Here are 12 steps for achieving more of what you want out of your career and life:
- Have a written and specific goals program – both personal and business. When you know where you stand, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there, you will have more confidence and be more motivated to achieve. It’s important that your goals are in writing because writing crystallizes thought and crystallized thought motivates action.
- Exhibit initiative. Someone once said, “Well-started is half-done.” Another common saying is, “He who hesitates is lost.” Getting started is critical to your success.
- Demonstrate self-reliance. Once you get started, keep going. Two of my favorite sayings that support this point are: “Winners never quit and quitters never win.” and “It is always too soon to quit.”
- Accept personal responsibility. This is the heart of the “if it is to be, it is up to me” concept. There will always be obstacles to any worthwhile goal. The way you respond to these obstacles and the choices you make as a result of them will determine the magnitude of your success. Remember, it’s not your situation that affects the outcome, it’s your reaction to the situation.
- Prepare yourself. A commitment to continuous growth is essential in the pursuit and achievement of worthwhile goals. You’ll be no better off tomorrow than you are today except for the books you read, the messages you listen to and the people you associate with. If you want to have more, you need to be more.
- Believe in yourself. Make a list of your personal strengths and past accomplishments. Review your list and add to it on a regular basis. By focusing on your strengths instead of your weaknesses and on your accomplishments instead of your problems, you will bolster your belief in yourself. This bolstered belief will help you break through obstacles, road blocks and hindering circumstances.
- Visualize your success. “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear” is etched in every automobile’s passenger-side mirror. Put symbols of your future accomplishments on your bathroom mirror. You will soon discover that the accomplishment of these goals is closer than you thought.
- Establish and maintain relationships. We usually need other people to help us reach our goals whether it’s in a support role or direct assistance. Establishing, maintaining, and nurturing relationships will pay big dividends.
- Take appropriate risks. Achieving worthwhile goals requires extra effort, persistence, determination, an “I will not be denied” attitude, and a “whatever it takes” attitude.
- Expand your resources. Unless your goal is highly personal, you can usually get other people to help you achieve it. You can enlist family members, friends, or business associates.
- Be “on fire” about your goals. When you’re excited about your goals and enthusiastic about the outcome, you’ll draw on inner resources that will help your goals become reality.
- Commit to greatness. To achieve great goals, you need to be the best you that you’re capable of becoming. You need to make your life extraordinary. You need to develop and use more of your talents and abilities.