Goal Setting for Success

So you’ve done the preparation for setting goals by reading the post Preparing to Set Goals here

You’ve got your Wheel of Life and have written in the centre circle, you six life priorities/areas of life that are important to you.

Step 1: Consider your vision of Success

Take each life area and reflect on what ultimate success and happiness would mean to you. What would this area of your life looked like if you couldn’t be any more fulfilled or satisfied? Close your eyes and visualise ultimate success. Consider what you would be doing, seeing, feeling, sensing, saying..

Write your vision of success in a notepad or your favourite journal, then write down an actual event that would occur if you had realised your vision. For example, in your family and relationships section, you might have visualised having a happy and harmonius time with your family. An actual event might be to take an hour’s walk with your daughter, sharing thoughts and time together without arguing. If it was health – perhaps enough energy to not be exhausted when you take a dance class. If it was wealth perhaps you’d be able to pay all of your bills on time, and have enough left over to cover your basic needs.

Summarise this vision in the Final Goal section of the Wheel of Life by writing a few words or thoughts. If you can name specific details like timescales or numbers to measure success this would be great, if not, it doesn’t matter - it’s the visualisation and target for success that is important.

Do this for each of your life areas.

Step 2: Consider your level of Satisfaction with your Life

Now you are going to rate how satisfied you are with each of your life areas. This is your level of satisfaction (not your level of achievement) with where you are in that area right now. This is a measurement of your feeling of satisfaction. Let us say your overall wealth vision was to be completely debt-free and you knew how much money it would take to be so. You might be a long way off with reaching your final vision, but you may be completely satisfied with what you are currently doing to get you there and give yourself a score that showed you were totally satisfied.

It’s ok to not be very satisfied – when this exercise is first done; you may feel overwhelmed with how dissatisfied you are. This is ok. The good news is that we are going to work on improving this.

Use the following scale to rate your satisfaction:

0 = worse it could be/totally unsatisfied
10 = best it could be/totally satisfied

Write each satisfaction number anywhere inside each slice so you can easily see the rating. Don’t spend a great deal of time doing this. Work quickly going with your first feeling or thought.

Draw a line across each slice depending on your level of satisfaction for that area. So for example, if you have rated something 0, you will draw a small line just going over the very tip of the slice, if you have rated it five, you will draw a line halfway across the slice – I imagine it as having a piece of pie and deciding how much I am going to cut off from the tip, a small piece or a larger piece. Do this for each of the slices, and you will have something that looks like a spiders web.

So now, you have your Wheel of Life, divided into segments, one for each area of your life that is important to you and each slice has been labeled with these areas. You have your ultimate vision for success and you have also rated each area on a scale of 0 to 10.

Step 3 : Choose an area of your life to work on

Now from your six life segments, choose one area of your life you’d most like to see some improvement, or would like to work on that isn’t a 10.

Your plan for achieving your vision of success is to take one small step at a time. You only know what is in the ‘here and now’ so we not going to try to plan the future out. One small step towards your vision, whilst maintaining your vision, is all you need to do. Small steps in the right direction will be much more effective that many steps in the wrong direction!

Step 4: Consider your Options

On a piece of paper, write down all the things that would take you one step closer to your vision. If you decided that you would like to have one vegetarian meal a week you might think of all the ways to go about doing this - eat out, buy sushi, cook for yourself, ask someone to help you etc etc.

Decide on what you want to do from your list of options, and what you will do within the next 24-48 hours. In the First Journey Goal section, write down your action(s). This is very important. It requires you to demonstrate to yourself that you can and will take action to work towards your vision. For example, phone a friend or book an appointment, go to the library and find some books on the subject you are interested in. Consider all of the things you could do, and select the one that you want to do, and will do.

Take a look at what might prevent you from achieving your action. Do you need to schedule some free time? Do you need support or advice from someone else? You’ll need to manage these barriers and perhaps set yourself some additional management actions that will ensure you complete your intended action. You can write these actions in the Barriers section of the Wheel of Life and take action to manage them!

Decide on when you are going to take action and commit yourself to doing it. Self-discipline and demonstrating to yourself that you can take control is very important. Don’t set yourself actions that are too large or unrealistic for you to achieve. Small steps.

Step 5: Take Action!

Do whatever it is you planned to do!

Step 6: Review your Vision

Over time you might find you vision of success changes. Often we find we do things and then find ourselves on a different route! This is a journey. You have the freedom to seek out your ultimate vision and to change it. It’s your life. Refine your vision and your vision will become stronger and clearer with each small step you take. As your vision becomes stronger, so will you, and your ability to get there. You can do it!

