Smarter Goal SettingInformation tips and resources for all your goal setting and self improvement needs

What separates those who succeed and those who live their lives feeling that things could have been better?

Can anyone achieve their dream? Having a clear strategy can help you make your dream a reality.  It isn’t rocket science, or magic.  Take the following steps and fulfil your dream.  Make it your reality.

The first step is to understand that in order to achieve success you must take action.  Inertia is the most common reason for lack of success!

What is your dream?  Your goals for the future?  What do you want to achieve in your life in the next week? month? year? 5 years? What would you like people to remember you for after you have left this world?

Think big – challenge yourself.  Reach for the stars!

Be clear about where you are now.  Audit your strengths and areas for development

What needs to be done to eliminate the gap between your dream and the reality?

Prioritize – Look for quick wins, consider those things which will have maximum long term impact.  Build solid foundations, think of sustainability!

Set challenging but realistic targets. Aim high.

Communicate your vision, and keep doing so.  Ensure that all stake holders understand and subscribe to the same vision.

Who do you need to involve?  How will you ensure they sign up to and stay committed to the vision?

Think about the language you use – sound positive, if others think you are confident it can be achieved they will gain confidence too.  Develop a “Can do” mentality within your staff.  For every problem there is a solution, encourage others to see themselves as problem solvers not problem givers.

Create clear lines of communication which operate at every level and in all directions.

Break each priority down into small achievable steps, involve your team.

Who needs to do what – by when?  Set a timetable

Identify the roles and responsibilities for all staff; ensure that staff take ownership without creating a “jobs worth” approach.

Ensure that people are appropriately trained and that training is constantly updated.

Build in the monitoring and review process from the start so you can evaluate performance and be prepared to adjust as necessary.  (By creating a culture of development rather than blame huge potential will be released.)

Celebrate success! and remember to thank people for their contribution, give credit where it due and be generous with it.

Develop professional honesty within your staff, constructive feed back can be invaluable.

Finally leave your ego behind as it will simply get in the way of your success.

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“Do you need to be inspired to aspire or do you need an aspiration to get inspired?”

“Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

No matter how this topic is tackled, the question remains a mystery.

“Do you need to be inspired to aspire or do you need an aspiration to get inspired?”

The same holds true for the second question. Others may argue that in order to have a strong desire to achieve something, you must be inspired. On the other hand, some argue that for you to be inspired, you may need to aspire first.

This is very much like the chicken and the egg question, right? There is no definite answer. Concerning inspiration vs. aspiration, the best course of action is to discover how to get people inspired, rather than focus on which is the right answer. For some people, inspiration helps them stay motivated and become an achiever.

So, how do people get inspired?

The feeling of frustration forces some to seek inspiration. Some need to experience unpleasant circumstances to trigger an inspiration. This path may not be at all pleasant. But who says that the road to greater achievement is always smooth sailing?

Take for instance the case of an average earner. He just earns enough to make a family survive. On his way to work, he could see other people barely having three square meals a day, hardly having anything to keep them warm on a cold night, practically living on a roofless shanty with paper boards as walls. He wanted to help but can’t.

He feels helpless for he can’t do anything to alleviate their condition. This feeling of helplessness urged him to promise himself that his family will never experience extreme poverty. This feeling of frustration inspired him to aspire for a better life for himself and for his family. His fear that his family might end up like one of the economically challenged people makes him determined to do something about improving his financial stability.

Someone who is successful can be an effective source of inspiration. People tend to look up to somebody who has reached the top. They wonder how it is to be like their idol, so they set themselves on a course headed in their idol’s direction. They study their idol’s past and how he was able to overcome all adversities.

People who wish to be inspired associate with successful people. Successful people have big ambitions. Being ambitious and dreaming big dreams can keep the inspiration alive. Being ambitious is actually good as long as you do not step on other people’s toes and provides inspiration to fellow men.

A strong desire can trigger people to get inspired and aspire for it. Again, stay within the confines of good fellowship, not hurting anybody along the way. Some people desire popularity. They aspire to be well known in society. They set their sights higher and aim to be recognized and respected.

Love is a strong motivator. There was once a man who pursued his love interest. He was able to get married to the girl of his dreams. His love for his wife motivated him to do his best in his job to provide for his growing family. Love provided the spark and nurtured his dreams to aspire for the best that life has to offer for him and his family.

Many sources of inspiration can help you in achieving success in life. Arguing about whichever comes first – whether inspiration or aspiration – is not one of them. The important thing is to find your true source of inspiration and to remain focused in the achievement of your goals.

