Instruments Have you always wanted to learn how to play an instrument? Which one? Don’t see it on the list? Write it in at the bottom. Remember, the purpose is to bring to mind as many ideas as possible and not to consider only to what is written. As before, note your level of interest from weak (1) to intense (5).

Musical Instruments

1

2

3

4

5

Accordion

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. —Louisa May Alcott

Bagpipes Banjo Bass Cello Clarinet Drums Fiddle Flute Guitar Harmonica Harp Keyboard Oboe Organ Piano Recorder Saxophone Trombone Trumpet Tuba Upright Bass Viola Violin



Foreign Languages Below you will find a list of the most commonly learned second languages. If you have an interest in learning a particular tongue, place a checkmark in Box 4 or Box 5. If, on the other hand, you have little to no interest in studying a certain language, indicate your feelings by checking Box 1 or Box 2.

Foreign Languages

1

2

3

4

5

American English

To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.

Arabic British English Chinese Danish Dutch French German Greek

—Kahlil Gibran

Hebrew Hindi Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Latin Polish Portuguese Russian Spanish Swedish Thai Vietnamese Welsh



Travel Destinations The countries listed below are among the most visited locations in the world. Do you recognize one you’d like to visit? Perhaps several? If a country of interest is not found below, write it in at the bottom and place a checkmark under column 4 or 5 to ensure the idea is not soon forgotten.

Travel Destinations

1

2

3

4

5

Australia

You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?' —George Bernard Shaw

Austria Canada China Egypt France Germany Greece Hong Kong (China) Hungary Italy Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Poland Portugal Russian Federation Saudi Arabia Spain Thailand Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States



Sights to See The following two pages contain lists of some of the world’s most sought-after sights, monuments, and attractions. Needless to say, many have chosen at least one of these locations as a personal experience goal. How about you? How strong is your desire to witness each of the sights below?

Sights to See

1

2

3

4

5

Arc de Triomphe

To me, there is only one form of human depravity —the man without a purpose. —Ayn Rand

Alaskan Glaciers Amazon River Amazon Rain Forrest Aztec Ruins Big Ben Buckingham Palace Chichen Itza Easter Island Eiffel Tower Empire State Building Forbidden City Galapagos Islands Golden Gate Bridge Grand Canal Grand Canyon Great Barrier Reef Great Wall of China Karnak Temple Leaning Tower of Pisa Louvre Manchu Picchu Mississippi River Mount Rushmore



Sights to See (Cont’d) Are there any sights below that you must see at least once during your lifetime? Any that you have absolutely no desire to visit? Indicate these feelings below by placing a checkmark in the appropriate column. As before, if you don’t see a certain sight of interest, write it in at the bottom and check column 4 or 5.

Sights to See

1

2

3

4

5

Niagara Falls

Always listen to the experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it. —Robert Heinlein

Nile River North & South Poles Olympia Oracle at Delphi Panama Canal Parthenon Pompeii Pyramids at Giza Roman Coliseum Sistine Chapel Sphinx St. Basil Cathedral St. Louis Arch St. Mark's Basilica Statue of Liberty Stone Henge Sydney Opera House Taj Mahal The Tower of London Valley of the Kings Vatican City Washington D.C. Yangtze River



Life Experiences The final set of sample goals is made up of experiences that you may wish to add to your personal list of goals or use as a springboard to new and exciting experiences you never before considered. For the last time in this chapter, rank your level of interest in each experience by checking a box below.

Life Experiences

1

2

3

4

5

Bungee jump

An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.

Climb a Mountain Create a Web Site Get Married Go on Safari

—Friedrich Engels

Grow Your Own Garden Hang-Glide Help Erect a Home Own Your Own Home Research Your Family History Serve in the Peace Corps Sky-Dive Spontaneous Road Trip Start a Family Swim in the Ocean Swim with the Dolphins Visit Your Homeland Watch a Space Shuttle Launch Watch a Sunrise Whale Watch White-Water Raft Witness the Northern Lights Write a Novel Write and Perform Music


Exercise 4


| 2.4 Concluding Thoughts Identity Spotlight Congratulations on completing your first category spotlight. As you learned at the outset of this chapter, working your way through these sections offers two valuable benefits. First, exposing yourself to a series of potential goals can quickly and easily expand your own list of ambitions and aspirations—simply take any compelling goals you find as your own. Second, looking over these ideas can trigger within you the creation of new thoughts never before considered. Now is your chance to take advantage of these benefits. Use the box below to record new ideas as well as specific goals gathered from this spotlight.


Exercise 5

| 2.5 Recurring Themes ANY TIMES IN LIFE the clues we need are right in front of us, but it’s only until someone or something brings them to our attention that they finally come into focus. That’s exactly what this next chapter is designed to accomplish.

M

The various stages that make up your life, from early childhood through to your adult years, vary considerably—but not entirely. Oftentimes there are common threads and themes running throughout the years, elements that hold the key to a new and powerful avenue of goals. In most cases, a recurring theme is a tip-off to a deeply rooted and lasting seed of interest or desire. By examining each stage of your life for these common elements, they can be brought to the surface and used as yet another area of goals proven to fit your needs and wants. As you work through the exercises that follow, keep in mind that not every recurring theme will consist of exact matches. For instance, while a love of drawing cartoon characters in your childhood may not be the same as an interest in architecture as an adult, the common theme of drawing remains. Therefore, to maximize results, look for more general commonalities as well as identical matches.

Instructions For each of the three stages that follow, use the space provided to create a clear picture of your interests, hopes, and desires at that particular point in your life. This can include everything from your hobbies and pastimes to your most important goals and dreams. When finished, review your material to pick out common elements and recurring themes. These elements can then be recorded in the Concluding Thoughts section of the chapter.

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EXERCISE 5: RECURRING THEMES | 66

Childhood Think back to your childhood years. What did you do when nothing else had to be done? What were your main areas of interest? Favorite hobbies? Most important, what made you happy? After spending as much time as you need to fully recall those memories, write out your detailed responses using the space below.

Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. —Warren Buffett

Do you remember any goals or ambitions you held when you were a child? If so, add them to your description below. Otherwise, you can use the space to continue listing your responses to the questions above.

How about your thoughts and hopes for the future? What did you most look forward to experiencing or becoming as you grew older?



Adolescence Now focus on your teenage years and the time you spent behind a desk in high school. What were your main areas of interest at this point in your life? What did you enjoy doing? What were your favorite classes? What made you feel happy? Write out your responses below as well as any additional thoughts or ideas that represent your interests or desires during your adolescent years.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Consider your personal talents and abilities. In which areas did you excel? Athletics, music, academics, socializing? If you were never given the opportunity to experience each of these, which would you choose if given a second chance?

—Mark Twain When thinking about the future, which paths did you look forward to pursuing as you grew older? What type of person did you hope to become?



Early Adulthood As you progressed from your teenage years to the beginning of adulthood, how did your desires evolve? In which areas and activities did you spend your time? Were you involved with any organizations or community groups? Using the space below, describe the main interests of your life during this particular stage.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. —Helen Keller

Did you continue your education and attend a two or four-year college or technical school? In which subject(s) did you major? Minor? What were your favorite classes? In which did you perform the best?

These are the years of ambition and aspiration, the time when you’re finally free to develop your unique identity and character. What were your most important goals at this point in your life? What did you dream of doing or being as you settled into adulthood?


Exercise 5


| 2.5 Concluding Thoughts Recurring Themes Having reviewed the major stages of your past, what common threads or recurring themes were present? Did you find that you’ve always wanted to teach or coach others? To write? To be the president of a lemonade stand, student body, and then corporation? Remember, some elements will be obvious matches, but others will be hidden just beneath the surface. For example, wishing to be a doctor at childhood, a teacher at adolescence, and spending a great deal of time volunteering in your early adult years may involve three distinct activities—but they all revolve around helping others in need. These are the types of themes, in addition to exact matches, you must seek and describe below.


Exercise 6

| 2.6 The Heart of Admiration SK PEOPLE TO COMMENT ON THEMSELVES and you’ll most likely receive blank stares and puzzled expressions in return. Ask what they think of someone else, however, and the answers flow fast and without effort.

A

The same is true for solving personal dilemmas. The same person who can’t seem to figure out the solution to a personal problem can, when approached by a friend with the same issue, offer an endless stream of practical and powerful advice. Solutions often come with ease when you’re not playing the lead role. Fortunately, this same fact holds true for personal change and improvement. While it can be difficult to identify things you’d personally like to achieve or acquire, it is often a simple process to identify these desirable qualities or characteristics in others. By taking a closer look at those whom you most admire and respect, new insights can be gained into the specific aspects or qualities of life that will bring you the greatest amount of happiness and satisfaction.

Instructions What follows are slots for the five individuals you admire more than any others, each matched with a series of questions designed to get to the heart of your admiration and thereby open the door to an entirely new group of potential goals for personal growth and development. As far as choosing your candidates, anything goes. You can select friends or family members, world leaders or social advocates, elementary school teachers or your old baseball coach as well as historical figures from ten years ago to two thousand. If they’ve earned your admiration and respect in any way, they’re perfectly suited for the exercises that follow.

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EXERCISE 6: THE HEART OF ADMIRATION | 71

Candidate #1: What do you admire most about this person?

We live in deeds, not years: In thoughts not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heartthrobs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.

Which of their personal achievements do you admire and why? ACHIEVEMENT #1

ACHIEVEMENT #2

ACHIEVEMENT #3

—David Bailey Which of their personal qualities do you admire and why? QUALITY #1

QUALITY #2

QUALITY #3




The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.


—Eleanor Roosevelt ACHIEVEMENT #2

ACHIEVEMENT #3

Which of their personal qualities do you admire and why? QUALITY #1

QUALITY #2

QUALITY #3




Thought is action in rehearsal. —Sigmund Freud


ACHIEVEMENT #2

ACHIEVEMENT #3


QUALITY #2

QUALITY #3




The only way around is through.


—Robert Frost

ACHIEVEMENT #2

ACHIEVEMENT #3


QUALITY #2

QUALITY #3




We will either find a way, or make one.


—Hannibal

ACHIEVEMENT #2

ACHIEVEMENT #3


QUALITY #2

QUALITY #3


Exercise 6


| 2.6 Concluding Thoughts The Heart of Admiration Having discovered the root of your admiration for the individuals you respect most, you can now choose from this information the elements you’d like to attain and add them to your personal agenda for growth and improvement. Along with any concluding thoughts that came to mind as you worked your way through this chapter, use the space below to record in detail these chosen aspects. Which of there characteristics would you like to emulate? Which of their achievements would you like to personally pursue?


Exercise 7

| 2.7 Needs Analysis S HUMAN BEINGS, we all share the needs of food, shelter, and water. But the similarities don’t end there. As these needs are satisfied, additional elements take their place. And while we may use different words or concepts to express them, in essence we are all seeking the same basic ends.

A

The following pages highlight six of the most important of these needs, giving you the chance to discover how strongly they are being met and, in turn, the opportunity to bring about new and necessary paths of improvement. Happiness begins in the mind and proceeds to your needs and values. In many cases, experiencing the feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction in life depends upon the fulfillment and satisfaction of these six factors. Greater time may be invested in one than another, but each plays an important role in a well-balanced life and needs to be satisfied to some degree. With this in mind, it should be clear that your needs serve as an essential part of the goal-setting process. By peeling back the layers and looking beneath the surface to discover the health of these core needs, you’ll add another element of depth and clarity to the picture of where you currently stand and in which directions you need to head in order to experience the quality of life you desire.

Instructions The exercises ahead examine six of your core needs. After a brief description, it’s your turn to take action. Using the space given, describe your thoughts or feelings on each particular need and how strongly you feel they are being met in your day-to-day life. To complete the process, circle a value along the scale given to rate the overall satisfaction level of each need. When finished, you will not only have gained a new understanding of your core needs but also the degree to which each is being met, information that stands at the heart of a personal and powerful path to a richer, more rewarding life.

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EXERCISE 7: NEEDS ANALYSIS | 78

Calling The first need to be examined is that of having a calling or purpose. In order to feel fulfilled, most require the feeling that their life means something, that their time spent on earth was significant in some way. This need is satisfied when you both know your specific purpose or calling and are consistently involved in pursuing or experiencing it. How would you describe your experience with this particular need?

If life were measured by accomplishments, most of us would die in infancy. Indicate your overall level of satisfaction by circling a value below:

—A. P. Gouthey

Extremely Dissatisfied

1

2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Control The second need to consider is that of control. Few experiences are as frustrating or frightening as the feeling that you have lost control of a moment, situation, or your life. This need is satisfied when you feel confident in your ability to direct the actions and outcomes of your life as opposed to feeling like a bystander who is at the mercy of their surroundings. What level of control do you feel you possess?

Indicate the your level of satisfaction by circling a value below: Extremely Dissatisfied

1

2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

8

9

10



Connection – External The third need is the element of connection. We are by our nature social creates and have an intense fear of loneliness and isolation, which explains why relationships are such an important part of the human experience. This need is satisfied when you feel accepted and understood by those for whom you care as opposed to feeling disconnected or separate from the people around you. How does this need play out in your daily life?

A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve. —Oliver Wendell Holmes


1

2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Connection – Internal There is a flipside to the need for external connection, which is the desire for a personal or internal connection. Without first accepting and appreciating your own identity and individuality, doing so externally becomes an uphill battle. This need is satisfied when you have a strong sense of personal value and worth backed by an unassuming self-confidence and self-respect. Explain below your experience with or without this particular need.


1

2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

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9

10



Change Without change, life would be far more than boring—it would be unbearable. Variety may commonly be known as the spice of life, but in truth it plays the much more significant role as the lifeblood of personal growth and development. This need is satisfied when you are growing and expanding, learning new concepts and ideas, enjoying fresh experiences, and reaching for more than you now have. How would you rate the amount of change and variety in your life?

I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them. Indicate your overall level of satisfaction by circling a value below:

—Pablo Picasso

Extremely Dissatisfied

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2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Contribution Living a happy and meaningful life requires that you contribute, not just your financial resources but also your thoughts, time, and energy. The need to extend a helping hand is deeply rooted within us all. This need is satisfied when you dedicate a portion of your life to someone or something greater than yourself, working to improve the lives, communities, country, or world around you. How well have you satisfied this need?


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2

3

Extremely Satisfied

4

5

6

7

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9

10


Exercise 7


| 2.7 Concluding Thoughts Needs Analysis Like missing values, unfulfilled needs are an opportunity for new and authentic goals. For example, if you discover the need for change is unsatisfied, setting goals that call for new challenges and experiences can fill in the blanks. Recognizing successfully met needs offers opportunity as well. Most often, a satisfied need is a clear signal of an area that brings you happiness. Investing more time in this area will lead to a set of goals perfectly suited to your desires. With these two goal-setting vehicles in mind, use the space below to consider both your satisfied and unsatisfied needs and how that information can be used to develop potential goals for the future.


Exercise 8

| 2.8 Health Spotlight ELCOME TO YOUR SECOND CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT. This time around, the focus shifts from your identity to one of the most important aspects of your life: health and well-being. As you know, when any facet of your health is failing, little else matters.

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Poor physical health can add overwhelming stress and tension to every moment of your day, making it nearly impossible to focus fully on the task at hand. Mental or emotional health issues can take the joy and satisfaction out of life, creating more of a prison than an opportunity for growth and fulfillment. Spiritual emptiness can cause just as great an impact, creating confusion, frustration, and a lack of meaning or purpose. Your health is an area of your life that requires your time and attention as well as a series of goals and objectives suited to your personal needs and concerns. This spotlight was designed to help satisfy these conditions. Always remember, it takes just a single piece of information to change the course of your life. And with your health taking center stage, those ideas have never been more vital.

