Have Grit — Persistence over the long haul is key
Know Exactly How Far You Have Left to Go — Monitor your progress
Get Specific — Have a crystal-clear idea of exactly what success will look like
Seize the Moment to Act on Your Goals — Know in advance what you will do, and when and where you will do it
Focus on What You Will Do, Not What You Won’t Do — Instead of focusing on bad habits, it’s more effective to replace them with better ones.
Build your Willpower Muscle — If you don’t have enough willpower, you can get more using it.
Focus on Getting Better, Rather than Being Good — Think about your goals as opportunities to improve, rather than to prove yourself
Be a Realistic Optimist — Visualize how you will make success happen by overcoming obstacles
Don’t Tempt Fate — No one has willpower all the time, so don’t push your luck

Read the full blog post here.

My first reaction to this book was not very good. Like most youngsters of my age, I thought it to be a book where some gray-haired would share their success stories. Despite the initial hitch, I opened the book only before the deadline of the project almost two months after simply staring at the cover.

The first chapter I skimmed through uninterestingly, it was only while reading the second habit that the power of this book rubbed on me.

Habit # 2 – Begin with the End in Mind

“The most effective way I know to begin with the end in mind is to develop a personal mission statement or philosophy or creed. It focused on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.”

It is important in life to be self-aware of our goals and vision. Until and unless we know our vision we cannot formulate a way to make it happen. Despite of all the philosophy that one should live in the present, this made sense because it is giving wings to our imagination and to visualize our future. Everybody should have a purpose, a dream or a goal in life otherwise life would just become a survival game.

Stephen Covey further explained on how you can practically develop your own mission statement. In the end, you would realize what you want to be, what you will do to achieve that and your core values and principles.

Habit # 1 – Be Proactive

Influenced by the self-improvement tips discussed in the second lesson I started to read the book again and this time with much more concentration.

“Look at the word responsibility—“response-ability”—the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling.”

Our responses to different situations are just the learning that we have developed over the years. We may feel that this is how I am programmed to react and I have no control over this whatsoever. However, this is not true. We are the masters of our thoughts and we can determine how we wish to respond. In short, we can change our script with constant efforts and for that we must be proactive.

To start with analyze your responses, do you come across as a person in control of your responses or the one who is influenced by other’s actions. To gauge this, Stephen Covey developed ‘Circle Of Influence’ and ‘Circle Of Concern’. Follow the exercises mentioned by him and you would soon realize how dependent you are on other people’s actions.

Many other helpful lessons can be learnt from other habits – Put First Things First, Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood, Synergize and Sharpen the Saw.

After reading the book twice, I was ready to give my presentation. I had visualized how I would go with it and the end result before preparing the key points to be presented. Surprisingly, it went just as planned. 7 habits of highly effective people can guide you to the road to success, it is you who has to be proactive and start the journey.

The first thing that comes to my mind is the old saying “A person without a goal is like a ship without a course.” Just think of the ramifications of being a ship without a course. Where will you end up? Sure you can enjoy the journey but you could also quite likely end up aimlessly floating around, wasting time, with the possibility to end up on the rocks.

Before we go any further, please know that having goals does not mean that you are living in the future. On the contrary, having goals results in enjoying more of the present, moment to moment experiences, while on the path to your destination. Success is in the journey, not the destination. But, if you have no destination, at what level are you enjoying the journey?

For 20 plus years I’ve been very goal focused. Why? Because I prefer to lead my life by choice, not by chance. I’ve also learned and understand the power of setting a goal, and how we human beings are incredibly powerful, and once we begin to understand that, and more importantly, tap into it, (as Patanjali said) “dormant forces come alive”.

Here’s Patanjali’s exact quote:
“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

Let’s extract some of the important points from Patanjali’s quote:
> Get inspired from some great purpose – this is your passion – these are your dreams. Goals should come from your passion. What do you love? What are you passionate about? And, when you set your goals, stretch yourself beyond any of your present level comfort zones.

Once you stretch yourself and establish some greater goals, you invoke a magnetic force in the universe and become an attractor for all things to show you the way. I constantly tell my audiences “You do not have to know how you are going to achieve your goals, just decide on what you want”.

Most people don’t even decide on what they want. Get very clear! What do you want? What would you, ideally, love to experience in your life. It is never a thing that gives you something, it is the feeling of having it. Get associated to how you’ll feel when you have what it is that you want.

When I set a firm goal to write my first book I had no idea how to go about it, but all of a sudden people were showing up in my life who showed me what I needed to do to get the job done. Within 11 months I had 3 self-published books sold into 30 countries in the world. When I set the goal I had no idea how to make this happen – I simply decided I would do it. The “HOW” shows up!

Personally I think we should care about our future – because that happens to be where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.

