Easy 2008 Goal Setter

2008 is approaching near. Have you set any goals for the New Year? If not, this week's newsletter will give you the basics of goal setting and also the silly mistakes people make while setting their goals.

1. Imagine the lifestyle: The very first step you need to take is to imagine the kind of lifestyle you would want to lead in future (which is why you are working hard now, right?). I hope you already have a vague idea of the kind of lifestyle you want to lead. However, vague ideas won't take you anywhere so it is important you visualize the details of your future lifestyle.

One important thing to remember is that you should never try to copy others' lifestyle, because you are a unique individual with unique income potential. One reason why ebook authors refuse to give people any financial guarantee is that each individual's financial success depends on his or her personality and attitude, which obviously differs from person to person. Hence, if someone tells you that you can earn $1, 00,000 doing these and those things, don't believe them! Why? Because you will earn either less or more than that, or you may not earn anything at all! It all depends on how YOU approach things. That is why your lifestyle would also be different than others. Either it will be too good or too bad, or may in-between. :D

2. Feel the lifestyle: It is not enough to just imagine the kind of things you want to have in future; it is also important to FEEL them. Most people never try to feel their imagination hence they never approach their goals. It is important to engage all your five senses here. Do you want to buy a house after 2 years? Imagine what kind of house it would be! How many rooms will it have? Would you prefer to have a house with two bedrooms, one living room and an 'office' room? If you have a large family, you might need a bigger house. Next, touch and smell the bed sheets (yeah, you can do all these even without the real object being present in front of you, and just in case anyone is wondering, you don't need to be a wild poet to do all these things). Taste the kind of food you would eat. Hear the sound of the car that you'd use to ride everyday to your favorite destination. Taste the beer that you'd be having at your local lounge. Okay, you can do many more things but I hope I've given you an idea of how to 'feel' your imagination. This s very important step, so start practicing it right now!

3. Write down your goals: This is the third and most important step, and let me tell you, you should write down your goals in as great detail as you feel them. You should not try to edit or judge them in any way at this point. You know, when I write the weekly issue of NuttieViralizer, I write it as I feel it. So I don't blame anyone if they think that the articles have a weird style!

Your goals should be written in the positive. Avoid any negative word or phrase when writing down the goals, or it will sabotage all your goal setting efforts.

Anyway, you have two more steps to go!

4. Set the path to your goal: Setting a goal and not chalking out the path that'd lead you there is like making castles in the air. You can focus on your goal ONLY IF it is achievable, and to make it achievable, you need to write down the way you want to achieve it! Do you want to reach your goal through affiliate marketing? Or product creation? Or maybe, doing nothing at all (I wish it were true!)? :)

It is also important that you set one or two long term business models (for example, product creation, software development, etc.) and several short term business models (affiliate marketing, for example) that'd earn you the amount of money you need to start the long term business. In short, just create the stairs and you'd be able to reach the floor you want! Also, remember that using the elevator (a.k.a., the shortcut) is not always the best way to reach the destination, because more often than not, you will find yourself in the same position as before, even after following the shortcut! One of the reasons most internet businesses fail is that marketers always look for shortcuts instead of creating an affective marketing strategy.

5. Read and review your goals everyday: This is the last step in goal setting. You see, our subconscious is trained in such a way that it can imagine anything if you give it a set of instructions. What you have done so far is writing down the set of instructions; now you need to feed those instructions to your subconscious. Every morning, before you start your computer, make it a point to read your goals (I hope you have already written down the goals and the path you wish to follow to achieve it). Will it help? You bet! It has helped me tremendously!

Engage all your five senses as I told you before. Then repeat the process every night before you go to bed. Follow it like a religious ritual. You will soon notice that you have subconsciously started BELIEVING in your goals and then a point will come when you will believe in them blindly even though everyone else around you disbelieves you and you goals; and this is the essence of setting achievable goals!

6. Some things to remember: There are certain things you must remember when setting your goals. I added this point at the end because I didn't want to distract and confuse you. The first thing to remember is that your goal must not conflict with any other goals you might have set up. If you want to buy a $30,000 car, or a $5, 87,000 villa, and if your present income is only $3,000 per year, well you know you are shooting for the impossible. Sure, keep your goals high, but make sure your goals are realistic as well, otherwise your mind will start disbelieving it right from the start!

Second thing to remember is that your goal should be something you really want to achieve, something your heart profoundly desires. Don't set a goal simply because it sounds good or that a guru has advised you as such. Your mind will reject it outright and you will never be able to reach your destination. Which encourages me to ramble on niche marketing – if you don't want to be in a niche, but someone tells you that you can make a lot of money in it, reject it outright! Focus on niches that you'd really want to be in!

The third thing to remember is that whatever products you purchase, or decisions you take, should be relative to your goal For example, most gurus, when selling high end products, mainly focus on the kind of money they earn with it (and the equivalent income you can expect to earn). However, not all of us are in internet marketing because of money, money, money. Some of us have bigger desires – that of attaining a little freedom in our lives so that we don't have to always worry about financial problems. Not all of us want to become millionaires, but virtually every one of us has a desire to become free and do whatever we want to do, or go wherever we want to go. Some of us are in internet marketing because we want to spend more time with our family in the future. Some others are doing it perhaps because they desire to marry someone who is sexy and rich :D. So, everytime you take a decision or purchase a product, ask yourself whether your actions are taking you closer to your goals, or further from them!

Last week, I discussed about this same thing in Christmas Money-Saving Tips.

The fourth and last thing to remember is that you should never share your goals with anyone, not even your parents or wife, unless they are critical to your success in some way or other. This is because negative thinking from your relatives or neighbors will pull you down faster than you'd realize: if you hear a single word of discouragement from your friends or family, it would make you depressed and you'll start disbelieving your goals and purpose. And there you are, finished and marooned! So, never share your goals with anyone else. Let your goal be a secret for everyone except you! :)

Whenever I feel a little down, I take a look at the goal I have set, and read it aloud to myself! Believe me, it has helped me immensely!