Preparing to Set Goals

If you haven’t done so already Create your Vision by reading this Post .

So you’ve now got a rough idea of what it is you desire in your life. Before we move onto creating some actions, let us take a look at your strengths. You will have many. Your strengths will be so natural to you that you may not be consciously aware of them. You do have them. We all do.

Think about one thing you have done that you feel a sense of achievement. This is something you have done well, or a challenge that you have overcome – physical, emotional, spiritual doesn’t matter.

What did you do?

For example:

• You helped someone in need
• Escaped a dangerous situation
• Created a loving and harmonious home under financial constraints
• Hosted an excellent party or event

What personal strengths did you use in this situation? Based on the items above, your strength might have been:

• The ability to listen, communicate and show empathy
• The ability to take action at the right time, courage, ability to overcome fear, independence
• You are resourceful, responsible, caring, reliable, positive role-model
• You are great planner and organizer, fun and social, a natural host and entertainer

You have far more strengths that you realize. Strengths come easily to you, that’s why it can be difficult to identify them. Strengths are things that other people would say about you, they are things that make you different, things that make you the person that people would say – oh, we need to get so and so to do that.

Write down your top five strengths and consider how you have used them. If you prefer, write down the top five strengths you are working on developing, or would like to have more of.

Why do we need to focus on our strengths? When we focus on what we are good at, and what brings us joy, the rest disappears. If we do not invest in our weaknesses, they do not have energy. If we do not give our weaknesses energy, they will not be attracted into our experience.

Goal Setting for Success

Copy or print out the PDF document  Wheel of Life

Step 1: Idenify your Life Segments

Using the Priority/centre section of the Wheel, write down six areas that make up your life today, that are important to you. Think of your life as a pie, and each slice, represents an area of your life. So for example, some of the things that you might include are: 

• Meaningful Work/Career
• Time for Self
• Service & Contribution
• Health
• Wealth
• Love & Romance
• Family & Friends
• Personal Development (Mental, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical)
• Enjoyment and Excitement
• Travel & Freedom

Step 2: Refining your Vision (optional)

So you’ve got your long list of Be, Do, Have’s from the Create your Vision exercise. Now you are going to consider each one on the list and ask yourself whether it positively contributes to any of your six chosen life segments. This is an optional exercise, but it can help you to think a little more about your immediate priorities. If the items on your list do positively contribute to your life segments, then give it a tally mark.

So let us look at an example:

Let’s suppose that Frank considered the following Life Segments are important to him:

• Family
• Career
• Wealth
• Time for Self
• Travel & Enjoyment
• Health

Frank’s Be, Do, Have List (part thereof..)

1. Have a Harley motorcycle
2. Play Golf every week
3. Be an excellent father to my children
4. Write a book on Leadership in the workplace
5. Be debt-free
6. …….and so on

So starting with number 1 on the list. Have a Harley Motorcycle. He gives a tally mark against this item for each area of his life this positively contributes to. He decides: Family (No), Career (No), Wealth (No), Time for Self (Yes), Travel & Enjoyment (Yes), Health (Yes). He gives this item 111 tally marks.

Item 2. Golf every week. Frank decides that he has little time for his self and if he could give one thing to himself each week it would contribute to all areas of his life. He puts six tally marks against this item.

He looks at item 3 which is about being an excellent father to his children. He decides: Family (Yes), Career (Yes), Wealth (NoYes), Time for Self (No), Travel & Enjoyment (Yes), Health (Yes). Frank decides that his career would improve if he made sure he was home for dinner every evening and learnt to delegate responsibility. He originally thought that being a good father might drain his bank account, then he thought that if they spent more time as a family then he might not feel the need to spend so much money on them out of guilt! Whether you agree or disagree with Franks choices, this is a subjective exercise - it’s just a way to get you thinking!

So go through your Be, Do, Have list and compare it against your life priorities. Once you have done this, you might want to rank your list starting with those with the most tally points. This excerise helps you to focus on what is really important to you and what you want to make happen!

What’s your Vision?

People who create a life of their dreams, usually have some sense of knowing what their dreams are. I say this loosely because there are many ways to go about creating what we desire. As human beings we are multifaceted. We have physical, emotional, spiritual and mental intelligence and if we go deeper, there is a universal intelligence running through all of us - call it the intelligence of Life, if you like.

You may have an intelligence that takes the driving seat - some of us prefer rationale and logic, some of us primarily use a feeling-based intelligence. I have met people who have no vision for the future, yet are perfectly content and at ease with the present moment. I have also met people who are passionate about creating change, and have a clear vision of the world in which they want to live. Whatever is most natural for you, and brings you great joy is right. Don’t let anyone tell you to be who you are not. Who you are, is just fine.

