Goal Setting

The importance of setting goals and values by millions of wonderful people has not yet being realised. Setting goals and values are powerful keys for success and failing to set them will result in low productivity and wasted time. If you achieve these "seven top traits of a champion" you will have joined the 1% club. Once you have mastered this technique, share it with others. These seven traits can be easily remembered using the following memory aid:

In all areas of my life, I've always used the "seven top traits of a champion". Adhering to them will almost guarantee freedom from a most dangerous enemy, unproductiveness. Let me demonstrate.

A value is defined as the thing that is of most worth, desirability or importance to you. What person, need, idea or situation that is of such immense worth, desirability or importance, would cause you to lay down your life or totally commit your life to achieve? Only you can answer this question. Your values are the foundation of your life or your reason for living. Martin Luther King once said, "If a man has not found a cause in life worth dying for, then he is not fit to live." The thing that is worth dying for or committing your life to achieve, is your value.

I will list my values as examples, stated in order of priority. Listing my values was a one-off investment that took nine hours to complete. I will not need to do so again. Without them I was like a blind man fumbling in the dark every day of my life. Today I am confident, self motivated, joyous, peaceful and on my way to greater victories. You too can experience greater results if you follow this very simple method. Remember, it is only a one-off investment that can change your life, improve your family situation and your organisation.

I have set clearly defined values against which I can judge how successful I am. I call this my root, my foundation, my constitution or my Memorandum and Articles of Association. Without these values I would be lost. They fall within eight categories and priority order. The first two values, spiritual and family, I would die for, but the remainder, I only commit my whole life to achieve.

This is my life:

I love God with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

I am a loving, understanding, knowledgable, discerning and wise husband to my wife and father to my children.

I maintain a healthy lifestyle through proper eating, good breathing techniques and regular exercise. I eat, drink, sleep and exercise in such a manner so as to maintain an effective high level of energy. I will never forget that my body is the temple of the living God.

I am developing a financial foundation to become completely debt free and financially secure for many generations.

I will love, have compassion and respect for all human beings of all ages, sexes and cultures. I will visit the sick and prisoners. I will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, befriend the friendless and use my skills and knowledge to assist the needy.

I am growing intellectually daily and achieving my full potential. I regularly listen to tapes, read books, watch videos and listen to God and others. I listen with an open mind to enhance my universe. I seek wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discernment in areas of my profession, which are:

Leadership
Organisational Development
Religion
Education and Training

I am a national and international role model in leadership, organisational development, religion, education and training. I will develop SCHOLAR, the channel through which I will secure financial freedom and national and international status.

I am fun loving, comical, stimulating and a friendly person to get on with, in the shortest possible time!

Without delay, write down your values in order of priority, using the above eight categories. Failing to establish your foundation will result in you building on sand and not on a solid rock.

Remember, this is only a one-off, lifetime investment.

You have completed listing your values, roots, foundation, constitution or Memorandum and Articles of Association. Call it what you want. It is time now to build upon it. The next natural stage is to clearly define your visions, aims, goals, objectives. They all mean the same thing to me. So remember, without a clearly defined vision you will not succeed. In fact King Solomon puts it better:

Simple, no vision, no success.

When you list your visions, if it fails to meet any of the nine criteria below, it is an indication that it is not clearly defined. A vision that is not clearly defined is like a camera out of focus, always producing blurred pictures. Make sure that your vision complies with the nine criteria below:

Ownership
Written
No Impatience
Estimated Timescale
Realistic and Achievable
Specific and Direct
Harmony with Values
It Must Be Measurable
Positively Stated

The vision that you wish to fulfil must be your own and not someone else's. No one must force you. When you set your own vision you are more motivated to achieve it.

You must write down your vision clearly and be specific. If you have not written down your vision, it may be because you are not serious about it.

Fulfilling a vision takes time, effort and money and can be a frustrating experience. If you do not develop the inner ability to be patient, you may make hurried decisions, become stressed or depressed. Feelings of this nature will only result in you giving up. Do remember that you only fail when you give up, so be patient and wait, for it will become a reality.

Example, "I will purchase my Aeroplane on the 7 September 2010, at 12 midday." Set a date and time by which this vision will be accomplished. If you fail to set a timescale, there are no boundaries within which to work and therefore this can be achieved any time. "I asked you to produce the report", said the manager. "I have not done it yet, because you did not tell me when you wanted it to be ready by", replied the employee. Set timescales in almost everything you do and "save time."

You must set visions that are realistic and achievable within the timescale that you set. Failing to do this will result in frustration. Ask yourself, can I achieve this vision within the timescale that I have set? Do I have the opportunity right now or do I need to wait for a more convenient time? Am I taking on more than I can handle?

"I will purchase my Aeroplane on the 7 September 2010, at 12 midday", is specific and direct. Do not beat around the bush about what you want to achieve, get straight to the point.

The visions that you set must fall in line with your values. If you set values for your family, then set a vision that will drive you forward to firmly establish that value. If one of your values is to secure financial freedom, then show how this will be achieved using the nine criteria - "OWNERSHIP". With all values firmly established, the next stage is to use the nine criteria, to establish the vision for each value.

If the vision is to be accomplished in five years time, list all of the stepping stones to getting there? List all short, medium and long term objectives that must be achieved?

