The Importance of
Setting Smart Goals

Setting Smart Goals for both your business and your life is highly important and has a direct link to how successful you are.

Now, before you start panicking because you've never written a business objective or goal in your life...and actually, you have NO idea what a 'smart' one is...just relax. They really are quite easy to do!

Remember the last time you got into your car, or hopped onto a train, plane...or any other mode of transport for that matter? Well, before you did that you knew exactly where you wanted to go, didn't you? That was goal setting: setting yourself a goal of getting to your particular destination.

A business objective or goal is no different. You need to know where you're going. You need to set some goals! Now, it's no good saying that your goal is to be a Double Diamond Executive with Bells and Whistles on this year - if you've only just started!

Objectives and goals have to be realistic. This is where the 'smart' bit comes in. There's a little acronym that says objectives/goals have to be SMART. And that stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic/Relevant
Timely

Click here to go through each one in more detail.

Exercise 1: Setting Your Smart Goals

The first thing that you're going to do is to grab yourself a cup of your favourite hot beverage (OK, OK, some biscuits too if you must!), some paper and a pen, and write down YOUR goals and objectives.

Write your Smart Goals and objectives for 1 year, 1-3 years, 5 years, 10 years.

Do NOT skip this bit. It may seem unimportant. You may be thinking "it's OK, because all my goals are up in my head". It's not OK. You are 1000% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down! The famous business and life philosopher Jim Rohn (also a network marketer by the way!) suggests that you should write at least 50 goals across all areas of your life. People who have [written] goals go on to live the life that they want, rather than living their life to fulfil everybody else's dreams.

To quote Jim Rohn again: "you should not start your day without knowing how your day is going to end. You should not start your month before you know how it's going to end. And you should not start a year before you know how it's going to end."

This all relates to your goal setting. Most people wander aimlessly through life with no clear direction, envious of those who achieve the life of their dreams and become successful. What these people don't realise is that they too could become one of those successful people. If only they had set their goals!

And if they had written Smart Goals - who knows where they'd be now?!

Back to your Smart Goals and objectives.

Do they mean something to you? Are they relevant to you and YOUR dreams?

Does your quest for paying off your mortgage within 5 years, match with your 1 year income goals?

Remember to make sure that your goals are realistic and relevant to you and your dreams. Remember, it's YOUR life, so this is the time to plan it how you want. How exactly do you picture your life to be in a year's time, 3 year's time and so on?

Have you ever worked out what your ideal life would cost? To the penny? It's an interesting exercise to do. A great book to read is "You Were Born Rich" by Bob Proctor. What he suggests is to write down all the things you want in your ideal life and cost them all up. Find out exactly what the mortgage is on your dream home? What about the car? The live-in housekeeper? The gardener? The investments you'd like to make? The holidays you'd like to go on? The restaurant you would go to on a weekly basis? When I did this the total came to £17,563! A month!! (Not that I've got expensive tastes or anything!)

Your goals and objectives will give you the direction that your business, and ultimately your daily activities, need to take.

Need a little inspiration?

Click here for some examples of Smart Goals. So get stuck in. Have some fun. Dream a little. Dream a lot. Get those Smart Goals written down.