If goal setting is so easy, why doesn’t everyone do it?
I will preface this by saying that we like to consider ourselves as rational and logical human beings. As long as we do not acknowledge, accept and embrace our subconscious we will continually be perplexed and frustrated by our efforts at setting and then failing to achieve our goals.
A good analogy is likening our conscious (logical mind) to the visible part of an iceberg. This is the 1/10th of the entire structure that we see floating in the ocean. The other 9/10th that is submerged is basically the all powerful subconscious mind with its many programs that run us.
One such powerful program that stops us from setting goals is the fear of failure. Fundamentally the fear of failure can be summed up as the fear that other people will discover that we are inadequate and therefore undeserving of acceptance, respect and ultimately love and affection. Ouch!
That of course, is untrue but the faulty programming for this erroneous core belief was installed when we were young, innocent and impressionable.
The good news is that we do not have to labor under the weight of these non serving core beliefs if we choose not to.
How?
Click on the link below to listen to this podcast and start making a change for the better today.
Goal setting and the fear of failure
Book Review-7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness
A timeless classic by Jim Rohn a motivator extraordinaire, that is written in an easy reading style for anyone who has had enough of being average (read beige) and wants a better life.
This includes health, material success and most importantly a deeply satisfying sense of contentment.
Click here to listen Book Review-7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness
or read on
Jim Rohn’s own journey started when at the age of 25 he met his mentor Earl Schoaff who asked him the uncomfortable question of where his life was headed.
To his credit, Rohn replied with an honest “No where” and that was the start of the years of learning everything he could from his mentor.
He has distilled his years of experience into the seven strategies of goal setting, being a sponge and soaking it up, having the determination to change and forming new habits, staying on top of your spending, making time a priority, seeking out like minded associates and learning the art of living well.
These strategies if faithfully applied are your keys to a magnificent life.
The Secret of Success
The secret is that there is no secret.
Click here to listen to the full 60 minutes Audio of Secret of Success on my program \”Your Money and Your Mindset\”
Below is the synopsis if you can’t wait!
It is a series of sequential steps that anyone can take if they so choose and success will almost be guaranteed.
Step1: write down your goals on a piece of paper. Just thinking about it means that what you desire is still an intangible concept.
The magic starts when your goals take on a physical form.
Use the SMART method as a guide to help you (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timeframe)
Step 2: start moving-literally get off from where you are sitting and start doing (this constitutes activity).
The good thing is that motion will quickly tell you if you are heading in the right direction towards your goals or not.
It is essentially a feedback mechanism that indicates to you in no uncertain terms if you are on the right track.
Step 3: know that there is an art to setting goals. The most efficient way is to divide them into four sections and I have listed some examples in each category i) physical (losing weight or getting fit); ii) mental (attending professional development courses to improve your career prospects); iii) emotional (making time to regularly spend with people who are important in your life) and iv) spiritual (communing with Nature and getting in touch with you, the real person).
Step 4: create a vision board or goal book where on one page you have images and pictures of your goals and on the facing page, write in the present tense what achieving this goal looks, feels, smells and tastes like. Always have a start and finish date, and a reward for when you reach that goal.
Investing the emotional energy into this activity engages your subconscious into putting you in the right spot (sometimes literally) for the opportunities as they present themselves to you.
And here is the real bonus, as you go about on a daily basis achieving small victories in regard to the steps you take towards achieving your goals, you discover your life purpose.
This is the person you were always meant to be.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Financial Education for Kids: 3 Tips For A Great Start
I believe that you are never too young to learn how to wisely manage your money.
Just imagine if this was a compulsory subject taught in grade school would the global financial crisis have been less severe if not altogether avoided?
That wasn’t a rhetorical question, folks.
Instead, what we have in our education system is the mantra that is continuously drilled into our heads that we should knuckle down, study hard and get good grades so that we can find ourselves secure jobs that see us to retirement.
Anybody notice what is wrong with the previous statement?
For one thing, the employment landscape has changed so much in the last 25 years that if you are 22 years old and reading this, you will very possibly be on to your third job before you reach 30.
The pace at which technology is changing and the rate business models are evolving means that you may want to revise your thoughts on having only one job for life.
So, back to the topic at hand; as parents how do you model to your kids on the issue of money. This means that what you say, and do with the money you earn will to a large degree determine how your children deal with their own hard earned when they are old enough to do so.
