And as a result, you’re facing a choice right now. Are you going to allow 2011 to be whatever it is, or are you going to take CONTROL and make 2011 your best year ever? Because it truly is in your power – provided you have the tools. And that’s what I’m going to give you today — the best insight and training I know when it comes to setting and achieving goals .. and, a 20 Page “Goal Setting System” that will help you set and achieve amazing goals in 2011. Years ago, I learned the incredible power of setting goals when I was stuck in a business that I didn’t like any more It had become a grind, in large part because I didn’t plan it out and just ended up wherever it took me. On the outside, it looked great because I was winning awards and growing like crazy .. but I hated the business and was miserable. So when the holidays came in December 1999, I sat down for the first time, and actually wrote my goals out. One of them was to be “out” of the business in a year’s time. Another one was to lose 25 pounds. And I also set a big one – to become a millionaire by the time I turned 30. (And I was 29 at the time, so this really was a big one…) I put those goals away, and didn’t even see them until almost a year later .. when I came across them cleaning out my desk. To my absolute shock, I had achieved all THREE of these goals. Since then, I’ve become a loyal goal setter, and have learned how writing them down ended up bringing them to reality for me. And this post, I’m going to share my most valuable insight about goal setting, and then a powerful document that I’ve only ever shared with my clients.
Why Is The Process Of Goal Setting So Important?
As a research experiment into whether goals really make a difference in a person’s life, the 400 students in the Yale University graduating class of 1953 where asked to write down their specific life-long goals. Out of the 400 students, only 12 were able to actually write down their goals in any specific form.
In 1973, 20 years later, the students from that same class were contacted again. Researchers had the former students complete detailed financial summaries of what they had achieved up to that point.
When the researchers compared the results of what each student had achieved against whether they had written goals 20 years previous, they were startled to find an incredible fact – the 3% of students that originally had written goals were now worth more financially than the other 97% of the students combined! While measurement of financial success was the easiest measure, they also found that the 3% were more satisfied in their lives and ultimately enjoyed a higher quality of life in their relationships, health and careers. Brian Tracy, one of the world’s experts on human behavior and achievement, has this to say about setting goals:“No other quality, such as environment, appearance, grade level or family background, is nearly as important to personal success as the habit of personal goal-setting. It is intense goal-orientation that marks the winners in every single area. Unless we have goals, we simply go around in circles in our lives. We go nowhere.
When we set goals, we go straight and true. We develop purpose, we develop direction, we develop focused and channeled energy. We develop more in a short time with goals that we could accomplish in years without them.”
Important Thoughts About Setting Goals
A Goal is Created Three Times.
First, as a mental picture in your mind. Second, when written down to add clarity and dimension. And third, when you take action towards its achievement. This underlines two of the key principles of successful goal setting:#1: By working hard to visualize your goals with color, clarity and detail in your imagination, it allows you to build a better view in your mind of what it is you are accomplishing. Your subconscious can then get to work helping you bring your goals to reality because it knows what it is you are striving for, and what it will look like when it is achieved; #2: Writing your goals down is recognized as a key component of any goal setting success. The practice of writing your goal down is a way to repeat that goal in your mind and when you write it on paper and read it back to yourself, you’re reinforcing it in your mind and conditioning yourself that it is real and attainable.
Unless You Consciously Commit To Your Own Excellence, You Accept Mediocrity By Default.
Human nature is to resist change, and to remain in the comfort zone. Becoming excellent, achieving success, and living an extraordinary life are not things that come by chance, or to the person who is not willing to make the sacrifice to achieve them. If you are not setting and following your written goals, you are allowing life to happen to you rather than deciding what life will bring you. Living without written goals is like a sailboat on the sea with no path or direction. The boat travels anywhere the wind blows, so it’s impossible to know where the boat will end up.However, one thing can be sure – it will not be where the captain of the boat wanted to go at the beginning.
Make No Mistake — You Will Leave A Legacy. The Question Is Not “If”, But “What”.
If you do not take control and using goal setting as one of the tools to create a great life, life will simply happen to you and you will never have the chance to maximize your potential.
If you’re going to leave a legacy, why not aspire to leave one that inspires and helps others, that gives you and your loved ones an incredible experience, and lets you feel that you’ve lived the life you wanted?
Your Quality of Life Is A Direct Reflection Of The Quality Of Your Choices.
Make good choices, and you’ll have a good quality of life. The challenge is that it’s difficult to make good choices without having an overall plan and sense of what it is you are trying to accomplish. A good goal setting plan gives you the infrastructure inside which you will be determine whether your choices make sense in the bigger picture. “Does this choice move me closer to or further away to my goal?” This gives you an objective measurement on which to make your decisions.Now It’s Your Turn To Create Some Magic In 2011 ..
