It's Crucial to Set Goals in Life and in Business

To be successful in life and in business, you need to set clear goals. Goal setting is a vital factor in determining your path to success. Success is measured by the goals you have reached.

Here are five tips on how you can set clear achievable goals:

• Brainstorm your personal and business goals and then put them into writing listing them in order of importance.This will activate the process of committing yourself to your goals. Studies have shown that goals that have been put into writing are more motivating than those that you simply think. When formulating your goals be sure to include both a time frame ( short-term and long-term goals) and a plan of action to help and guide you on your way.

• Review your goals weekly. Assess where you are in terms of how you are progressing and make changes to your goals if you find that you need to refine them in any way. Things to think about are: how am I doing in my short -term objectives? Am I still on course towards reaching my bigger, long-term goals? Do I need to make any changes to my goals based on what I have achieved so far? How am I doing generally? [Don't forget to acknowledge any and all progress you have made no matter how small it is in relation to the bigger picture and be sure to pat yourself on the back, too!]

• Take action. A goal remains a fantasy if you do not do something concrete to accomplish it. Based on your assessment, you can either continue or change your present plan of action, that is, be flexible and creative if one plan was not delivering in the way you hoped, then find other ways to do what is necessary to achieve those goals.

• Be motivated and stay focused. You may want to share your goals with your family or close friends. It will help you to remain focused and inspired - there's nothing like talking about your plans and actions to people who care about you to re-fire your enthusiasm. They could also help you and even remind you if you begin to stray off course.

• Be determined and committed. With strong determination and commitment, you can be confident that you can and will achieve the goals that you have set. A word of caution though, remember to set realistic, achievable goals with a reasonable time frame because you do not want to set yourself up for frustration and failure.

Good Luck!