To explore your other intelligences can bring you much awareness and balance into your life. Goal setting is a structured way to create change. It can help to know where you are going, or where you desire to go - otherwise you’ll end up somewhere else and say “how did I get here?” When you create a vision, your mind instructs your subconscious to ‘go fetch’.

Create your Vision

Creating your vision is about examining what’s in your heart. Creating your vision can involve the question “who am I and what am I here for?” This can involve a journey that extends beyond the realm of the mind. Creating your vision can involve examining the purpose of your life. But there is a simple exercise you can do right now that will get you started..

Your Be, Do, Have List

Ask yourself:

• Who would I like to Be? 
• What would I like to do?
• What would I like to have?

List every single thing you want to be in your life, everything you would like to do, and have in your life. No rules. Be honest – if you are after that Porsche then put it down, we are not filtering or prioritizing or judging at this stage but consider yourself a whole person, consider your wants, desires, your feelings and thoughts.

Consider what you want from your relationships. Let’s say that you want to be a good parent, or friend. How you want to spend your time. Let’s say you want to visit the Great Wall of China. What experiences you want to have. Let’s say you want to experience the thrill of a bungee jump. How do you want to feel?

Don’t exclude something that you want because you can’t work out the how. These are all personal thoughts and they are not what you think you ‘should’ do, these are things that you ‘want’. It is so important for you to draw this distinction.

So - write what comes into your mind. These are dreams. Look backwards and imagine you were reflecting on your life. What is it that you will want to have achieved or be remembered for? Aim for at least 30 items on your list.

You might want to consider the following life categories:

• Meaningful Work
• Time for Self
• Service & Contribution
• Health
• Wealth
• Love & Romance
• Family & Friends
• Personal Development (Mental, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical)

Now that you’ve given yourself permission to open up possibilities, you will find that ideas will come to you over the course of the next few days. Keep your Be, Do, Have list with you and keep writing. It doesn’t matter if this list changes tomorrow, just go with what you know today. Aim for at least 100 things on your list!

Consider your Vision

Once you’re satisfied that your list, sit quietly and review it. Is there a vision emanating from your list? For example, my list included details of writing, sharing, travelling, learning, and expressing. Over time, as I focused on what I wanted from my life, I realized that I wanted to be a student, teacher, healer and philosopher. I wanted to learn about connecting with the Divinity in life, to live a life of passion and free expression and to share it with others.

It doesn’t matter why I have this vision, and it matters not why you have yours. You need not justify yourself. The ‘how’ doesn’t matter. So when you’re working on your vision, you don’t need to be concerned about how you will realize your vision. Your job is to set one.

Write: It seems that I have a vision to…

Your vision can change. It doesn’t have to feel complete or accurate. Just do the best you can in this moment.

Trust Yourself

I was recently asked how it was that I knew to sell my property portfolio in the UK at the beginning of 2006, why I sold all my stocks in favor of gold and silver, and why I am convinced now that the recent actions by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department are likely to fail and will affect not only Americans but people all over the globe.

How did I get it right, when so many others missed it entirely? Well, I do keep an eagle eye on world markets, property prices, stock movements, currency exchange rates and commodities and I use a lot of “left-brain” analysis to draw some of my conclusions. However, this is not the only method that I employ. In addition, I utilise my “right-brain” intuitive abilities to see whether the actions of the authorities actually “feel right.” With all my financial decisions, I look at the issues from a completely rational point of view and then I draw on my instinctive and more emotional impulses to create a full picture of the situation.

If something “feels wrong” no matter how wonderful the deal may look – and I have been offered many “fabulous deals” – I would not get involved if my antennae were telling me that something was not quite right.

Here were a few of the early warning signs that made me feel uncomfortable and begin to question the decisions of the powers that be:

•  I couldn’t make sense of how nations could consume beyond their means indefinitely.
•  It didn’t make sense to me how a system that is based on a continual expansion of credit would make an easy transition to a no-growth or contracting environment.
• As a mortgage broker and financial consultant at the time, I could not see how people who were making less than $30k per year or who were even unemployed were given loans by the banks to purchase $500k houses with no money down and have any hope of every paying them back. Banks were becoming more and more irresponsible with their lending and there had to be.
• Consequences to these actions in the medium to long term It did not seem possible that money could continue to expand faster than the economy in the long term

We are now moving into a period where many leaders and the media are hyping up the possibility that the economic crisis will soon be behind us and I would like to show you how you can programme yourself to listen very carefully to your own inner voice, even if you cannot articulate what is wrong – it’s very important to start to learn to trust your own instincts when a story just doesn’t add up. This will be happening more and more and it is up to you to start thinking and feeling for yourself. For too long now, we have been programmed to listen and trust our governments, our health service, our banks, our treasurers and the media instead of our own inner voices.

