7 Steps to Goal Setting and Achieving

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There is a powerful 7-step process that you can use to set
and achieve any goal you can imagine for yourself. As
Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, wrote, “Whatever
the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Step One. Decide exactly what you want in each area of your life
and then write it down in clear, specific language. Writing your
goals on paper moves you into the top 3 percent of living adults.

Step Two. Set a deadline on your goal; if necessary, set subdeadlines
so that you can always measure how well you are
doing and how fast you are moving toward what is most
important to you.

Step Three. Identify all the problems and obstacles that stand
between you and your goal. Select the biggest obstacle or roadblock
and make a plan to deal with it or remove it as soon as
possible.

Step Four. Identify the people, groups, and organizations
whose help or cooperation you will require to achieve your
goal. Determine what they might accomplish by helping you.
Anyone who wants to achieve large goals must have the help
and support of many other people. Who are they?

Step Five. Identify the additional knowledge and skills that
you will need to achieve your goal. Remember, as Les Brown,
author of Live Your Dreams, says, “To achieve something you
have never achieved before, you must become someone you
have never been before.” Select the one skill that can help you
the most in the achievement of your biggest goal, and make a
plan to acquire that skill as soon as possible.

Step Six. Take the answers to the first five steps and organize
them into a plan of action. Make a list of every step that you
will have to take to achieve your goal. Organize the list by prority and sequence. Organize parallel activities and sequential
activities. Put time lines on each part of your plan. Commit the
entire plan to writing and review it regularly.

Step Seven. Take action on your plan immediately. Do something
every day that moves you in the direction of your most
important goal. Never miss a day. As Robert Schuller said, “By
the yard, it’s hard; but inch by inch, anything’s a cinch.”