How To Earn Your First Million

I’m sure you’ve heard other people say it. And I’m sure like many things you may have let it slip. But in my experience, there is one simple task which precedes profits.

Practically every modern thinker or speaker on the subject of success extols the benefits of… goal setting. I’m a huge fan of them myself since they helped me get and stay on track to earn my first million. I’ve been a goal-setter ever since. So let’s review the basic rules of putting the power of goals to work for you.

1. Write your goals down. Unwritten goals are wishes or dreams. When you write a goal down, it’s necessary to be very specific. You wouldn’t write, “I want to earn a million dollars.” You would write, “I will earn a million dollars by December 31, 2012 doing … (include how you’ll earn it). Written goals drive you to taking action.

2. Review your goals regularly. Otherwise they’ll fade from your memory and amount to zero. I suggest you hang them on your bathroom mirror. That way you’ll start and end each day with them. Reviewing them before you go to sleep at night is especially effective in staying on track.

3. Keep a copy of your goals with you. If you keep your goal with you on a 3X5 card, or as a screen saver on your computer or phone, or on a task list, you can review and revise them in spare moments throughout the day. The whole idea is to make them a living, vital part of your life and a powerful influence on your daily decisions.

4. Make sure your goals are realistic. Goals you don’t believe you can achieve are worse than useless because they blind you to goals you really could achieve. And, they discourage your belief in the whole goal-setting and achieving process. Your annual goals should make you stretch but not be so far from today’s reality that you can’t believe you’ll achieve them. Long term goals are for the bigger accomplishments in life. Plan those as well, then break them down into shorter goals until you know what you can accomplish today to be on the path to greater success in life.

The surprising thing about goals is that once they’re in writing, if you concentrate on them every day, they will become real.