There were many investors involved with Bernard Madoff who recently said that they had suspicions and concerns over the years about the steadiness of Madoff’s returns. Yet, despite those worries, they kept their money with him. If they had trusted themselves and decided to move their money to an institution where they did not have these gut-level concerns, they would probably be in much better shape right now.

Here are a few major issues that do not add up at the moment that I am focusing on:

•  how is it possible for a nation that is insolvent to borrow money from a financial system that is also insolvent to bail out insolvent financial institutions?

Does this make any sense to you at all? Until I can gain an appreciation for how we can borrow our way out of this mess, I will maintain a very protective stance on my finances and assets. I am very doubtful about the overall solvency of all our financial institutions and therefore I strongly resist any advice to go ahead and buy stocks because they are “very cheap” right now and they “always go up in the long run.” If you are hearing this kind of advice from your professional advisors or friends and family, ask them how it will be possible for nations that are already insolvent to continue borrowing money from a financial system that is also insolvent to bail out insolvent financial institutions?

• how are we going to return to a renewed period of economic growth based upon more consumption when baby boomers ( the wealthiest people in the economy) have seen their two primary forms of wealth – stocks and property – fail in the same decade?

Growth requires consumers to spend more money on more things, but older people generally down-scale their lives, cut back on their spending, pay down their debts and add to their savings.

I hear many commentators already calling for a bottom and searching for signs that a recovery in consumer spending is happening. The danger here is failing to appreciate the extent to which our recent excesses were simply over the top and are very unlikely to be repeated any time soon. The banks have far from declared all the liabilities on their balance sheets so there will likely be another huge wave of defaults that will require even more bailout funds.
In the US right now, the Fed is now “monetising debt” – i.e. printing money, and runs the very real risk of a massive devaluation of the US dollar. Of course, I would strongly suspect that this is actually the goal of the Fed, although they will not come right out and say that. Competitive currency devaluations have been a feature of every global financial crisis and are the preferred way of relieving the strains built up by the past periods of excess.

What should you do about this? Trust yourself, and take actions accordingly. Take responsibility for your actions by educating yourself well about issues that you do not fully understand, and do not trust or assume that the authorities know better than you do. Listen to your instincts, act on what you know to be true, and steer clear of the things that don’t make sense to you. Most of all listen to that “inner voice” for it is usually spot on.

Good luck.

The Importance of Hope

Hope is what makes our lives grow.  It is what makes us take chances, make changes and keep going.  The danger of the recession is not that we have to buy less, or even that money gets tighter but that we can lose hope.  Alan K Chambers said “The grand essentials for happiness are something to do, someone to love and something to hope for”.

Hope is alive and well at weddings, births, when a child starts school and when they leave home.  But hope, if it is not nurtured, inspired and cherished, starts to die.  Hope doesn’t die from a broken heart or lost dreams, it dies from negative thoughts, constant worry, unconscious behaviour and apathy.  Hope is kept alive by being open to the beauty of life, open to a welcoming smile, open to thinking about things in a different way,  open to enjoying life and giving love in the world.  This may sound like Pollyanna but maybe that is what the world needs if it is to keep growing.

Our suicide, divorce and cancer rates are climbing.  Maybe it is time for a radical rethink of how we are living.  How we are relating or not connecting with other people and the world around us.  We are not separate from one another.  We are all connected.  We are fully able to choose whether we share negativity, fear and gossip in the world through what we say or do,  or whether we choose to look for the good in ourselves and others, to share only good news and to be the change we want in the world. 

Here are a couple of simple tips for keeping hope alive. 

• Focus on what you do have in your life to be grateful for.  If you can’t think of anything, think about this most people here have running water, somewhere to live and enough food - if you have these things you are better off than many of the people in the world.  Almost half of the people in the world – over three billion people, live on less than $2.50 per day (World Bank Development indicators 2008).  When we focus on what we do have we start to cherish the people, the pets and the time we do have in our lives, our stress reduces and we realise that we are very lucky to live in such a beautiful place as the Bay of Plenty where so much is available.
• Connect with other people and instead of sharing your fear, share you hopes, your dreams, your aspirations with each other.  When we share our dreams we become inspired and hope blossoms.  Parents think of your children.  If there is no hope what is the point of studying, learning, growing or even living?  Share hope, encourage it, nurture it and make it something important. Christopher Reeves said  “Once you choose hope anything is possible”
• Keep in your heart the message “This too will pass”.  No matter how bad things seem, or how much you have lost or suffered remember “this too will pass”.  Life goes in cycles.  There are times of loss and times of great abundance.  The cycle will change over time.  There is always something to be grateful for.

