As far as goals go some people love them, some people don’t like them one bit, and others don’t have any opinion.

I happen to love setting and achieving goals.

The problem with goals is that most of time they never get accomplished. For one reason or another the excitement we have at the time of setting the goal dies down and we give up on our or goal. I want to help you achieve your goals, and because I have been on the losing and winning side of goal setting I think I can help you…

My first piece of advice is don’t set impossible goals: Right off the bat we’re treading into the murky waters of goal setting. You should never set your sites low, but if you set a goal that will take super human effort to accomplish you’re setting your self up for failure. If you need to lose 100 pounds setting a goal of losing all of it in 4 weeks would not be a good idea.

One way to know if your goal is achievable is to see if others have been able to do it. If you can find other people who’s circumstances are similar to yours who’ve done what you want to do then there’s no reason you can’t do the same.

Stay excited about your goal: The novelty of a new goal can wear off quickly so it’s important to stay motivated about your goal. The technique I personally use is something I call total immersion. I surround myself with things that support my goal. For example, if starting my own business was my goal I would…

• Read books, and magazines about business and books that profile successful business people
• Listen to audio books about business in my car instead of music
• Watch movies and documentaries about business people
• Find a local entrepreneur group so I could network with local business people and pick their brain about what it takes to start a successful business.

Break down your goal into small action steps: I’ve found that having too big of a goal can seem like an insurmountable task. What you’ll usually find is that you’ll chip away at this massive goal every day and it will feel like you’re not accomplishing anything.

The opposite happens when you break your goal down in to smaller action steps. Being able to check off a bunch of little items off your to-do list keeps the momentum going, and keeps you excited about what you’re trying to achieve.

So my little formula for achieving goals reads like this: Set smart goals that are achievable – Stay excited, and immerse myself into whatever it is I want to accomplish – Break the big goal down into tiny micro-goals.