Setting Goals

I haven't been keeping this blog up to date for years, and the only reason I am re-starting it again, is so that I can track my progress over the next couple of years.

Now I have been basically drifting when applying myself to build my part-time business. I haven't set any concrete plans or goals to get myself to where I would like to be. I have splurges of activity, for a short period, then procrastinate, and do very little in the way of activity!

So, now to actually try an experiment to see if what I have been reading really works.

A couple of years ago, I joined a book club, where every month I receive a book on personal development. It is safe to say, that I haven't read most of them yet, but I have started to listen to the audio books (making good use of my time walking our dog). Two books grabbed my attention and started to rings some bells in my head.

The first book is called Appreciation Marketing, by Tommy Wyatt & Curtis Lewsey. This book gave me some helpful insights on how I would like to be thought of by others. I already do some of this on a daily basis, just not to the extent that they suggest. So that is something for me to aim on improving.

The second book I listened to was The Answer, by Allan & Barbara Pease. Now this book basically started talking about how your brain works, or more to the point, your R.A.S. (Reticular Activating System). What this books drives home is that once you decide to do something, your brain starts to find a way to achieve what you want to do. One message that struck a chord with me, was "Think of what you want to achieve, not HOW you are going to achieve it. The how will happen without you realsing it, if you just keep picturing in your head everyday the end result of what it is you want.

One of the tasks the book tells you to do is create a list of goals you want to do in your life. It can be absolutely anything you want, from doing charity work, or sleeping under a bridge with the homeless, to being a millionaire and living the jet-set lifestyle! The list of goals is only as good as your imagination! What did you want to do when you were a child? What ambitions did you have as a teenager? What projects that you secretly wanted to do, but never had the time to do them?

I have started my list today, and I will be adding to it whenever something crosses my mind as something I would like to try. There are further stages to the process of setting your goals, such as prioratising them into those you really want to do as soon as possible, those that you want to do, but just don't have the resources (money or time) available right now. And the the final section of those that sound interesting, but you don't have a burning desire to pursue right at this moment. But first you have to make your list of goals, before you can sort them into any order. So I am giving myself one week to make my list before making an attempt to sort them into any sort of shape for my future.

Now, tomorrow, is the Annual Conference of the Network Marketing Company that I am affiliated with. When I come back from the event, I will be a lot more motivated than I am today. This Company consistently rewards us for the work we do in building our businesses. One of the incentives I have been hoping to achieve is the chance to get a brand new BMW Mini. To get this Mini, I need to gather more customers until I have a minimum of 75. I average gathering about 3 to 4 customers a year, and with only 38 customers at present, you can see it will take me about 20 years to get there!!

I am now going to set myself a goal of getting the Mini in March 2021, as there is a particular reason I want to be ready to order it at that time. I want the Mini to have a personalised number plate and it will be this UW21CTM. To achieve this goal I will need a minimum of 37 more customers over 2 years, which equates to about 2 customers a month (allowing for some to leave and need replacing). Now switching from 3 to 4 customers a year to 2 customers a month (24 customers a year), is going to be an enormous jump for me. I am not looking at HOW I am going to do this, only that this is what I WILL achieve! I will let my R.A.S start working on the solution in the background (subconscious). I will keep you posted on my progress.