Spotlights As with the Identity Spotlight, the pages ahead will offer ideas and information to help in the formulation of your personal goal sets. In particular, you’ll examine… Physical Health: In this section, you’ll identify your physical health concerns as well as be exposed to a series of potential health boosting activities. Discover one that strikes a chord and you could be on your way to renewed physical health. Mental & Emotional Health: Living a happier life requires that you make note of and pursue the feelings you desire and recognize those you wish to avoid, which is the focus of the second section.

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EXERCISE 8: HEALTH SPOTLIGHT | 83

Physical Health Concerns What follows is among the shortest and most important actions you’ll take. To avoid dealing with the truth, many people push their health concerns to the back of their minds to be dealt with another day. However, it’s the proactive approach that makes for a long and healthy life. Are you familiar with the aspects of your health below? If not, circle each item requiring your attention. Cholesterol Levels / Blood Pressure / Body Mass Index Calcium Test (Heart) / Cancer Screening / Dental Health

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. —William Jennings Bryan

Avenues for Action If you haven’t exercised in some time, the important thing isn’t to begin a highly regimented program—it’s to do something! Consider the exercise options below, checking Box 1 if you have little interest in the activity, Box 2 for average interest, and Box 3 for an intense interest.

Exercise

1

2

3

Exercises

Aerobics - High Impact

Lacrosse

Aerobics - Low Impact

Martial Arts

Basketball

Racquetball

Bicycling

Rock Climbing

Bicycling - Stationary

Rope Jumping

Boxing

Rowing

Broomball

Rugby

Canoeing

Running

Circuit Training

Skateboarding

Cross-Country Skiing

Soccer

Dancing

Squash

Golf – Walking

Surfing

Gymnastics

Swimming

Handball

Tai Chi

Hiking

Tennis

Hockey

Walking

Ice Skating

Water Aerobics

In-Line Skating

Water Polo

Kayaking

Water Volleyball

Kick Boxing

Weight Lifting

Kickball

Yoga

1

2

3



Positive Emotional States Oftentimes, emotions are left to chance and circumstance. However, you can consciously choose and achieve the feelings you wish to experience. And it all begins with a decision. Which emotions are you committed to experiencing more often? Scale: 1=Weak Desire, 2=Average Desire, 3=Intense Desire.

Positive States

You can’t build a reputation on what you're going to do. —Henry Ford

1

2

3

Positive States

Accepted

Eager

Accomplished

Ecstatic

Affectionate

Elated

Alert

Enthusiastic

Amazed

Euphoric

Ambitious

Excited

Amused

Expectant

Anticipation

Fascinated

Appreciative

Free

Assured

Fulfilled

Attracted

Gratified

Authentic

Happy

Aware

Hopeful

Awed

Inspired

Blissful

Jovial

Bubbly

Joyful

Calm

Liberated

Capable

Lively

Captivated

Motivated

Cheerful

Peaceful

Collected

Powerful

Comfortable

Productive

Complete

Proud

Confident

Relaxed

Connected

Respected

Content

Satisfied

Courageous

Secure

Crazy

Silly

Delighted

Spontaneous

Driven

Surprised

1

2

3



Negative Emotional States Just as important as knowing the emotions you wish to experience is knowing the ones you need to avoid or eliminate. For the emotions listed below, indicate how much of a problem each one poses. As an example, if you constantly find yourself stressed and strongly wish to overcome it, you would check Box 3.

Negative States 1

If a man would move the world, he must first move himself. —Socrates

2

3

Negative States 1

Agitated

Indignant

Angry

Infuriated

Annoyed

Intimidated

Anxious

Invalidated

Ashamed

Irritated

Bored

Jaded

Cowardly

Jealous

Dejected

Lazy

Depressed

Lonely

Despair

Miserable

Devastated

Moody

Disappointed

Needy

Discouraged

Nervous

Dispirited

Obsessed

Distracted

Overwhelmed

Doubtful

Panicky

Down

Resentful

Dreary

Sad

Embarrassed

Stressed

Empty

Tense

Exhausted

Threatened

Fearful

Tired

Frazzled

Uncertain

Frustrated

Uncomfortable

Gloomy

Uneasy

Grouchy

Unfulfilled

Guilty

Unhappy

Hopeless

Upset

Humiliated

Worried

Hurt

Worthless

2

3


Exercise 8


| 2.8 Concluding Thoughts Health Spotlight Having completed your second spotlight, did you discover ideas that you’d like to personally pursue? Health concerns you need to learn more about? Exercises you might enjoy doing? Did you recognize emotions you wish to experience more often? Feelings you currently express or experience that need to be diminished or completely eliminated? Using the space below, record each of the goals you found that matched your needs or desires as well as any new thoughts that were triggered as a result of the ideas offered within each section.


Exercise 9

| 2.9 Pride from the Past F YOU’RE READING THESE WORDS, you’ve already achieved a great deal in your life. You might not realize it at the moment, but it’s true all the same. First and foremost, you’ve made the decision to stop wishing for more and instead take the steps necessary to discover your true goals. This is a lifealtering step in its own right. But it’s just the beginning.

I

Have you earned a high school or college degree? Secured part-time or full-time employment? Struck out on your own? Started a family? Chances are good that you’ve accomplished at least a handful of these truly challenging goals; given the time and opportunity, chances are just as good that you’d be able to remember even greater achievements from your past. This is your opportunity. Recalling earlier feats that filled you with a sense of pride and accomplishment is a fundamental step in the goal-discovery process. By identifying successes from your past that stood out in your mind as especially rewarding, you’ll have put your finger on specific types of goals that are guaranteed to match your unique needs and desires. In essence, it takes the guesswork out of the process and offers proven solutions to the problem of choosing and pursuing the goals and ambitions that are right for you.

Instructions The exercises that follow are divided into two categories: past accomplishments that took place within the earlier stages of your life and accomplishments taking place in your more recent history. In the four slots provided for each group, describe the achievements of which you are most proud as well as your reason for choosing each particular success. It may take time to recall your top eight, but rest assured, they are there.

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EXERCISE 9: PRIDE FROM THE PAST | 88

Your Early Accomplishments Which accomplishments from the more distant past do you find most rewarding? Consider the major areas of your life and record each success below. ACCOMPLISHMENT #1

The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depend upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily.

ACCOMPLISHMENT #2

—Plato ACCOMPLISHMENT #3

ACCOMPLISHMENT #4



Your Recent Accomplishments Which accomplishments from your more recent past are you most proud of? Think in terms of identity, health, career, finances, and relationships. ACCOMPLISHMENT #1

A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.

ACCOMPLISHMENT #2

—Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

ACCOMPLISHMENT #3

ACCOMPLISHMENT #4


Exercise 9


| 2.9 Concluding Thoughts Pride from the Past You’ve identified your most rewarding and fulfilling accomplishments from your past, but this represents only half of the process. The second installment revolves around what to do with the information you’ve gathered. What did you discover about yourself that could be used to help you design and develop future goals and ambitions? Did you pinpoint specific examples that can be reproduced? General themes throughout your choices that highlight particular elements of change and improvement to which you are drawn? Use the space below to record your answers to these questions as well as any additional thoughts or ideas that came to mind while completing this chapter.


E x e r c i s e 10

| 2.10 Source of Satisfaction

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LUES AS TO THE TYPES OF GOALS you should pursue in the future may be found within your past accomplishments, but just as many can be uncovered by paying closer attention to your present.

By examining the areas of your life that serve as a source of current satisfaction, you can build on proven successes and pursue avenues of improvement that are guaranteed to give you exactly what you want. If you find the particular relationships you’ve established with your circle of friends fill you with pleasure and fulfillment, you’ll have in hand a key to raising the level of quality and richness in your life. Knowing healthy and rewarding relationships are a source of satisfaction, you can continue along this path and set goals to develop the same type of relationships in other areas of your life such as with your family members, coworkers, etc. Not only can it open your eyes to the things that fit your particular set of needs but it can also improve your chances of success with future goals. For instance, identifying the source of your successful relationships would allow you to use the same strategies in other areas of your life. Successful goal setting revolves around making the right decisions. By discovering the aspects of your life that are providing you with fulfillment and happiness, you can bypass the stage of guessing your way to the right goals and instead use the facts of present satisfaction to show you the way.

Instructions For each of the major categories of your life that follows, record every specific aspect or element that currently serves as a source of satisfaction within that area. Be sure to take your time and create as complete a list of examples as possible, for the more material you gather now, the greater your goals will be in the future.

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EXERCISE 10: SOURCE OF SATISFACTION | 92

Identity What’s working well in the area of your identity? Consider factors such as your personality and character, attitude, skills and abilities, and experiences as well as any others you find relevant.

Success is never found. Failure is never fatal. Courage is the only thing. —Winston Churchill

Health Which specific aspects of your health serve as a source of satisfaction? Are there elements of your physical health that make you happy? Your emotional health? Are there areas of your spiritual health that you find rewarding?

Career Which areas of your career are currently running smoothly and providing you with a sense of fulfillment? Did you work on a particular project that you found rewarding? A certain responsibility, task, or activity you especially enjoy?



Finances When it comes to your financial health, which aspects are currently sources of strength? Which bring you the most pleasure? Consider your standard of living, savings and safety net, investment and retirement accounts, and contributions.

Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.

Relationships Are there specific relationships in your life that you find rewarding? Certain aspects you feel are working well? Think about each type of relationship you have, including your family members, friends, and those with whom you work.

—Leonardo da Vinci

Miscellaneous Are there things in your present life that are a source of satisfaction that don’t fit perfectly into one of the previous categories? If so, use the space below to record them in detail.


E x e r c i s e 10


| 2.10 Concluding Thoughts Source of Satisfaction Now that you know what’s working well in your life, you can take advantage of that information and use it as an aid in developing new and compelling goals for the future. Did you discover areas of joy and fulfillment that lead directly into additional ideas for personal growth and development? Perhaps you gained fresh insight into why certain areas are working and how you can use that information to improve other parts of your life? After taking a few moments to consider the questions above, record at least three answers in the box below along with any additional thoughts or ideas.


E x e r c i s e 11

| 2.11 Cause for Disappointment OCUSING ON THE PROBLEM is typically a habit to be avoided, but in this case it’s something to be welcomed and valued. Knowing exactly what you want out of life is what you’re after and knowing exactly what you don’t want is going to help you get there.

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Simply stated, a negative is an opportunity for a positive replacement. In a sense, it’s the goal-setting process in reverse and it can often be the key to recognizing potential goals you never thought of before. This process works so well because of the ease most people have with pinpointing areas of dissatisfaction and disappointment. While positives can hum along without much fanfare, negatives often scream for attention and forever lodge themselves at the front of your mind. Ask someone what they want and the answers are hard to find; ask them what they dislike and the floodgates open. It’s important to note the point of this chapter is not to dwell or fixate on the negatives or shortcomings in your life; the purpose is wholly positive, meant only to quickly identify areas in need of change without getting stuck in their web. An integral part of creating a better life involves solving problems, a task made possible only after those problems have been recognized.

Instructions What follows closely matches the previous chapter in which you worked through each of the major categories of your life looking for sources of satisfaction, only this time your focus is on causes for disappointment. When you’ve located an area or aspect of your life that you dislike or find particularly dissatisfying, avoid offering mere complaints and instead focus on getting to the root of the problem.

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EXERCISE 11: CAUSE FOR DISAPPOINTMENT | 96

Identity Which aspects of your identity do you find dissatisfying? If you had to choose the elements from your personality, attitude, skills, or experiences that you dislike, what would they be? Use the space below to record your answers.

Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do. —Voltaire

Health When it comes to your physical health, which particular aspects are causes for disappointment? What about your emotional or mental health? Finally, what do you find dissatisfying about your spiritual health?

Career What do you dislike most about your career? Certain aspects of your day-to-day responsibilities? Specific tasks you are often called on to perform? Perhaps your salary is cause for disappointment? Your work environment?



Finances With which financial aspects are you most dissatisfied? As you did while seeking positives from this category, consider your standard of living, savings and safety net, investment and retirement accounts, and your philanthropic efforts.

Constant dripping hollows out a stone. —Lucretius

Relationships What do you dislike about your current relationships? Are there certain aspects about your connections in general that you find disappointing? Social network too small? Too large and informal? Trouble with co-workers? Family members?

Miscellaneous Are there things in your life you find dissatisfying or disappointing that don’t fit into one of the categories given? If so, use the space below to describe both the nature of the problem and what specifically you dislike about it.


E x e r c i s e 11


| 2.11 Concluding Thoughts Cause for Disappointment What did you learn from the exercises within this chapter? Chances are good that you’ve found at least a handful of elements about your life that you don’t much enjoy, which is an exciting discovery. With identified problems in hand, you can begin creating new positives from present negatives. The process begins below. With your causes of disappointment clearly in your mind, use the space given to describe how these dissatisfactions can be transformed into opportunities for growth, improvement and, ultimately, happiness.


E x e r c i s e 12

| 2.12 Career Spotlight ELCOME TO YOUR THIRD CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT. Discovering what you want to do for a living or the way in which you want to make your contribution to the world is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make—or ever made.

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With the amount of time your career consumes along with its ability to serve as a source of pride, growth, and accomplishment, it’s an area of your life in which you should never settle for less than you truly desire. It is possible to wake up every morning with a sense of excitement, eagerness, and urgency about what’s to come in your workday. And the first step is to discover which path is the right one for you. If you are just now entering—or re-entering—the working world, this spotlight will open your eyes to the areas about which you are interested or passionate and provide the springboard you need to discover the job you love. With the average person making more than three career changes during their lifetime, it will have the same effect even if you’ve held the same position for many years, perhaps leading to a new and exciting change of paths.

Spotlights Spanning from particular interests in education to specific career options, the sections that follow will expose you to hundreds of possibilities to help uncover the path to your ideal position. A quick outline of what’s to come is below. Early & Continuing Education: In this section, you’ll rank your interest in specific high school subjects and higher education courses to gain valuable insight into your underlying interests and passions. Career Paths & Occupations: Not sure what’s out there? That will no longer be a problem after reviewing our list of 270 specific career paths and occupations.

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EXERCISE 12: CAREER SPOTLIGHT | 100

Your Favorite High School Subjects It may be a point far in your past, but it may also be an area that shines the light on a long-lasting interest or desire. Considering only the subject matter—and not a favorite teacher or high school sweetheart—indicate how much you enjoyed the subjects listed below on a scale of one (lowest) to five (highest).

Course

1

2

3

4

5

Art

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking. —William B. Sprague

Business - Finance - Marketing Computer Science English - Literature - Speaking - Writing Foreign Language Mathematics - Algebra - Calculus - Geometry - Trigonometry Science - Biology - Chemistry - Physics Social Studies - Economics - Geography - Government - History



Higher Education What were you favorite college courses? What classes would you take if you could do it all over again—or do it for the first time? For each item below, rank your level of interest or desire by placing a checkmark in Box 1 for little to no interest, Box 2 for average interest, or Box 3 for an intense interest.

Course Accounting

There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way. —Christopher Morley

1

2

3

Course

2

3

Health (Cont’d)

Anthropology

- Physician Assistant

Archeology

- Veterinary

Architecture

History

Business

International Studies

- Executive Education

Law

- Finance

Law Enforcement

- Sales & Marketing

Literature

Communication Arts

Media

Computers

Performing Arts

Culinary Arts

Philosophy

Education

Psychology

- English

Retail

- Mathematics

Science

- Science

- General

- Social Studies

- Biotechnology

Engineering

1

- Chemistry

- Aeronautical

- Earth Sciences

- Civil

- Ecology

- Electrical

- Forestry

Entertainment

- Genetics

Health

- Marine Science

- General

- Mathematics

- Chiropractic

- Microbiology

- Dentistry

- Physics

- Laboratory

- Statistics

- Massage

Zoological Parks

- Music Therapy

Sociology

- Nursing

Theology

- Physical Therapy

Writing



Career Paths & Occupations It's not always easy to offer fresh ideas off the top of your head, but it is easy to offer opinions on ideas given. And that's what makes the following exercise so powerful. By reviewing the lists below—and placing an "x" in possible career interests—you may discover a path that never before entered your mind.

