So you went to University? Well big deal. Many do and a lot more fail. You are quickly finding out that, they don’t teach you everything you need to know in school. You need to have a true sense of what you want to do with your life and the motivation to follow through. Condition yourself to take what you learned and maximize it to its full potential. In other words, don’t be lazy and listen. You’re arrogance is stopping you dead in your tracks.

What do you want to achieve? Some have this preconceived notion that because they have post secondary education, everything will work out for them and everything will just fall on their laps. Well not true. Welcome to the real world kids.

So before you actually decide what you want to do with your personal or your work and business life, establish and review where you are going, and be clear about it.

Take the time to think about what you want to do and write down your ultimate end goals for your yourself? Where and who do you want to be.. 5 or 10 years from now?

Take The Effort To Write It Down
Research actually shows that there are only around 3% of the population who actually sit down and write out their goals, and also on average, these are the people earn 10X times more than those who don’t care to have goals. The same research also shows that people who date and constantly update their written goals are 500X more successful than those who do not map out a plan by writing down a time line for their goals.

It’s also important to write down separate goals, one for your business or workplace and on for your personal goals, and keep them separate.

Are They SMART Goals?
Make sure that the goals you write down are realistic and SMART. What does SMART mean? It stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timed

Make Sure That You Apply These Five Steps To Each Of Your Goals
What do these goals mean to you in reality or realistic terms?

Once you have written down your goals as a SMART goal, think about the consequences that it would pose if you didn’t achieve it. What is the end result that you and those close to you will experience if you don’t reach your goal, for example… bad health, unhappiness etc. This is important as noting the end consequences is a huge motivator to reach that goal and making sure you don’t fail.

Also write down what you’ll gain if you reach that goal: wealth, better health, ultimate happiness, early retirement etc. What will you see, or hear or feel like once its achieved? Make sure you write down the key steps and things you will need to do in order to achieve that goal.

Repeat the same process using a brand new sheet of paper for every single goal you want to achieve.

Make Sure You Prioritize
Prioritize the goals that you have written down. Lay out all these goals and then decide which are the most important to do first, then list and put in order which are less important or not important at all.

Starting from the most important goal, write out a plan on how to reach it, then further break it down into smaller components to make it easier to manage.

Plan an accurate as possible timetable to do each step, then write them down into your ‘ToDo’ folder or daily planner. This way, you can make reaching these goals a part of your daily activities.

Keep Track Of Your Time
It’s important to look at how you currently spend your time… at the moment, and comparing this to how you want your life to happen. Then you can easily fit these goals into the plan as well.

To accomplish this, note the personal goals that you set out and then list out the areas of your present life that are the most important to you: friends, family, business or work, health and fitness, money and saving money etc. Then make a note of the amount of time that you’d like to spend on each of these areas. Estimate the approximate percentage of your waking time during the day you think can actually spend in each area.

Taking The Next Steps
Think carefully about what you have written down and what you have prioritized. What the implications are for what you’re doing in your personal, work or business life - and what further you should be doing?

Just Do It
Rewrite the things you want to accomplish in an action planner. Keep this handy for easy reference. Make sure you read it every daily to remind what you want to achieve.

If you want, contact a mentor, adviser or coach to discuss how better you can do to achieve your goals. It’s always better go through this with a third party, who can be objective and offer constructive criticism, to help you focus on the right things.

Always Review Your Plan. Always Prioritize It. Start Taking Action!

Keep in mind, no matter how good your ideas and intentions are… they mean absolutely nothing, unless you put them in action.

So the most important focus is taking ACTION. Start Today!!