The 12

Commandments Of
Goal Setting

Compiled By Edward C Blanchard

 The 12 Commandments Of Goal Setting

#1: The 12 Commandments Of Goal

Setting
Many professionals have a basic idea of what they want to achieve in their careers. They may want to close
more sales, earn a higher income, or move into a different job. However, somehow they do not achieve the
success they desire. Why? Why is it that intelligent, motivated, hard-working individuals are not achieving
the success they deserve? It is because they haven’t set clear goals.

They may have a general idea of what they want to accomplish, but the mind does not work effectively with
generalities. If you want to earn a higher income and you earn one more dollar, have you achieved your
goal? No, of course you haven’t. Because you were not specific about what you wanted to accomplish, your
creative mind could not assist you in reaching your true objective.

In order to be effective, goals must be written down in the present tense using clear, specific, vivid words.
For example, if your goal were to earn a salary of £50,000 per year, you would write. I now earn £50,000. per
year in a job that is fulfilling and allows me to express myself creatively.

Completing the following steps will help you set goals effectively so you can achieve positive results in
your career.

1. Decide what you want to accomplish

The goal should be very specific. If you want to close more sales, how many more sales do you want to
close? What do you want your closing ratio to be? If you want to move into a different job, what are the
characteristics of that job?

2. Determine a deadline for accomplishment 

A goal must have a deadline. If you do not have a date on it, the goal is only a wish or a dream.

3. Determine that the goal is believable to you

You must feel that the goal can be realised. If you believe it is impossible to achieve, you will never take the
action necessary to make the goal a reality.

4. Where are you now?

Take a current inventory. You will never know how far you have to go if you don’t know where you already
are.

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers

 The 12 Commandments Of Goal Setting

5. What obstacles do you need to overcome?

Is there something that may make it difficult to achieve your goal? Be aware of the obstacle so you can
make plans to overcome it.

6. What knowledge will you need to acquire?

Will you need to earn a professional designation or take certain courses? Will you need to research new
markets?

7. What organisations and groups should you

associate with?
Are there certain groups of people that can make it easier for you to accomplish your goal? How can you
become affiliated with them?

8. What are the benefits to you?

Write down as many benefits as possible. The more benefits you can come up with, the more likely you will
be to stick to the goal until it is achieved.

9. Develop an action plan

Determine the specific steps that will be necessary to achieve the goal. Start at the accomplishment of the
goal and work backwards.

10. Visualise yourself accomplishing the goal

See yourself in clear detail as if you have already achieved the goal. If you want to close more sales, see
yourself closing more sales easily. Do this over and over again until it becomes part of your subconscious
mind.

11. Take daily action towards the goal

Dreams and goals require action. The best goal in the world will never materialise unless consistent action
is taken.

12. Resolve to never quit

Decide that you will never give up, even when times get tough, until your goal is reached.

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers

 The 12 Commandments Of Goal Setting

Taking the effort to complete the steps in goal setting is not easy. However, when you follow these steps,
your success is almost assured.

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers

 The Important Basics Of Goal Setting

#2: The Important Basics Of Goal Setting

Goals are very important in everyone’s life and, as such, goal setting is equally important to helping us
achieve our hopes and dreams. The most important aspect of goal setting is to make sure that the plan is a
realistic one. For example, it’s impossible to make it a goal to win the lottery. Why? Because gambling is a
game of chance and your actions have no real impact on whether or not that particular goal is achieved.
The best type of goal setting is that which is done with a certain degree of practicality.

Plan Of Action
A plan of action is the first important step toward goal setting. For instance, an individual who wishes to
attend university and needs to save money can work out a budget to earn cash while attending part time.
By enrolling part time, the tuition will be less expensive and even though the degree completion process
may take longer, the ultimate goal will be reached in time. A good example of positive goal setting.

Realistic
When working out a goal setting plan, it is important to choose one that is realistic. A poor example would
be saving enough to become a millionaire within a specified amount of time and no real way of coming up
with the funds needed to save. There is nothing wrong with having big dreams and trying to reach
impressive goals, but it is very important that they not be unattainable. If an individual were to participate in
a goal setting exercise at an unrealistic level and that plan were to fail, depression would surely result. In
order to avoid this negative emotional impact, practicality is the key to positive goal setting.

Focus
Once goals are set, it is important to stay focused. This means being careful with funds if the goal is one
that involves finances. An example would be saving a down payment for a home and seeing a snazzy new
sports car that catches the eye. An individual who stays focused on their goal of home ownership will feel
much more rewarded than those who give in to the temptation of a quick purchase, which is likely to result
in buyer’s remorse.