Occupation

The heights by great men reached and kept, Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

x

Occupation

x

Occupation

Accountant

Ballerina

Clown

Acrobat

Banker

Coach

Actor

Barber

Coastguard

Actress

Beekeeper

Comedian

Aeronautical Engineer

Biochemist

Commentator

Aerospace Engineer

Biologist

Commercial Artist

Agent

Blacksmith

Commodities Broker

Agricultural Engineer

Botanist

Composer

Air Traffic Controller

Boxer

Computer Progmr.

Aircraft Worker

Brewer

Computer Tech.

Ambassador

Broadcaster

Conductor

Ambulance Driver

Broker

Consultant

Analyst

Cabinet Maker

Contractor

Anthropologist

Cake Decorator

Cook

Antique Dealer

Calligrapher

Copywriter

Apartment Manager

Candy Maker

Cosmetologist

Appraiser

Carpenter

Counselor

Archaeologist

Cartoonist

Critic

Architect

Cellist

Curator

Artist

Chef

Dance Instructor

Astronaut

Chemical Engineer

Dancer

Astronomer

Chemist

Decorator

Astrophysicist

Chief Exec. Officer

Dentist

Athlete

Chiropractor

Dermatologist

Attorney

Choreographer

Designer

Auctioneer

Cinematographer

Detective

Author

Civil Engineer

Dietician

Auto Mechanic

Civil Servant

Diplomat

Aviator

Clergyman

Director

Baker

Clockmaker

Disc Jockey

x



Career Paths & Occupations The list of occupations continues below. As before, place a bold "x" in the box next to any particular career you find interesting or, perhaps, a possible candidate as a future occupation. By noting your interest now, you'll have all the information you need to create specific career goals in the sections to come.

Occupation

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it. —Alexander Graham Bell

x

Occupation

x

Occupation

Diver

Historian

Midwife

Doctor

Hypnotist

Minister

Dressmaker

Ice Skater

Missionary

Ecologist

Illustrator

Model

Economist

Innkeeper

Movie Producer

Editor

Insurance Agent

Musician

Educator

Interior Decorator

Nanny

Electrician

Interior Designer

Neurologist

Engineer

Interpreter

News Reporter

Engraver

Inventor

Newscaster

Entertainer

Investigator

Novelist

Entrepreneur

Investor

Nuclear Physicist

Evangelist

Jockey

Nurse

Explorer

Journalist

Nutritionist

Fashion Designer

Judge

Oceanographer

Filmmaker

Landscaper

Opera Singer

Firefighter

Lawyer

Optometrist

Florist

Lecturer

Organist

Forest Ranger

Legal Secretary

Organizer

Furniture Maker

Legislator

Orthopedist

Gardener

Librarian

Painter

Geneticist

Magician

Paleontologist

Geographer

Marine Biologist

Park Ranger

Geologist

Masseur

Pastry Cook

Ghost Writer

Mathematician

Personnel Officer

Glassblower

Mechanic

Pharmacist

Golfer

Mechanical Engineer

Philosopher

Graphic Artist

Mental Health Worker

Photographer

Groundskeeper

Metallurgist

Physical Therapist

Herbalist

Meteorologist

Physician

x



Career Paths & Occupations One final series of career paths to consider. Remember, the purpose at this point is not to limit yourself by present circumstances but to tap into your desires; if a certain career sparks your interest or peaks your curiosity, check it. Planning out the steps of how you will achieve it will come later.

Occupation

If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else. —Lewis Carroll

x

Occupation

x

Occupation

Physicist

Railroad Conductor

Surgeon

Physiologist

Realtor

Systems Analyst

Pianist

Referee

Tailor

Pilot

Reporter

Talent Agent

Playwright

Research Assistant

Talent Scout

Plumber

Restaurateur

Tattoo Artist

Poet

Retailer

Taxidermist

Police Officer

Rocket Scientist

Teacher

Political Scientist

Sailor

Test Pilot

Politician

Salesperson

Tour Guide

Pop Singer

Scientist

Trainer

Postman

Screenwriter

Translator

Potter

Scuba Diver

Travel Agent

Press Agent

Sculptor

Traveling Salesman

Press Secretary

Secretary

Tutor

Priest

Security Guard

Typist

Printer

Shopkeeper

Umpire

Private Investigator

Social Worker

Urban Planner

Producer

Sociologist

Ventriloquist

Professor

Soldier

Venture Capitalist

Programmer

Sound Engineer

Veterinarian

Promoter

Speech Therapist

Violinist

Prosecutor

State Employee

Watchmaker

Psychiatrist

Statistician

Weaver

Psychologist

Stockbroker

Woodcutter

Publicist

Stonecutter

Woodworker

Publisher

Structural Engineer

Wrestler

Purchasing Agent

Student

Writer

Rabbi

Stuntman

Yoga Instructor

Radio Commentator

Stylist

Zookeeper

x


E x e r c i s e 12


| 2.12 Concluding Thoughts Career Spotlight What did you discover about yourself from this spotlight? What are you most interested in? Least? Did you discover any recurring themes between your favorite high school and college courses and the career paths you found most desirable? Record these and other insights in the box provided below. Even if you are satisfied with your career and have no plans for change, understanding what you are most interested in can not only impact your current level of job satisfaction but also every other area of your life. For instance, rediscovering a past interest in art may open the door to new opportunities at work as well as a new hobby or personal passion.


E x e r c i s e 13

| 2.13 Moments of Clarity AN YOU REMEMBER A MOMENT when you felt on top of the world? A time when you were at your absolute best and felt as if you could stay in the moment forever? When everything became clear and you were ready for any challenge? It’s within these moments of clarity and confidence that you’ll find the meaning and message you need to create the life you’ve always wanted to live.

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For some it's a revelation experienced while reading the right words at the right time. For others it's the moment a new project is launched or the sharing of a priceless moment with their children. They can also appear in the realm of your health, such as a spiritual awakening, or your finances, as with a financial breakthrough or recovery. No matter the time, no matter the place, we have all experienced that feeling of being in the zone and bursting with quiet confidence, energy, and life. The only problem is, most let these moments pass by without first learning the valuable lessons they have to offer. By bringing them back to mind, you can discover what it was within these moments that brought out the best in you—mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually—and how to replicate the experience by setting goals that put you back in those positions and back in those moments.

Instructions In the pages ahead you will recall and describe these moments both from your distant and recent past. As you do, include such details as what exactly you were doing, the specific thoughts running through your mind, when and where it occurred, with whom you shared the experience, and any other qualities that will help to uncover the power source of the moment. If a particular experience requires more space than the area provided, continue its description in the spaces set aside for additional moments.

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EXERCISE 13: MOMENTS OF CLARITY | 107

Moments from the Past Recall moments of being in the zone from your past and describe in detail below. MOMENT #1

Greatness does not approach him who is forever looking down. —Hitopadesa MOMENT #2

MOMENT #3



Moments from the Present Recall moments of being in the zone from your present and describe below. MOMENT #1

What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. MOMENT #2


MOMENT #3


E x e r c i s e 13


| 2.13 Concluding Thoughts Moments of Clarity What did you learn from these instances of clarity, confidence, and control? Are there common themes that underlie each experience? Particular people, places, or things that trigger them and bring out the best within you? Certain areas or aspects of your life that play an vital role in their creation? If only one moment stands out in your mind, what was the essence of the experience? What was it that put you in the state of mind of peace or power? Use the space below to record your concluding thoughts about this chapter, including specific distinctions you discovered while completing each exercise as well as general thoughts or ideas that came to mind during the process.


E x e r c i s e 14

| 2.14 A World of Ideals HE SPACE BETWEEN THE ACTUAL and the ideal is bridged by goals. They serve as the stepping-stones that bring you ever closer to experiencing the life and world of which you dream. Having already taken the steps to define and describe the reality you face today, you’re in the perfect position to create your ideal vision of tomorrow.

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The exercises within this chapter can be thought of as goal setting in reverse. As opposed to starting from square one and working your way forward, you will begin at the final outcome and work your way back to the present. For example, if you create a clear picture of your ideal career ten years from this day, you’ll instantly become aware of exactly which goals you need to develop today to get you there. In addition to the major categories that make up your life, the same holds true for creating an image of your ideal self. With the specific qualities and characteristics of the ideal individual in mind, you can immediately begin piecing together a plan to achieve that outcome. This is your chance to dream and paint a picture of your ideal life. Hold nothing back and don’t be afraid to dream big. It’s only through exciting and compelling goals that we’re driven to attain success.

Instructions The following exercises are divided into two separate phases. You’ll begin by describing your ideal self, not the things you do or material possessions you own, but the type of individual and human being you wish to become. You’ll then describe your future at three distinct stages in your life. Within each period, your task is to create a vivid picture of your ideal situation at that point in time. As always, move slowly and thoroughly through each step of the process to create an exacting picture of the ideals you wish to experience.

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EXERCISE 14: A WORLD OF IDEALS | 111

Your Ideal Self Imagine waking tomorrow as your ideal self, exactly as you have always wanted to be. Who are you? What specific traits and characteristics do you possess? What type of attitude do you express toward life’s ups and downs? What is your attitude about the future and its possibilities? How do you interact with those around you? How do they respond to you and your actions?

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.

Describe your answers to these questions and any other factors or elements of your identity below, painting a precise picture of your ideal self. Remember to limit your description to who you are as an individual, and not what you do or have.

—Friedrich Nietzsche



Your Ideal Future: One-Year Benchmark The first benchmark to consider is a full 365 days from today’s date. Begin by entering the year and your age at that time in the slots provided to the left. Then proceed to describe in detail your answers to the questions below as completely and thoroughly as possible.

YEAR

SKILLS, HOBBIES, EXPERIENCES What skills would you love to possess one year from now? In which specific hobbies or interests would you like to get involved? What experiences would you love to go through in one year? Describe these ideals exactly one year from today’s date.

AGE

CAREER What do you want to be doing in one year? For which company do you most want to work? Would you like to start your own company? How much money do you want to be making? What would you love to spend your days doing? Will you be in the same position as today?



Your Ideal Future: One-Year Benchmark Once again, begin by writing the year and your age one year from now in the left-hand slots. The focus changes to your financial life and relationships, but the task is the same. For each category below, explain exactly what you’d like to see within each area in one year’s time.

YEAR

FINANCES Describe your ideal financial situation one year from now. What do you want to be able to afford? How much money would you like put away in savings? What about investments? Retirement funds? How much would you like to give away? (Use exact figures wherever possible.)

AGE

FAMILY & FRIENDS Where do you want your relationships to be in one year? If you currently find yourself single, would you like to be in a committed relationship? If married, do you want to have children? What about your social life? What exactly do you want it to look like in one year?



Your Ideal Future: Ten-Year Benchmark The next ideal to consider is your future ten years from today’s date. After writing in the year and your age at this time, describe the ideal status of your skills, hobbies, and experiences as well as your career. Remember, at this point the focus is on “what” you want and not at all on “how” you will make it happen.

YEAR

SKILLS, HOBBIES, EXPERIENCES What would you love to be able to do in ten years? What new skills or abilities would you like to gain? How do you wish to be spending your free time? Any particular things you’d like to experience?

AGE

CAREER Where do you want to be in your career ten years from now? In which type of work would you like to be involved? Desired salary? Create a vivid picture of your ideal career ten years down the road in the space below.



Your Ideal Future: Ten-Year Benchmark From qualities of your identity and career, the next categories to consider are your finances and relationships ten years into the future. If you could design them any way you pleased, what exactly would they look like? Create a picture of this ideal future by answering the questions below.

YEAR

FINANCES In ten years, how would you like to describe your financial situation? What type of living standard would you like to be able to afford? How much money would you ideally have in savings, investments, and put away for retirement? How much would you like to donate to others?

AGE

FAMILY & FRIENDS If you could have the ideal relationships with your friends and family members in ten years, what would they look like? Would you be married or single? Starting or growing a family? Surrounded by a large group of acquaintances and contacts or a small circle of close friends?



Your Ideal Future: Age of Retirement The final benchmark to look toward is the age of retirement. If you never plan on taking this step, consider this period the twilight years of your life. The first step is to determine which age you believe this time to be and the year in which this age will be reached. After determining these two figures, record them to the left and continue with the short exercises below.

YEAR

SKILLS, HOBBIES, EXPERIENCES What skills or abilities would you like to have at this point in your life? What would you love to have as your hobby or favorite pastime? What experiences would you like to create at this stage?

AGE

CAREER When you reach the common age of retirement, are you going to take that step or continue working? If working, what work, ideally, would you be doing? If retired, what type of retirement would it be? Calm and relaxing or energetic and full of activity?



Your Ideal Future: Age of Retirement If you could exit the working world—or reach the age when most decide to take that path—in any fashion you choose, what would that future look like in terms of the health and well-being of your finances and relationships? Not what you think is possible now, but what you dream of then? Use the spaces below to create that vision.

YEAR

FINANCES As your life transitions into your retirement years, what would your ideal financial picture look like? How much money would you like to have and in which specific areas?

AGE

FAMILY & FRIENDS Describe your ideal relationships at this point in your life. If single, what type of relationships would you like to have with your extended family and friends? If married, describe your ideal relationships with your partner, children, and close friends.


E x e r c i s e 14


| 2.14 Concluding Thoughts A World of Ideals This chapter began with the premise that goals build the bridge between your reality and your ideals. The box below is your next step toward building that bridge. Having developed a vision of your ideal future as well as a picture of your ideal identity, what have you learned about yourself and want you want? What types of specific goals need to be put in place to bring these visions to life? With your ideals in mind, use the space below to work from these visions to the present day, determining which steps need to be taken in the short term to give you the greatest chance of experiencing what you want most in the long run.


E x e r c i s e 15

| 2.15 Financial Spotlight ELCOME TO YOUR FOURTH CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT. Many times financial goals revolve around the concept of "more." There are few concrete facts or figures and far too many vague desires for more money, more wealth, more return, etc.

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By this point, you should understand the danger of such a goal. Without a clear end in mind, there is little from which to work. The goal of "more" leaves you with no elements of motivation, no elements of measurement, and no direction in which to head. The goal of "more" is a goal leading nowhere. Added to this common dilemma is the natural tendency of people to consider particular money matters mentally without ever taking action physically. Investing a portion of your income in your future, or in the future of others as with charitable contributions, has probably crossed your mind at some point, but if you have yet to act on these desires, an element of your financial health will remain unfulfilled. This spotlight was specifically designed to begin the process of transforming the vague generality of "more" into a concrete target as well as shifting your interest for investment from a thought in mind to a commitment in writing.

Spotlights Below is an overview of the sections that will help you to achieve these results. Standard of Living & Savings: In this section, you'll begin the process of transforming "more money" into a specific figure by creating an initial checklist of things you'd like to purchase in the weeks, months, or years ahead. Investments: Unsure about your options when it comes to investing your money for the first time or setting aside income for charitable contributions? The lists in this section will guide you toward the creation of your first goals and targets.

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EXERCISE 15: FINANCIAL SPOTLIGHT | 120

Your Initial Wish List The list below serves two purposes. First, by checking off the items you'd like to purchase, you'll begin to shape a clearer picture of the standard you desire. Second, when you know what you want in the future, you can create specific savings goals in the present. Let these items be a trigger for your own full list.

