The Seven-Step Process There is a simple seven-step process that you can use for setting and achieving your goals for the rest of your life. It is powerful, proven, and practical.
1. Decide exactly what you want. Be specific. Don’t make the mistake of saying things like, “I want to be rich. I want to be happier. I want to be healthy. I want to travel.” These are not goals. These are wishes, illusions, and fantasies. A goal is something that is clear and specific.
2. Write it down. Only 3 percent of adults have written goals with clear plans to accomplish them. These people earn, on average, ten times as much as people without written goals and plans.
3. Set a deadline. Determine a specific date for when you wish to achieve your goal. If it is a big enough goal, set sub-deadlines.
4. Make a list. Write down everything you can think of that you can possibly do to achieve your goal, and keep adding to the list until the list is complete.
5. Organize the list. Create a checklist of the things you need to do, and in the specific order that they need to be done. What do you need to do first? Second? Third? And so on. A list of activities organized into a checklist becomes a plan of action.
6. Take action on your plan. Do something. Do anything. But take action immediately. Taking the first step is the most difficult step. The hardest job, it’s said, is the one on which you never get started.
7. Do something every day on your most important goal. Do something seven days a week, thirty days a month. Never let a day go by where you don’t do something that moves you at least one step forward toward something that is important to you.
