A new year, a new goal.

Every January we get to take stock and make a new begining. Some of us are more successful and accomplishing our goals then others. I want to make this year simpler, so I decided to work on one goal. To get there I thought of 7 essential tips for accomplishing this goal

1. One goal. This will sound crazy to many of you who have so many goals you’d like to accomplish. And trust me, I know how that feels. I started out 2007 with a whole bunch of goals, but I only accomplished about half of them. I didn’t realize how things would change for me during the year, and anyway, 9 goals is too many.

I’ve said this before, but it’s so important I’m going to repeat it: you’re at your most powerful if you focus on one thing at a time. If you have 10 goals, you’ll spread your focus thinly. But if you have one goal, you’ll be able to focus you energy and attention completely on that one goal. And that’s one of the secrets of success.

Put your goal on your wall, on you computer desktop. Make it your mantra. Keep it your focus for 2008, and you’ll not only achieve it, but you’ll feel great for doing so.

2. Create a new habit. I want to work out more often. With my job and activities it tough to workout in the afternoon, so I need to get back in the habit of morning workouts

3. Take action now. It’s all good and well to set goals or resolutions, but the best plans are worthless if you don’t act on them. Action is everything. Take action today to make your goal come true. Tomorrow, take another action. In fact, take one action toward your One Goal every day, first thing in the day, and make it the most important thing you do every day. If you do that, there’s almost no way that you won’t achieve that goal.

4. Simplify. As you might have figured out by now, simplicity is king. So this will sound redundant. But if you take the time to simplify your life, in some way, this month, your year will be much better. When we have too much going on in our lives, it overwhelms us. It spreads us thin. It makes us ineffective. Simplifying things helps keep us sane, and makes us more powerful. Take some time to identify the 4-5 things that are most important in your life, then simplify your commitments (and goals and to-do list) so that they fall in line with those 4-5 priorities. More.

5. Focus on happiness. It sounds corny, but if you make your happiness become your focus, you’ll be happier. It’s really that simple (or at least, it has been for me). What makes you happy? That should be the focus of your life. This year, make happiness be your priority. Then do the things necessary to make it a reality. Some tips.

6. Schedule time for you, and your loved ones. If these two things are in your top 4-5 important things (see above), you might consider revising the list. At least one thing on your short list of 4-5 things should be something you love to do. At least one other should be spending time in some way with people you love to spend time with. For me, its family, running a successful business, our friends and supporting the organizations I volunteer with. Everything else is superfluous.

7. Learn to focus. This goes back to what was said above about One Goal and simplifying, but it’s important not only on those macro levels, but on a day-to-day basis as well. It’s easy to get caught up in things that come our way, in the daily crises that derail our plans, in distractions and email and phone calls and Twitter. Very easy. If you allow yourself to lose focus, you’ll have a very difficult time accomplishing your goals.

Rick Bunzel 
Pacific Crest Inspections
Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
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