| If you decided you were going to take
a vacation, you would probably first select a destination.
Next, you would gather some information on where you
might stay once you got there, how you would get there,
and how much money you would need. Then, you would schedule
your time to do and see the things that interest you.
Most vacations are one or two weeks long, and many people
spend more time planning their vacation than they do
the other fifty or fifty-one weeks of the year—or
even the rest of their lives!
Goal setting is life, career or success planning. First,
you must decide upon your destination. Where do you
want to be one year, five years or ten years from now?
How do you plan on getting there? What will you need
to arrive there? What will it take to get you where
you want to be? The plan consists of your goals, which
must be carefully and skillfully planned if they are
to be achieved. You can have as many goals as you want.
You can never have too many. Your goals are much more
important than the one- or two-week vacations you will
take, and the amount of time you spend planning them
should easily exceed the amount of time you spend planning
your vacations. In fact, your goals will provide the
funding for every one of your vacations. They are the
destinations you have in life.
Your goals must be specific. You would not take a vacation
without knowing exactly where you were going, would
you? Can you imagine saying to your spouse, “Let’s
go to California this summer,” and to their question,
“Where in California do you want to go?”
replying, “I don’t know. Let’s just
go to California.” Now, a one-week trip with a
destination of Disneyland or San Francisco might make
a little more sense. Then you must plan the trip. How
are you going to get there? If you live close enough,
you might drive there; if not, you might fly there.
How much time will it take to drive there, or how much
will you need to pay for the airline tickets? Where
will you stay once you arrive?
How much money do you want to have in the bank in one
year? How much do you need to save each week to have
that amount in one year? Your goals are the motivation
you need, when you begin to question whether the hard
work and effort you are putting into yourself and your
career is worth it. Keep a list of your goals in your
pocket and review it often. Take the time to create
precise goals. Then, rewrite your goals as often as
you can to help keep them current and maintain them
in your thoughts.
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