- Peggy McColl
New York Times Best Selling Author of Your Destiny Switch

Reproduced with permission from Peggy McColl. To find out more about Peggy, visit Destinies.com

Karin and I talked about how best to reply. Of course, we stand behind our programs. But, as with any product, a blanket guarantee of results is impossible. Yes, we can return his money if he’s not satisfied. (ETR has an exceptional money-back guarantee.) But no, we can’t return his time.

Our decision was to politely thank the gentleman for his interest.

Taking Action: the Most Important Key to Success

A good program will provide you with the raw materials for achieving your goal – but no one can guarantee that you will actually achieve it.

For instance, an Internet business-building program will give you instructions for setting up a website, starting an e-mail newsletter, and writing sales copy. But the best Internet business-building program in the world won’t help you build a million-dollar business unless you put what you learn to work in the real world. You’ve got to follow those steps for setting up a website and set up a website. You’ve got to use that copywriting information to write sales copy.

When I started off in insurance sales, I had to invest a lot of time in studying to pass the licensing test. Did having an insurance license automatically guarantee that I would make sales? Of course not. I became a successful insurance salesman because I took action. I marketed myself. I mastered dozens of sales techniques. I learned my product inside and out.

Taking action may be the most important component of success – but it’s not the only one. There are three more:

Know What You Want

It is interesting to me that many people spend precious time thinking and talking about what they don’t want. Like that fellow who said he didn’t want to waste his time on our goal-setting program if we couldn’t guarantee it would work for him. Or the people who say they don’t want to be broke… or don’t want to be overweight… or don’t want to lose their jobs… or don’t want more stress.

What they should be doing is turning those negative thoughts around and taking a positive approach: By telling yourself what you want to do (I want to be fit and trim… I want to create additional income… I want to feel relaxed), not what you don’t want to do, you will inspire yourself to take action to achieve the goal.

It starts with forming a specific and detailed plan. This is where visualization is helpful.

If you want to be fit and trim, visualize a new post-weight-loss achievement outfit you are going to buy… or that favorite pair of jeans you want to get back into. In addition, visualize the favorable responses you will get from people when you reach your ideal weight and fitness goal.

If you want to increase your income, visualize how you will feel when you see your bank account balance increase… and what you will do for your family with that money. Would you buy a bigger house? If so, picture exactly where you’ll live – the neighborhood, the size and color of the house, etc. A new car? Picture the exact car you’ll buy.

Measure Your Results Along the Way Keeping track of how you are doing with your goal-setting plan helps you determine the effectiveness of your actions.

You may find that you no longer want to pursue a goal you assigned yourself. Or perhaps you want to modify that goal. Maybe you want to keep the goal but you’ve discovered a more convenient and efficient way to get to the “finish line.” Let’s say you set a physical fitness and weight-loss goal. And the plan you came up with to achieve that goal was to go to the gym three nights a week. You’ve been doing that for two months, and you’re happy with the results. But now you think there’s a good chance you can stay on track by working out at home.

Okay.

Only YOU can determine the most effective way to use your time. But you won’t be able to do that if YOU don’t measure and monitor your progress along the way. Make Constant Improvements The Japanese principle known as “kaizen” (which means continuous improvement) can be applied to all aspects of life. But it is perhaps best known for the way it’s been applied to business.

Some scholars think kaizen is what enabled Japan to go from defeat in World War II to being one of the world’s strongest economies. What the Japanese did was commit to continuously improving their manufacturing industries to be more efficient, cost-effective, and productive. The idea was that everything could always be done better.

This is exactly what we here at ETR want for you! We want you to believe that you can always find new and better ways to achieve your goals. If an action is working and bringing the desired results – do it more often. If an action is not working or throwing you off track – do it less often. (Or eliminate it altogether.)

The beauty of goal setting is that it is all about YOU and what you want to achieve. You choose… you act… you monitor your actions… you celebrate and continue refining your actions.

Each one of us is very different, yet we are all alike in that we are success-seekers on a life journey that is just that – a journey to success. You want guarantees? I can guarantee that you won’t have success unless you are proactive in using the four simple success components I outlined for you today.

[Ed. Note: You can turn your dreams into reality just by implementing a few simple techniques. Success mentor Bob Cox has dozens of powerful strategies that can help you reach new heights in your business and personal life. In fact, these very same techniques helped four "ordinary Joes" become BILLIONAIRES.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.By Bob Cox.

What are Goals?
The difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal is clearly defined in writing and has a specific deadline. Dreams are merely wishes or fantasies. Goals help you to increase your focus. They give you momentum by making you fully aware of the direction in which your work is taking you. Therefore, having a written goal statement is much better than having no goal at all.

Goals are written statements that provide a meaningful direction to your life. They help you concentrate your energy on the path of achievement and fulfilment. So it is essential that you define your heart’s desire in specific terms: with a deadline and a written goal statement. This way you will give a clear direction to your life. Goals act like a compass on the ship of your life; without them you will keep floating midway, with nowhere special to go.