As a special gift to you, I’m providing (for the first time ever) access to my SMART Goal Setting System. I’ve never released this outside of my coaching and training programs, but I think it will help you create some massive and exciting goals for yourself. It lays out a specific process to help you set and achieve powerful goals, and gives you some of the “inner game” insight and principles that allow you to achieve maximum success from setting goals. All that I ask in return is that you post a comment below, and tell me what you think of the system — and also, what are YOUR biggest goals for 2011?
Download your FREE Copy of my SMART Goal Setting System here: |
74 Responses
Hi Greg, as always, another great article and thanks so much for your gift. My goals for 2011 are to start a busines (already making headway with your help and The Authority Formula) and then leave my job. It's been too long since I was self-employed – I can't wait!
Hey Kristen – THANK YOU for your feedback! I love that you're being inspired to start your own business, and I think following The Authority Formula will give you a huge advantage in doing so. I believe the future belongs to entrepreneurs, and I'm excited for you going down this path (again!) So thank you and I hope 2011 brings you everything you have set your sights on!
That's the most succinct, yet complete goal setting system I've ever seen, and I look forward to giving it a workout! Thanks, Greg!
Much appreciated James. Have yourself a Happy New Year and please let me know how the goal setting process goes for you.
Thank you, Greg! This is terrific and most appreciated, especially at this time of the year! Thanks, again!
Thanks Greg for the reminder and for the exceptional advise.
Hi Greg,
It's almost year end and I must let you know that I've been following each one of your e-mails since you released the Engaged Entrepreneur Coaching, back in September. This year I've been through a "full change" in my life and the materials, knowledge and experience you've been sharing are invaluable to me. I understand you are giving back to life some of what you have received, so other people (like me) can re-focus on what to do when life hits you in the back.
So Greg, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for sharing so valuable information, experience and knowledge, god bless you and your family.
Best regards.
Esteban
Thank You for you support on setting Goals the near future. Iam involue with my community which is decline community with many environmental issue and a C A R E partner I have the opportunties to change and build community capcity with the focuses on stablization and sustainzation for the future. The future look BRIGHT. I am the change for the future and Economic Growth!
hope
You're welcome Jacqueline – thank you and Happy New Year to you!
Dear Greg,
Thank you so much for this timely information. My husband Peter and I have set aside yesterday and today for setting our goals for 2011! We have been using the handout from week 3 of the preparation phase of your Simple Wealth program (the 4 Obstacles Holding You Back) and I created a worksheet for us based on your explanation of your SMART goal setting process in that handout. This has been incredibly helpful to us in our planning retreat.
I just want to let you know how much I am getting out your Simple Wealth Program. The content has been very well organized and presented and really speaks to me. The old saying that "when the student is ready the teacher will appear" has proved to be true for me. Thank you for providing me with such valuable lessons and concepts.
I hope you and your family are having a wonderful holiday season.
With gratitude,
Jane Bernard
Hi Jane – I'm grateful for your feedback, and I'm glad you're getting so much out of the program! Thank you and Happy New Year to you – and you're very welcome for the content and training. It's something I love to do!
Thank you for the impetus to do this – have tried many systems and was encouraged to see your suggestion to create a personalized system that works best for me. I also appreciated the reminder to assess what resources I would need to make it possible and perhaps easier to acheive my goals. Lastly, I haven't seen idea of making them actionable as you explained in your download – a good addition! Goal setting has worked miracles in my life taking me from 300lbs to 150 and creating a six figure income while only working a few days a week – I look forward to working towards mastery with your wise words on this.
Greg, Thank you for always having great thoughts to share!
I’m always excited to open your emails. Looking forward to
reading and applying your report!
I think you have given me a wealth of knowledge with such" good will" and free of cost. I will be giving this to both my children and hope they appreciate as much as I do!Thank you and much Gratitude.
My biggest goals are to bring my successful business to the next level of expansion that I visualise.I wish to be technologically more savvy.
See to the health of my family and have fun and travel.Also have a romantic Partner.(There I wrote it down).
I will write them down as per the way you have shown me.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks Greg for the handy tool
Hi Greg
I have to say wow I was just telling a good friend we have to set
some real goals and put them in stone and then I get this.
I have read the first page of smart goal setting system and I'm very impressed
thank you for giving. I will finish it tonight and read it several times.
I was trying to remember something you mentioned in a video
it just came back to me create and give value to make money.
Thank you Sir for the value you provide .