Its a Magical World

It is a magical, mysterious and beautiful world we live in.  As a child my grandmother would wake me late in the night.  She would bundle me up warm and together we would set out into the night on an adventure.  It was always full moon when she did this so the soft moonlight would light our path.  We would watch as the moon rose high in the sky.  She would tell me the stories of the earth, the stars and how our ancestors whisper to us on the wind.  As we sat in the silence watching the twinkling lights of Rotorua far beneath us and listening to the moreporks call to one another it was as though the whole world was asleep and we could feel mother earth breathe.  It was a magical time.  Many people I know have stories of feeling the magic of life as children.

I wonder why as adults we let go of the magical.  It is almost as if instead of continuing to expand and awaken in our lives we become dulled, shut down with the mundane routine of life.  Many people who come and see me in my work as a life coach have lost their centre.  They have been so busy doing that all the passion, joy and magic has been sucked from their lives.  I always wonder why people wait until things become intolerable, until illness, financial hardship and wrecked relationships bring them to their knees to ask the question “There must be more than this”

As a society we value the material, the serious and the rush of doing more and more, but magic doesn’t live here.  Magic doesn’t show her beautiful face when you are doing busy-busy.  She doesn’t care much for bills; she doesn’t demand the all mighty dollar.  All she requests is that you are still enough; present enough to hear her whisper on the breeze as the sun sets, or her call in the bird song of the morning.  She invites you to open your heart to her, to forget the pain, the monotony of life and instead to let your imagination fly free.  She invites you to feel the connection we have to all things, to remember your love for one another and  to remember the dreams you have in your heart.  She invites you to love with the whole of you, without holding back.  She dares you to explore new places, to seek far horizons, to see all that is good and beautiful and whole in life.

All that she requires is that you be present – here in the now. Not worrying about what tomorrow will bring – not looking at the past with regret but simply be present enough to see, feel, smell and hear what is right here for you now.  Magic thrives on gratitude, on celebration.  She invites you to bring the sacred into your life so each day becomes precious and is not wasted in busy-busy.

Will you wait until you stand in the wreckage of your life caused by illness, financial hardship and despair before you ask yourself what is missing?  Or will you allow and invite magic to dance with you on this mystical carpet of life?

Welcome to The Life Academy of New Zealand

It had been a dream of mine to have a school where people from all walks of life and all ages could come and learn. I envisioned this learning to be about life as we know it, life as we once knew it, and life as it could be.  I put that vision out there to the universe.

A couple of days later my friend Louise and I were having a catch up and she spoke about her vision, what she would like to achieve, and about her dreams.  Louise also said that she would be really happy working with me.  I hadn’t even told her what my dream was.  But Snap! We both had a very similar vision.

And so The Life Academy of New Zealand was born.  I am really grateful to be working with Louise.  She is a wonderful, knowledgeable lady and I know she will put her heart and soul into making our dream come true.  Just as I will.

We have some wonderful people who blog on our website, who also wish to share their knowledge and inspiration and we hope you will get the enjoyment and learning out of the Academy that is it’s purpose and passion, and that helps you reach your full potential.

 

What are your dreams?

We’d also love to hear from you - to find out what’s happening in your life and what your dreams are for the future. When you focus on what you desire the universe finds a way to make it happen. Even if they’re not clear right now, that’s okay because clarity comes with time and commitment on your part to see more clearly. Please do leave us a comment and become part of our community today…

Goal Setting For Success

Why don’t we set goals?

Why don’t you set goals? Apparently, only about 3% of the world population sets goals. I think you’ll find a correlation between goals, and success. It may be that you don’t know how. You don’t want to fail, you might be afraid of success. Stepping out and taking control of your life does require you to find courage and strength.

I’ll let you in on a secret - I can’t stand setting goals! When I was a Project Manager, I was employed to set goals so now I’m choosy - I only do it when I consider it necessary. So let me rephrase to the positive: I find exciting , inspirational and motivational ways to achieve my life desires. If I’m dealing with money, I set structured goals (sometimes). If I’m dealing with passion, I find other ways. But let’s take a moment to think about other reasons why we don’t take our future goals more seriously.

Consider the following quote: Read more