Goal setting is an important part of everyday life. Whether it’s a homework assignment that needs
completion, a work project that has to be done by the end of the day or a financial goal that needs
reaching, effective planning will help even the most challenging goal become closer to being reached.

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers

 Life Versus Lifestyle

#3: Life Versus Lifestyle

There is a difference but what constitutes a life and what constitutes a lifestyle is pretty ambiguous. One
thing that seems pretty clear to me is the lifestyle is observable while a life can have many internal aspects
to it. A lifestyle can include people, material things, environments, how we spend our time, energy, and
money. A life includes things like our beliefs, our values, our commitments, our soul’s dream, and our vision.
If you choose a lifestyle first you could wind up with an empty fortress. If you choose the life first, you will
design your lifestyle to support the life.

Since most of us already have a lifestyle, and a default life, we usually have to do some redesign work.
Choose a life and then redesign our lifestyle. It is possible that the lifestyle you currently have will never
support the life you truly want to live. It is possible the lifestyle you currently have has many supporting
structures and only minor renovations need to occur. It is possible that you are a highly intuitive person and
your lifestyle is in perfect alignment. I know very few people who fall into that category. My dad does but
what I notice about him, is he and my mother made a conscious decision to structure their lives around
their spiritual values. They made that decision early in their marriage and lived true to it. Now it’s interesting
that my parents are actually old enough to be my grandparents, (my mother is no long living) and I noticed
that many earlier generations were not given to having transformational conversations so learning was a
very different process then than it is now. The fact that we have e-courses and teleclasses and magazines
and tons of books that are created to help people learn to live more meaningful and personally fulfilling
lives represents a shift from how things use to be.

As we evolve we begin to look at various aspects of our lives for congruence to our values and
commitments. The disparity shows up with exclamation marks behind them and sometimes our response is
discouragement and self-disappointment. We act as if we should have known better when the truth is how
could we have known better? So the first thing to get over is “I didn’t know” and then after we get over that
we come to “but I know now... now what?” It takes a courageous person to see this and then set their
intentions on bringing integrity into their life so that their lifestyle gives them a life that serves their higher
self. You will notice some people trying to work around it, pretending it doesn’t matter that their lifestyles
don’t measure up to their core values.

The real problem is once you see the inconsistency, not doing anything actually makes things worse and
you lose ground really fast. It cost you big time to keep that inconsistency in place. You can’t be with
yourself and be at peace in your life. It wears you down like water will wear down a mountain over time. 

Your life will devolve instead of evolve. If that is not a price that’s too high to pay, I don’t know what is. 

Just think about it and choose wisely the path you will follow.

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers

 The Power Of A Dream

#4: The Power Of A Dream

I recently spoke to a Youth Leadership Group, and I was deeply inspired listening to the dreams that the
teenagers had for the future. While I was presenting, I felt the group of teenagers begin to realise that it is
ok to dream and be proud of what you have done in your life and where you want to go in life.

As adults, we need to realise that the power of a dream will enable you to achieve whatever your ultimate
“WHY” in life is. By the age 25, most people lose all of their dreams and fall into a rut. From the age 25-65,
people generally go back and forth to work and say to themselves,” I wish... if only I could have... if only I
knew then what I know now,” and numerous other lamentations as to why they do not feel fulfilled in life.
The key in life to feeling fulfilled is to simply listen to your inner spirit and make your daily work in life
something that you love to do and will help you achieve your DREAMS!

The key word in that sentence is DREAMS! Too many people when asked, “Where do you see yourself 2-5
years from now” give the answer, “Just let me make it to this weekend.” The underlying reason that they
don’t know where they are going to be is because they have no dreams. This can be extremely frightening!
Each of the teenagers that I spoke to this week has dreams for their life and where they see themselves in
the future. As a professional speaker and business coach, my ultimate outcome is to empower people to
find their WHY in life — to catapult them to attain their dreams in life.

I also spoke to the group about how important it is to be around a mastermind team, which will push you on
and let you know it is awesome you have a dream.

As an overall population, over 95% of adults have no mastermind team but they have group of so-called
friends, who will tell every reason why they should never try to win and to just accept their life. You need to
stop right now and take a personal inventory of your life and ask yourself three life-changing questions:

1) WHAT is my WHY in LIFE? (Why I am getting up each and every day?)

2) WHO is my Mastermind Team?

3) WHERE do I see myself 2-5 years from now?

When you answer these questions you need to be honest with yourself and tell yourself the truth because
the truth shall set you FREE! The key to living a fulfilled life is waking up each day with a driving desire to
achieve your “WHY”. 

The key to winning in life is to be part of a winning team and realise life decisions are challenging but very
beneficial. Bring your Dreams back to life!

Find your WHY & FLY!

Brought To You By Web Design Imagineers