Great stuff and like how you go through the mental process of goal setting…See you in the new year…'
Cheers
Les
Great stuff and like how you go through the mental process of goal setting…Timely yes..Great job …See you in the new year…'
Right now my no one goal is t read and make good use of your goal setting system.
I just read your goal setting document & was very inspired and am looking forward to spending time to work it in detail this New Years weekend to help me bring in the new year in the best possible and hopeful way! Thank you sooo much for sharing your collection of expert goal setting directions! I'm really excited to use it myself and I'm also thrilled about referencing your work & sharing your goal setting steps process with my treatment program groups.
I hope you're following through and doing some thinking on your goals this weekend! 🙂 Happy New Year to you.
Hi Greg,
This is another useful information with regards to goal setting and it is very crucial to one’s success in 2011. I have been following your free training and newsletters for a while now and do believe you give out very useful content. My financial goal for 2011 is to earn 1 million Pounds by December 31, 2011. I intend to raise my monthly donations to 2 charity organizations here in England to £1000 per month in 2011. I have some companies i want to approach with some business ideas in 2011 and if the ideas are good for them who knows i could end up partnering with them to bring my ideas to life. I also have other goals in different areas of my life. This is the first time i have ever written down concrete goals in different areas of my life although presently i just have a slight idea of how these are going to be accomplished. I am ready to give it my all because i don’t want to be in the mediocre category anymore. Thanks for being a source of inspiration through the free content you give. Wish you excellence, happiness and distinction in all your endeavours in 2011 and beyond.
Hi Aniefok – thank you for your feedback and kind words! I'm glad that I've been able to help give you some ideas and clarity. May 2011 bring all that you've set your sights on!
Brilliant!
Thank you so much – I am expecting success in 2011!
My biggest goals for 2011 are to implement a system for my holiday rental business which gives me time to spend with my wife and to pursue what I really want to do, which is healing. My 2nd goal is to overcome the fear of the prospect of failure, when I know in my heart that I will succeed.
Rod Versluys
Hi Rod – thank you and good luck with your goals! Remember that success CANNOT come without some levels of failure.. so fear of failure is really fear of success. If you recognize that everyone has setbacks and sometimes things don't work out like you expect, you can see failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. As I've said before, "failure is a signpost on the journey to success". So congrats for pushing forward, and making things happen. "feel the fear and do it anyway!"
Thank you for sharing this valuable document, Greg. The tips you gave are very clear and so easily applicable I started using them while reading.
My goals for this year: be debt free, exercise daily, cut out all processed sugar
Hi Amanda – thanks for the feedback, and good luck with your goals! Make sure you break it down into the 5 SMART elements, and you'll have a huge advantage on getting those goals accomplished.
Thank you for sharing your system with us. My goal is to find a new kitchen for my peanut brittle business and to triple my current sales.
goals are a combination of destination (destiny?), journey and mindset. They are a celebration on achievement, a process of transformation and a way of being. The benefits are universally agreed. The recipe has been missed by many for long. This guide is a great new years gift for many a goal aspirant.
Best wishes for the best 2011!
Hi Rajesh – some great thoughts, thank you – and Happy New Year!
Dear Greg,
thank you very much for your Goal Setting System!
I think this is the most important topic for everybody who wants to start take control of their life and become "The Master of their Fate"…
With huge appreciation for your work I would like to ask and propose you to write a topic on Brainstorming. I know that there are a lot of brainstorming systems, but your approach and systemzation of information is so unbelievable understandable and always practically implemented. I think it would be interesting and very valuable for everybody to have a system for brainstorming of new ideas (not only ideas for business, but for every aspect of life).
Thank you for all your work and for inspiration wich you gave me this year!
I wish you Happy New Year and all the very best in your Life!
Ps. Sorry for my English, it's not my native language.
Hi Greg,
Thank you for sharing your goal system with me. I feel very honoured. I found my self reading growth with great interest as I have alwalys had a curios mind and love to learn things. My father used to call me his why child. Evidently when he answered one of my questions the next one I asked was Why?! By the end of 2011 I want to have gained finacial freedom. I wish you a 'Happy New Year'' Sylv
Having a strong "why" behind each goal you set is actually what I've found to be the biggest secret of success when it comes to setting and achieving goals. Most people "want" something, but they don't DECIDE that it's something they will achieve, no matter what. You have to tie a powerful emotional reason to each goal you set, as it's that commitment that will allow you to persevere through all the distractions and challenges that arise along the way.
