Goal Setting - If They Can Do It, You Can Do It

By: Jim Meisenheimer
Submitted: 2008-07-30 16:22:48
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Goal setting - it's so easy and yet it's so hard. It has to be hard because so few people do it.

Some people did it and don't do it now. Even people who have set goals in the past and have achieved them no longer set goals for themselves.

I find it mind-boggling.

There is an old Gaelic Proverb that says, "Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened."

Which kind of person are you?

Do you know the secret to getting things done? I mean getting the really important things in your life done.

I'm sure you've heard this before, so this is just a simple reminder, it's plain old-fashioned goal setting.

I was reading Inc. Magazine over the weekend and read an article about Joe Cirulli. When he was 21 and broke he made a written list of 10 things he wanted to accomplish in life. He achieved them one at a time.

What was he thinking? The audacity of a man to test the limits of goal setting without having two nickels to rub together.

Joe's goals were to:

1. Earn $100,000 by the age of 25.

2. Own a health club in Gainesville Florida.

3. Own a home in the mountains and one by the ocean.

4. Build a home for his parents by the ocean.

5. Travel all over the United States.

6. Travel all over the world.

7. Own a Mercedes-Benz like the one driven by the $6 Million Man.

8. Become a black belt.

9. Become a pilot and own a plane.

10. Save $1 million.

Joe is a piece of work. I mean really! The article went on to say that Joe was tremendously influenced by two classic self help books - The Power Of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale and Think And Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.

So he reads two books and writes 10 goals and his life is changed forever - imagine that.

He unraveled the secret to success which is knowing exactly what you want and putting it all on paper.

Now then, if you're a football fan, you probably know the name Lou Holtz, who was the former head coach at Notre Dame.

In 1966 Lou was 28 years old when he was hired as an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. His wife Beth emptied the bank account for a down payment on a house. Just one month later the head coach suddenly resigned and Lou Holtz was unemployed.

To help boost his morale his wife gave him the book titled "The Magic Of Thinking Big," by David Schwartz. The author suggested you write down all the things you want to achieve during your lifetime.

So Lou Holtz sat down and wrote 107 goals. Thinking big - one of these goals was to become the head coach of Notre Dame.

Let's see, did I get this right? Two guys in their 20s read inspirational books and prepare a list of goals they want to achieve.

Like magic, and of course not without a lot of hard work, these guys go out and achieve their goals.

So if you want to make the most of your life as Joe and Lou have done - do the following:

1. Read "The Power Of Positive Thinking," and "Think And Grow Rich" and "The Magic Of Thinking Big."

2. Using a blue pen and a yellow legal pad write a list of goals you want to achieve personally and professionally during your lifetime.

And why should you do this?

"Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened."

You should do this because your Goals will make things happen for you.

If Joe and Lou can do it, you can do it too!

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