Unleash the Power of Goal Setting

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #7

This principle contains so much homework, I'm going to give readers and myself three days to complete it. On Wednesday, November 17, we'll continue with Success Principle #8.

Today, Jack tells us that whatever goal we give to our subconscious mind, it will work night and day to achieve it. I never realized until this past week how true this is. I've never accomplished so much in so little time.

(1) Figure out how much and by when.
Jack teaches a fundamental concept in this lesson about two criteria that all goals must meet:

*they must be measurable; and
*they must include a specific date and time for completion

If I say that my goal is to lose 10 pounds, no one can prove that by weighing me. I've given no deadline for my goal, so no one can hold me accountable to it.

It is far better to say that I want to weigh 137 pounds by December 15, 2010 at 8:00 am. That way, anyone can meet me on that day and time, stand me on a scale, and prove whether or not I have met my goal.

This type of goal-setting in very familiar to me. As a teacher, I learned it through lesson planning and beginning teacher programs. We were taught to write lesson plans that include specific, measurable goals. That way, if a substitute teacher or a parent questioned the content of a lesson, the goal was always clear. Most importantly, it kept me focused on what I was teaching.

(2) Write your goals, not just vague ideas.
When we write down a goal, we need to be very specific about all aspects of it. If we write vague goals, we will produce vague results.

Here's an example of this. A vague goal says, Someday, I'd like to have a new car. A more specific goal would be, I will enjoy driving my new Chevrolet Camaro with yellow exterior high luster paint, black racing stripe, black leather seats, and manual transmission by January 31, 2011. Now, we can actually visualize the outcome. It's measurable and very specific.

(3) Write it out in detail.

Think of writing down your goals as if you were writing work orders with specifications. Or consider it a clear request that you'd like God to fulfill. Goals that we keep in our heads are far less likely to become reality. When we write them down, we must include exacting details. If we can get a photograph, a magazine picture, or a drawing of what we want; we'll reach our goal even more quickly.

(4) We need goals that stretch us.
The point of making goals is to help us become a master at life. By working to achieve our goals, we should also:

-learn new skills;
-expand our vision;
-build new relationships; and
-overcome fears.

Writing down goals that don't force us to build up our skill set is just a waste of time. For example, if I have already mastered the habit of brushing my teeth every night before bed, it is not worthwhile to include nightly toothbrushing as one of my goals. If routine flossing is a challenge to me, however, I might write that out as a goal.

(5) Create a breakthrough goal.
We can write hundreds of goals for things we would like to achieve before we die. Some, like tooth flossing, may be important to us. However, they are not monumental successes. A breakthrough goal should be one that presents a quantum leap for us. When we achieve it, everything in our lives will shift in a new direction.

For me, publishing a book that becomes a New York Times bestseller would be a breakthrough. That success would catapult me into an entirely new place. I'd have more money to give away, my lifestyle would change, the people I met would be different, and the places I traveled would be exciting to me.

(6) Re-read your goals three times every day.
When we write down our goals and remind ourselves about them every single day, we increase something known as structural tension in our brains. The brain cannot take in a message and do nothing about it. It becomes tensed, like a crouching lion, preparing to pounce on an antelope. Our brain will not rest until it achieves the goal we have set out for it.

Jack instructs readers to write down our goals on 3 x 5 cards. We must read them as soon as we wake up, during a break in the day, and just before falling asleep.

Years ago, I developed the habit of writing what I called prayer cards. I asked each person in the family to write down as many goals as they wanted on a 3 x 5 card. We did this on New Year's Eve, instead of making New Year's resolutions. Every morning at breakfast and again at dinner, I prayed aloud for those goals with my children.

Interestingly, the year that I wrote down that I wanted a godly man to come into my life who would be a gentle husband for me and a loving father for my kids, Joe appeared exactly 21 days later. The mind is far more powerful than we can imagine. And the power of God goes beyond our imaginations.

(7) Create a Goals Book.
I've already described this to you in a previous post, but I labeled it a dream book. It's a three-ring binder with sheet protectors in it. On each page, I have typed out my goals. I've included pictures from magazines or photos of everything I want to have. Jack instructs us to look at this book at least once a day.

One example of this is the statement that I weigh 137 pounds by December 31, 2010. It includes a picture of me at that weight, taken nearly 30 years ago. I've lost almost 15 pounds this year, with only 5 to go.

(8) Carry your most important goal in your wallet.

This should read: I am happy to be _________________ by _______________.

The first blank includes your goal, and the second one includes the date and time. Which goal is my most important one? Not losing 5 pounds. As stated above, my most life-altering goal would be to hit the New York Times Bestseller list. My goal would read like this:

I am happy to be reading my name in the newspaper on the New York Times Bestseller list by December 31, 2011.

(9) One goal is not enough.
Here, Jack really pushes us hard. He directs us to make a list of 101 goals to add to our Goals Book. Every day, we must re-read our list of goals. Whenever we achieve one, we put a check mark in front of it and write Victory! beside it.

I have made the mistake of ripping goal pages out of my book as I have achieved them. It would be far better if I kept track of my victories. This is what builds our self-esteem and keeps us motivated to succeed more.

(10) Write yourself a check.
If we write ourselves a check with the amount of money we want to earn by a certain date, the universe will eventually make that happen. Jack calls us to keep this check in our wallet and look at it daily.

Jim Carrey did this before he was ever discovered as an actor. He wrote himself a check for $10 million and tucked it into his wallet. Before the date on the check, he was paid twice that amount for his first year in movies.

You can find a blank check for this exercise at www.thesecret.com.

(11) Face your considerations, fears, and roadblocks.
There are three obstacles to success, and if we know what they are, we can handle them and keep moving foward on our journey. They are:

-Considerations: reasons why our goal is impossible
-Fears: thoughts of rejection, failure, foolishness
-Roadblocks: mere external circumstances that we must overcome

Jack asks us to welcome these three obstacles, because they represent the things that have been holding us back all along.

For me, the fear of failure is strong. Joe and I have been so broke in the past, I don't ever want to go there again. Sticking out my neck and risking my reputation by writing something that flops really scares me. But I know that if I don't try, I'll never find out that I can achieve my big goal.

External circumstances that have affected my writing are the poor economy and skittishness of agents to take on new writers at this point in time. While these are setbacks to me, I know that they are only temporary. Everyone experiences them. If I realize that and push on, I will make it to my goal of becoming a bestselling author.

(12) Mastery is the goal.
If we think that true success lies in achieving material things, we've completely missed the point. God sets us on earth for a reason, and that is to become a master at life. Christ mastered every skill possible, from changing water into wine to raising the dead to life. We are his hands, and it is up to us to finish his work here.

Isaiah 52:7 reads, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Our God reigns!" When we work to achieve goals based on dreams that God has put in our hearts, we are most beautiful to our maker and to those around us.

(13) Do it now!
Jack provides some startling statistics in this last section:

-3% of the world's super achievers have a purpose statement, keep a vision of their best self in mind, and write out their goals
-1% of top achievers write daily to-do lists based on their goals

Wow! I didn't know that I represented such a small percentage of people in the world. I've been doing some version of this most of my life. Even as a kid, I was writing daily to-do lists. But Jack has helped me to see that I need to stretch myself even more. I've been limiting my brain's abilities, and it's time for new challenges.

Today's Challenge
As I stated at the beginning, this is enough work for the next three days. Start by writing out your list of 101 goals today. On Monday, we'll revisit the creation of your 3 x 5 cards; and on Tuesday, I'll help you get started on your Goals Book.