Written on August 19th, 2006 at 03:08 pm by Darren Rowse
How To Achieve Your Goals - Hint #1
Friend - ‘Darren, I never seem to reach any of my goals.’
Darren - ‘What are your Goals?’
Friend - ‘…ummm….. ‘
Darren - ‘Do you have any goals?’
Friend - ‘Yes - at the start of the year I worked some out’
Darren - ‘So what are your goals?’
Friend - ‘….ummmm…. I don’t remember them exactly - there was one about making more money…. I think there was another one about going on a trip overseas….’
Darren - ‘Did you keep a record of your goals anywhere?’
Friend - ‘No - I thought I’d remember them.’
Darren - ‘Did you remember them?’
Friend - ‘Sort of…. Not really….’
Darren - ‘Do you think that remembering your goals might help you achieve them?’
Friend - ‘Hmmmm…..’
“Only goal setters who are goal writers are truly goal achievers.”
Quote from Darby Checketts’ Leverage: How to Create Your Own “Tipping Points” in Business And in Life (aff) which I’m currently reading (so far it’s making some sense).
32 Responses to “How To Achieve Your Goals - Hint #1”
Graydon
August 19th, 2006 4:07 pm
Freaky… I’m just sitting here with pen and paper jotting down goal type information as it applies to some of my online excursions… went to take a break and see what’s on the feed and WHAM… there this is.
But I’d have to suggest one thing… If you want me to click the aff link, then something more than “so far it’s making some sense” is needed.
Darren Rowse
August 19th, 2006 4:32 pm
true true Graydon - but of course I’m only at page 30 so anything more glowing at this point would be hype. I’ll wait until at least page 42 for that! :-)
Andrew
August 19th, 2006 6:06 pm
One idea I picked up earlier this year was to write down 100 goals.
By the end you are struggling for some ideas, which could be a useful mind extension excersize.
I was in the realm of:
78.. Discover a new species
85.. Travel on board an aircraft carrier
92… Develop a planned community
and so on..
Cheers,
Andrew.
blogger
August 19th, 2006 6:35 pm
My goal Is Make money with blog not website.. And noboss
Adsense Is god :)
The Good Habits Blog » Goal: Write it, or write it off
August 19th, 2006 7:30 pm
[…] It’s always nice when others agree. Darren Rowse has a post on ProBlogger about the importance of keeping a written record of your goal (and, I would add, each day’s success or failure). He has a nice quotation from a book he’s reading, Leverage: How to Create Your Own ‘Tipping Points’ in Business and in Life, by Darby Checketts: Only goal setters who are goal writers are truly goal achievers. […]
Eric MacKnight
August 19th, 2006 7:39 pm
Hi Darren,
You and Darby Checketts are exactly right, but I would take it one step further. Successful goal-achievers keep a daily written record of their goal-setting activities. Without this, it’s all too easy to let it slide for a few days, and then . . . forget it. The Number 1 reason my students fail to reach a goal is that they fail to keep a daily record.
Cheers,
Eric (http://GoodHabitsGoodStudents.com/blog)
cat
August 19th, 2006 8:29 pm
Darren, I agree with Graydon, we need more, feed us please … :-)
How about giving us “Darby’s 25 keys to leveraging one’s world” …
… because they “are timeless principles creatively written with the imperative of a world-class coach and trainer.”
Ok, yeah, I did click on the link … but it looks like a perfect list to share to me.
Christian
August 19th, 2006 8:48 pm
Yeah, goals are sooo important! And its so important to write them down instead of just “thinking” about. But i never plan more than 6 month in the future because my work is “the web” and it changes so fast that a period longer than 6 months is not worth the time.
Part Time Entrepreneur
August 19th, 2006 10:33 pm
I often set myself short term goals, things like exercise mainly and managing day to day workload.
I have never really considered writing down longer term goals. I will certainly try it this evening.
Jon
August 19th, 2006 11:06 pm
cat….Darby already provides them on his site:
http://www.customerchampion.com/
http://www.customerchampion.com/images/25keys.pdf
They’re not very detailed….maybe Darren will fill them out a little for us :)
Blonde Jon
August 19th, 2006 11:46 pm
You know, I’ve always been bad about writting down my goals. I know that I should, but I don’t. This inspires me to do so.
Michael Martine
August 20th, 2006 12:05 am
Not knowing exactly what I should do or when I should do it is a huge non-point source energy drain on my mind. I first encountered this idea in Paul Allen’s Getting Things Done (which has a huge following on the web) and it went off like a bomb in my head. I had always felt stressed out about things I had to do because I had only the vaguest notions about my goals and tasks.
Now I write everything down and it greatly eases the psychological pressure I feel from have some vague sense that there’s “stuff” to do. Knowing exactly makes everything more manageable and less stressful. Not letting that list of uncompleted goals build up is a great motivator.
Rick
August 20th, 2006 12:44 am
Someone told me a long time ago that if you don’t write it down it didn’t happen. Writing down your goals is the first step in taking them from your mental world to the physical world.
Budgets Rock Right?
August 20th, 2006 1:50 am
This is exactly what I cover in financial counseling as well.
Write it down, read it, breathe it, and live it.
Nathan Hughes
August 20th, 2006 2:07 am
Aren’t we all struggling with this? The dreaded and sometimes revered “to-do” list.
I am very hit or miss with my to-do lists, and it usually just happens when there are a lot of items that need to be done immediately. I like the idea of setting up a more long-term list and following up with action lists each day or each week, as Eric suggested above.