Thanks Greg for your generosity and willingness to share. We have been setting goals for a long time but now our goal setting is becoming much more specific. As one of my goals in 2011 I will focus on the structure of my business and by 2012 I will be prepared to join in one of your coaching programs.__Judy
Thank you for your generosity in sharing your "goal setting system". I am looking forward to 2011 as being my best year yet, thanks to your system. I am determined to make a difference in my life so I can be available to be of service to others.
Happy New Year!
With much appreciation,
Rita
Gregg, this would be a great addition to John Assaraf's programs! John just put up a video about setting goals for 2011. I know that you had a interview with John and I hope that you could offer the SMARTgoals pdf to him.
Hi John – good to hear from you, Happy New Year! John's a great guy and the "real deal". I saw his video and it was great – I'll definitely mention this to him and see if it's something that would help him in his message. I'm going to contribute some ideas to his new book that's he writing, so I'm excited about that. Hope you're doing well and that 2011 is a great one for you and the family.
Thanks, Greg, You’re a real inspiration to
planning for a great new year.
Thank you very much for your help may God make you more and
more wise and rich, the knowledge i learned from you this year it
helped me and my familly thank you thank you and happy new
year.
Tan you Gregg for sharing your knowledge and bringing a
light to the goal setting process required for a successful new
year 2011. Best blessings and a prosperous season to you!
What a great gift – I am looking forward to taking some time to do the work to get really clear about my goals and what I need to do to accomplish them. First and foremost is completing The Authority Formula course with great success. Thank you.
Thank you very much for this download. It is really helpful.
Thank you so much for the SMART goal setting article. A big
insight for me was your comment that long term planning is not
about making long-term decisions, it is about understanding the
future consequences of today’s decisions. Brilliant! That
should help me get un-stuck. The goals I am putting down and
working out on paper are about getting fit and strong, learning a
new language and pulling my business together in a more productive
way.
My major goal for 2011 is to significantly increase my
knowledge of investment options to grow my wealth more than 300%
and put into place the asset protection documents to legally
safeguard what i’ve earned. Additionally, I will teach the
goal setting principles to my two children so that they can create
a wonderful life by design and not default.
Hi Greg, Great posting, but I do have 1question: 1.
There’s millions of “goal setting
systems” out there and your points in the article have
been said many times. What do you believe is the tipping point that
tips people to actually taking “Action” on their
goals? I believe the reason most people fail in the
“execution” part is because their attitude has
been habitualized in how they are in life. When you become
habitualized in sabotaging yourself, it’s really difficult
to break that habit and create momentum in achieving goals. What
I’ve found to be most effective is setting a goal and
achieving it is breaking everything down to “The next
step” This maybe tedious but solves alot of the issues
“setting goals” creates. It also provides
measurable momentum to confirm that they are progressing and the
steps are small enough that they can be easily executed.
Hi John – breaking your goals down into doable, achievable steps is an important concept. Our brain can't deal with a big goal like "lose 20 pounds" but it can deal with the single next physical step that needs to take. The other reason that most people fail with setting goals and resolutions is that they don't tie it to something emotional important. In other words, they'd "like" to achieve the goal, but they're not completely "committed" to making it happen. It's the difference between wanting it to happen, and needing it to happen. If you want to create results, you need to tie a strong "why" into the goal so that there's an underlying reason to go after it.
When is your next Authority course?
Hi John – we are looking to launch The Authority Formula early next year. The feedback on the program with everyone in it now has been awesome, so I\’m looking forward to bringing it out to more people likely in March.
Hey Greg Thank you for your valuable gift The incredible
power of setting goals is so,because,Goal setting is the only way
to develop passionate motivation and meaningfull in life
Greg, This last week I’ve been hesitating in
focusing on writing down goals for 2011 because I feel that I
wouldn’t take it seriously due to the fact that it is just
that time of year again. But then I read your post above and your
report and got totally excited and motivated to focus on goal
setting and most importantly to write them down. The part of your
post above that hit home to me is that I am 29 now much like you
were in your story above and I have similar goals as you did. I
know I can achieve my goals if I write them down and consistently
focus on achieving them! Thanks for all your amazing content!
Garrett Pierson
Hey Garrett – I don't set a bunch of new goals when New Year's comes for that very same reason. Instead, I just do a review of what I've set out, just as I would at the end of every quarter. I've always found that setting shorter term goals inside the framework of longer-term goals, is the best way to go. So while I think about what I'm trying to achieve in the next year, I focus most of my energy on what I can make happen in the next 90 days that will move me closer to the bigger goal. That way it seems to urgent, more "now", and breaks it into smaller pieces that are easier to absorb and execute on. Great comment and thanks also for your great insight from our conversations. Looking forward to doing stuff in 2011 with you!
