Your Goals Must be Specific and Known

Any serious student of success is certainly familiar with the concept of goal setting. Goals provide a target to focus on and to measure your movement against. In order to accomplish both of these two objectives your goals must be specific, written down and shared.

The act of writing your goals down forces you to get focused. As you write, and re-write, you begin the process of selection. What are you seeking, what will light the fire of determination within you? If you do not put your goals on paper they remain merely passing thoughts and dreams. For years I thought about running a marathon but never got focused. I finally put the goal on paper, let others know what I am doing and am now training six days a week for a run in the spring.

Letting other s know what your goal or goals are is another powerful motivator. It’s sort of a “put your money where your mouth is” thing. By sharing your goal with others you are forcing yourself into action – lest you let yourself look foolish. Consider the ancient general Tariq ibn Ziyad who on April 30, 711, after he and his army landed at Gibraltar, ordered his ships to be burned so that his troops had no choice but to defeat their enemy or die a coward’s death (his armies swept through Spain killing the King later that summer).

I am sure your goals and aspirations do not include the invasion of Spain, but just as General Ziyad left no room for retreat if you are serious about success you should be thinking the same. How can you define your goals in such a way that you have move forward? Who can you share your goals with that can offer assistance or simply pressure you to stay the course?

Take the time to write very specific goals down as well as some time to think about the two questions noted above. The more focused you can be in both goal setting and who to share them with will help you attain all the success you are looking for.