Life: it’s the most important journey you can embark upon. Have you mapped out where you want to go during your life’s journey? People spend more time planning their holidays than they spend planning their lives, which explains why so many people drift through their lives, accomplishing very little, complaining how tough life is. Isn’t your life infinitely more important than any holiday you might take? Devote the most earnest effort toward planning your life’s journey and set for yourself worthwhile goals. As we approach the final quarter of 2012, this is a great opportunity to plan the remainder of your year, to finish the year with a flurry of results, and to set yourself up for a great 2013. Set SMART goals. Set them today. Instead of living with a series of things you might ‘wanna’ accomplish, take time to think about what you truly want from your life.
- The goal must be specific. Don’t say, “I want to be successful.” What does success mean to you? Specifically, what is your definition of success? If you don’t know what success ‘looks like’, you won’t know when you’ve achieved it.
- The goal must be measurable. If, for example, you want to take your family to Disneyland,thoroughly plan the trip on paper and determine how much this will cost. Now you have a measurable dollar goal.
Next, divide this figure by ten (months in the year, allowing for breaks here and there), and you will have the amount of money you need to earn each month. This is clearly measurable: you either reach the dollar figure, or you don’t – there are no ‘grey’ areas here.
- The goal must be achievable. I don’t care whether or not somebody has done it before, I want to know that it can be done. I might want to be the first person ever to fly without the aid of a machine, but no matter how much I want it, if I go to the top of the highest building, jump and flap my arms, I’m going to plummet. No goal setter can achieve the truly unachievable.
- The goal must be realistic. So many times I have seen newcomers to real estate say things like, “I’m going to make $200,000 in my first year.” At their present skill and activity level, you know they haven’t got a hope. So why say it? Set a goal that is within your skill or activity level, and aim to increase in both.
- The goal must be achievable in the time you have allowed for its achievement. Some people set worthwhile goals, but do not allow themselves sufficient time to reach them. Big mistake.
In our sales training seminar, Winning Ways – Real Estate Sales [1], we spend a lot of time on goal setting.