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Motivation is the driving force behind life-enhancing change. It comes from knowing exactly what you want to do and having an insatiable, burning desire to do what’s necessary to get it. It keeps your dream on track as it is the power of motivation that keeps you going when the going gets tough.
Here’s 5 top tips to help you supercharge your motivation:

1. Create a picture board and fill it with images of your desired goals. The car you want to own, the house you want to live in, the area where you want to live yes, they’re the obvious ones. Others could be pictures of holiday destinations, trophies, first-class travel tickets, clothes you want to buy, fine restaurants you want to frequent – whatever you can think of that gets your pulse racing.

2. GET ANGRY. If you want to change your life for the better then get angry about where you’re at now. Having a blasé attitude towards change isn’t what’s needed and it won’t create a strong desire within you. So ask: “Why do I want to change?” Is it because you’re FED UP with debts? Does your job DRIVE YOU CRAZY? Is your life DULL AND PRECITABLE? Are you SICK AND TIRED of doing the same thing week in week out? Are you BORED BEYOND BELIEF by the dull, uninspiring, unhappy people you associate with? THEN GET ANGRY ABOUT IT. And I mean REAL ANGRY. Write it all down, all of the frustrating, unrewarding, miserable lot of it that makes every day a dull slog until your final days. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?

3. Speaking of your final days, start to appreciate the value of time. Time is one of the most precious resources you have and it is also a NON RENEWABLE resource. You can either use it fully or squander it. If you want to create change you’re going to have to invest a lot of time to make it happen. Start to reduce the time you waste on irrelevancies: Television, newspapers, lie-ins, weekends spent shopping, partying, dining out, visiting an endless line of relatives and friends – these won’t help you get what you want and all of them will rob time from you. Valuable time that you can use much more effectively by investing it in YOU. Remember this: You have a finite amount of time here on Earth. You don’t know how much time you have – no one does. But it’s how you use the time you have that counts. So make your time count and that means starting from right NOW.

4. Conformity. Are you a mindless little sheep who’s way too timid to pursue your own way? Do you have to follow where everyone else goes, doing exactly what everyone else does and therefore, who gets the same levels of happiness as all the other little sheep? Seriously, does this describe YOU? Are you too frightened to be different than all of the other sheep because they wouldn’t like it if you decided to follow a different path? So you dutifully trot along following all the other sheep because if they’re doing it then that’s how it is right? But if you do what everyone else does you’ll just get what everyone else gets. Do you want to be a mindless, timid little sheep who blindly follows all the other sheep? Or do you want to be a leader, a warrior who possesses the courage to be uniquely you and to do what you want to do and make your dreams happen? If so then this means you have to be more like a tiger than a sheep. Do you really want to be a sheep? I mean, haven’t we got enough sheep already?

5. Fear your fear. Fear is the force that is determined to stop you in your tracks and rob your dreams from you. But it can only do this if you let it. Are you going to let this cruel destructive charlatan trample on your dreams, steal your happiness and crush your spirit? Imagine this thought haunting your final days: “I didn’t do the things I wanted because I was too frightened to live”. And by then, it’ll be far too late to conquer fear. Refuse to let fear spoil your life and start taking action – now!

The world is waiting for your unique gifts. Why keep it waiting any longer?

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Let’s face it. Life can be difficult. It just can be. Work pressures mount, family demands become overwhelming, health suffers, stress builds. This article shows you how to surround yourself with inspiration and keep your life on track.

Copyright 2006 Cari Vollmer

Let’s face it. Life can be difficult. It just can be. Work pressures mount, family demands become overwhelming, health suffers, stress builds.

I have to admit, it happens to me and when it does, when life gets to be too much or too hard, I put up a “CLOSED for business” sign and seek out a little inspiration.

Inspiration looks good (a beautiful photograph), smells good (a bed of roses), sounds good (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) and feels good (family photographs, your favorite movie or book).

Surrounding yourself with inspiration helps you get and keep your life on track because it returns you to YOUR spirit – to your center. When you feel inspired, it’s a sign you’re touching a place deep within yourself. From this place, you can create, plan, and simply live a life that feels better. And when you feel better, everything runs a bit more smoothly, creativity increases, things get done, you feel happier.

1. Inspiration is Heart Opening.  Think about the last time you read an inspiring story. Did your heart feel 10 times bigger than normal? Inspiration opens your heart and when your heart is open you become more accepting of yourself and others. You feel more patient. Your general outlook improves. Connecting with your heart reduces stress.

