“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.”
— Elbert Hubbard

It may seem like a simple question, “What do you want?”, but have you really sat down and figured out exactly what you want for your life? Sometimes when this question is asked, I hear a lot of what people don’t want: “I don’t want to be in debt, I don’t want to have a cheating spouse, I don’t want an apartment with cockroaches, I don’t want a lousy job, I don’t want to be fat, I don’t want to be shy”, etc.

But that doesn’t tell me what you want! If you don’t know what you want, how are you supposed to know how to get it? You want to be wealthy, you want a faithful spouse, you want a clean apartment, you want a good job, you want to be in shape, you want to be outgoing, etc.

Take a moment and really figure this one out. Go all out and make it your big dream. Make sure you are writing out what you want and not the don’t wants. Then if you want to have some creative fun, do a vision board. Simply find pictures to cut and paste onto a board that give you a visual picture of exactly what you want in your life. I found it really clarifies my quest and gives me something to focus on when I wonder “What am I doing all this for?”

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”
— Robert Frost

Improvement and change occur when you do things repeatedly and consistently. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any of the momentum you need to succeed. Find ways to keep yourself on track and motivated. It is easy to create reasons not to stick to your goals. We get sick, we get tired, we have to travel, we get discouraged, we are stressed.

Here are some tricks to staying motivated and keeping change consistent in your life: Be reasonable with your goals by not taking on too much too quickly. Write your goals down in your calendar and make them as big a priority as every other appointment you have. Find support near by — a friend, a spouse, even a virtual computer buddy to keep you on track. Keep things fun — when it’s fun, it’s that much easier to do. Keep a journal so you can see your progress.

We are finally back home, and after allowing myself a “comatose” day, I am back in the office and back to writing (even if I still feel comatose!). After my week away, and after listening to some very inspirational speakers at the Rules for Renegades Summit in Irvine, California, I realized it is time for my self check-up.

What’s that, you ask? This year is nearly half over. You may not want to think about it but this is the perfect time to take stock of how far you’ve come and to consider what lays ahead. Yup. I am serious.

If you have made any personal or professional commitments, have you been keeping track of where you are now? How much closer to your goal(s) have you come?

Remember, this is not a time to panic or get down if things are not looking the way you sketched it out in your plan yet. It is a time to realize that you need to take bigger steps, keep your promises to yourself, and respect and love yourself enough to do what you really, really want to do — now!

And if you haven’t made any personal commitments and goals yet, there is no better day than today!

“Imagination is everything - it is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein

Goal-setting is one of the best ways to actively create your real life balance. Setting specific goals based on your desires (plan), seeing (visualize) and feeling them happening (put strong emotion behind them). Put yourself in that glorious future in your mind.

Be specific when you write out your goals. Start with 4 main goals which include each major sector of your life: money, mind, body, and soul. Write them in present tense, starting with “I am” and using an active verb. Give them a due date, then be sure to append “or sooner” at the end. For example: “I am eating healthy whole foods by December 31, 2008, or sooner.”

Review stage: Go through the goals at least twice a day. Visualize achieving your goals and experiencing the good feelings associated with your success.

After reviewing them in the morning, write down three things you can do today to help you achieve your #1 goal. Visualize them being achieved, and take action to make them happen. You’ll be surprised how motivated you’ll be to move to the next step. Then, as you reach a goal, move on to the next goal on your list.