第5章

Develop a Clear Sense of Direction

A person with a clear purpose will make

progress on even the roughest road.

A person with no purpose will make no

progress on even the smoothest road.

—THOMAS CARLYLE

TAKE YOUR DREAMS out of the air and crystallize them into clear, specific written goals. Perhaps the greatest discovery in human history is that “You become what you think about most of the time.” The two factors that, more than anything else, determine what happens to you in life are what you think about and how you think about it most of the time.

Successful people think about their goals most of the time. As a result, they are continually moving toward their goals, and their goals are continually moving toward them. Whatever you think about most of the time grows and increases in your life. If you are thinking about, talking about, and visualizing your goals, you tend to accomplish far, far more than the average person, who is usually thinking and talking about his or her worries and problems most of the time.

Here is a simple seven-step formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use to become a millionaire:

First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life, especially in your financial life. Most people never do this.

Second, write down your goals clearly and specifically. Something amazing happens between your head and your hand when you put your goals in writing.

Third, set a deadline for each goal. Set subdeadlines if a goal is big enough. Give yourself a target to aim at.

Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you will have to do to achieve each goal. As you think of new ideas, add them to your list until it is complete.

Fifth, organize your list into a plan of action. Determine what you are going to do first and what you will do later. Decide what is more important and what is less important.

Sixth, take action on your plan immediately. It is amazing how many splendid goals and plans are never realized because of procrastination and delay.

Seventh, and perhaps most important, do something every day that moves you at least one step closer to your most important goal. This commitment to daily action will make you a big success in anything you decide to accomplish.

Here is an exercise for you. Take a sheet of paper and write the word “Goals” at the top of the page with today's date. Then, make a list of 10 goals that you would like to achieve over the next 12 months. Write your goals in the present tense, as though a year has passed and you have already achieved them. Begin each goal with the word “I” to make it personal to you.

By making out a list of 10 goals for yourself for the next year, you will move yourself into an exclusive group consisting of only 3 percent of adults in our society. The sad fact is that 97 percent of adults have never made a list of goals in their entire lives.

Once you have your list of 10 goals, go over the list and ask this key question: Which one goal on this list, if I were to achieve it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?

Whatever your answer to that question, circle that goal and make that your number one, most important goal for the future. Set a deadline, make a plan, take action on your plan, and do something every day that moves you toward that goal.

From now on, think and talk about that goal all the time. Think and talk about how you can achieve that goal. Think and talk about all the different steps that you can take to make that goal a reality. This exercise will stimulate your creativity, increase your energy, and unlock more and more of your potential.

ACTION EXERCISE

Always think on paper. Sit down and begin writing out your goals and creating your plan to achieve them. This exercise alone can make you a self-made millionaire.