"I want to achieve financial freedom in five years, but I do not believe I will be able to." This is a negative statement. Be positive. "I will achieve financial freedom in five years." If this is not realistic and achievable then move to six or even seven years. It is completely up to you. Negative attitudes produce negative actions. Positive attitudes produce positive actions.

Immense belief is powerful, because what we believe we act out. You must believe in yourself and in your ability to succeed. If you believe you cannot do something, you will not try as hard. Immense belief comes from within and must be self generated. The more you focus and meditate on your vision the more you generate immense belief. When I mentally hold my vision in my mind and think on it day and night, it is as if I am drawing electricity from a power station. I have used this method for over sixteen years and I have never lost my immense belief. It has caused me to rise early to see what a new day will bring. Try it and feel the power!

Almost everything in life operates via a strategy. The birth and development of a child, transportation, machinery, building construction, cooking, sports, the human body, the sun revolving around the earth and more. If you can identify and use the best possible strategy in your chosen field, you could become one of the worlds greatest contributors. When I take my car to Mr Jones, my mechanic, he first runs the car through a few tests to locate the problem. What was he really doing? He was using a problem identification strategy.

A few years ago every company had a typewriter, now almost everyone uses computers. Why? Someone has come up with a better strategy. When a consultant comes into a company s/he will ask to see your Memorandum and Article of Association, the last three years accounts, current business plan and more. What is s/he doing? Using a strategy to identify your present business situation.

As a child growing up in Jamaica and coming to England at twelve years old, I hated school because of how I was treated. I left school at fifteen without sitting a single examination, I could barely read and write. The next seven years of my life was hell, until at the age of twenty-five I discovered that if I could improve on a few strategies, my life would automatically improve.

I started out in the field of training in 1984 and since then I have consistently improved every strategy in that area of my expertise. I used to use a chalk board, I now use magic white boards. I used to use overhead projectors, I now use multimedia projection through my laptop computer. I used to use an ordinary diary, I now use The Franklin Day Planner system, one of the best time and life management systems in the world. I used to give my delegates poor ways to remember what they had learnt, now I use the most effective and efficient ways of remembering. This book is full of them. Planning training sessions has become easier and teaching more fun. I've realised that sooner or later if I don't come up with a better strategy, someone else will.

Let us review what you have completed so far, you have:

Listed your values.
Put them in order of priority.
Listed your visions for each value using the nine criteria - OWNERSHIP.

Now take each vision and develop a strategic plan.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.4 The human tongue is one of the most lethal weapons on the face of the earth. We use it to encourage, give support, express our love and at the same time it can be used to discourage, destroy and express bitter hatred. No tree produces two different kinds of fruit, but the tongue can, in quick time. What kind of thoughts do you have about yourself and others? What kind of words do you use to your spouse, children, colleagues, customers and others. Whichever route you take, you will eat the fruit thereof, because the seed that you sow, you will reap. Not only will you affect the life of others but you will also affect your own life.

Open communication deals with what we say to others and ourselves. Some people use a style of intimidation to put off their opponent in order to win a game. I have often observed boxers and wrestlers as they try to defeat each other before they get into the ring. They declare how great they are and how easy it will be for them to defeat each other. Some make sure their opponent reads it in the newspaper, watches it on the television or hears it on the radio. This form of open communication is designed to intimidate and produce fear. The most dangerous form of open communication has got to be what we say to ourselves.

During a game of squash, I am always having a conference with myself, which goes something like this. "Well done Errol, you lost that point but you tried your very best." "You played a great shot my son." "What a great point I just lost." "My opponent is very good but I am better." "I can if I keep on believing I can." "Unlucky Errol." "I must use the SAS" (Special Air Service? Not quite. "Speed, Accuracy and Stamina.")

What we say out loud is often an indication of the conference going on inside of us. Be careful who you invite to your conferences. Do not invite Mr Doubt, Mr Lack of Confidence, Mr Do Little, Mrs Hopeless, Mr & Mrs Fear or Miss I Can't. They like you, in fact they love you. It has been said that 70% of what we say to ourselves is often negative. Stop saying negative things to yourself and others, especially your family. Negative internal communication leads to negative action, and negative actions leads to negative results.

Failing to review may result in you failing to learn what to do or not to do. Review everything so as to improve performance. Ask yourself:

1. Have my values changed?

2. Have I achieved my vision?

3. How effective was my strategy?

4. How appropriate was the implementation?

5. Was my internal and external communication befitting? 6. What have I learnt?

My time management system allows me to review every single day of my life. It gives me the opportunity to assess how effective I was with my 24 hours. I set aside 15-20 minutes every morning to review my values, visions, strategies and daily priorities. This time is known as my QUEST. Quiet Uninterrupted Empowering Solitary Time. Champions never fail to review.

Step one: Record all your values and put them in order of priority.

Step two: Take each value one at a time and record all your vision/s for that value.

Step three: Believe in yourself and in your ability to become the best you could possibly be.

Step four: Take each vision and develop a strategic plan.

Step five: Put your plan into action.

Step six: Because you are always thinking or talking, use it to your advantage by encouraging yourself and others. Think of life-giving thoughts and speak life-giving words.