Wish List Item Appliances

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. —T. E. Lawrence

x

2

Wish List Item Furniture (Cont'd)

- Dish Washer

- Entertainment Center

- Dryer

- Sofa Set

- Microwave

Housing Expenses

- Range

- Addition

- Refrigerator

- Deck

- Washer

- Hot Tub

Clothing

- New Home

Education

- Renovation

- Books & Resources - College Tuition

- Swimming Pool Insurance

- Home-Study Courses

- Car

- Night Classes

- Dental

Entertainment

- Health

- Computer

- Homeowners

- Digital Camera

- Life

- Digital Recorder

Personal care

- Sporting Event Tickets

- Gym Membership

- Stereo System

- Home Gym

- Television

- Personal Trainer

- Theater Tickets

- Spa Treatment

- Vacation & Leisure Furniture

x

Transportation - Automobile

- Bedroom Set

- Boat

- Dining Room Set

- Motorcycle



Vehicles for Investment While the list of investment vehicles below is by no means complete, it will help you to take the first steps toward financial security and freedom. A simple checkmark of interest at this point can quickly lead to a specific investment plan that gives you the outcomes you desire. Scale: 1=No Interest, 5=Intense Interest.

Investment Vehicle

1

2

3

4

5

Bank Accounts - Certificates of Deposit

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. —Lanston Hughes

- Money Market Accounts - Savings & Checking Accnt Bonds & Fixed Income - Corporate Bonds - Municipal Bonds - Savings Bonds - Treasuries - Zero Coupon Bonds Business - Business Investment - Business Ownership Collectables Mutual Funds - Balanced Funds - Government Bond Funds - Growth Funds - Index Funds - Money Market Funds Precious Metals Real Estate - Commercial - Residential Stocks & Equities



Causes for Concern The first step toward investing your time, energy, and capital into a worthy cause it to determine which areas of concern and need are most important to you. This is not to say that you don't care about each one, but with a limited amount of resources to offer, you must focus on the causes that powerfully impact you both mentally and emotionally.

If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. —Thomas Edison

For each item on the list below, place a checkmark in the box that matches your level of interest or desire for action. For instance, if helping children in need is your highest priority, place a checkmark in Box 5. On the other hand, if arts and culture aren't as important to you, check Box 1 or Box 2. If you’re unsure about a certain cause, check Box 3. You can then consider these causes further in the future and perhaps add them to your goal sets at that time.

Cause

1

2

3

4

5

Animals Arts & Culture Children & Youth Community Crime Prevention Disabled Disaster Relief Education Elderly Environment Health & Disease Homeless Human Rights Hunger & Poverty Overseas Aid Peace Substance Abuse Women



Largest U.S. Charities Below is a listing of some of the largest charities currently operating within the United States and abroad. Which would you like to invest your resources in or simply learn more about? Check "Y" for yes, "N" for no, and "M" for maybe.

Largest U.S. Charities (1 - 25)

Y

N

M

Mayo Foundation YMCAs in the United States

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. —William Shakespeare

United Way Cleveland Clinic Foundation Catholic Charities USA American National Red Cross Salvation Army Goodwill Industries International New York-Presbyterian Hospital The Arc of the United States Mount Sinai Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Henry Ford Health System Boys & Girls Clubs of America Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Feed the Children Shriners Hospitals for Children American Cancer Society Habitat for Humanity International Children's Hospital Planned Parenthood Federation of America Nature Conservancy Gifts in Kind International Easter Seals



Largest U.S. Charities (Cont'd) The list of charities continues below. Keep in mind the purpose here is to gain insight into your unique set of desires and not to lock you into ironclad pledges. Therefore, feel free to check any and all groups that sound interesting or worthy.

Largest U.S. Charities (26 - 50)

Y

N

M

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center World Vision

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. —Confucius

AmeriCares YWCA of the USA Girl Scouts of the USA Boy Scouts of America National Council Volunteers of America Food for the Poor CARE USA American Heart Association Catholic Relief Services America's Second Harvest St Jude Children's Research Hospital United Cerebral Palsy Association Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Public Broadcasting Service Smithsonian Institution Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Memorial Hospital City of Hope Campus Crusade for Christ International Children's National Medical Center Children's Hospital (U.S.) Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum of Fine Arts, Houston


E x e r c i s e 15


| 2.15 Concluding Thoughts Financial Spotlight More than any other spotlight, this set of lists was designed to trigger your own thoughts and ideas within the various categories of your financial health as well as narrow a desire for "more" into a specific value to be pursued. While working through the initial wish list, did you think of any new items that you'd like to add? What about the areas of investment or contribution? Did any additional vehicles or charitable causes come to mind as you considered the examples provided? Use the box to record these ideas, for they may become a part of your future plans and, more specifically, a central piece of your financial goal sets.


E x e r c i s e 16

| 2.16 “I Must…” RE THERE THINGS THAT YOU absolutely must do during your lifetime? Experiences you’re committed to making happen no matter what may come to pass? Accomplishments you know for certain have to take place at some point in the future?

A

Whether it’s traveling through Europe, jumping out of a plane and parachuting down to earth, or making a positive contribution to the world before you’re gone, everyone has at least a handful of things they must do, see, or be while they still have the chance. There’s just one problem: While everyone may have a personal list of musts, they’re usually unclear and trailing at the back of their minds. In such a position, the chance that these “musts” will ever be realized is slim at best. Like any other goal or dream that is to be put into action, these ideas need to be thrust to the front of your mind and fully defined and developed. They need to be recorded in ink to keep them from fading into memories of past desires. As you know, when asked what they want, most people struggle to deliver a quick reply, but nearly all can tell you the things they must do before their time is up. That is the power of this concept; it quickly brings to mind specific goals and desires that may have otherwise gone unnoticed, undeveloped, and unachieved. You now have the chance to personally answer the question of what you must do, and ensure this invaluable information is never lost in the clutter and chaos of the world around you.

Instructions What follows are three stages of exercises each designed to pull from your mind and memory the complete list of your personal musts. To help create your list, think back to your childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, considering all of the major categories that make up your life.

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EXERCISE 16: “I MUST…” | 127

“I Must…” The Initial List What must you do while you still have the chance? Write a novel? Start your own business? Travel to your homeland? Swim with dolphins? No matter how grand a vision or seemingly insignificant an experience it might seem, whatever it is you have promised yourself you would do at some point in your lifetime, add it to the list below. 1. I MUST…

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

2. I MUST…


3. I MUST…

4. I MUST…

5. I MUST…



“I Must…” Six-Month Deadline Thinking in general terms of a “must” is a powerful method to uncovering your true goals and ambitions, but adding an additional element can further the process and its reach—a deadline. Imagine you had only six months left to live. What things would you have to do before these final months came to an end? Consider only true desires and not merely random or irresponsible actions or activities (skipping work/school, eating unhealthy foods, etc.).

There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.

YOUR IDENTITY How would your attitude and actions toward the world change? Toward others? Are there particular skills you would learn? Things you would experience?

—Victor Hugo

YOUR HEALTH How would your emotional health change? Would the typical worries and stresses remain or vanish? Would you invest more time in your spiritual health?



“I Must…” Six-Month Deadline (Cont’d) The focus now shifts to your career and relationships. With just six months remaining, what would you do differently within these two aspects of your life? YOUR CAREER While you understandably may choose to leave your job and dedicate all of your time to family and friends, imagine, for the sake of gathering as much useful material as possible, that you couldn’t leave the working world.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

What would you do differently in terms of your career? What would you have to achieve or accomplish before your time ended? Would you try something new? What exactly? Would you start your own company? If so, what would it be?

—Marcel Proust

YOUR RELATIONSHIPS What would you do differently in your relationships? Would you spend more time with particular people? Whom? Share thoughts or experiences with certain friends and family members?



“I Must…” Final Day One last twist to consider. Instead of six months, the deadline is one day; instead of achievement, the focus is regret. By taking this approach, you can tap into an entirely new source of material with which to develop future goals. Ask yourself: If today were your last day on earth, what would you most regret not being, doing, or having?

1. I WOULD REGRET…

Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.


—Oliver Wendell Holmes





E x e r c i s e 16


| 2.16 Concluding Thoughts “I Must…” By compiling your personal lists of musts, you’ve gained invaluable insight into the things you need to pursue in order to experience the fulfillment and quality of life you seek. But there’s more to be learned. Looking beyond your particular responses and focusing instead on overall themes and similarities can help you to achieve an even greater understanding of who you are and what you want. Did you find that the majority of your “musts” fell within a particular category or area of your life? What do you think that says about you and your strongest desires? Were there any additional similarities between the things on your lists?


E x e r c i s e 17

| 2.17 Defining a Legacy NOWING WHAT YOU WISH to be remembered for when you’re gone reveals to you exactly what must be accomplished now. From vague notions of improvement it transforms your desires into a clear and present path toward true success and fulfillment. This is the power of defining your legacy.

K

The benefits of consciously choosing the impact you wish to have in the lives of those around you and the world at large cannot be overstated. Most important, it allows you to control the end result. Instead of relying on mere chance to make a positive impact, you can ensure it. You can put the foundation in place today that is guaranteed to leave behind a lasting legacy after you’re gone. You can, once and for all, replace hope with absolute certainty. An additional benefit lies in the joy and satisfaction of knowing your positive contributions to the world around you will not soon vanish after you have gone. In this way, defining and pursuing your legacy will allow a part of you to live on forever. This is your chance to personally experience these benefits and define a legacy that will ensure the life you live will be a life worth remembering.

Instructions Creating a lasting legacy involves more than a single area of your life, which is why the exercises ahead offer the opportunity for you to describe the type of impact you’d like to leave in four distinct areas: your family, friends, career, and overall contribution to the world. As you develop these legacies, use as specific of qualities and characteristics as possible. A general idea about what you wish to be remembered for will leave you with little to work with as you build your goal sets and plans for the future.

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EXERCISE 17: DEFINING A LEGACY | 133

Your Legacy When it comes to your family, for what do you most want to be remembered? How do you want your closest circle of friends to regard you after you’re gone? Consider also your contributions to the working world: How do you wish to be remembered by your colleagues? FAMILY

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

FRIENDS

—Carl Jung

COLLEAGUES

LASTING IMPACT The final aspect on which to reflect is your contribution to the world. In what ways do you wish to leave the world a better place? What do you want your lasting impact to be?


E x e r c i s e 17

EXERCISE 17: DEFINING A LEGACY | 134

| 2.17 Concluding Thoughts Defining a Legacy Knowing what you want in the end is the key to discovering the steps to take in the beginning. It’s much like having in hand the blueprints to a new home. Reviewing the final result reveals the exact steps you need to take to get there. For instance, the desire to leave behind a legacy of giving paves the way for present-day goals such as volunteering in the community or dedicating time, energy, and capital to worthy causes and foundations. What insights did you gain from this exercise? How do your legacies lend themselves to present-day goals and objectives? Use the space below to record your thoughts and ideas.


E x e r c i s e 18

| 2.18 Relationship Spotlight ELCOME TO YOUR FINAL CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT. Unlike the others in the series, the focus of this chapter is not meant to gauge your interest in a sample of goals or how strongly you feel about one aspect of success compared to another. Instead, it is designed to help you avoid one of the most common problems in the area of relationships.

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As you know, few include relationships in the sphere of goal setting. As a result, this area often fails to provide the deep and meaningful connections they seek. Instead of taking a proactive role in the matter, things are left up to chance and circumstance with predictable outcomes. It’s time to reverse the trend and utilize the benefits of the goal-setting process with your relationships as often and as powerfully as you would with any other area of your life. Only then can you experience the type of connections that make for a truly rich and rewarding experience.

Spotlights Creating strong and meaningful connections with those around you must begin from within. You cannot wait for—or expect—others to change how they think, feel, and act to fulfill your needs. Not only would this allow you to avoid all responsibility for the health of your relationships but it would also fly in the face of a cardinal rule of goal setting: The outcome must be yours to control. If you set a goal to change someone else’s behavior, you cannot possibly control the outcome, nor should you. If you want something different, you have to do something differently, which is why the sections of this spotlight focus on uncovering the areas in which you can make improvements, just the type of goals that lead to relationship success. Family & Friends: Up next you will complete a relationship grid for each of your most important relationships by measuring them by seven essential qualities.

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EXERCISE 18: RELATIONSHIP SPOTLIGHT | 136

Family Relationships Discovering where your relationships are lacking provides all the information you need to create effective goals to vastly improve their quality and depth. After writing in your family member’s name on the line provided, indicate to what degree you satisfy the seven qualities below. You can then transfer any areas of concern to the concluding thoughts section of this chapter for future use. 1. Affection - 2. Appreciation - 3. Commitment - 4. Communication

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

FAMILY MEMBER #1:

Strongly Disagree

—Geoffrey F. Abert

5. Conflict Resolution - 6. Connection - 7. Quality Time

Strongly Disagree

The most important thing about having goals is having one.

I regularly express my affection for this family member. I often demonstrate my appreciation for this family member. I show interest in this family member’s interests and activities. I listen intently to this family member’s thoughts and feelings. I effectively manage conflicts with this family member. I know this family member on a deep and meaningful level. I spend a great deal of quality time with this family member.

FAMILY MEMBER #2:




Family Relationships (Cont’d) Continue completing your relationship grids below with two keys in mind. To begin, take your time to review your past history and true nature of these relationships. Closely related is the second key of honesty. No good will come from painting an unrealistic picture of your family connections.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

—Francis Bacon

FAMILY MEMBER #3:

Strongly Disagree

There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding, and that which is lost by not trying.

(If you require only two grids, you may continue to the next section. However, if you require more than the four provided, use a blank page within the course or a separate notebook or journal.)


FAMILY MEMBER #4:




Friendships The process is the same, but the focus now shifts from family to friends. With your most important friendships in mind, complete the grids below using the same seven characteristics to measure the quality of these connections. As before, take as much time as you need to thoroughly think about the true nature of these relationships and how well you fulfill each element below. 1. Affection - 2. Appreciation - 3. Commitment - 4. Communication

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

—Lewis Duncombe

Disagree

FRIENDSHIP #1:

Strongly Disagree

5. Conflict Resolution - 6. Connection - 7. Quality Time

Strongly Disagree

The lofty oak from a small acorn grows.

I regularly express my affection for this friend. I often demonstrate my appreciation for this friend. I show interest in this friend’s interests and activities. I listen intently to this friend’s thoughts and feelings. I effectively manage conflicts with this friend. I know this friend on a deep and meaningful level. I spend a great deal of quality time with this friend.

FRIENDSHIP #2:




Friendships (Cont’d) After choosing the two final friendships that stand above all others in importance, complete the grids below. As you do, always consider both your assessment of the relationship as well as those on the other end. If you personally feel that you are an effective and attentive listener but have been told repeatedly that you don’t pay close enough attention to what is being said, changes still need to be made.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

Disagree

Unsure

Agree

Strongly Agree

—Siddhartha Gautama

FRIENDSHIP #3:

Strongly Disagree

Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.

Remember, the health and success of a relationship depends on the satisfaction of all those involved.


FRIENDSHIP #4:



E x e r c i s e 18


| 2.18 Concluding Thoughts Relationship Spotlight Developing a deep and meaningful connection with another human being is among the most exhilarating and fulfilling things you'll ever experience. And with the work you've just completed, you'll soon be in the perfect position to begin creating these relationships with each member of your family as well as your closest friends. All that's left is for you to record exactly what you've learned from completing each relationship grid. Which specific areas do you need to improve within each of your chosen relationships? Is there a recurring problem you need to implement into your plans for improvement? Record these and any additional insights and ideas in the box below.


