The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused

The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused.

Step 1: Open Up to Limitless Visioning. Limitless visioning is the context in which you identify your life purpose. It is an attitude of openness and faith that you can have what you want if you can simply invision it. Limitless visioning is grand and abstract and sets the stage for the next step, Active Imagination. Step 2: Practice Active Imagination. Active imagination builds upon limitless visioning by making what you want more concrete. In active imagination you create a sensory rich image of what your life will be like when you are doing the right thing. Step 3: Write Your Own Creative Eulogy. Creative Eulogy further enriches the image of your future life, by adding the element of how people will remember you when you are gone. When you write your own eulogy from the point of view of the people you leave behind after you die, you help to solidify both your limitless vision and your active, sensory rich image of the future. Step 4: Create a Personal Statement of Purpose. Finally, you must boil down what you have discovered in these first three steps into a personal statement of purpose; a statement of what your life is going to be about from today forward. It will include the valence of your overall vision, the sensory rich images of your future life, and a taste of how you will be remembered after you die. Step 5: Determine Your Personal Goals. Once you have written your personal statement of purpose, you can begin to work on identifying the major Personal Goals that are naturally implied by that purpose. 1. Open Up To Limitless Visioning What is your overall vision of life? (the big idea, main desire, limitless vision). Here is a list of questions that can help you open up to your life vision. Exercise 14: 5 Questions to Clarify Your Personal Vision of Life Procedure. Using paper, a word processing file or some sort of learning journal, wrtie down these questions, one per page, and make quick notes. 1. What do you value the most in life? Name the five most important values or qualities that you want in your life. These are what you consider to be the most important, what you would pay the most for, sacrifice the most for, take a stand for. 2. What are the three most important goals in your life right now? Take only 30 seconds to answer this question. It is most likely that what pops up first will be what you really want and that careful consideration will allow you to censor these goals because you are afraid that they are unreachable, or at least not sure. Remember, "a goal is a dream with a deadline." 3. What have you always wanted to do but been afraid to attempt? Whatever it is, the fear that holds you back can be overcome.

- 1 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused.

4. In looking back over all the things you've done in your life what activities or circumstances gave you the greatest feelings of fulfillment? mental well being? self- esteem and self-worth? This is a key indicator of where your personal niche can be found. 5. What would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail? Imagine that you can have one wish that would allow you to realize anything you wanted. What would you want? These questions will help you define your Vision of Life. If you can write down the answers to these questions, you can devise a plan to create whatever you write down. 2. Practice Active Imagination Active Imagination is a concept developed by ethnologist and psychotherpist Carl Jung back between 1913 and 1916. It is a mindfulness technique in which you translate the contents of your unconscious into images, narrative or external objects you choose to represent some of those contents. It can serve as a bridge between your everyday consciousness and your "deep mind" (unconscious). The technique includes working with dreams and using imagination or fantasy to allow the creative part of yourself to bring out the contents of your unconscious. Effective practice of active imagination requires as little influence as possible from the everyday outer-focused mind on the images that come forth. For example, in answering the questions that follow, write down what first comes up for you, prior to any censoring or rearranging of the images by your everyday mind. It is inevitable that the survival part of the everyday mind -- what some people call the "lizard brain" -- will try to modify any images it finds threatening. We'll talk more about the "lizard brain" under the section below on "resistance." For now, just do your best to listen carefully to your own deep answers, write them down as quickly as possible and don't worry too much about the efforts of your everyday mind to change them right after that. This is not a passive practice. You must engage with the creativity and wisdom of the unconscious in order to hear what it has to say and you must then protect those answers from the inevitable censorship of the everyday mind. You will know you're successful when the results of your practice give you life-like almost real results. Three Questions - Active Imagination in Practice Identifying the values that give meaning and shape to your life is one of the most powerful steps you can take on the path to building a good business. One way to identify your core values is to remove the major obstacles keeping you from seeing them. There are three such obstacles that are common to many people:

