5 Things You Can Do To Help You Reach Your Goals

The idea for the pet rock was a stroke of genius!

From time to time I talk about goals and the one thing I harp on most is importance of writing them down. I believe that if you don’t write it down it never existed (thank you Tom Clancy – Debt of Honor).

Our minds run so fast that a great idea right now will be replaced by another in a minute and after that – Hey! Anyone want cheese fries?

See what I mean?

So I came up with 5 things you can do to help ensure that you see your dreams come to fruition.

Number 5 – Make A Plan

There are plenty of thoughts on goal setting and New Year’s resolutions and such – I happen to be a huge advocate for goal setting not so big on resolutions. Aren’t the same thing? They’re similar, it is all in the way you treat them (read my thoughts on them here or here). Teach a Pit-bull to mean you raise a killer train her to be a kind loving dog you raise a kind loving dog. Goals are no different but you absolutely MUST know where you’re going in order to get there.

Want to write a book – cool, me too – but you need a plan. Not necessarily for the whole book but an idea. In fact, starting to write a book would be the first step in “the plan” to write one. See how simple this is? I am not saying you have to flesh out all the details before you write a single word – though I hear some people do that. I also hear that some just sit down and start typing. That’s how I started the book I am working on. It was a short story and now it’s a slightly longer short story – but I am working on it. So, make a plan of where you want to end up.

Number 4 – Recruit a Team

You need a support system to achieve almost any goal. At the beginning of 2014 a group of us joined a writing challenge with Jeff Goins to write 500 words every day for 31 days – well, 93 days later many of us are still hanging around – kinda like the guy that graduated two years ahead of you but still came around campus at lunch – encouraging each other and keep up the accountability. I am certain that I would not have a fraction of the words written this year that I do were it not for the fine folks of My 500 Words. Your team can be your family , friends or a previously unknown group of people from all over the world d that love to write and want nothing more than to see you – and themselves- become better and if at all possible, published writers.

Number 3 – Know You Self

This one can be tough because I am going to ask you to take a close look at yourself and maybe make some changes. IF you’re like me then you are likely your biggest enemy when it comes to accomplishing your goals. When I get discouraged I will crawl into a shell and not write for weeks at a time. I lost my confidence with stand-up and have not been able to get on a stage in almost six years. Do you know that once you get home from work that if you sit on the couch for a while or have supper or whatever you do when you get home that you’re 90-95% less likely to get off your butt and work on your dream? Then guess what? DON’T SIT DOWN! If what you’re doing is sabotaging what you WANT to be doing do something different.

This isn’t Rocket science!

Number 2 – Get Unplugged

This is going to hurt many of you like it hurts me. You have to turn the TV, PC or Mac and your PS3 – or 4 or 12, whatever they’re up to – Oh, and GET OFF FACE BOOK! Many of us work on computers, I know. you’re right – they’re just a couple clicks, sure you’ll be right back you just want to see what people thought of that  funny picture you shared form George Takei.

I am not saying give up social media. I am saying stay off it for a couple hours and work your butt off so you have earned some time to goof off and laugh a little.

Number 1 – Give it to God

One of my all time favorite verses in scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (KJV).” Is he going to do the work for you? Of course not! But he’ll show you – in some way – what direction you NEED to be taking. It won’t be the way you think it should be, in fact, you could miss it altogether if you’re not paying attention, if you’re too focused on yourself for example but if you trust him with what you want –  you might find that what you get it is not what you thought you wanted in the first place!

There they are. Are they 100% original? Really? It’s 2014,  I have no delusions that I am the first guy to EVER come up with these ideas – it’s not like this is the pet rock (now, THERE was a genius idea) I am just trying to package them for you in the way I relate to them.

Now, go,  subscribe  to my blog upper left corner then get off the internet and succeed!

Would add or take away anything on this list? Do you have steps that you use that I can add when I update? Leave a comment or two and let’s talk about it.