|
In my conversations with hundreds of high
achievers over the years, I have found that they all have
one thing in common. They have taken the time to sit down
and create a clear blueprint for themselves and their future
lives. Even if they started the process of goal setting and
personal strategic planning with a little skepticism, every
one of them has become a true believer.
Becoming a
True Believer
Every one of them has been amazed at
the incredible power of
goal setting and strategic planning. Every one
of them has accomplished far more than they ever believed
possible in selling and they ascribe their success to the
deliberate process of thinking through every aspect of their
work and their lives, and then developing a detailed, written
road map to get them to where they wanted to go.
The Definition
of Happiness
Happiness has been defined as, "The
progressive achievement of a worthy ideal, or goal."
When you are working progressively, step-by-step toward something
that is important to you, you generate within yourself a continuous
feeling of success and achievement.
You feel more positive and motivated.
You feel more in control of your own life. You feel happier
and more fulfilled. You feel like a winner, and you soon develop
the psychological momentum that enables you to overcome obstacles
and plow through adversity as you move toward achieving the
goals that are most important to you.
Determine
Your Values
Personal strategic planning begins with
your determining what it is you believe in and stand for-your
values. Your values lie at the very core of everything you
are as a human being. Your values are the unifying principles
and core beliefs of your personality and your character.
The virtues and qualities that you stand
for are what constitute the person you have become from the
beginning of your life to this moment. Your values, virtues
and inner beliefs are the axle around which the wheel of your
life turns. All improvement in your life begins with your
clarifying your true values and then committing yourself to
live consistent with them.
Fuzzy or Clear?
Successful people are successful because
they are very clear about
their values. Unsuccessful people are fuzzy or
unsure. Complete failures have no real values at all.
Building Self-Confidence
and Self-Esteem
Values clarification is the beginning
exercise in building self-confidence, self-esteem and personal
character. When you take the time to think through your fundamental
values, and then commit yourself to living your life consistent
with them, you feel a surge of mental strength and well being.
You feel stronger and more capable. You
feel more centered in the universe and more competent of accomplishing
the goals you set for yourself.
Action Steps
Here are two things you can do immediately
to put these ideas into action.
First, decide for yourself what makes
you truly happy and then organize your life around it. Write
down your goals and make plans to achieve them.
Second, begin with your values by deciding
what it is you stand for and believe in. Commit yourself to
live consistent with your inner most convictions - and you’ll
never make another mistake.
| 