Now let’s see if I do it. Maybe my first list should start with “#1 Make a to-do list”.
Shirazi
August 20th, 2006 2:33 am
Point taken.
Tasra Dawson
August 20th, 2006 7:11 am
So true! This is why we do family goals every month together. We’re starting our kids early learning how to set, follow-up and achieve goals. When I was teaching, I also used to make my junior high students write goals each quarter. It’s amazing how the brain subconsciously begins trying to make things happen once you write them down!
Razib Ahmed
August 20th, 2006 9:21 am
I have just two goals: Get more traffic and get more links without compromising the quality of my writing. I have leanrt one thing that with each passing day, I am getting more skilled as a blogger.
Ron Wilson
August 20th, 2006 10:06 am
I agree. Goals are important. It gives you motivation to work harder. It is great to see that you have reached previous goals so that you can focus on getting those new goals.
Brad
August 20th, 2006 11:59 am
Although I haven’t written down my goals in a while, it really does make a HUGE difference. Even if I don’t meet every single goal (which I never do), I find that I made more of an honest effort at that goal than if I didn’t write it down.
There’s something about putting pen to paper when it comes to goals that really solidifies it in one’s mind. Yes, it can appear to be a “nerdish” thing to do, but some of the most successfull people in the world got to where they are because they wrote down their goals and stuck with em’!!!
Toby
August 20th, 2006 2:26 pm
Darren - reminds me of a recent conversation -
Blogger: My boss doesn’t see the value in our (corporate) blog.
Toby: It was his idea to blog.
Blogger: He wants me to stop. He thinks it’s a waste of time.
Toby: What did you define as success?
Blogger: What do you mean?
Toby: Did you set any goals?
Blogger: No.
Toby: Hard to determine value without a success vision/goal.
Darren Rowse
August 20th, 2006 7:06 pm
good one Toby (might send some people to this comment in a presentation I’m doing on business blogging this week)
Thanks
Jennie
August 20th, 2006 7:24 pm
very true, scary true. in fact, blogging the goals also gives you impetus to pull the proverbial finger out and get to work on making them happen. :D
Urban Grafix - Blogging for the Public » B4P Express Quickie Links
August 21st, 2006 4:59 am
[…] Pronet Advertising - Stupid MarketingProBlogger - How to Achieve Your GoalsGoogle Coupons - GooponsTECHCrunch - AmateurIllustrator nails niche social networkingShoeMoney - A Sale is Made on Every Website […]
Teresa
August 21st, 2006 5:35 am
*nods* I had a conversation like this with a friend about his business. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with it, but he DID know he wanted to make more money. (The how somewhat elluded him though.) Sadly, his business ended up taking on many guises, (selling art, then selling hats, then not selling anything..) and then went *poof*. *shakes head* If only he could have made one achievable goal and went with it. Sometimes having TOO many goals can be as bad as having none.
Urban Grafix - Blogging for the Public » B4P Express Quickie Links
August 21st, 2006 1:42 pm
[…] Pronet Advertising - Stupid Marketing ProBlogger - How to Achieve Your Goals Google Coupons - Goopons TECHCrunch - AmateurIllustrator nails niche social networking ShoeMoney - A Sale is Made on Every Website […]
Adsense-money-Man
August 21st, 2006 8:36 pm
I have several friends with such goals :) Thay are professionals, they own perfect websites. But they have no money from them… And of couse they don’t achive they goals :)
» Blog Archive » The Blog Columnist v.4
August 22nd, 2006 12:45 pm
[…] Have Goals or Are You Flying by the Seat of Your Pants - want to know how NOT to Achieve Your Goals? Then read this little account between Darren and friend. […]
Maria Palma
August 24th, 2006 6:59 pm
I recently began writing down my goals and it’s absolutely phenomenal the changes that are occuring in my life just by simply taking the time to write down some words! Many of my goals have been accomplished already and I’m looking forward to what’s in store for the rest of the year ;) Thanks for the reminder, Darren.
Jill the Goal Guru
October 20th, 2006 11:55 am
Here are some simple Goal Strategies I use to create an amazing life:
1) Decide exactly what you want (write it down)
2) Affirm why “you” want it (the bigger the reason the more internal motivation you are giving yourself) (write them on paper)
3) Define the actions you will need to take to achieve it (on paper)
4) Schedule the actions (in your calendar)
5) Do It! (Follow through and carry out your plan)
It helps if you find images or photos that represent your goal and put them in places you’ll see often (bathroom mirror, briefcase, in your car, on your screensaver, on the refrigerator)
If your goal is a long term goal, break it into smaller goals. Schedule at least one thing to do each day (A Goal A Day). Doing one goal each day will add up and you will create enough momentum to carry you through!
Define your top 10 goals for the year
Define your top 10 goals for the month
Define your top 10 goals for the week
One last thing… rewrite your top 10 list weekly, daily if you can.
Live Your Dreams!
Jill Koenig
http://www.GoalGuru.com
Rob
March 5th, 2007 2:11 am
Perhaps it’s wise to write down one’s goals in a blog post.
This way you won’t lose the peice of paper they’re written on and all of your readers will be able to see and call you to account if you’re neglecting them.
Tweakast » Blog Archive » Defining your goals
May 27th, 2007 10:08 pm
[…] How to achieve your Goals by Problogger […]
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