2. Inspiration Inspires Greatness.  Have you ever seen a beautiful painting and had the urge to stop by your nearest art supply store for a canvas and oil paints? Inspiring works of art touch within us our innate desire to create art that’s unique to us. (art = an outward expression of your deepest joy)

3. Inspiration Calms and Restores Nature.  Fresh air. Wide open spaces. Sunny, hot beaches. Don’t you already feel more relaxed? Exactly! Mother Nature is ready and willing to share her inspired works of art with us. She’s made it highly accessible and totally free!

4. Inspiration Energizes and Refreshes.  How did you feel watching Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France for the 7th time? Did it make you want to jump on your bike for a 2400 hundred mile bike ride on steep mountain roads? Maybe! Did it make you want to do something greater with your life? Inspiration is powerful because it touches the part of us that knows, deep inside, we’re made for so much more.

5. Inspiration Spreads Joy.  Inspiration makes you feel good. Just think of the last inspiring chain-email you received and passed on with a note that said, “I never do this but I had to share this with you!” When you feel good, when the joy in you comes alive, and you share your joy with others, you impact the world in a thousand positive ways.

The next time life feels difficult, put up a “CLOSED for business sign” and get out for a little inspiration. You’ll love the results.

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An important part of success in life is the ability to lead. It is important that we not only be able to lead others but be willing to lead ourselves. No one succeeds in life by simply following others. Sometimes we simply must strike a bold new path for ourselves…..

Being a good leader is more than simply being at the forefront of the crowd. A leader must act. Too often in America, we simply accept that someone looks or sounds like a leader and too rarely do we actually look at the actions that leader performs — and that is the true test of leadership.

However, in order to become good leaders ourselves, we need to concentrate on actions rather than simple appearances. The title of this article refers to eight steps, but do not think of these as progressive steps like so many recipes or instruction manuals describe. Instead, think of these as actions that you must take on a regular basis.

First, be alert to new potentials. “Reality” is not absolute but rather subject to constant change. Think about inventors, explorers, and agents of social change who have achieved greatness. Some might simply say that certain people are successful because they are lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Maybe so, but if they hadn’t had their eyes open for the opportunity, then it wouldn’t have mattered if they were in the right place.

Second, accept inspiration from wherever it comes; even your opponents. The wisest leaders constantly study their competition. In war, politics, and business we constantly see examples of this research and reconnaissance. Too many times though a certain study, many concentrate on finding a weakness to exploit. If you want to a be a leader of positive change don’t fall victim to this trend. Instead, if you find a weakness, make sure to avoid that pitfall yourself. If you find the strength then find a way to strengthen your own qualities to match.

Third, learn something new and promote in new ways every day. This means you must continually seek to expand your horizons, internally and externally. Feed your mind with new lessons and knowledge, but constantly expand your social horizons as well. Seek out and meet new people and immerse yourself in new social situations. You never know when these new experiences will help you in your leadership role.

Fourth, search for and find answers in subtle clues. Look beneath the surface and constantly question. This is an extension of the third step in that you are seeking new knowledge. But this also means that you will need to step off the traditional paths of knowledge. Don’t simply read books in the literary canon or the bestsellers list. Take seminars rather than classes as there is more room for questioning and debate. Seek out the unconventional thinkers, teachers, and writers.

Fifth, improvise if no existing solutions are available. No excuses. Necessity is the mother of invention. How do you know it won’t work if you’ve never tried it before? Remember, not all approaches need to come from the front. Look at your problem from all sides and systematically attempt different solutions in various combinations.

Six, make at least one person you care about happy every day. If you make it a point to be thoughtful and caring for one person every day then soon this thoughtful, caring behavior will become a habit and that habit will spread to the others around you. Making someone else happy also feeds your own personal happiness. Just imagine how much better the world would be if we all did a little bit more to spread happiness.

Seven, offer help, even if there’s no apparent advantage to you. This means more than writing a check. It means giving of your time and energy and yourself. Sometimes it will mean helping someone you don’t know and sometimes it can be a very personal action.

Finally, never let negativity be your last word on the subject. If your final words are negative than no matter how hopeful you may be about the potential of a project or action the lasting impression you give to others is one of negativity. Accentuate the positive and you are more likely to see a positive outcome.

If you follow these eight action steps not only you will be a better leader but also lead yourself to a more successful life.

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