- Time |- Money - Lack of a sensory rich image of our ideal work environment. The values you can uncover by removing these three obstacles can be used as building blocks to create a foundation for your overall vision and purpose. The following exercise is designed to use your imagination and intuition to create a quick map of what those values might be. Exercise 15: The Three Questions Purpose: This exercise will help you identify some of your core values, assess what they really mean to you, and develop a short list of real world work experiences that might embody those values. Procedure: Step 1. Relax. (see the exercise entitled "Creating a Container for the Work" above). Step 2: Ask the questions. Take out three pieces of paper (or use the pages attached to this handout) and write one of the following questions on the top of each of the pages. 1. What would I do if I had only six months to live? 2. What would I do if I had all the money I needed? 3. What will my work environment look like five years from today? Step 3: Answer the questions. What would you do and how will it be? Answer each question without considering what your answer to the others was or will be. There are no right answers, only your answers. For question 3, you don't have to know what you will be doing. Describe your environment: hours, indoors vs outdoors, light, colors, sounds, smells, decor, furniture, etc. Will you be working with animals, machines, data, people? What kind of people? Will you be working alone? What you will be doing with your hands; with your body; with your mind? Step 4: Search for patterns and commonalities. Lay the three sheets down next to each other. Compare your answers and identify the things or experiences they have in common. Make a short, written list of what you find. Step 5: Identify the underlying values and qualities.

Look at each item on your commonalities and patterns list and try to identify what values or qualities make up that thing or experience. (Optional: see the worksheet for "Values and Qualities" later in this ebook for help in choosing words). Step 6: Assess what these values actually mean. Looking at the most important of the values or qualities that you identified in step 5, make a few notes about what you really mean by that value or quality. How do you know when you are experiencing it? How do you know when it is absent? Step 7: Brainstorm some real world work experiences. Make a list of real world work experiences that you imagine would allow you to experience the values or qualities you assessed in step 6. Do any of these strike you as something you might do to pay the bills, even if only temporarily? You can do this in a word processing file or you can use paper. If you visit the resources page at http://www.mindfulness.com/running-a-good-business/ you'll find links to forms for this and other exercises in PDF formats that will print a nice, organized page for you to write on, if you prefer that. Here are the components of this exercise again? The Three Questions What would I do if I had only six months to live? What would I do if I had all the money I needed? What will my work environment look like 5 years from today? The Analysis Patterns & commonalities between the three answers. Underlying values revealed What do those values mean? What possible real-world work experiences does this bring to mind? 3. Write Your Own Creative Eulogy A eulogy is the speech given about a person at their funeral that tells what kind of life and impact the person had. Later, when you have completed your personal purpose statement, you can come back and review what you did hear to see if you would make any changes. Average life expectancy in the U.S. is currently 75 years for men and 80 years for women (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy). With advances in technology and bio-medicine, it is likely that someone born in the middle of the 20th century is quite likely to live into the middle of the 21st century. That's a span of 100 years, give or take. When you start recalling all that you have accomplished already in your life, you'll realize just how much more you are likely to accomplish before you die. What would it look like if you lived a rich, full life? For the sake of this next exercise, let's imagine that you at age 77 (which is current average life expectancy, taking both

