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By: Paul McDonald

As I once was a person who really had no goals, I now relish the opportunity to set new goals and give myself a vision for the future. Goal setting is vital to success in any endeavor, and the best advice I can give you is to be S.M.A.R.T when setting goals.


S - Specific


Your goals absolutely need to be very specific. If you want a new car for example, you need to know exactly what it will cost, the color inside and out, the options it will have, etc. Simply saying "I want a new Cadillac" means nothing. Saying "I want a brand new 2007 Black Cadillac Escalade with Dark Grey Interior, GPS, DVD Player, Automatic Roll Back Seats, Tri-zone climate control, heated seats and steering wheel, etc." is far more effective and really gets you excited. Those feelings will help move you towards that goal.

M - Measurable


Your goal must absolutely be measurable. To simply say that you want more money so you can travel, pay off the car or the house is not as effective as saying that "I will earn $300K by the 31st of December, 2007." This is far more positive and will allow you the capacity to travel and pay off whatever you wish as a result of earning the money.


A - Attainable


This is a tricky one. Your goal should definitely be set so that you can absolutely achieve it, however when we talk about goal setting we also say to make your goals big. The key here is to set your goals so that they are a bit of a stretch, but set them so they can absolutely be achieved and they are not impossible.


R - Relevant

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