Goal Setting

Many people I speak to in my business have a vague idea of what they want, but when really challenged they either back away because they see the work too hard, or they realize the goal they want is too fuzzy.

I hear people say things like:

" I want to be financially free."

" I want to live comfortably,"

"I want to pay for my kid's college."

Those are great goals, but they are not specific to the individual. There is no clear way of measuring that.

A really good goal, is considered a SMART goal. That is:

S - Specific the more specific you can get it the more your mind will see it. "I want to pay for my kid's college." Sounds specific but it's not. What college does he want to attend? Are you going to pay for the whole amount or is he going to get loans/ scholarships/grants? The more specific you can get, the better your mind can visualize what you desire and help you attain it.

M-Measurable "I want to be financially free" is not measurable. If you are currently earning $40,000 a year and living paycheck to paycheck then you are not financially free. Financial freedom may mean an annual income of $80,000 or $120,000. It has to be measurable. When my son was working towards his black belt, he knew exactly all the techniques and Katas he needed to master.

A_Attainable - I had a guy tell me his goal was to purchase a private submarine that cost 87 Million dollars and yet his annual income had only been $30,000. That was not attainable at the moment - it could be in the future, if he was willing to make some changes.

R- Relevant - Your goal is yours, not your neighbors, not your spouse's, not your children's not your boss'. If your goal is not relevant to you, you will not have the inner drive it takes to attain that goal. Not everyone wants to achieve a black belt in Karate. Not everyone wants to learn to make $20,000 in one month. Find the thing that gets you excited and you know you are on the right track.

T-Timetable - able. This is probably the one area I see people struggle. I know I have done this myself. We set a goal, we work hard toward that goal and on the date "we" set - it doesn't happen. A friend of mine taught me to simple change the date. At first I thought well, that's "cheating". As I have studied goal setting and others who have achieved their goals, this is EXACTLY what you must do - IF you really want to achieve that goal. There are Olympian athletes who have a goal of achieving the gold medal in their sport. They may miss it by .03 of a second and win the silver. What do they do? Go back and train for 4 more years to attain that goal of the gold medal. Now if they can do that, why can't you?My son's teacher had him on track to attain his black belt in 5 years. There were others in his class that took an extra 6 months. I have a friend who had a goal of buying a 4,000 sq ft house in a particular area where he lived. He worked hard, it was specific the exact house, it was measurable, it was attainable and it was relevant - and yet, he put this house on his goal card for 4 years before the time was right to attain it. Did he achieve it? Yes. Did he achieve it the first time he placed it on his goal card? No. Did it matter? No. He knew what he wanted and he kept going for it.

And this brings me to the another important part, not only do many people not have their goals specific but they don't write them down. There is a physiological and psychological reason for writing your goal down. Writing it down affirms in your mind and your body that this is truly what you want. There are many times I sit down and write a shopping list and then leave the list on the counter. When I come home from my shopping, I am amazed at the fact that I purchased about 98% of what I wrote down.

Now, the last and probably most important thing about goals is once you have decided what your goal is, seek out those who have already achieved this goal to assist you. My son studied under a 7th degree black belt and trusted that if he simply followed what the teacher taught him, he would achieve his goal.

So now I must ask you, where do you see yourself in one year from now on June 18, 2010? What do you want to have accomplished in your life financially,physically, spiritually or emotionally? If you want some assistance you may call me at 915-252-1837.

Make it a great day -and remember "You can't get to where you want if you don't know what you want"

GBY&MKY Jane

Swamp Coolers and Self Reliance

A few weeks ago we had a rain storm and our neighborhood's lights were off for about 45 minutes. When they turned on again, our swamp coolers didn't. We live in the desert where "swamp coolers" are a norm. Rather than "refrigerated air" we have these things that have a thin water hose that drips water and the air is cooled down. I don't truly understand it except that when it gets to a certain percentage of humidity - usually in July and August they don't work too well. But for the most part they are great and keep the house cool!

On this particular day, after the electricity went off they weren't keeping the house cool as they weren't working. My husband checked the fuse box and then called our home warranty company to let them know they weren't working. Being a holiday week end nobody came until Tues morning. Luckily it wasn't very hot and the air was cool at night.

When the air guys came I told them what happened. They checked the swamp coolers on the roof and determined that unless it's an electrical thing, they were pretty sure it was simply the thermostats that blew out. They would then call the warranty company and see what to do next.

Two days later it WAS getting hot in our house and I finally called the home warranty company to see what was the hold up. When the company learned that the thermostats had blown out due to an electrical outage after a rain storm they informed me that "Acts of God" were NOT covered in our warranty and we had to fix it ourselves.

I called my husband and asked him to pick up a couple of thermostats at Home Depot on the way home and we would have to fix it ourselves. It turns out that those two thermostats cost less than it did for us to have the experts come out and make sure what the problem was.

As I thought about this I laughed. I have a friend, John Lavenia, who wrote a book called Intergity Is Everything. John has a premise, which I completely agree with, about becoming self reliant. As I thought about how we weren't self reliant in this case, I thought we could do next time to be more self reliant.

Then it hit me. How many of us have warranty companies, insurance companies and even health care benefits? I am not saying these are not recommended. What I'm asking is, how much money would I like to have in a home maintenance account so I don't have to depend upon a home warranty company who may or may not fix my home?And if I had that account so I don't have to worry about the cost of anything in my home breaking or needing fixing what would I worry about? What if we educated ourselves enough about home maintenance to evaluate what the cause of that was? Instead, we turned to a company trusting them to have someone "save us".

I then thought about all the money I have going to a health insurance company that pays for my health care - at least pays for the health care that the company wants to provide. I have done lots of studying about health, natural healing and alternative medicines that I feel more self reliant on my own evaluation in the area of health than I do about home maintenance. I know when I can do things at home to assist my health and when it's time to go to the experts.

And then of course my thoughts went to the fact that as an entreprenuer I am more reliant on myself for my income than I am relying on a company that may or may not decide to fire me due to whatever reason they want to give me. And as an entreprenuer, I am to stand on my own two feet, educate myself on what type of maintenance my business needs and then proceed. I'm not waiting for someone to tell me they won't pay me because of some " Act of God".

So my question to you is: How self reliant are you? What areas of your life do you want to be 100% responsible for and take to the next level?

My mission is to assist others to their highest good. If you would like my assistance and masterminding, call me at 915-252-1837 or go to my website:
www.wealthyhomeschoolmom.com

Make it a great day! I know YOU deserve it!
GBY&MKY Jane