- 4 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused. men and women). Think about how you want to be remembered. What mark do you want to make on the world before you die? What do you want to contribute or what do you want to be known for in your life? Exercise 16: Write Your Own Creative Eulogy Here’s an easy format to follow, adapted from the Art of Manliness [http://artofmanliness.com/2009/06/20/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-21-write-your- eulogy/]: Step 1. Write an Outline. It can be geographic (Where all did you live and travel?), chronological (What's outstanding about key periods of your life?), or descriptive (What characteristics will people remember about you as a person?). - Where did you live? - Who did you love? - Whare did you go to school? What happened there that's memorable? - What were your hobbies and interests? - What did you do for fun? For civic or social duty? For your church? - How did you act? - What qualities and charateristicw where you best known for? - Why did people admire you? - What will people miss about you? - What impact did you have on people? - How did you help them? - And so forth. Here’s a couple of examples from folks on the Web trying this exercise for themselves. Known to her family as “nosy Rosie”, Rosetta was born near Cleveland, Ohio, but spent most of her life and career in Washington, DC. Early on, she developed a passion for helping people and spent the beginning of her career in the nonprofit field before starting her own business. Rosetta loved to see other people succeed and dedicated her time and energy to empowering others to reach their goals and dreams.She studied English and was able to use words to spread a message of leadership, empowerment and love. Over the years, Rosetta was able to transform millions of lives with her books, speeches, programs and philanthropy and won numerous awards recognizing her efforts. She will be missed for her positive, caring spirit and insatiable curiosity about the world. Her friends and family will always cherish her willingness to support them in their lives spiritually, emotionally and financially. Rosetta loved traveling and enjoyed her experiences 4visiting every continent and tasting cuisines from across the globe. She was especially fond of dessert, bourbon and handsome men and enjoyed them in excess. Eventually, she met the love of her life and she and her husband decided to settle down in Honolulu, Hawaii in a modest home near the beach. As part of her legacy, she has chosen to bequeath the bulk of her estate to a nonprofit organization serving women of color.

[http://happyblackwoman.com/reset-your-life-day-15-write-your-own-eulogy/] ~*~ Carl Johnson was a true New Yorker. He was born in the city in 1978 and he never truly left. Although he traveled the world extensively, and lived at times in other places, he always came home to the Big Apple. He said the city was truly in his blood, and there was never any doubt about where he would retire. Carl grew up in the Bronx and showed his propensity for adventure early on when he snuck out of the house and rode the subway all over the city at the tender age of 8. Carl’s parents were terrified; Carl was delighted. Carl went to school at NYU and studied journalism. He wanted to be another Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein. He worked for several smaller papers, always burning the midnight oil, always hot on the trail of the next big story. He landed his dream job when he was hired by the New York Times to work in their Washington bureau. He loved politics. He loved getting to the bottom of the wheeling and dealing that went on behind the scenes. Most of all, he loved to uncover corruption. He was an idealist that believed that that one man could help change the government by exposing the dark things to the light. It was his work in this capacity that won him the Pulitzer prize for his story on the bribery going on in the Department of Natural Resources. While Carl loved his work, he loved his family more. He married Cindy, the love of his life in 2001. They were as close and in love as any couple I’ve ever met, two veritable peas in a pod. In reference to Cindy, he said to me several times, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” Together he and Cindy had two beautiful children, Robert and Elizabeth. He adored those kids. No matter how busy things got at work, Carl was always there at his children’s activities. Of all his life’s great accomplishments, Carl was most proud of the splendid people his children turned out to be. Although he settled down, Carl never gave up his adventurous spirit. The places he traveled are too numerous to list. He wanted to see every corner of the world and pretty well succeeded in doing so. He camped in Alaska, rode an elephant in Egypt, and canoed the Amazon. He had a long bucket list of things he wanted to accomplish, and he did all of them before he finally did kick the bucket. I can unequivocally say that Carl was the best man I knew. He combined a carpe diem attitude with faithfulness to his family and an untarnished professionalism at work. Everything Carl did, he did with integrity. 20 years after I had loaned him 50 bucks, he came across an IOU for it, written on a post-it note and stuffed in a shoebox. I had long since forgotten about the loan, but Carl came to my house that very day to repay me. He was also loyal, almost to a fault. Whatever jam someone was in, no matter how busy Carl was, he would drop everything to come help them. He would give anyone the shirt off his back. Yet while his principles were rigid, he was no stiff. He was the only person to ever make soda come out of my nose. He could find humor in absolutely every situation. I will miss so many things about Carl. I’ll miss his mighty bear hugs. He was not a man ashamed of hugging. I’ll miss the blueberry pancakes he made me whenever I came to

