Goals are so important in life and in business. For without goals what are you actually striving to achieve.

I often get asked:

1. What are the keys to achieving goals and

2. If I say I am going to do something and I don’t how much of an impact could that have?

First of all let’s look at the keys to achieving goals.

I have found that persistence is even more important even than talent as the most valued trait when it comes to creating and shaping peoples quality of life. Most people give up just feet from their goal.

I believe that life is testing all of us for our level of commitment and life’s greatest rewards are there for those that demonstrate an ability to not stop and keep their commitment to act until they actually do achieve. But your efforts must be constant and consistent.

As simple as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those that make it and those who do not make it. Or in other words those that live their dreams and those that do not live their dreams or live in regret. The key is that we are in control and we have the power to determine our outcomes.

Far too many times people do not even begin chasing their goal or goals out of fear that they will fail. The scary thing is that if they actually fear that they will fail, invariably they will, as that is what happens. We actually end up making the things we think about bigger. So if we think about success and positive thoughts those things happen. If we think about and dwell on all the things that could and may go wrong they do. So it is very important that we focus on positive outcomes.

Or even worse than that is when they actually do start chasing their goal and then they give up too soon. They could even have been on target to achieve what they wanted but they fail to maintain the patience required of the artisan or stone mason. Some times people do not receive immediate feedback and that also causes them to stop.

But there is one skill that all of the champions have – people that have achieved their highest desires –it is an unbeleivable level of PERSISTENCE.

You must be persistent and keep trying and you will succeed.

A quote on Persistence by President Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent”

In other words what you care about.

So persistence is key with anything you may be attempting to achieve in life. You just have to keep going when times are good and when times are bad.

Taking it a step further goals must:

1. Be written down or documented. That way you have them out of your thoughts and documented on paper.

2. Have a timeline as to when you want to complete them by. That way you have a target to aim for and can measure yourself against.

3. Put your goals somewhere that you can see them. If you cannot see them they are invisible and you forget about them. As they say out of sight out of mind. So it is very important that they are where you can see them.

4. Revisit your list of goals regularly to keep yourself motivated.

5. Share your goals with someone else (a mentor). That way they can help make you accountable.

6. Pick a goal that is very important to you that you can complete within a short space of time and tackle that one first. That way you are off and running.

7. Enjoy the journey. Remember it is a journey and things take time to develop and evolve. So make sure you have fun and enjoy the journey.

To find out more about the above and how we can help you achieve your personal, investment and business goals please speak to us. We specialise in goal setting , mentoring and coaching. Also, our very powerful 3 day business camp is another very leveraged way to begin achieving your goals.

To find out about our next event which is being held at the Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast on March 26 – 28 in 2012 please visit our website at www.globalbusinesscamps.com.au.

Now, how much of an impact is saying you are going to do something and actually not doing it?

That is an awesome question.

Before I answer that, you should consider how this would impact you.

You have a friend or an associate that says “I am in, count me in, you can rely on me”. They let you proceed on that basis and then after some time after you have organised to do what you said you would do they say “I have been thinking about this and I am not able to come or be involved or to commit”.

How would you feel?

I know I would be very upset and dissapointed.

They have given you their word and you have proceeded on that basis and now they are saying “well it is not my problem, it is not that good for me or I have not had the time to commit”.

People that do things like that have poor character and if they are in business that then flows through to their business. That is just poor form and poor business. They cannot be trusted and potentially you should not be doing business with them.

There are so many people and businesses out there that work that way and that is truly poor. Look out for them and avoid them. Now you may get caught. But as long as it is only once then you can move on and learn never to deal with or trust those people and businesses anymore.

Life has many ups and downs and we just need to learn from them. Like I always say that we are on one big journey and we need to learn, develop, have fun and keep pushing forward. We must however do this with consistency and with ethics.