E x e r c i s e 19

| 2.19 Your Mission Statement ORPORATIONS, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS and charitable foundations, colleges and universities, and even neighborhood associations all make use of and benefit from the powerful tool of the mission statement. And soon, you will too.

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In essence, your personal mission statement is a clear and concise statement of the way in which you wish to live your life. For example, it could be to live fully and freely, constantly seeking new and exciting experiences. It could also be to live in a state of continuous curiosity, never taking for granted the mysteries or miracles in the world around you or to achieve the absolute best in all that you do regardless of time or place. When used effectively, a personal mission statement serves as a filter through which your potential goals are passed. Instead of hoping you’ve made the right choices, you can check each to see whether or not it is aligned with your mission.

Instructions In a single sentence, create your mission statement by answering the following question in the box below: What type of person are you committed to being each and every day of your life?

Your Personal Mission Statement

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E x e r c i s e 19

EXERCISE 19: YOUR MISSION STATEMENT | 142

| 2.19 Concluding Thoughts Your Mission Statement What goals would best fit with someone whose mission statement is to seek out new and exciting challenges and experiences? The answer is obvious: Goals of adventure and risk, goals that push beyond comfort zones and normal boundaries. These are the insights that a well-crafted mission statement can offer. When you know the type of person you’re committed to being, you begin to clearly see the size and shape of goals for which you are best suited. What did you learn from your mission statement? Which goals do you need to set and achieve in order to fulfill it?


Section Two

| 2.0 Exercises & Insights: Wrapping Up ONGRATULATIONS! Making it this far into the program offers clear proof that you have what it takes not only to hope for more out of life but also to do something about it. It’s as rare as it is important to you and your future.

C

For most, the path to authentic and appropriate goals is fraught with confusion and frustration, if it’s there at all. Fortunately for you, this is no longer the case. The exercises and activities you’ve just completed have created for you a map, making it clear where you are now and exactly where you want to go. Most important, it shows you how to get there. As you know, the path to true happiness and success is as unique as you are; the right goals for your neighbor will not necessarily be the right goals for you. However, with the work you’ve completed, you have everything you need to develop and detail the specific goals that you were meant to achieve. All that’s left is to take the material you’ve gathered and give it size and shape, a process that begins with the next section: Brainstorming.

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Brainstorming

SECTION THREE

Section Three

| 3.0 Brainstorming OU’VE BEEN ASKED THE QUESTIONS and now it’s time to put the answers to work. The purpose of this segment of chapters is to take all that you’ve discovered throughout the previous sections and use that information to uncover and develop as many potential goal ideas as possible.

Y

Keep in mind the purpose here is not to create a series of perfectly-formatted goals or objectives. Instead, the aim is to let every thought and idea you have flow from mind to paper. The more material you write down, the better. The time will soon come for narrowing your focus and editing your work down into specific goals, but that time is not now. As far as the chapters ahead are concerned, anything goes regardless of how reasonable or sensible an idea may at first seem. Before getting started with the brainstorming process, it’s important to keep in mind the following set of qualities, elements that can make—or break—the entire goal-setting process.

Essential Qualities of Successful Goals All goals are not created equal. This is a crucial, but often overlooked, principle of goal setting. The common perception is that having a goal is enough. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. For any goal to have a chance at success it must possess very specific qualities, the absence of which all but makes attainment an impossibility. But what a difference these characteristics make when incorporated into the goals you choose. You’ll avoid the struggle and frustration that often accompanies the process of change and experience success where so many others have met with failure. As you brainstorm for potential goals and ambitions, choose to record only those ideas that incorporate each of the four qualities that follow.

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SECTION III: BRAINSTORMING | 146

QUALITY #1: PERSONAL The goals you choose must be personal. In other words, the desire for change or improvement must come from within; it cannot stem from a desire to please others. This may seem like an obvious requirement, but in truth it is a trap experienced by many. To help further clarify this quality, let’s examine two examples. Example #1: Internal Desire (Quality of Success)

A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. —Antoine de SaintExupery

Ever since he can remember, John wanted to become an architect. When he was lucky enough to accompany his father downtown for business, his eyes were glued, not to the thousands of pedestrians milling about, but to the buildings, those magnificent buildings. As time passed, the desire only grew. It was not what others would think of his buildings, not what they would say of his drive or ambition, but only architecture that mattered. The thing itself was what gave him pleasure. Soon enough, John was enrolled in one of the most prestigious architecture schools in the country. Backed by his internal desire and love of his work, he was well on his way to a successful career. Example #2: External Desire (Quality of Failure)

Ever since he could remember, Jack’s father, Jack Sr., wanted him to be an architect. Being one himself, he decided his son’s vocation even before his birth. “My father was an architect, and his father before that…” With this line of logic, Jack’s future was all but set in stone. However, Jack was of a different mind. By his early teens, it was clear that he did not share his father’s love of buildings. This, however, was never an issue. While Jack Jr. may have lacked his father’s desire, he certainly did not lack the desire to please his overbearing father. And so off to school he went, to the same prestigious school of architecture attended by his friend, John. From the start things did not go well. Jack struggled in his courses and grew more and more frustrated with each passing month. He couldn’t understand why he was doing so poorly. He knew he was capable; Jack had achieved countless goals in the past. But this time it was different, this time it was his father’s goal. After several semesters of lackluster results, Jack dropped out of school and returned home, a failure in the eyes of his father and, therefore, himself.



These two examples may slightly oversimplify the matter, but there is no doubting their accurate portrayal of reality. Whenever a disconnect exists between an individual and his stated goal, success is a distant possibility. It is not desire that is missing, but the right desire. Millions of people have the desire to please others and so they pursue goals for which they have no interest. A desire is present, to be sure, but when it’s the desire to please instead of the desire to achieve the goal, it’s not enough.

Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. —Charles Reade

You must desire the goal’s end result, never making the mistake of choosing a path because someone else wants it for you. Nowhere is this phenomenon more obvious than with children and the activities their parents push them into joining. The child has no interest, performs poorly and behaves badly, and is considered a bad apple. In truth, the “bad apple” is merely a victim of an undesired goal. Family, friends, colleagues…they all have the power and potential to pressure and persuade, to put goals into your mind that do not belong. Often without intention, they lead you toward objectives not personally desired. It is up to you to avoid such pressure, and set for yourself only those goals which owe their presence to personal, internal desire. The purpose of this quality is to create a sure path to success. When the desire is not your own, you will not do the things it takes to succeed. You will not make the sacrifices, face the fears, and push past failure and rejection. Instead, you will struggle to move forward and find yourself resenting those who proposed the idea in the first place. The goals you choose to pursue must be closely tied to an internal desire for change or improvement. When you begin the process of brainstorming for potential goal ideas, be sure to check each by the quality of personal desire. QUALITY #2: POWERFUL After being personal, the goals you choose must also be powerful. It takes a strong desire to withstand the obstacles and setbacks of change and see things through to the end. Lip service, as common as it is, simply isn’t enough to bring about improvement. Why would you choose to set a goal you have little desire to achieve? There are several reasons, the first of which is self-gratification. It can be an uplifting experience to set a new path and feel as if you’re ready to turn things around. So much so that many will prepare a plan they have little intention of following simply to conjure up feelings of renewal and excited energy.



Another common cause is the preconceived idea of what it means to be successful and what it takes to be happy. Being raised in a society that worships money, materials, and physical beauty, it’s easy to see how these things could be taken for granted as the sole path to the good life. To the unknowing, goal setting could merely be a process of working toward the things they’ve always been told are important without ever examining the facts of the situation for themselves.

All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. —James Lane Allen

In truth, the path to success is different for everyone. There are no prescribed patterns that will give you everything you want; that’s something you need to create on your own, choosing only the goals and dreams that are right for you. (A process you have begun and will soon successfully complete.) When you’re ready to commit yourself to a new direction, be sure the desire backing the idea is one of power. Many things stand between you and the things you want. Beginning the process with a weak desire is a sure way to remain right where you are. Your desire must be intense and ready to take on every challenge that arises. QUALITY #3: POSSIBLE After personal and powerful, your goals must be possible. In particular, the things you wish to accomplish must be within your physical capabilities given the nature of the goal. A simple example is expecting to complete a marathon in record time never having run more than a mile. This is most likely beyond your physical capability and a poor goal choice. However, it’s often easy to decipher between those goals that fall within your physical ability and those requiring more than you can possible handle, but it’s not as simple a matter when the limits are not your physical capabilities but the limits of time and circumstance. Expecting too much, too soon, will only bring about an untimely end to your hopes for success. Therefore, you need to approach the goal-setting process with an accurate assessment of the situation, taking into account the time in which you have to complete the task, the resources available, and the circumstances you’re likely to face along the way. As an example, it would be unreasonable to expect a 200% increase in sales within a single year when the company experienced only single-digit growth for over a decade. Given the circumstances and the short timeline in which to act, it is unlikely the goal can be achieved. Consider the limits in which you’ll be placing your goals and choose only those targets and objectives that can reasonably fit within those parameters of time, resources, and circumstances.



The final realm of possibility poses an even greater threat to your success, making it an obstacle you must avoid. In doing so, you’ll bypass one of the most trying and troublesome experiences of the improvement process. The goal must be yours to win or lose. In other words, it must be possible for you to personally bring about the changes you wish to see. For instance, wanting someone to fall in love with you is a task you can only take so far—the rest is up to them. No matter what you do, the end result is entirely out of your hands. And that is the problem with choosing goals that are not yours to win or lose.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. —Henry David Thoreau

What this quality comes down to is avoiding goals that depend heavily on the actions of those you cannot control or the outcomes of situations that lie outside your sphere of influence. The reason is clear: If you’re not the one in control of the outcome, success has no choice but to remain an uncertainty. Regardless of what you think, feel, or do, whether or not you get what you want is up to someone or something else. It takes just a second or two to realize that nearly every goal imaginable relies somewhat on the outside world; no one exists in a bubble. With this in mind, choose only those goals that place the majority—not necessarily all—of the control within your hands. QUALITY #4: PROPER The final quality serves as perhaps the most important link to your happiness. It is an area rarely given the attention it deserves; a trend of which you’d be wise to steer clear. To best introduce this particular quality, a question must be asked. Not, “What do I want,” but, “What should I want?” Only when you select and pursue a goal that you consider to be moral and ethical can the resulting success bring you the feelings you desire; the goal has to be good for you and everyone involved. If you’re not sure where this fits into the world of setting and achieving goals, consider the common examples of family and friends taking a back seat to career advancement or the desire for money and materials warping all sense of reality. Before attaching yourself to any goal, you must determine not whether it is a smart or challenging target but if it is the right one. How do you make such a judgment? You can begin by considering the full impact of your choices and how their progress and accomplishment will affect the people, places, and things around you. Rarely are internal choices free from external consequences. As we are all connected, the things you decide to do with your life will invariably include



many, many others. This is not to say that you should play only to the crowd and aim to please. What it does mean is that you need to realize the full picture of what your plans entail. If you improve while those around you suffer, is it really the best choice to make?

Goals are discovered, not made. —Richard J. Foster

Another test to use in choosing the “right” goals is to ensure alignment between what you want and what you value. If you ever feel the objectives you are committed to achieving are incongruent with the things you believe in most, another direction most likely needs to be pursued. Taken together, these two benchmarks are about seeing the totality of your goals and ambitions and recognizing how they fit into the greater picture of your life and those within it. As you work through the brainstorming process, record only those ideas that will positively affect all those involved and are closely aligned with your core values and beliefs.

Personal, powerful, possible, proper—these are the qualities of successful goals, dreams, and ambitions. Without them, the path to a richer, more rewarding life is riddled with obstacles, setbacks, and ultimate failure. However, when you make it a personal rule to choose only those goals that incorporate each and every quality, the path is prepared for success. Where others have fell short of the goal, you will see things through to the end. The foundation of successful goals has been set, but there’s one final step to take before the brainstorming process can begin.

The Right Mindset The right mindset is an essential element of the goal-setting process. Without it, chances are good that you’ll limit the size and scope of your ideas and goals, never allowing them to reach their full potential. You need not worry about this happening to you. Simply by following the four short rules outlined below, you will take the right approach and get the very most out of the brainstorming process to follow. 1. FREEDOM FROM THE PAST The first rule to keep in mind is to approach the brainstorming process with a clean slate. You must leave the past in the past, not allowing previous setbacks or missteps to disrupt or disqualify your plans for the future. You must start



fresh and free from past failure regardless of what has happened to you before this day. While this may be easier said than done, it’s critical to your success and happiness. Should you limit your goals only to those areas in which you’ve succeeded in the past, you’ll undoubtedly miss out on an infinite number of opportunities and experiences.

One ship sails East, And another West, By the selfsame winds that blow, Tis the set of the sails And not the gales, That tells the way we go. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The reasoning behind such a principle is by no means mere positive thinking; it would do you little good to simply believe in these words without a foundation of truth and proof. No, the reason to begin free of past failures is due to the fact that every day is, in reality, a new beginning for change and a new chance for progress. Failing in the past does not trap you into forever taking the wrong steps and making the wrong moves; it means only that you chose the incorrect path at a single point in your life, not all points. You must, of course, do your part and discover the error of your ways to avoid similar results the second time around, but with this step in place every day presents a fresh start for you and your plans for a better life. Never allow the pain of past events to haunt your future. 2. FEARLESS Next, you must be fearless. Little will come of the brainstorming process if you approach it with timidity and fear. Without doubt, the fear of failure, the fear of following through, and the fear of success are powerful obstacles that will be encountered down the road, but to allow them to chase you off the path before you’ve even begun would be a great tragedy. Therefore, you can’t surround yourself with “safe” goals, those weak ideas that keep you well within your comfort zone. Do not allow fear—those that have been experienced in the past and the unknowns of tomorrow—keep you from the life you want to live. This process is about change and growth and excitement. It’s about breaking away from what you have now to strive for something more, something only possible when your approach is free of worry and fear. 3. NOT HOW, BUT WHAT How are you going to make the things you write down actually happen? How will it be possible? At this point, the answer to these questions is simply this: Don’t worry about it. The purpose of brainstorming is to discover what you want, not how you’ll get it. Yes, this is an absolutely critical step in the process, but its place is not here.



The time to concern yourself with exactly how you will make it happen must come after the goals have been created. Never kill a dream before it’s been given a chance to live. The truth is that most individuals who have achieved a great amount of success in their lives started with little understanding of how things would work out— that was secondary. The most important piece of the puzzle was the dream, the grand vision that drove them forward.

Our ideals resemble the stars, which illuminate the night. No one will ever be able to touch them. But the men who, like the sailors on the ocean, take them for guides, will undoubtedly reach their goal. —Carl Schurz

If you want it enough, you will find a way. As for the brainstorming to come, concern yourself only with “what” and not “how.” 4. A MIX OF SHAPES & SIZES The final rule centers on the shape, size, and scope of the goal ideas you record while brainstorming. Variety, as essential as it is to happiness, is just as important to successful goal setting. From small improvements to complete transformations, each type of goal has its place and purpose, making it vital that you piece together a variety of hopes and dreams for the future. Small goals get the process moving in the right direction. They require only a minimal amount of stretching on your part and help to build confidence through a series of consistent, albeit minor, successes. Because little fear or sacrifice is associated with goals of this size and nature, it’s a matter of placing guaranteed victories in your path, not only to improve your daily life but also to develop the courage needed for the bigger things to come. The next type of goals are those of medium scope, the things that call for greater action and commitment than slight changes but fall short of major shifts or transformations. The role of these goals is to teach you the art of moving beyond your comfort zone and how to handle small amounts of fear and anxiety. In essence, they involve the process of strengthening your capability to change and achieve. Perhaps the most important goals are those that excite and inspire. Like the ageless stories that lift up our spirits and make us believe we can live lives of greatness, it is absolutely crucial that a portion of your goals exist on this level, the level of dreams, visions, and aspirations. Remember, the purpose of this type of goal is not only to make a tangible plan out of an intangible idea but also to ignite an internal drive that compels you to become more than you are now.