- 6 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused. visit. I’ll miss his unflagging optimism. There was no such thing as a bad day for Carl, just challenges that had to be faced and overcome. I’ll miss the great book recommendations he gave me; he always seemed to know just what I would love. I’ll miss the site of him roaring up on his motorcycle, smiling his ever boyish grin. Most of all I’ll miss how full of life he was. Whenever I was with him, I somehow felt more alive. Now that’s he’s gone, I can’t feel that firsthand anymore, and yet his legacy continues to spur me to seize the day. [http://artofmanliness.com/2009/06/20/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-21-write-your- eulogy/] 2. Write your own eulogy. Somewhere in length between the two examples. This is your life as you hope to have lived it. Jot down “memories” of yourself as you would hope people might remember or memorialize you. 3. Ask and answer these questions. How did you feel as you were writing your own euology? Were you contemplative? Hopeful? 4. Make some notes in your learning journal. Visit http://meaningfulworkcom.ning.com/ to share in the discussion forums. 4. Create Your Personal Statement of Purpose Exercise 17: Write a Statement of Personal Purpose Instruction: Use the accompanying worksheets for Action Words, Groups and Causes, and Values and Qualities. Place the results of those worksheets in the appropriate boxes below in your Statement of Personal Purpose: My personal purpose is to:

(the top three action words, from the “Action Word Worksheet”)

(the top value or values, from the “Personal Values Worksheet”) to, for, or with

(the group or cause to which you feel the most attraction to serve, from the “Groups or Causes Worksheet”) ~*~

Worksheet: Action Words Step 1. Relaxation. (see the exercise entitled "Creating a Container for the Work" above). Step 2: Identification. From the accompanying list, check off the action words that most excite you. Feel free to add other action words that you find even more exciting. Step 3: Winnowing. From the list of verbs that you checked in step 2, circle the ten that are the most important to you. Once you have done this, choose your top five. What would your top five action words be? Which would you give up? Cross off the ones you are willing to give up for now. Now, imagine that you are going to focus only on the top four. Cross off one of them. Now cross off another leaving only three -- and another, to end up with only two. Finally, cross off one of the remaining two so that you are left with the value that is most important to you. Step 4: Deepening. Looking again at your top three action words, write them down, one per page, on three separate pieces of paper (or pages in your learning journal). Now, one at a time, ask yourself the following questions and write down the answers for each action word. A. What values does this action word represent? Why do I want to take this particular action? What assumptions are contained in my choice of this as one of the actions I'd most like to spend time doing? B. Am I currently doing anything to make this action a part of my life? If so, what? If not, why not and what would my life look like if I were doing this particular action more? C. What can I do to increase my experience of this action in my life? D. After you have answered these questions for each of your top three action words, place the pages next to each other and make some notes about what patterns and commonalities you identify in your answers. Step 4. Sharing. Next, turn to your partner to share your findings. (Assuming you have found someone to work with on these exercises. If not, then continue on your own, compensating for instructions that mention your partner. But it would probably be worth it to stop hear and arrange for a partner. Getting some of this outside of yourself and reflected back by another person can significantly deepen your learning.) A. One of you take a turn reading your description aloud. B. The other, upon hearing this description, reflect back to your partner the assumptions about his or her strengths, abilities, and interests that you think are embedded in his/her description. Step 5: Discussion. After you have both shared and commented upon the assumptions of your respective descriptions, you can discuss what each of you heard, commenting upon what you see as the accuracy and validity of your partner' s insights. Do you think they have gauged accurately the assumptions you hold? Were you surprised by their analyses? Or did the assumptions they identified confirm how you conceive your own situation? It is also interesting to look for commonalities and differences in the assumptions you each identify. If you share assumptions in common do they represent what passes for

- 8 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused. conventional wisdom about behavior at work? If you have major differences, do they signify commonly divergent views about business relationships or actual significant individual differences between the assumptions held by you and your colleagues?