Why set Goals?
During my presentations, members of the audience often ask me, ‘Why should I set goals? Can’t I do without them?’ I reply, ‘You certainly can. Not everyone who has achieved great results learnt how to set goals first. But what they achieved in ten to twenty years, you can achieve in five years
or less by the Power of Goal Setting.’

Our mind works best when it is up against challenges that have to be met within a reasonable time frame. For example, if you want to double your income without setting a goal, then with 5 per cent to 10 per cent annual increment you will automatically double it in ten to twenty years. But that will be too long a wait, isn’t it? Especially when it is possible to double your income in three years—by writing it down as a goal statement, taking concrete steps and reviewing your progress on a weekly and monthly basis.

‘Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.’ —Tom Hopkins

Why don’t you set goals in a variety of areas so that you develop a complete personality? Here are a few ideas:

i) Personal: Education, family, friends, personal development (health, nutrition, fitness, skills,
spirituality), home and travel.
ii) Career: Career, business, finance, savings, income and investments.
iii) Contribution to society: Volunteer work focusing on people, environment, etc.

Writing a goal statement
Remember these essential five steps when writing a powerful goal statement:

Step 1: Find your peak energy time. Write the statement during your peak energy hour. It could be the morning or the afternoon. You may want to play your favourite music to lift your spirits.

Step 2: Start writing. Take a pen and a white sheet of paper. Write the date and a list of 10 things that you aspire for.

Step 3: Identify your most important goal. Out of these 10 goals on your list, encircle the one which, if achieved in the next year, will have the biggest positive impact in your life and career. Write down this goal on the other side of the paper too.

Step 4: Decide on a deadline. A goal can be best defined as ‘a realistic dream with a specific deadline’. You must aim to achieve a goal within a time frame that forces you to act fast. To do this, you must ask yourself, ‘What is the approximate time it will take me to accomplish my goal?’ Then, whatever is that time, reduce it by half. If you think it will take you two years to get something, aim to achieve it in one year and write the deadline on top of your most important goal. This will keep reminding you of where you are vis-à-vis where you have to go.

Step 5: Write down your goal statement. It is important to keep three things in mind:

(i) All goal statements start with ‘I’. Remember that the goal statement is yours. When you put ‘I’ at the very start, it becomes personalized.

(ii) Write your goal statement in the present tense. The ‘I’ should be followed by a verb expressed in the present tense. This is because the subconscious mind reads and believes only in the present. If you talk to your brain in the future tense and say ‘I want to’ or ‘I wish to’, it reads these as ‘wanting’ or ‘wishing’ thoughts. Result: your conscious brain cannot do anything about them.

(iii) Your brain will see this work as something to be done in the future. To put real power behind your goals, you must write them down in the future tense.

(iv) Express your goals with positive words. Instead of saying ‘I want to lose 10 kg in three months’, say ‘I will weigh XX kg three months from now.’

Life mostly unfolds the way you expect it to. Stick to your goals with positive expectations and work with passion. This will quicken the process of goal achievement.

Your goal statements should be easy to understand. Even a child should be able to figure out what you are aiming for. Once you have written a clear statement regarding your most important goal, you can jot down statements about other areas of your life. Here are a few examples of goal statements:

i) I, Rita Sharma, am savouring the beautiful view from the window of my new home. Deadline:
ii) I, Ashish Mehra, am enjoying driving my brand new BMW. Deadline:
iii) I, Priya Malhotra, am running a successful business. Deadline:
iv) I, Rahul Gupta, am feeling thrilled at graduating from the Harvard Business School. Deadline:
v) I, Sonia Nigam, love to exercise daily and am enjoying being at my ideal weight of 58 kg. I am
fit and in excellent shape. Deadline:

Someone rightly said, ‘Aim to shoot for the highest stars, in case you miss them you will land on Mars!’
When you set your eyes on a big goal, you work hard and stretch your capabilities to achieve it. But if your goal is not challenging enough, you are unlikely to leave your comfort zone—and the result will be little or no success.

Two Action Steps:

Step 1: Read your goal statements often: Try to read your goal statements at least twice a day. Initially read them just before sleeping and then immediately after getting up. The subconscious brain continues to function even after you fall asleep. It can register your goals and work on them throughout the night. When you get up, you will be more driven to work.

Step 2: Take action daily: To accomplish your goals on time, work on them every day. Sometimes you may not be able to give your best to your work. Still, do what little you can. This way you will move at least one step towards your goal.

Success Mantra: Set your goals in the direction of what you want and love to do the most. Keep the burning desire alive in your heart and act with a calm mind.

©Shishir Srivsatava, Motivational Speaker and Author ‘The Eight Powers within You’
www.shishirsrivastava.org and www.eightpowers.com