Thinking only on a small scale cannot possibly stir the soul and spirit like thinking big. Therefore, reach for higher heights than ever before and never be afraid to give shape and structure to your most ambitious hopes and dreams. With the essential qualities in hand and the right mindset in place, you’re ready to begin the brainstorming process.

Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be. —Henry David Thoreau


Brainstorm 1

| 3.1 Brainstorming: Identity Goals ELCOME TO YOUR FIRST SESSION of brainstorming. It’s at this point in the course that you will be given the opportunity to take all that you’ve been thinking and give it a concrete form that can then be molded and developed into concise and compelling plans for the future.

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It all begins with anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to change, improve, or achieve in regard to your identity. As you recall, this area of your life includes your character and personality, skills and abilities, and personal experiences. As you begin to write down your ideas, try to completely fill the space provided without breaking. If you reach the end and have more to offer, continue recording your ideas on blank course pages or separate sheets of loose-leaf that can easily be added to the program when finished. Given the free-flowing nature of the brainstorming process, it’s common for a handful of items to appear on the page that don’t fully satisfy the four essentials of personal, powerful, possible, and proper. It’s because of this fact that an extra step is required after completing the process. When you reach the end of this chapter, review your material to ensure each idea recorded meets the requirements of an authentic goal. If you find anything that falls short, simply cross it out. Additionally, connect similar ideas with a line to help combine and clarify your results. This will allow you to narrow your focus and save time when creating your goals sets. Aside from the four qualities and approaching the process with the mindset discussed in the opening section, there are no rules or guidelines that must be followed. Your thoughts and ideas need not come in complete sentences or even words. If a picture best describes what you’re after, start drawing.

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Identity Goals: Character What changes or improvements would you like to make to your character? Think in terms of personality traits, attitude, and overall outlook on life. A series of starter questions is below to help start the process.

Character, not circumstance, makes the person. —Booker T. Washington

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Would you like to be more outgoing? Confident and self-assured?

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Do you want to be a more patient person? Giving?

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Would you like to be more open and honest with others?

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Should you stand up for yourself and your ideas more often?

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Are there any character flaws that you’d like to eliminate?

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Are there any character traits that you’d like to emulate?

Write down every thought or feeling you have about the things you’d like to change or improve about this area of your life in the box below. Remember, your responses need not be in goal form.



Identity Goals: Skills & Abilities What skills or abilities would you like to learn during your lifetime? Once again, starter questions have been offered to aid in the uncovering of your personal goals and dreams in this area.

'Tis skill, not strength, that governs a ship. —Thomas Fuller

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Would you like to learn a new language? Several? Which ones?

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Do you want to learn how to play an instrument? To play golf?

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Would you like to learn how to paint? To write? To dance?

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Have you ever wanted to learn how to fly a plane? A hang glider?

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Would you like to go back to school and earn your degree?

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Have you ever wanted to study history? Art?

Using the space below, write down every skill or ability—or perhaps elements relating to a particular skill or ability—you’d like to understand, develop, and perfect in your lifetime.



Identity Goals: Experiences What have you always wanted to experience? Consider the following starter questions to help you create your own list.

Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death. —Rosalind Russell

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Do you want to travel to another state? Another country?

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Would you like to run a marathon? Triathlon?

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Do you want to get involved with a community organization?

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Would you like to volunteer at an elementary school?

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Do you want to go hang gliding? Scuba diving?

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Have you dreamed about holding your newborn baby in your arms?

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Do you want to change the world?

Record in detail all of the things you’ve always wanted to experience at some point during your lifetime in the box below. Remember, no idea is too grand or too minute to consider.


Brainstorm 2

| 3.2 Brainstorming: Health Goals ELCOME TO YOUR SECOND SESSION of brainstorming. While it may have a hint of hype to it, the work you complete in this section may actually save your life. By searching for and recording everything you want to improve about your health, you’ll bring focus and force to ideas that may have otherwise been lost at the back of your mind.

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Mirroring the health elements of which you took inventory at the outset of the course, you’ll be given the chance to brainstorm for every hope, goal, or objective you have in the areas of your physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual health and well-being. As you know, each element plays a vital role in the creation and continuance of true health and happiness. If you work toward and achieve physical beauty but lack self-acceptance, little will have been accomplished. Likewise, successfully bringing balance to your emotions while failing to maintain your physical health is a losing battle. You need to focus on each area to create a complete picture of health, making it crucial that equal time and energy be invested into each of the three categories that follow. Before you begin, spend as much time as you need reviewing the material you’ve gathered from each of the previous chapters including both the inventories and exercises. This will create the most effective and efficient brainstorming session possible and ensure not a single element of your ideal health is overlooked or left behind. After reaching the end, return to the results of your brainstorming session to cross out or edit any ideas that fail to satisfy the four essential qualities of successful goals as well as connect similar thoughts or ideas.

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Health Goals: Physical What would you like to change or improve about your physical health and wellbeing? Use the questions below to build on your own thoughts and ideas.

In health there is freedom. Health is the first of all liberties. —Henri Frederic Amiel

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Would you like to achieve your ideal weight? Blood pressure?

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Do you need to begin an exercise program?

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What is your concept of the ideal—and healthy—body?

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Are there negative lifestyle habits that need replacing?

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Do you need to quit smoking?

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Does your daily diet need changing? Certain foods to avoid?

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Would you like to get more rest each night? More energy each day?

Use the box below to write down everything you want to change or improve about this aspect of your life. Don’t measure your words—if it comes to mind, get it in writing.



Health Goals: Mental & Emotional How would you like to improve the state of your mental and emotional health? Use the starter questions below to help you identify your own goals and ideas within this category.

Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.

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Would you like to stop worrying so often?

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Do you need to reduce your levels of stress and tension?

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Would you like to handle life’s problems in a healthier way?

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Do you often feel overwhelmed and out of control?

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Would you like to build your self-esteem? Self-confidence?

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Does your life need greater balance?

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Is your emotional state typically consistent or erratic?

Now it’s your turn. Write down everything about this aspect of your life you’d like to improve or enhance.

—S. Jameson



Health Goals: Spiritual What changes do you wish to make to your spiritual health? Consider the list of questions that follow, using each one to trigger your own set of questions or spiritual inquiries.

I believe deeply that we must find, all of us together, a new spirituality.

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Do you desire more spirituality in your life?

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Would you like to work toward achieving inner peace and tranquility?

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Are you interested in learning more about your faith? Others?

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Would you like a stronger connection with your fellow human beings?

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Would you like to find more guidance through spiritual means?

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Would you like to establish a stronger connection with your source, whatever that may be?

Use the box below to write down every thought or idea you have that pertains to changes or improvements you’d like to make in the area of your spiritual health.

—Dalai Lama


Brainstorm 3

| 3.3 Brainstorming: Career Goals ELCOME TO YOUR THIRD SESSION of brainstorming. By this point you should have quite a large list of ideas, but you’re just getting started. From the sphere of health and well-being, the focus now turns to your career or, seen from a broader view, what you choose to produce with your mind or hands.

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When it comes to experiencing a career of satisfaction and fulfillment, the answer does not always lie in changing directions. Oftentimes, adjustments can be made within a current position or department that make for an ideal situation. Because of this fact, the pages ahead will gather information from two distinct aspects of career goals. The first section of brainstorming is concerned with the improvements or achievements you’d like to pursue within your current position of employment. The ideas recorded here should have nothing to do with your hopes or dreams of a new direction, but only what changes you’d like to pursue in regard to your present occupation. The second installment will give you the opportunity to design your ideal career should you desire a change in the future. This section is not at all tied in to what you have done in the past or what you do in the present, giving you the freedom to design from scratch an entirely new career path. By examining both avenues of career improvement, you are guaranteed to come away with invaluable material regardless of whether you choose to stay where you are or move on to bigger and better things. As before, review your material to ensure each thought, idea, or goal is personal, powerful, possible, and proper. Then, draw a line between similar elements that fit into the same larger goal.

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Career Goals: Current Position With your current job in mind, what would you like to change? Starter questions have been provided below to help get the brainstorming process started in the right direction.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

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Are you pleased with your current level of work-related education?

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Do you want to earn a degree in your field? Earn more income?

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Would you like to take on greater responsibilities? Acquire new skills?

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Would you like to head a new project? Complete one?

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Are there specific benchmarks you’d like to reach? Sales goals?

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What could you do to make yourself irreplaceable?

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How would you define ultimate success for someone in your position?

Write down everything you’d like to do, change, or achieve as it relates to your present career path.

—Winston Churchill


BRAINSTORMING: CAREER GOALS | 164

Career Goals: Ideal Position If you could have any occupation or income-producing venture you wanted, what would you do? To help get you started with the brainstorming process, review each of the triggering questions below.

The work that is really a man's own work is play and not work at all. Cursed is the man who has found some other man's work and cannot lose it.

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What tasks or activities would you love performing each day?

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In what fields or industries are you interested?

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Do you want to work with you mind or hands? Full-time or part-time?

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Do you have a hobby that could translate into a career?

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How much would you like to earn each year? What benefits?

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Do you want to manage other people or projects?

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Have you ever dreamed of launching your own business?

In the box below, create a vivid picture of your ideal career using thoughts, ideas, images, or specific goals you’d like to pursue.

—Mark Twain


Brainstorm 4

| 3.4 Brainstorming: Financial Goals ELCOME TO YOUR FOURTH SESSION of brainstorming. However common the practice may be, in the matters of money and financial security, it’s never wise to leave things up to chance. If you’re ever going to achieve the freedom you desire, you must take control of the process and create a specific set of financial goals and objectives. What follows is the first step to doing just that.

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At the outset of this course, you took inventory of your financial health by examining four categories: standard of living, savings and safety net, investment and retirement plans or accounts, and philanthropy. This time around, you’ll shift your focus from where you are now to where you want to be in the future. Also, instead of grouping the categories into four areas, the number of brainstorming sections has been expanded to five. As far as your retirement is concerned, there is much more involved than mere investment accounts; preparing for a secure and comfortable retirement requires in-depth planning and analysis. For this reason, the single group of investment and retirement accounts has been split into two separate categories, giving you the forum you need to design and develop your ideal exit from the working world. After completing this session of brainstorming, you’ll never again have to worry about leaving money matters up to chance or circumstance. The information you need to create a clear and powerful financial plan will be firmly in place. Before you begin, take a moment to review your exercise material if it isn’t already fresh in your mind. As always, quickly review your material when finished to ensure the four qualities are met and similar ideas are connected.

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Financial Goals: Standard of Living What do you want to change about your standard of living? While “things” certainly aren’t a requirement for happiness, they do play a role in the comfort and enjoyment of life. Use the questions below to kick start your own thoughts about the things you’d like to pursue in this area of your life.

Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.

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Are there things you’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford?

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Would you like to purchase your first home? A second?

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Would you like to purchase any big-ticket items such as a new automobile? Go on seasonal vacations?

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What new toys or gadgets would you like to buy?

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Are there things you’d like to provide for your immediate family? Close friends?

Record everything you’d like to change about your standard of living below.

—Thomas Edison



Financial Goals: Savings & Safety Net How much money do you need and want saved? The final answers may be single values, but reaching ones that match your actual needs and wants will take a little brainstorming. While putting together your answers, consider the following: •

How much money would you need to cover expenses for three months should an emergency occur?

To be prepared is half the victory. —Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

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Do you need to save money for a college fund?

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Do you have a rainy day fund to cover unexpected expenses?

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How much money would you like to save each month? Year?

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Are there any special projects you’d like to begin that require a certain amount of money?

Record every thought or idea below that will help you to determine a specific safety net figure as well as weekly, monthly, and yearly savings goals.



Financial Goals: Investments In which areas and in which ways would you like to invest your money? If you already have investments established, what changes or achievements would you like to see take place? Consider further… •

For what purpose would you like to invest? Short-term gain? Long-term growth and security?

Proper preparation prevents poor performance. —Charlie Batch

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What return on your investment would you like to earn?

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What portion of your income would you like to set aside for investment opportunities?

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If accounts or projects are already in place, would you like to increase the amount invested? Redirect funds to other vehicles?

Write down everything you’d like to begin, adjust, or achieve in regard to your short-term and long-term investments.



Financial Goals: Retirement When and in what style would you like to retire? Knowing the type of life you wish to have when you exit the workplace translates directly into concrete financial goals that are needed to make the dream possible. Begin piecing together your ideal retirement using the starter questions below.

You can never plan the future by the past. —Edmund Burke

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In which city, state, or country would you like to retire?

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What do you dream of doing after you’re through working?

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How would you like to spend your weekdays? Weekends?

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Would you like the freedom to travel?

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What projects would you like to begin after retirement?

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Do you need money set aside to visit family each year? Exactly how much?

Write down all of your retirement hopes, dreams, and goals in the space below.



Financial Goals: Philanthropy What financial contributions would you like to make? Keep in mind that your future contribution goals need not match the current state of your income or savings. The purpose of the goal is to reach beyond the present. Use the questions below to help get you started.

Judge a tree from its fruit, not from its leaves. —Euripides

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In which humanitarian causes do you believe most? Foundations?

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Are there any charitable organizations you wish to support?

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What do you believe to be the greatest tragedy in the world?

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Is there a specific person you could support? College scholarship?

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Are there local groups or charities in need of financial support?

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What percentage of your income do you believe you should contribute?

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If you already donate, would you like to increase the amount?

Record each of your contribution goals and ideas in the box below.


Brainstorm 5

| 3.5 Brainstorming: Relationship Goals ELCOME TO YOUR FIFTH SESSION of brainstorming. Goals put in place to achieve greater health or financial freedom are common, but goals to improve your personal relationships? If you’ve ever felt this way about setting goals in this area of your life, you’re not alone.

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Rarely is the goal-setting process associated with family and friendship, which is one of the main reasons people fail to achieve the level of depth and connection they seek. Like anything else in life, you must know exactly what you want if it is ever to become a reality for you. Leaving things to chance, just like money matters, is as unwise as it is unnecessary. With a set of clear goals in mind, you can guarantee an improvement in the quality or quantity of the connections you share with others. Without one, the state of your relationships will not only fail to achieve their potential, they may even fall apart. This being said, it’s important to understand that the point of connecting goals and relationships is not to reduce individuals to targets or objectives. Instead, the purpose is to solidify the type of family and friendships you desire and back this ideal with a set of concrete goals to ensure its achievement. For many, relationships take a priority role in their lives, greatly enhancing—or taking away from—their happiness. By adding to this area the power of goals, this priority can become and forever remain a source of support and fulfillment. Perhaps more than any other aspect, the ideas you record must meet the four qualities of successful goals. As always, check over all that you have written to make sure not a single item gets through that fails to satisfy each and every one.

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Relationship Goals: Family What would you like to change or improve about your family life? Consider both your current family circle and any new additions you hope to make in the future. Think about the questions below as you piece together your own thoughts and ideas about what you want in regard to these relationships.

A happy family is but an earlier heaven. —George Bernard Shaw

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What do you need to improve most about your family relationships?

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Are you looking for a serious relationship? Marriage?

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If married, would you like to start a family? Add to one already begun?

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Are you as close to your family as you’d like to be? As you need to be?

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Would you like to get to know someone in your family more deeply?

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Are there certain things you’d like to experience with your family?

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What life lessons or skills would you like to pass on to your children?

Use the box below to record everything you wish to improve in this area.