[ ] accomplish [ ] devise [ ] inspire [ ] reform [ ] acquire [ ] direct [ ] integrate [ ] regard [ ] adopt [ ] discover [ ] involve [ ] relate [ ] advance [ ] discuss [ ] keep [ ] relax [ ] affect [ ] distribute [ ] know [ ] release [ ] affirm [ ] draft [ ] labor [ ] rely [ ] alleviate [ ] dream [ ] launch [ ] remember [ ] amplify [ ] drive [ ] lead [ ] renew [ ] appreciate [ ] educate [ ] light [ ] resonate [ ] associate [ ] elect [ ] live [ ] respect [ ] believe [ ] embrace [ ] love [ ] restore [ ] brighten [ ] encourage [ ] make [ ] return [ ] build [ ] engage [ ] manifest [ ] revise [ ] call [ ] engineer [ ] master [ ] sacrifice [ ] cause [ ] enhance [ ] measure [ ] safeguard [ ] choose [ ] enlighten [ ] meditate [ ] satisfy [ ] claim [ ] enlist [ ] model [ ] save [ ] collect [ ] entertain [ ] mold [ ] sell [ ] combine [ ] evaluate [ ] motivate [ ] serve [ ] command [ ] excite [ ] negotiate [ ] share [ ] [ ] explore [ ] nurture [ ] speak communicate [ ] express [ ] open [ ] stand [ ] compete [ ] extend [ ] organize [ ] support [ ] complete [ ] facilitate [ ] perform [ ] surrender [ ] compliment [ ] finance [ ] persuade [ ] sustain [ ] compose [ ] forgive [ ] play [ ] take [ ] conceive [ ] foster [ ] practice [ ] tap [ ] confirm [ ] further [ ] praise [ ] touch [ ] connect [ ] gather [ ] prepare [ ] trade [ ] consider [ ] generate [ ] present [ ] translate [ ] construct [ ] give [ ] produce [ ] travel [ ] contact [ ] grant [ ] promise [ ] understand [ ] continue [ ] heal [ ] promote [ ] utilize [ ] counsel [ ] hold [ ] provide [ ] validate [ ] create [ ] host [ ] realize [ ] value [ ] decide [ ] identify [ ] receive [ ] verbalize [ ] defend [ ] illuminate [ ] reclaim [ ] volunteer [ ] delight [ ] implement [ ] reduce [ ] work [ ] deliver [ ] improve [ ] refine [ ] worship [ ] demonstrate [ ] improvise [ ] reflect

[ ] write Other: [ ] [ ] yield [ ] [ ] Workseet: Values and Qualities Step 1. Relaxation. (see the exercise entitled "Creating a Container for the Work" above). Step 2: Identification. From the accompanying list, check off those words that represent values or qualities you feel a strong affinity with. Feel free to add other qualities, views, or beliefs that are important to you. Step 3: Winnowing. From the list of values that you checked in step 2, circle the ten that are the most important to you. Once you have done this, imagine that you must focus on only five of them. What would your top five values be? Which would you give up? Cross off the ones that you are willing to give up for now. Now, imagine that you are going to focus only on the top four. Cross off one of them. Now cross off another leaving only three -- and another, to end up with only two. Finally, cross off one of the remaining two so that you are left with the value that is most important to you. Step 4: Deepening. Looking again at your top three values, write them down, one per page, on three separate pieces of paper (or pages in your learning journal). Now, one at a time, ask yourself the following questions and write down the answer for each value. A. What does this value mean to you? What is beneath/behind it? What assumptions are contained in my choice of this as one of my top values? B. Am I currently experiencing this value in my life? If so, how? If not, why not and what would my life look like if this value were more visible? C. What can I do to increase the presence of this value in my life? D. After you have answered these questions for each of your top three values, lay the pages out in front of you and make some notes about what patterns and commonalities you identify in your answers. Step 5. Sharing. Next, turn to your partner to share your findings. A. One of you take a turn reading your description aloud. B. The other, upon hearing this description, reflect back to your partner the assumptions about his or her strengths, abilities, and interests that you think are embedded in his/her description. Step 6: Discussion. After you have both shared and commented upon the assumptions of your respective descriptions, you can discuss what each of you heard, commenting upon what you see as the accuracy and validity of your partner's insights. Do you think they have gauged accurately the assumptions you hold? Were you surprised by their analyses? Or did the assumptions they identified confirm how you conceive your own situation? It is also interesting to look for commonalities and differences in the assumptions you each identify. If you share assumptions in common, do they represent what passes for conventional wisdom about values and qualities at work? If you have major differences,

- 10 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused. do they signify commonly divergent views about business relationships or actual significant individual differences between the assumptions held by you and your partner?

