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Inside Out |
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November 16, 2006 -- Volume 2, Issue 11 |
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A Message from Kim |
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It's so hard toimaging that 2006 is coming to a close. I can't believe it's the middle of November. This is a time when many are reflecting on just what they did with their time this year. Some of you probably made New Year's resolutions that you hopefully kept. Many others didn't make them or if they did, don't even remember what they were, let alone whether or not they were accomplished. Why don't you make 2007 a year to remember. Let's make this year the year you get really serious about not only setting goals but actually accomplishing them. I have some products that will help. First, I am holding two free teleclasses on 12-27-06 to further expand on my seven-step system that I write about in this month's article. Then if you are really serious, there will be a goal setting workbook, ebook and home study course to provide even more information and support. Finally, I am organizing a small group mastermind session that will meet quarterly by telephone to specifically support each other and hold each other accountable for accomplishing his or her goals. I don't know about you but I know I'm much more likely to do something if I've told someone else about it than if I just keep it to myself. It adds the extra protection of accountability. I hope you will at least attend the free teleclass so you can begin to implement a time-tested system for actually doing the things you resolve to do in 2007! Make today the day you want it to be!
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In This Issue |
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Feature Article Upcoming Events Book Review Tip of the Week Business Q&A Reports & eBooks About Kim Olver |
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Feature Article |
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Seven Steps to Achieving your Goals This is the time of year when many goal setting gurus being to talk about reflecting on your goals for the past year and looking ahead to the new goals you will create for the coming year. I recognize the huge importance of having goals but I also think it is useless to talk about goal setting without an even stronger focus on goal attainment. Anyone whose ever celebrate the New Year has set a goal but what takes goal setting to the next level? I’d like to share with you my seven-step system for actually reaching and attaining your goals. Are you ready? Step 1: Begin at the End: Many experts in goal setting will tell you that you must begin at the end. Imagine yourself and all you want to accomplish in the future. That way you can develop the roadmap of just how to get there. After all, you wouldn’t get on a plane without knowing its destination, would you? Then why would you live your life that way? Decide right now, to the best of your ability where you want to end up when it’s all over. Stephen Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People says his second habit is: “Begin with the End in Mind.” He suggests that you imagine your own funeral and just what you want family, friends and community members to say about you, your character and your accomplishments. That way you will be able to plan step-by-step what exactly you will need to do to get there. What is your purpose? What are your unique skills, talents and abilities that help you to contribute to humankind? If you aren’t sure, take some time to daydream about it. Keep trying new things until you find something you love and at which you excel. Step 2: Balance is the Key: Many times when you think of setting goals, you focus on the area of professional objectives. While this is a very important part of your goal setting strategy, it shouldn’t be your only center of attention. You are so much more than what you do at work, aren’t you? Think about it. At the end of your life, do you think you will be looking back regretting that you didn’t work harder? Probably not. So, when you have a goal setting strategy session, you must look at all the important areas of your life. When I do my goal sessions, I look at work, love, play and spirituality. There are many systems out there that divide our lives into different focal areas. I don’t favor one over any others. My advice is that you find one that works for you and set goals in each of those areas. Step 3: Take Stock: Where are you now? What are your strengths? As important as knowing where you are going is knowing where you are right now. It’s impossible to get good directions anywhere unless the person giving directions knows where you are starting from. Take the time to scrutinize the reality of your life. Where do you stand in each of the areas you identified in Step 2? This is not a time to be overly critical or overly optimistic. Just take an honest look at your current situation. Then make an assessment of your strengths. Enumerating your strengths can be very helpful in setting future goals. Sometimes it’s your strengths that will make goal attainment possible. Finally, I ask you to answer the question, “What would you have to give up to be successful with this particular goal?” When you have your answer, you must then assess if it will be worth it. Many times we don’t move forward toward our goals because of fears that remain just out of our conscious awareness. We must bring them to the forefront where they can be confronted and managed. Step 4—Work Backwards/Time Management: Once you know what you are striving for and where you are, then you plot out the course to get you there. You can have 10-year, 5-year, 3-year, 1-year, 3-month, 1-month, 1-week and daily goals. I generally review my big picture goals quarterly and set my shorter goals according. While doing some positive goal setting, it is important to attend to time management issues. These things will not happen unless you prioritize and protect your time to do the things that you have identified as important. Step 5: Affirmations/Visualizations/Meditations: This is not just some new age hog wash. There has been extensive brain research that backs up the use of affirmations, visualizations and meditation. If you are serious about accomplishing your goals you must write them down. Back in 1953, a Harvard University study showed that 3% of the students graduating that year actually wrote down their specific career goals. Twenty years later, a team of researchers interviewed the class of 1953, and found that the 3% who had written down their goals were worth more financially than the other 97% combined. (Make no mistake, writing down goals pays off, big time!) An affirmation is simply writing your goal as if it were already true in the present moment. You then say these affirmations daily, at least once but more if possible. Be very clear about what you are trying to accomplish. A visualization is just like a mental rehearsal. In your mind’s eye, you imagine what life would be like if you had the goal accomplished. The more vivid and sensory-based you can make your visualization, the more effective it will be. Meditation is a quiet time you take to get in touch with your inner self or your higher power. It is a time of deep reflection where you may ask questions and seek answers from a place or entity that has the answers. Step 6: Positive Attitude: There is a Universal Law of Attraction that says we attract into our lives that which we focus on. If we are focused on what we don’t have, then we will bring more lack into our lives. If we are constantly complaining about our bad luck, then that is what we can expect. When working in harmony with our true selves, it is important to maintain an attitude of gratitude. Even when things don’t go as you planned, you can always be grateful for the lessons learned along the way. Step 7: Continuous Improvement/Staying Motivated: This may be the difference between goal setting and goal attainment. The first part is never being satisfied that you have arrived. There is always something more that you can do, another improvement that you can make. Life is a continuous journey. Staying motivated is a challenge. Sometimes meeting our goals will motivate us; sometimes it has the opposite effect. I find having an accountability partner, a coach or a mastermind group to whom I am accountable makes all the difference. I can promise myself I’m going to do something all day long. If I don’t, who will be the wiser? However, when I say out loud to someone else what my intentions are, then my integrity won’t let me fail. Stop goal setting and start goal attaining. 2007 can be your year! Copyright ©November 2006 Kim Olver. All rights reserved