Hi Greg The writing part every day is powerful I am
determined to to do this
This plan appears very doable. Thank you for sharing your insight.
I often instruct courses in Productivity which includes
topics such as time management, priorities, attitudinal assesments,
procrastination, and goal setting. Your overview on Goal Setting is
bang on and uses solid illustrations on relevant application of
SMART principles. Well done. Graeme.
Greg, great system! I'm wondering if you included all the SMART details in your 3 goals you made when you were 29? I didn't see that mentioned anywhere.
Hi Wendy – I included most of the detail, but the SMART system is even more detailed and powerful. To be honest, I don't know how much more I could have achieved had I known the SMART system back then!
Thank you Greg! I will use it straight away as I am setting my goals these days! Have a Fantastic & Successful New Year
Alexandra
Hi Greg,
Wonderful content as always and thanks so much for the goal setting system! Can't wait to take a look.
I just wanted to drop a line to give you the heads up about the Yale Study. I used to quote it myself in my own trainings until someone told me that it actually never happened. Here is the original article from Fast Company breaking the story of the myth:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/cdu.html
I wasn't really sure if I should write and tell you, but I hope you've seen my positive comments (and reposts) on your work so much that you know I'm a devoted fan . . . and you seem like someone who would want to know.
As always, I'll be watching for your next post . . . and Happy New Year!
🙂 Dana
Hi Dana – yes, I've read the article before so know about the controversy. I've heard the study quoted from other universities as well. My report was written a few years ago, and I decided not to remove that part of it simply because of what is mentioned at the end of the FC article – that if it's not true, then it SHOULD be. Because it has absolutely been my personal experience, and I think it causes people to think differently.
Haha . . . I agree! It should be! That’s a great
quote and definitely true. I’m amazed when I look back at
old goal setting sessions from previous years how many things
I’ve written down have come to pass. It’s truly
amazing.
I look forward to using this and letting know at the end of the year how it helped. 2011 has to be different and even bigger.
Great Post Greg. As I was reviewing 2010 goals and preparing to put pen to paper for 2011 this post and the SMARTgoals.pdf were very helpful.
Where do you fit meaning in the SMART abbreviation? As I see it a SMART goal can still be a poor goal if it is not meaningful to start with.
For my purposes I modified the SMART abbreviation to mean
– Specific,
– Meaningful,
– Action-oriented,
– Realistic
– Time-bound
What do you say?
I say, you shouldn't be setting a goal unless it has meaning and purpose to begin with. The SMART process is intended to make sure you're creating a goal so that it's clear, specific and measurable. It's more of a tool to make sure the goals that you do decide to set are likely to be attained, not to give you guidance on WHAT you should be setting goals around.
Hello Greg, Just great all this info and advice (specially
in the PDF). Thank you very much! Made an immediate choice. I was
wondering how to handle this: I have been working on many different
ideas/plans ( http://www.niconull.com/ , http://www.ecodome.nl/ ,
http://www.equalnessanduniqueness.com/ ) and now chose for one as
the first and most important. What do you think, should I put the
other 9 in the freezer, and not touch them or still work on them
every once in a while. Thank you very much. I’m very grateful you
have put all this on the net. It was just what I needed. Mark
Biemans
Thanks so much Greg. When the student is ready the teacher will appear and Greg you have been a God sent. I have been to over 500 seminars and workshops and I am learning thing from you I never heard before.You're the best!
Thank you for your generous contribuitions to assists others achieving their own goals throught your
precious insights and inspiration.
For this year I have different goaols: lose weight, get involved in romance, start to create my own business, travel in Europe, passing other exam on my AIikido training towards my black belt.
I JUST REALIZED that I don’t have clear and specific goals, I have SOME idea of what I want, but its not clear!!
thank you so much
seriously BEST stuff on the internet
Melissa
Wow, thank Melissa– that means a lot! I appreciate it, and I’m glad you’re getting a lot out of what I share.
This is the document I needed to set goals. I had been told many times before you need to set your goals, they must be this way and that way but I could not get them done. I always felt that I had done something wrong. I just browse trought it and I felt relieve of an enormous weight that was on my shoulder. Now I see the light and I think the whole family will be involved in the process. I will have my own also.
Thank you so much for sharing this document. Keep up the good work!
Hi Greg,
Thanks for this information, i have been searching for a guide on goal setting and none has been close to what you’ve shared. Really appreciate your great heart!
Ebube
Hi Greg,
“Goals without deadlines are only dreams”.
I try to make money online for the last 2 years and even have miracle product but now I realize that all my goals are just a dreams.