[ ] achievement [ ] entrepreneurship [ ] love [ ] responsibility and [ ] advancement [ ] eternity [ ] loyalty accountability [ ] adventure [ ] ethical practice [ ] market position [ ] right livelihood [ ] affection [ ] excellence [ ] meaningful work [ ] security [ ] appreciation [ ] excitement [ ] merit [ ] self-respect [ ] arts [ ] expertise [ ] mindfulness [ ] serenity [ ] balance [ ] faith [ ] money [ ] service [ ] beauty [ ] fame [ ] nature [ ] sharing [ ] bliss [ ] fast-paced work [ ] open and honest [ ] silence [ ] brotherhood [ ] financial gain people [ ] simplicity [ ] calm [ ] freedom [ ] order [ ] sophistication [ ] challenge [ ] friendship [ ] outdoors [ ] spiritual life [ ] change [ ] generosity [ ] patience [ ] stability [ ] collaboration [ ] goodness [ ] personal growth [ ] status [ ] communication [ ] goodwill [ ] physical [ ] supervising others [ ] communion [ ] gratitude challenge [ ] synthesis [ ] community [ ] growth [ ] pleasure [ ] time freedom [ ] compassion [ ] harmony [ ] positiveness [ ] tranquility [ ] competence [ ] having a family [ ] potential (living [ ] trust [ ] competition [ ] helping society up to my) [ ] truth [ ] conformity [ ] helping people [ ] power and [ ] understanding [ ] connections [ ] honesty authority [ ] vitality [ ] country (as away [ ] humor [ ] privacy [ ] wealth from the city) [ ] inclusiveness [ ] public service [ ] wholeness [ ] country (as "God [ ] independence [ ] purity [ ] will and Country) [ ] influence [ ] quality [ ] wisdom [ ] creativity [ ] inner harmony relationships [ ] wonder [ ] decisiveness [ ] integrity [ ] quality of what I [ ] work under [ ] democracy [ ] intellectual status take part in pressure [ ] detachment [ ] intimacy [ ] quiet [ ] work with others [ ] ecological [ ] involvement [ ] reality [ ] working alone awareness [ ] job tranquility [ ] recognition [ ] [ ] economic security [ ] joy [ ] religion [ ] [ ] effectiveness [ ] knowledge [ ] renewal [ ] [ ] efficiency [ ] leadership [ ] reputation [ ] [ ] emotion [ ] liberation [ ] resonance [ ] [ ] energy [ ] light [ ] respect from [ ] [ ] enthusiasm [ ] location others [ ] . ~*~

