What does success mean to you? Maybe it means getting to watch your kids graduate from college, or finishing first-place in a marathon you trained hard for. Maybe it is becoming financially comfortable, or wealthy, or even becoming a millionaire. The word means many things to many people, but in general, success can best be defined as the point in time when a specific goal is achieved.
As young children your goals are limitless. You aspire to become President, to make a million dollars, to become a lion tamer at the circus, or to become an astronaut and land on the moon. Over time, your goals tend to change for many reasons. What is important, however, is to always remind yourself of the things you want to accomplish.
The first step in achieving your goals is to set them. Take out a couple sheets of paper. On the left side at the very top, write todays date. On the top right-hand side write you age (don't worry, you will be the only one who sees this). In the very middle, write in big, vibrant colors, the words "(your name)'s Goals". Now... begin writing. Write everything that comes to mind, no matter how crazy, hard, unbelievable, impossible or ridiculous it might seem. Take as much time as you need and write down 100 personal goals. The trick is, don't stop writing. Just let the ideas flow right off your head.
You might find it easiest during the first five or so minutes. After that, it might get a little harder to come up with things, but the secret is, your most important goals wont come out until you get towards the end of this exercise. Congratulations. You have taken the first step towards a brighter future.
Now, with your list of 100 goals written on the left, take a few minutes and read through each of them. Picture each one as vividly as you can in your mind. If, for example, one of your goals is to build a strong relationship with your family, picture yourself sitting around the dinner table sharing laughs with one-another. If you want to buy a home of your own, picture exactly what that house looks like as you drive up the driveway, and what it smells like as you walk through the front door for the first time. Give it sound and feeling. Imagining your goals in detail is very important. The more vivid and intense you imagine them, the easier it will become to achieve them.
Your mind works in amazing ways. When you visualize a situation, even one that is not reality, your subconscious tries to figure out different ways to get there. Essentially it is like tricking your mind into believing something to be real. Keep your list in your purse or wallet. Read it at least twice a day; once when you wake up and again before you go to sleep. Try to picture each goal and what it feels like to accomplish it. You are training your mind to accept this outcome as reality and in turn your subconscious will continue to find ways to make it happen.
As you read through each goal, make a decision. Ask yourself one question: If I only had six months to live, is this something I would absolutely have to do? Out of your list of 100 goals, you may find 10 to 15 things you with-out-a-doubt must do before you die. Write these 10 or so down on the right half of the paper. These are your most desired aspirations. They are the things you should give top priority to and devote most of your time accomplishing them at all costs. This side is called your "bucket list". Things to do before you "kick the bucket".
It's amazing how many people don't actually do this exercise. Even though they claim to have many goals in life, they've never taken the time to write them down. After a while, what may have been a deep desire at one point in your life can fade away. Writing your goals down enables you to read them over and over again helping to remind you where you are heading and keeping you focused. In fact, writing them down is the first major step in actually achieving them.
So what does success mean to me? To me, success was when I received recognition in having the highest grades on my finals in college. It is every time I make a young child smile. It will be when I publish my book and people all over the world write letters telling me how it has changed their lives. Success means improving my skills and talents so that I and people around me can benefit from them.
There's no time like the present. Go out and get started on your goals. Ask yourself what success means to you. Take the time to invest in your future. With a little time and some effort, you can do anything you put your mind to. Please feel welcome to post any thoughts you might have in the comments section at the bottom of this entry. And don't forget, you can sign up for automatic updates to this site through the RSS feed or with the Email Subscription Service. Thanks for reading and don't forget; You're going to have a great life!