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Relationship Goals: Social Life & Friendship What changes would you like to make to your social life? As you did before, think about both your current friendships as well as those you wish to create in the future. As you do, consider the following starter questions: •

Is your current circle of friends as large as you’d like it to be?

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Is there a certain type of friend missing from that circle? Someone who shares more of your interests or beliefs?

Friendship is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

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Do you listen as much as you talk while with your friends?

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Are there things you’d like to experience with your friends?

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Do your friends play a large enough role in your life? Would you like to spend more time with them? Which ones?

Write down every idea that comes to mind when considering what you’d like to change or improve about your social life and friendships.

—Aristotle


Section Three

| 3.0 Brainstorming: Wrapping Up ONGRATULATIONS on successfully completing another stage! Before moving on to the next step in the process, use the space below to record any thoughts or ideas about things you’d like to change, improve, or achieve that didn’t fit into the previous categories.

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This final session of brainstorming will ensure that every idea in mind is given its time and place for discovery and development.

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Before this final brainstorming session can come to a complete end, you need to take a moment and repeat the process you’ve followed in the previous chapters. Review each of the ideas you’ve written down, looking closely for items that fail to be personal, powerful, possible, and proper. When such an idea is found, edit or cross it off the list. Also, bring clarity and focus to your results by connecting similar ideas that may fit into the context of a larger goal or plan.

Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed.

When finished, you will be ready to put this and each additional section of material you’ve gathered to powerful use in the stage you’ve been waiting for: Creating your goal sets.



Creating Your Goal Sets SECTION FOUR

Section Four

| 4.0 Creating Your Goal Sets T’S TIME TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER. Starting with a simple desire to live a better life, you’ve finally reached the point when your true goals and dreams can take shape and lead you down your personal path to lasting happiness and success. It’s a point constantly sought but seldom achieved.

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In the segments ahead, you are going to bring together all of the information you’ve gathered throughout each section of this course to create twenty-one specific goals within each major area of your life. When finished, you will be in possession of the goals, dreams, and ambitions that are not only built upon the qualities necessary for success but also the goals that are uniquely suited to you and your path toward fulfillment. The following information will guide you through each step of the process.

Guidelines of Your Goal Sets In the pages that follow, you’ll notice three goal sets for each major area of your life: short-term, mid-range, and long-term. Within each of those sets are slots for seven specific goals, ranging from the most important (Priority #1) to the least important of your chosen goals (Priority #7). In order to complete these sets, you’ll need two pieces of information about each of the goals you choose: When you wish to achieve them and where they rank in regard to your other choices. TIMING The first factor to consider is timing. Each of the specific goals you choose to include in your goal sets must be placed within one of three timelines. Short-Term: Goals that you wish to achieve within the next year should be recorded in the short-term goal set. Examples include a financial goal such as saving more money each month or a health goal to lose weight or lower your blood pressure.

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Mid-Range: Goals you wish to achieve within the next one to five years should be recorded in your mid-range goal set. Earning a college degree would fit into this timeline as would getting a promotion at work. Long-Term: Any specific goals you wish to accomplish that will extend beyond five years should be recorded in the long-term goal set. Examples include becoming a practicing physician, taking your company to the top of its industry, or traveling to each and every location on your must-visit list.

Look to the future, because that is where you'll spend the rest of your life. —George Burns

PRIORITIZING Along with a timeline, each goal will need to have a priority level. This will help you to invest the right amount of time on each goal among your list. High-Priority: The two goals you wish to act on before all others should be recorded at the top of your priority list. These are the goals that come to mind first, the ones you’re most driven to begin pursuing. Mid-Priority: Goals that do not require your immediate attention but still have an element of urgency should be listed between three to five on your priority list. Low-Priority: The two goals that do not call for instant action or attention but are still extremely important to you should be listed at the bottom of your priority list, as goals #6 and #7. The purpose of prioritizing your goals is not to focus on two or three important goals, while paying little attention to the rest of the items on your list. Every goal on your list must be significant and backed by an intense personal desire. Otherwise, they should not have made your list to begin with. Giving each of your goals a level of priority is merely a matter of figuring out where the bulk of your resources should be focused first, second, third, etc. Because you can’t do two things at once, it’s vital that you know where to begin. Also, it’s extremely difficult to effectively manage seven or more goals simultaneously. In essence, it’s a matter of dividing and conquering. When a top-priority goal has been accomplished, every goal on your list will move up in priority and receive increased time and attention until each of your initial choices are complete. After this occurs, a new set can take its place.

Before You Begin… What lies ahead is the heart of the program, the point at which all that you’ve discovered is focused it into clear, concise, and compelling goals.


SECTION IV: CREATING YOUR GOAL SETS | 179

To ensure the best possible outcome, your initial task is to turn back the pages and review everything you’ve learned throughout each section of the course, including your inventories, exercises, and brainstorming sessions. When you return and are ready to begin recording your chosen goals, there are several factors to bear in mind. First, the ideas you write down must be clear and specific goals, not vague desires about something you want.

Change is the end result of all true learning. —Leo Buscaglia

The previous section was designed to open the floodgates of your mind and release every idea you had, regardless of whether or not it was a clear or even coherent thought. However, now is the time for clarity and detail. After recording your goals, there should be no confusion about what you want. Where “saving more money” would satisfy a brainstorming session, it would not fit here. Instead, the goal would need to be narrowed into a specific target such as “saving $1,000 within the next six months.” Where “getting a promotion” would offer a positive starting point while brainstorming, the actual goal recorded would need greater clarification and detail such as “earning a promotion to head of sales and marketing within two and a half years.” While the goal sets that follow are no place for brainstorming, it is a common practice to spend additional time developing your ideas until they reach the point of clarity necessary to be recorded to one of your goal lists. If you find a certain idea that requires refinement or focus—or discover new ideas not yet considered—continue your brainstorming session on a blank course page or sheet of loose-leaf paper until you feel ready to return here with the finished product in hand. Second, it is not necessary to fill each and every goal slot provided. If only three short-term career goals have been uncovered, fill in only three slots. With your time being limited, it’s vital that you focus only on what you truly desire. Finally, don’t be excessively concerned with making mistakes or misjudgments about the goals you choose. If a certain objective doesn’t pan out, simply cross it off your list and move on. If you think of additional elements to include in the future, factor them in. This is and always will be a work in progress. You’re now ready to begin. Review the work you’ve completed up to this point and return with specific targets to record in the goal sets that follow.


IDENTITY GOAL SET | 180

Short-Term Goals

| 4.1 Identity Goals: Short-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT short-term identity goals in the slots below. Begin by listing your highest-priority goal in the first position and work your way down the list, completing the set with your lowest-ranking item. Remember to be as specific as possible.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Mid-Range Goals

| 4.1 Identity Goals: Mid-Range ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT mid-range identity goals in the slots below. These are the things you wish to accomplish within the next one to five years in the areas of character and personality, skills and abilities, and personal experiences.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Long-Term Goals

| 4.1 Identity Goals: Long-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT long-term identity goals in the slots below. These are objectives you wish to achieve that will take five or more years to accomplish. Even though these goals reach far into the future, it’s still vital to be as specific as possible.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7


HEALTH GOAL SET | 183

Short-Term Goals

| 4.2 Health Goals: Short-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT short-term health goals in the slots below, things you wish to change or improve about your health within the next year. Consider your physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual health as you record your choices.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Mid-Range Goals

| 4.2 Health Goals: Mid-Range ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT mid-range health goals in the slots below. Be sure to take your time as you piece together this goal set, reviewing your inventories, exercise results, and brainstorming sessions as needed.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Long-Term Goals

| 4.2 Health Goals: Long-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT long-term health goals in the slots below. Which health targets would you like to pursue in the years ahead? Returning to your ideal physique? Overcoming a major setback to regain a healthy mental and emotional state? Life-altering spirituality?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7


CAREER GOAL SET | 186

Short-Term Goals

| 4.3 Career Goals: Short-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT short-term career goals in the slots below. Remember to consider both goals you have within your current position as well as any dreams you have about making a change and pursuing a new direction.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Mid-Range Goals

| 4.3 Career Goals: Mid-Range ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT mid-range career goals in the slots below. What are the things you most want to change or accomplish in regard to your career within the next one to five years? Are you going to improve your current position or choose a different path?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Long-Term Goals

| 4.3 Career Goals: Long-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT long-term career goals in the slots below. Examples include major work projects, the founding and developing a new corporation, or working toward long-range benchmarks of departmental or overall business growth.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7


FINANCIAL GOAL SET | 189

Short-Term Goals

| 4.4 Financial Goals: Short-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT short-term financial goals in the slots below. With your standard of living, savings and safety net, investments, retirement years, and philanthropic pursuits in mind, what do you most want to change or achieve within the next year?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Mid-Range Goals

| 4.4 Financial Goals: Mid-Range ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT mid-range financial goals in the slots below. The categories remain the same, but the timeline has been extended to one to five years. While it might take a little extra homework on your part, use exact facts and figures wherever possible.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Long-Term Goals

| 4.4 Financial Goals: Long-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT long-term financial goals in the slots below. While the timeline is much greater than before, it is still critical to be detailed and specific with the goals you choose to record below. What are you going to achieve in this area five years or more from now?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7


RELATIONSHIP GOAL SET | 192

Short-Term Goals

| 4.5 Relationship Goals: Short-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT short-term relationship goals in the slots below. What exactly are you fully committed to developing or improving about your family relationships or friendships within the next 365 days?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Mid-Range Goals

| 4.5 Relationship Goals: Mid-Range ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT mid-range relationship goals in the slots below. With your inventory, exercise, and brainstorming material in mind, what do you want to change or accomplish in regard to your relationships within one to five years?

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7



Long-Term Goals

| 4.5 Relationship Goals: Long-Term ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT long-term relationship goals in the slots below. What specific outcomes do you want to experience within this area that will take place five years or more from today? Review your previous course material to ensure nothing is overlooked.

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PRIORITY #1

PRIORITY #2

PRIORITY #3

PRIORITY #4

PRIORITY #5

PRIORITY #6

PRIORITY #7


Miscellaneous

MISCELLANEOUS GOAL SET | 195

| 4.6 Miscellaneous Goal Set ECORD YOUR SEVEN MOST IMPORTANT goals that don’t fit into one of the previous categories in the slots below. As you can see, two have been provided for short-term goals, two for mid-range targets, and the final three for the miscellaneous long-term goals and dreams you hold.

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SHORT-TERM

SHORT-TERM

MID-RANGE

MID-RANGE

LONG-TERM

LONG-TERM

LONG-TERM


Section Four

| 4.0 Creating Your Goal Sets: Wrapping Up TARTING WITH A DESIRE for more and a willingness to act, you now have what so many seek: A specific list of goals, dreams, and ambitions uniquely suited to you and your needs that is guaranteed to bring you the lasting happiness and fulfillment you have always wanted to experience.

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This step in itself is a remarkable achievement. More often than not, people think about changing or improving their lives, and that’s exactly where it ends. Without following through on the process, their true goals and dreams are left undiscovered and unable to give them the kind of life they desire. You chose a different route. You’ve set yourself apart from the rest and took the steps necessary to uncover the path of personal fulfillment for which you were always meant. But you’re not done yet. A written goal is an excellent beginning, but it is only a beginning. To guarantee a successful outcome for each of your chosen ideas, something more is required. The final stage of this course will walk you, step by step, through the process of bringing your goals and dreams to life, ensuring not only consistent progress but also their eventual achievement.

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Bringing Your Ideas to Life SECTION FIVE

Section Five

| 5.0 Bringing Your Ideas to Life ELCOME TO THE FIFTH AND FINAL STAGE. Making it this far into the course offers clear proof that you have what it takes to create the life you’ve always wanted to experience; you’re an individual of desire and action, a combination essential for lifelong success.

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However, obstacles remain. The reality of the goal-setting process clearly demonstrates a pattern that must be broken if you are to consistently attain the goals and outcomes you’re just developed. While few reach the point of written goals, even less move beyond it. Having a set of clear and authentic goals on paper isn’t enough to guarantee their success. In fact, this is where nine out of ten goals remain—on paper. And it’s not difficult to understand why this happens so frequently. The very nature of people draws them into routines and patterns; most do what they’ve always done, remaining right where they’ve always been. Working toward and achieving a goal requires a change in this pattern, which forces most of your desires into the position of having to fight for their lives. If your patterns are able to resist change, anything new will simply be pushed to the side in place of the familiar and comfortable. In short order, the goals and dreams you worked to uncover will become distant memories. And the pattern will continue. For a small number of individuals, however, the pattern is broken and the goals they choose leap from the page and land as permanent fixtures in their lives. And it all begins with the process of establishment. A written goal is too easily forgotten, too easily pushed aside by routine. Merely closing the covers of this book erases all traces of its existence. This is a fate shared by far too many worthwhile and admirable ideas. By firmly

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establishing a chosen goal in your life, you can avoid this painful outcome and ensure your plans have the foundation necessary to remain free from the grips of routine and forever at the front of your mind. The remaining chapters will guide you through the five-step process of establishment. By putting each to work with your chosen goals and ambitions, you can quickly transform the written word into living, breathing ideas. And it all begins with a choice.

Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation. —Robert H. Schuller


Establish 1

| 5.1 Name Your Target N ESTABLISHED GOAL—one that takes a permanent place in your life and gathers consistent momentum and progress—begins with a single element: a name. With a clear and concise statement of what you want, the remaining pieces of the puzzle can quickly and easily fall into place.

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This initial stage of establishment is critical to your success because it quickly achieves the focus necessary for progress. Attempting to tackle all of your goals simultaneously would not only extend the timelines of these ideas by many months or years but also prove too overwhelming for any one person to handle. Instead, you must bring your time, attention, and energy into focus and direct them toward a single objective. As your confidence and skill in this area grow, you can add to the number of goals you pursue at a given time. Until then, the most effective and efficient way to build your ability to change and improve is to grasp only one idea and see it through to the end.

Choose Your Goal Return to your goal sets and review the top priority items for each category and timeline. To ensure the right choice is made, take as much time as you need to locate your single most important goal. This is the one thing that stands above all others in terms of desire, enthusiasm, and drive. Hopefully, any selection you make from within your goal sets will naturally contain the qualities of clarity and specificity. However, given the importance of these elements, it’s advisable to double-check your choice to ensure it is as precise as possible. Beginning with a vague idea will leave you with nowhere to go.

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For instance, the desire “to become more successful” will do you little good. “Success” could mean any number of different things, and with that many directions in which to head, you’ll be too confused to take the first step. The result you’re after is to write down a goal of such clarity and focus that anyone reading its name would instantly know what you wanted. In place of “to become more successful,” the outcomes below contain the necessary detail:

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape. —Chinese Proverb

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To make the dean’s list in my next semester of schooling.

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To earn $100,000 in gross income in the next fiscal year.

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To spend five hours of quality time with my son next weekend.

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To lose fifteen pounds within the next six months.

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To travel to Italy during the upcoming summer.

After reviewing your goal sets and selecting your number-one priority goal from the lists, record it below. If it isn’t already in a concise form, remove unnecessary words or phrases to leave you with the essence of what you want.

Is it as clear as possible? Not just specific, but super-specific? If so, you’re now ready to continue to the second step in the process of establishment.


Establish 2

| 5.2 Define Your Destination OUR GOAL NOW HAS A NAME—a simple statement that gets to the heart of what you want. The next step is to give it a face. But not just any face will do. It must be one of great depth and detail and one that shares the full story of what you’re after.