Worksheet: Groups or Causes Worksheet Step 1. Relaxation. (see the exercise entitled "Creating a Container for the Work" above). Step 2: Identification. From the accompanying list, check off those words that represent groups or causes you would really like to serve. Feel free to add other groups or causes that are important to you. Step 3: Winnowing. From the list of groups or causes that you checked in step 2, circle the ten that are the most important to you. Once you have done this, imagine that you must focus on only five of them. What would your top five groups or causes be? Which would you give up? Cross off the ones that you are willing to give up for now. Now, imagine that you are going to focus only on the top four. Cross off one of them. Now cross off another leaving only threeCand another, to end up with only two. Finally, cross off one of the remaining two so that you are left with the value that is most important to you. Step 4: Deepening. Looking again at your top three groups or causes, write them down, one per page, on three separate pieces of paper (or pages in your learning journal). Now, one at a time, ask yourself the following questions and write down the answer for each group or cause. A. What values does this group or cause represent for you? Why do I want to serve them/it? What assumptions are contained in my choice of this as one of groups or causes I'd most like to spend time serving? B. Am I currently doing anything to serve this group or cause? If so, what? If not, why not and what would my life look like if my service to this group or cause was more visible? C. What can I do to increase my service to this group or cause in my life? D. After you have answered these questions for each of your top three groups or causes, lay the pages out in front of you and make some notes about what patterns and commonalities you identify in your answers. Step 4. Sharing. Next, turn to your partner to share your findings. A. One of you take a turn reading your description aloud. B. The other, upon hearing this description, reflect back to your partner the assumptions about his or her strengths, abilities, and interests that you think are embedded in his/her description. Step 5: Discussion. After you have both shared and commented upon the assumptions of your respective descriptions, you can discuss what each of you heard, commenting upon what you see as the accuracy and validity of your partner's insights. Do you think they have gauged accurately the assumptions you hold? Were you surprised by their analyses? Or did the assumptions they identified confirm how you conceive your own situation? It is also interesting to look for commonalities and differences in the assumptions you each identify. If you share assumptions in common, do they represent what passes for conventional wisdom about behavior at work? If you have major differences, do they

- 13 - The Five Steps to Becoming More Values-Focused. signify commonly divergent views about business relationships or actual significant individual differences between the assumptions held by you and your colleagues?

[ ] administration [ ] finance [ ] religion [ ] agriculture [ ] food [ ] reproductive issues [ ] animal protection [ ] gardening [ ] research [ ] animal rights [ ] governance [ ] roads & bridges [ ] animal care [ ] health care [ ] sexuality issues [ ] art [ ] home health care [ ] space exploration [ ] biotech [ ] human development [ ] spirituality [ ] books [ ] immigration [ ] sports [ ] border issues [ ] infants [ ] substance abusers [ ] broadcasting [ ] journalism [ ] synagogues [ ] business [ ] justice [ ] the homeless [ ] child care [ ] labor relations [ ] the ill & disabled [ ] child protection [ ] labor relations [ ] the fine arts [ ] children [ ] law [ ] the performing arts [ ] churches [ ] literacy [ ] the poor [ ] civil rights issues [ ] management [ ] the justice system [ ] community [ ] media [ ] tourism development [ ] movies [ ] travel [ ] computer technology [ ] music [ ] veterans [ ] construction [ ] news [ ] water rights [ ] defense [ ] non-profit agencies [ ] women=s issues [ ] design [ ] nutrition [ ] youth [ ] education [ ] parks & recreation Other: [ ] elderly [ ] politics [ ] [ ] energy [ ] printing & [ ] [ ] entertainment publishing [ ] [ ] family issues [ ] public safety [ ] [ ] fashion [ ] real estate [ ] ~~**~~

5. Deterimine Your Personal Goals A goal is a place you intend to end up; an expected outcome; and anticipated result. It may not tell you how to get there, how to have that outcome, and how to achieve that result. And it may not tell you when: tomorrow, next week, in a month, a year from now, or in a decade. A goal is usually stated as a bigger picture which unless you break it down into smaller parts will be almost impossible to achieve. But if you do break your goals down then you can attain them in stages, step by step. These parts, stages, steps are what we call objectives, action steps, and daily tasks. The Twelve Steps To Accomplishing Personal Goals: Step 1. Develop passion. The first step in changing any part of your life is develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are and to live life to its fullest. Step 2. Practice faith. You have faith that life will present you with meaningful opportunities and you must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop a complete faith in your ability to achieve your goals the more rapidly you will move towards their attainment. Step 3. Be pragmatic. Your goals must be believable, attainable, and practical, given your present circumstances. If you already make $10,000 a year but you want to make $100,000, it will be more doable, and therefore more rewarding, if you choose an increment of change that you feel is attainable. You may not find it easy to go from $10,000 a year to $100,000 in a single year, but you could go from $10,000 to $15,000 in year one, from $15,000 to $22,500 in year two, from $22,500 to $33,750 in year three, from $33,750 to $50,625 in year four, from $50,625 to $75,937 in year five, and finally from $75,937 to $103,905 in year six. An increase of half of your previous year's income is a goal that is perfectly reasonable under a wide range of circumstances in today's world. To make this really work, you would supplement your action planning by developing a series of affirmations that include this incremental approach: in the first year your affirmation would be "I will earn $15,000 in the next 12 month period." In the second year it would be "I will earn $22,500 in the next 12 month period." And so on for the six years it would take to reach your ultimate goal. The same thing is true for any goal, from losing weight to getting a college degree. Break the goal down into attainable increments across a reasonable amount of time. Back up your plans with positive affirmations.