Here are some tips to get them on the right track
1. The 70:20:10 Rule
Disciplined saving of 30 cents into the piggy bank for every dollar that they get as pocket money or for the older kids what they make on paper rounds etc.
Explain to them that they are allowed to spend 70 cents on anything they want but 20 cents has to go into the bank.
Kids will ask why and the answer is that it is seed money that they will lend the bank and the good thing is that the bank has to pay them extra (interest) for borrowing their money. This is empowering for your child to know that they are doing the banks a favour, not the other way around
2. Tithing: the other 10 cents
This 10 cents teaches your child the idea of giving to charitable causes and creates generosity of spirit. One great way is to discuss with your kids that by tithing they can help people less fortunate then themselves and it makes for a better community when everybody pitches in. It is a fantastic way to build your child’s self esteem.
3. Delayed gratification
We all want it NOW!
Advertisers know how to push all the right buttons but as we have seen, there are a lot of under 25’s who are declared bankrupts from using the instant credit offered by retailers for the latest gadgets only to find that they cannot repay the debt.
Personally I think that having a bad credit rating is as bad as having STD; no one will want to do business with you and even worse when you realise that you had the chance to buy into a great business but cannot get finance to do so.
If your child desperately wants something now, and has the money saved ask them to sleep on it for 2 whole days before they go to the store to get it.
It is not being cruel to your child, but getting them to think about their wants versus their needs.
Above all, have open and honest communication with them about money-it’s not a dirty word.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Goal Setting and Goal Getting
Today we are going to have some fun with letters of the alphabet (move over Sesame Street) as a means of understanding the difference between goal setting and goal getting.
Just to be different, we will pick the letter “D” and start with that. The anally retentive amongst us will hyperventilate and blanch, but hey, you only live once, so let’s get edgy.
The D words are design, desire, default, doubt, determinant, due diligence and detachment
The concept I am going to throw out there is to live your life by design rather than by default.
When I design my life, I am stating to the Universe and all who dwell in it that I do not and will not accept an existence by default.
In other words rather than allowing circumstances to influence and impact my future, I am self –directed and definitely self-determinant.
This means that sometimes we go against the trend or the common herd instinct (I can picture in my mind a posse of lemmings marching over the edge of a cliff when I write this).
This means being unpopular and defying the general consensus of opinion.
This means rocking the boat.
When we consciously design our lives, we experience within our soul and spirit an awakening, a very strong desire for “something” that gives meaning to our lives. This may be a Catch 22 situation if you argue that an awakening of our soul and spirit is the impetus for consciously designing our lives, but I digress.
This “something” is intangible but irresistible and goes beyond being a passing whim. I interpret a passing whim as a musing, for example “wouldn’t it be nice if I had a another pair of shoes to go with this new sun dress”.
Let’s take for example wanting to improve our lives and those of our loved ones. With our newly found burning desire for a better life we do our due diligence and that includes exploring the various methods of wealth creation (all moral, ethical and legitimate, of course).
Whether we start a business, or enrol in a stock market trading course (yes, there are socially responsible companies out there) or sign up for college to get the qualifications for a promotion, we require of ourselves persistent application of effort. Just thinking about it won’t cut it. This kind of stuff really requires repeated action.
The burning desire fuels the daily application of productive action that is the perfect antidote for occasions when we are faced with doubt.
Doubt can be insidious, and it certainly gives our self-belief a run for its money. The glum times will come, the feeling that you are pushing the proverbial uphill with only the tip of your nose on a rainy day will rear its ugly head.
Pretending that it doesn’t or won’t happen is asking to be blindsided.
How do we prepare for this?
By practising detachment and yes, I can hear a collective groan when I say this.
I know it isn’t the most natural reaction, and certainly not the easiest thing to do. But when we are so attached to the outcome, it falls into the category of the “try hard and needy” type of behaviour.
Remember your high school days where there were the cool kids and then there were the desperate and dateless (said with tongue firmly in cheek).
The strategy is this: You have to assume the persona of one of the cool kids as opposed to the angst ridden try harder types.
Letting go of the outcome is the secret to this exercise. Rather than chase and stalk your goal, allow what you desire to come to you.
This was the conclusion I came to recently when everything I did felt like I was hitting my head against the sharp edge of a brick wall. It felt really good when I stopped and stilled my spirit.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness