Now that you have started to dream big, it is time to take these dreams and make them a reality.  Dreams need to be transformed into written goals.  Successful, high-achieving people in business and in life know the importance of setting goals for themselves.  Successful people think about their goals everyday.  Most successful individuals tend to become what they think about.  When a person begins to visualize their dreams, these dreams become the foundation for their specific goals to attain. Individuals who set attainable goals will most likely be more motivated to achieve them and find they have developed a greater self-confidence.  Goal setting is like planning out a road map for your life.  It helps you narrow down what is important in your life and how you can achieve success.  Goal setting will take your visions and your dreams to the next level when you begin to develop detailed goals to meet your needs in life.  Begin by taking those big dreams of what you want out of life, and write them down as overall lifetime goals.  These goals may also be referred to as life-changing goals.  Try to be as specific about this goal as you can.  If your goal is a new vacation home, list the square footage, where it is located, how many bedrooms it has and the date you will move in.  Maybe a life-changing goal for you would be to earn more money than bills each month.  What if you were a single mother whose finances and lifestyle would change dramatically by earning an extra $500 to $1,000 a month through a home-based business, wouldn’t you do everything you could possibly do to achieve this goal? Begin the process by breaking these goals into smaller goals that fit into different categories, for example, career, financial, family and recreation.  Write down the smaller goals under each category and start to do the following things:

1. Choose goals that excite you; state each goal as a positive statement 2. Keep goals small so you can achieve them 3. Remember, set smaller performance goals not outcome goals 4. Write down dates and times to help you measure achievement 5. Identify obstacles and risks you may encounter for these goals 6. List specific activities needed to accomplish each goal 7. Read your goals with enthusiasm at least three times a day 8. Keep your goals with you at all times, write them down on note cards (keep a set at home, in your car, in your wallet or at work) 9. Create a goals dream board or notebook (write down your goals on poster board or in a notebook and create a page for each goal, cut out pictures or words to bring these goals to life) 10. When you achieve a goal, replace it with a new goal and new pictures

Doing daily activity for your smaller goals will help ensure success in accomplishing them.  Remember, goals are clear, specific road maps that allow you to follow a course of action.   When you achieve a goal, take time to enjoy your accomplishment and reward yourself.  While there is nothing more discouraging than failing to reach your goals, be sure that you set goals, so that you are in control of them.  Try not to focus on the failed attempt, but rather reassess your goal.  Perhaps, you need to change some aspect about the goal like your activity, so it becomes attainable.   When asked, most people will say they understand the importance of goal setting in order to become successful in business or life, but in reality, more than 70% of people never set goals for themselves.  If they do, roughly 50% fail to achieve the goals they set.  In the next Chapter, Take Action, we will examine why some people fall short in achieving their goals and what you can do to overcome failure and disappointment and ultimately find success.