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Those who consistently achieve success in life know their goals inside and out, clearly understanding every feature and facet of what they entail. It’s one of the most important keys to their inner drive. The more you know about what’s to come, the more compelled you are to make it happen. The questions are now put to you: What are the details of your desire? What will it take for you to feel that you have succeeded? For instance, imagine your goal is to become a public speaker. The name of your goal would be something like… “I want to become a public speaker to help teens avoid drugs and alcohol.” This is a fairly specific name, but what is the full story? •

By when do you want to be ready to deliver your speeches?

•

How many talks do you want to give per year?

•

To what groups and organizations do you wish to speak?

•

How long do you wish each talk to be?

•

Is this going to be a full-time or part-time endeavor?

•

In what parts of the country are you going to share your message?

•

What, exactly, will your talks cover? Specific drugs? Specific situations? Specific behaviors?

With questions like these in mind, it should be easy to see just how important it is to know the full story of what you want. Without taking the time to cover these

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points, how would you know if you were making progress toward your goal? How would you know what to do and in which direction to head each day? Along with guiding you forward, drawing out the details of your desire offers yet another method of transforming your goal from a thought in mind and on paper into a living, breathing entity. As you build and develop the story of your goal, you will begin to think of it as a future reality and no longer a potential or possibility.

Define Your Goal

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.

Using the space provided below, write out the full story of your chosen goal, describing in detail all that it entails. As opposed to the naming of your goal, which involved a short and sweet summation of what you wanted, this is the time to expand and expound on your desire. Give this process as much time as it requires. Now may be your first experience with this particular goal or the first time you’ve had to define and describe it in detail. Therefore, resist turning the page until the full story is down in ink.

—L. Tomlin


Establish 3

| 5.3 Your First Steps Forward OW THAT YOUR GOAL is named and defined, a plan of action can be created. This step is important for two reasons. To begin, it gives you the opportunity to logically think out the steps you need to take as opposed to doing whatever comes naturally at the moment, actions that rarely lead you down the right path.

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Equally important, planning out the actions of your goal is another method to ensuring it never fades into an idea you had “once upon a time.” As you know, this is the nature of most goals. They begin—and end—as ideas on a page. Without reaching the stage of planning, they are as good as gone. By taking control of the process and consciously and critically planning out your actions in advance, you can rest assured that your most important goals will never fade into memories of things once desired.

Five Steps at a Time With most goals, creating an entire plan from start to finish is impossible; so much of what you must do down the road depends on the outcomes of actions you take tomorrow. It’s a process of constant change and adjustment and one that cannot be easily predicted. It’s with this in mind that the number of steps to plan in advance has been limited to the first five things you must do. When you complete these, repeat the process and plan out your next fives steps and so on and so forth until the final one is taken, always remembering to track your results and adjust your path as needed. Along with identifying specific actions, effectively planning your steps requires a timeline to keep you on schedule and free from the web of procrastination. Ideally, an exact day and time should be attached to each step. However, if a particular action cannot be precisely timed, narrow it down as best you can to a specific moment in the days, weeks, or months ahead.

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Your First Five Steps: Record your first series of specific actions that will bring you closer to achieving your goal in the boxes below. To reach the level of clarity needed, write out your plan as if you were detailing instructions for another person to follow. STEP 1

Little strokes fell great oaks. —Benjamin Franklin

Schedule:

STEP 2

Schedule:

STEP 3

Schedule:

STEP 4

Schedule:

STEP 5

Schedule:


Establish 4

| 5.4 See It to Believe It T THIS POINT IN THE PROCESS, your chosen goal is clearly named, defined, and partially planned—but can you actually see it? This is the next step in establishing your idea. By seeing your goal, both inside and out, you can add another dimension of reality to your desire and ensure it remains the focus of your thoughts, never to be lost or forgotten.

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The benefits of seeing the outcome you’re working toward in your mind or in the outside world cannot be overstated. When done effectively and efficiently, it can be as if the goal has already been achieved and you merely need to seal the deal with action. The process of seeing your goal can be carried out in one of two ways: internally and externally. In other words, success can be seen in your mind’s eye through the use of your imagination or with your physical sight using visual cues or reminders. Brought together, these two techniques will provide your goal with a much more powerful foundation, constant source of motivation, and the ongoing momentum you need to achieve the end result.

Using Your Imagination We all picture things in our minds. From thinking about that special someone or the tropical island that begins calling your name during the winter months to what you’re going to make for dinner, people make constant and consistent use of their imaginations. There’s just one problem: Most people leave this remarkably powerful tool entirely up to chance and circumstance. Without controlling the process, images can jump in and out without notice or, even worse, painful memories can’t seem to be stopped from replaying again and again. Fortunately, there is a simple way to reverse those patterns.

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When you consciously choose them, the images and thoughts in your mind can literally work wonders for you. They can serve as an infinite resource of strength, confidence, and drive. In addition, the process also serves as a litmus test. If you can’t see yourself achieving your goal, chances are good that you’ll never make it happen in the real world. However, the opposite is also true. The greater your skill at imagining success, the easier you’ll find it to achieve the real thing. With these benefits in hand, it’s time to make use of your imagination.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. —Henry Ford

For maximum results, a relaxed state of mind is needed, completely free of stress and worry. After all, it will be impossible to control your imagination if a stream of thoughts is rushing through your mind, eating away at your attention. To remedy this problem, the imagination process will begin with a simple relaxation routine to free your body of tension and your mind of distraction. STEP #1: REST & RELAX The first step is to seek out the most comfortable place in your home or office, perhaps your favorite chair, corner on the couch, or even lying flat on the floor. After settling in, close your eyes and take ten deep breaths using the following sequence: inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, and exhale for eight. Coupled with this process is an easy and effective way to rid your mind of distraction. For each breath you take, picture a giant shot clock in your mind, much like the ones used in a basketball game. Upon the first breath, the shot clock should read “10.” As you take your next breath, see the clock tick down to “9.” Continue this countdown until your final exhale. If you allow another thought to enter your mind and distract you during the process, start over until you can count down without interruption. When finished, imagine that your feet are heavy blocks, growing heavier and heavier with each passing second, sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. Continue this from your feet all the way up to your head. After completing these steps you will be in a relaxed state of body and focused state of mind, ready to use your imagination. STEP #2: THE IMAGINATION PROCESS With your mind a blank canvas, picture yourself taking the actions necessary to achieve your goal, making the experience as realistic and vivid as possible. If you were our professional speaker from the previous example, for instance, you would imagine yourself piecing together your talks, walking the stage, and delivering your address to a packed house.



It’s been said many times throughout this program, but detail is needed here more than ever before. However, in this case “detail” needs to be taken a step further. For instance, instead of merely seeing your general surroundings, you need to feel the air against your skin and the ground under your feet, even the exact color of the grass below and sky above. This level of detail is needed for one reason: You must convince your mind and nervous system that what you’re imagining is actually taking place. Achieving this result will deliver three powerful benefits.

You will never find time for anything. You must make it. —Charles Burton

First, your confidence will soar. When the time comes for actual action, your mind will have previous experience with the situation and allow you to more easily follow through regardless of nerves or fear. Second, it will also help to keep your goals and dreams from being overtaken by the small things in life that have a tendency to steal away your time, energy, and attention. Finally, it will increase your drive and motivation. Experiencing the feelings of progress and success before they take place will provide you with a sense of incentive and excitement about what’s to come. The more compelling your pictures, the stronger your drive to bring them to life. To further increase the impact and power of the process, picture each sequence of events through your own eyes and not as a bystander. This means our speaker would see the audience through his or her own eyes, glancing down to see the microphone and smiling faces. Along with imagining yourself taking the actions necessary for success, it’s vital that you also imagine the moment of achievement, the time when you finally take the last step and attain your target. As before, make the scene alive and vivid, full of color, excitement, and action. Run through this process several times a week, especially before you go to sleep. Doing so will allow your mind to integrate these thoughts into your subconscious and search for solutions to possible obstacles as you sleep. With the path of achievement clear and alive inside your mind, it’s time to turn your attention to creating the same benefits in the world around you.

Utilizing the Power of Pictures Pictures hold power. A moment or two paging through an old family photo album is enough to convince anyone of that. From seeing your newborn baby to leafing through old college memories, the things we see affect us mentally, emotionally, and physically.



This, of course, includes not only photographs but also physical objects or symbols. They hold the same power, for the sight of a particular item can immediately recall powerful memories that speak directly to your heart and mind. Both types of visuals—pictures and objects—are capable of bringing out the full range of emotions within us, from happiness and exhilaration to sadness and even fear. And with this power comes great opportunity.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. —Theodore Roosevelt

By surrounding yourself with pictures and symbols that represent your goal, the internal drive you need to achieve success will instantly and effortlessly be triggered every time your eyes take them in. With a simple glance around the room, every reason you need to take action will immediately come to mind. The motivational power of visuals is behind the boxer putting up a picture of his opponent in the locker room or the struggling musician hanging up posters of his favorite band in the garage. Seeing pictures or symbols that represent the achievement of your goal will inspire and motivate you to do what it takes to bring these visions to life. They will say everything you need to hear without speaking a word. As an added benefit, the use of visuals in your environment will help to remedy the problem of distraction, clutter, and chaos. The small tasks and endless to-do lists often push the more important things in life to the side. However, with the right pictures and objects placed in the right areas of your home, car, office, or any other frequented location, you’ll never forget what you truly want and why you want it. When it comes to putting this method to use, the options are endless. Anything that brings your goal to mind is fair game. This includes pictures from magazines, newspapers, newsletters, the Internet, photo albums, junk mail, books, and any other sources that offer visual links or representations of your goal. For greater control over the pictures used, you can take photos with your own camera that get right to the heart of what your goal means to you. The same is true for physical objects or symbols. From a hopeful medical student hanging up a stethoscope in her room to a newly-licensed teenager carrying around an empty Ford key chain as he works toward purchasing his first car, any object or symbol that instantly brings your goal to mind is the perfect choice.



STEP #1: COMPILE YOUR LIST Putting this method to work involves two steps. The first is to compile a list of specific pictures and objects that instantly bring to mind your chosen goal. This will make the second step of the process—collecting your visuals—a much easier task to complete. With your chosen goal in mind, use the space below to record and describe every picture or physical object you can think of that will serve as a powerful motivator and constant reminder.

The secret of success is consistency of purpose.

ITEM #1

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—Benjamin Disraeli ITEM #3

ITEM #4

ITEM #5

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ITEM #7



STEP #2: COLLECT & PLACE Once your list of visuals is complete, you’re ready to collect and place them in high-traffic areas such as the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, automobile, office, etc. Because of their constant use, purses and wallets also make for effective choices.

Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure. —Earl Wilson

Additionally, you’ll want to place certain items in goal-appropriate locations. For instance, visuals connected to a healthy-eating goal would go well in the kitchen or home gym just as a career-related symbol would be effective in your car (to see on your way to work) or on your office desk. Along with placing your pictures or symbols around the home or office, collecting a handful of your most powerful visuals in a binder or album is a simple and effective way to instantly get the boost of motivation you need anytime, anywhere. With the visuals in mind and the pictures and objects in hand, you’re ready to take the fifth and final step of establishing your goal.


Establish 5

| 5.5 Spread the Word P TO THIS POINT, it’s possible that you are the only person who knows about your chosen goal. Believe it or not, this is often the case with most people regardless of how long they’ve been tossing the idea around in their heads. We’re quick to share complains, but slow to share goals and dreams.

U

And while the reluctance to put your ideas up for public scrutiny is understandable, the benefits of spreading the word are too great to pass up. First and foremost among those benefits is the fact that friends and family, once alerted to your plans, won’t soon forget them. No matter the obstacle, no matter the challenge ahead, those who care for you and your future won’t easily let you off the hook once you’ve committed to a direction. They’ll constantly seek updates on your progress and ask about the details of your next step. They’ll keep the goal alive even when you don’t have the energy to do so. A second advantage of sharing your goals and dreams with others has little to do with their reaction and everything to do with yours. Sharing your plans with another person offers, in effect, proof that you are serious about your goal. We all daydream and wish for better things, but taking the step to actually share a specific idea with another person brings it to a whole new level. You’ll know, without a doubt, this is more than a daydream. Finally, some of the world’s greatest ideas were triggered or developed through conversation. Thinking as a single unit cannot achieve the same results as a group that communicates and interacts, speaking of and responding to the ideas at hand with excitement and enthusiasm. By sharing your plans with family and friends, you’ll quickly multiply the brainpower behind your goal, gaining new thoughts, ideas, insights, solutions, and approaches you never would have otherwise considered.

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ESTABLISHMENT: SPREAD THE WORD | 213

Choose Your Team If you’re thinking about sharing your ideas with the first person that comes to mind, think again. Choosing the wrong people can do more than waste your time; it can quickly backfire and actually bring your goal to an untimely end. As unfortunate as it is, not everyone will be happy to hear that you are going to make a change for the better; personal insecurities in others can trigger subconscious resentment and even fear about your desire for improvement.

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. —Ryunosuke Satoro

If you change and grow while they stay the same, the thought arises that you will no longer need them and leave them behind. In effect, they will try to hold you back in order to keep from losing you. Choosing the right people involves seeking out those who have already proven to be sources of encouragement and support, people who applaud your victories and offer helpful advice when setbacks occur. Consider specific experiences in your past interactions with your possible choices. When hearing about another person’s plans for improvement, did they immediately go on the offensive and attack with criticism or respond with excitement at the prospect and offer constructive ideas to help things along? In the end, it comes down to choosing those who will help you up while avoiding those who wish to keep things right where they are. After taking time to fully consider your choices, list the five individuals that you feel will positively impact the path toward your goal in the slots below. Keep in mind, you are not looking for mere cheerleaders; you need to be challenged and pushed just as much as you need to be applauded.

INDIVIDUAL #1

INDIVIDUAL #2

INDIVIDUAL #3

INDIVIDUAL #4

INDIVIDUAL #5


ESTABLISHMENT: SPREAD THE WORD | 214

Tell Your Story As you contact the people from your list, be sure to create a team atmosphere. Not everyone is ready and willing to sit quietly as you speak without end, but everyone likes to feel valued for their thoughts, opinions, and advice. To get the most out of this experience, keep three things in mind. First, meet in a location that is free of noise and distraction. A focused environment will make sure you and your partner are able to immediately get to work and accomplish as much as possible in the time given.

If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.

Second, it’s vital that you not only share your plans but also listen in return. You may be excited about everything you have to say, but the success of this process depends upon both parties being heard. Leave room for questions and comments, and seriously consider the advice you receive. Finally, leave the door wide open for future talks and updates. The key is to create an ongoing relationship between you, your chosen few, and your plans for the future.

—Isaac Newton Congratulations on establishing your first goal! Beginning as an idea in your mind, it’s now a concrete fixture in your life, built upon a foundation of lasting strength and support. All that’s left is to put your five-step plan into action, measure and learn from your results, and repeat the plan-to-action process until the success you desire is yours. At that point, you’ll be ready to establish and achieve the remaining goals, dreams, and ambitions on your lists.


Conclusion

| A New Beginning… OU MAY HAVE REACHED THE END of this course, but a new and exciting future is just now beginning. From taking inventory of where you stand now to taking action toward the things you want in the future, all that you have done throughout this course once again clearly shows that the qualities necessary for lasting success and true happiness are within you.

Y

You did more than wish and hope—you took action. This rare ability, coupled with the goals and dreams you’ve uncovered throughout the program, are all that you need to create the life you’ve always wanted to experience. Let this conclusion serve as a new starting point. The preparation is complete: You know what you want and in which directions to head. Now is the time to put those goals and dreams in motion and live life the way it was meant to be lived. Best of health, happiness, and success to you and yours in the future…

I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. —Henry David Thoreau

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Notes & Ideas

| Additional Notes

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Notes & Ideas

ADDITIONAL NOTES | 217

Additional Notes


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