Caveat: Of course, there are exeception to any rule. For example, if you have a great business idea, it's likely to be easier to raise $1,000,000 in capital than $100,000. So stay awake for the exceptions too. How can you identify an exception? Usually because you've been listening to your advisors and mentors and that's what they've told you. Step 4. Develop tradeskills. Key tradeskills to develop are hands-on and one trial learning, the ability to face facts, a knack for minimizing risks, and most of all persistence. Never give up. There are bound to be set backs and disappointments. You must "pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." Your persistence is your measure of your belief in yourself. If you persevere nothing can stop you. (See Running a Good Business: Start Up and Legal Matters and Running a Good Business: Self Assessment for Tradeskill for more on tradeskill and how to tell if you have it). Step 5. Choose goals that help you grow. Make sure your goals are challenging. Choose goals that make you stretch your present level of knowledge and skill. Move out of your comfort zone and try to ride the edge of what you are capable of. Step 6. Write your goals down. This is critically important. This is the most effective way to enlist the help of your Everyday mind. Write your goals in complete, vivid, clear, precise detail. This is a critical step in attaining any goal. Until your goals are written down they are not goals, they are just so many fantasies. Step 7. Make a list of benefits. List what you stand to gain or experience by attaining your goals. The longer your list of benefits, the easier it will be for you to maintain your motivation to attain each goal. Step 8. Make a list of obstacles and barriers. There are always obstacles to overcome and barriers to get around. When you write them down you objectify them and make it easier to overcome them. Once you have objectified them they don't seem nearly so important or threatening. Step 9. Create a clear mental image of your goals and objectives as already accomplished. Play it back at every opportunity. What does it feel like to have your own good business? How will you act? Who will you interact with? What will you say? Will you teach? Do consulting? Sell products or services?What will your office look like? What will it be like to go to tradshows or chamber of commerce meetings? Will you be known as an expert in some part of your field? What part? Will you present at annual meetings? Or just host a booth? And so forth. Step 10. Make your goals doable and the objectives they are made up of measurable. Once you are clear about your goals, make a list of their component parts that are actionable. We call these objectives. Make sure your objectives are measurable. Turn a goal of "open my good business " into objectives such as "find location," "negotiate lease," "apply to suppliers for credit accounts," and so forth. If you aren't sure how to objectify a goal simply ask and answer the question "How will I know when I have accomplished this goal?"

Step 11. Create an Action Plan. Write it down. Make it complete in every detail. Break your measurable objectives down into action steps and daily tasks. Prioritize them and calculate their duration. Continually review and rewrite your plan on a regular basis so that you can take into consideration your progress and changes in goals. Step 12. Manage your time wisely. Make appointments with yourself to accomplish your action steps. Always ask yourself the question "What is the best use of my time right now?" Review your calendar daily, weekly, and monthly, quarterly, annually; however often makes sense for you. There is much more about objectives, action plans and time management in Running a Good Business: Time Management. ~*~ Exercise 18: What are the three most important goals in your life right now? Take only 30 seconds to answer this question. It is most likely that what pops up first will be what you really want and that careful consideration will allow the lizard brain to censor these goals because using fear that they are unreachable or, at least uncertain. Remember, "a goal is a dream with a deadline."

This work by Claude Whitmyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at www.smashwords.com. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://meaningfulwork.com/contact.html.

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