NOTICE: This article is free and can be copied and reproduced |
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*Click Here or to read some of Kim's other articles* |
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Upcoming Events |
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Teleclasses All teleclasses free, one (1) hour in length and all you need is a telephone. When you register we will send you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of your teleclass. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available. The following Teleclasses are FREE Do you maintain a diverse workforce in your place of business? Do you celebrate diversity? Would you like to learn how to create a diverse workplace that embraces diversity? Register for this call and learn how creating a diverse workforce in your place of business can increase your bottom line and create a more pleasant work environment for you, your co-workers and your employees. Goal Setting & Attainment Come on now; are you serious this time about keeping those New Year’s resolutions? Let’s really get serious about setting those goals for next year. This teleclass will give you a time-proven system for setting and actually attaining those New Year’s resolutions. No more excuses. Register for this call today. All you need is a telephone. Once you register, we will email you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of this class. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available. Empowered Leadership How would you like your leaders to be more effective? How would you like to create a work environment that is empowering to your employees? Register for this call and learn the skills necessary to create an empowered workforce for both management and your employees. Choice Theory & Reality Therapy This class will preview the revolutionary work of one of the greatest thinkers of our time, Dr. William Glasser. During the call, you will learn the basic tenants and concepts of Choice Theory, an explanation of human behavior; Reality Therapy, a process of self-reflection that encourages problem solution and self-growth; Lead Management, a democratic style of leadership that is not only effective in managing workers, but is also effective with the management of students in the classroom and for agencies working with non-voluntary clients; and Quality Schools, a new way of teaching and managing the classroom environment that creates trust, quality relationships, and improved test scores. Sign up today. Anger Management (De-escalation Skills) Are you someone who is confronted with angry people in the course of your life? Spouses, children, extended family members, neighbors, community members who have tempers and like to yell at you? Want to learn ways to take the wind out their sails and have them communicating more cooperatively? Then this class is for you! |
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Chat Room All Chats are from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EST |
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Quote of the Week |
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"The greater thing in this world is not so much where we stand --Oliver Wendell Holmes This is the point of goal setting. When you take stock of where you are right now in Step 3 of my goal attainment system, you are merely gathering information. It is not to pass a value judgment on whether you are doing well or whether you are doing poorly. Where you are at this very moment is only important as it gives you the starting point. Whatever you have or haven't done up to this point, whatever opportunities you have taken advantage of or let pass you by are no longer important. You can't change it--the time has already past and can't be undone. However, from right now, this very moment you can face yourself in the direction you want to go and plot the straightest course for your destination so you can begin the journey. Where you are headed is the critical piece of information. |
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Book Review |
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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference "The Tipping Point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire," says Gladwell. This book goes on to enumerate the subtle factors that create the tipping point. It is interesting information for anyone who is trying to get a product, a service, an idea or a social cause to become popular. Gladwell takes about the law of a few and how the person modeling the trend makes a big difference. There are certain people who have more influence over other people than most do. He calls them connectors and mavens. If they are advocating the trend, then it is more likely to "tip." The second factor is the stickiness factor or how likely the idea or product is to stay with a person. Will they be attracted to it and remember it? The third factor Gladwell discusses is the context in which the trend occurs. Context or environment plays quite a crucial role in whether or not something "tips." All of these factors, alone and in combination, work to either support or inhibit a tipping point. This is a fascinating break down of just what influences epidemics so if you are trying to create one, check out The Tipping Point. Click here to order this book |
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Tip of the Week |
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Are you like me? Do you have some drudge work that accumulates over time and turns into really big problems? I can remember about seven years ago when I wanted to hire someone to help me with the housework at home. I believed I couldn't hire anyone until I had gone through all the piles of things I had stacked up over time. You know what I mean. The things you didn't throw away because you wanted to get to them later . . . only later never comes. If you know what I am talking about and you have these organization issues, whether it's a closet you need to clean out, drawers that need purging or a garage that no longer has room for the car, you need to schedule time in your week to take care of these issues a little at a time. Even if you only schedule one hour a week for drudge work, it will make your life so much easier. Once I identified hiring a cleaning person as my goal, I scheduled in time each week to clean up my piles. After about two years of wishing for a cleaning person, it only took about six weeks to get everything taken care of once I put time in my schedule to do it. What are your drudge jobs? Take the time to conquer them in 2007! Now, go out and make things happen! |
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Business Q&A |
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Question: Why is it that whenever I set a goal, I do really well at working on it for about two weeks and then I lose interest and slack off? Secondly, the way we currently do things, generally provides some benefit to us. Whenever we attempt to change our status quo, something inside us wants to maintain the equilibrium because we could be losing something important. This is why I always advocate asking the question, "What would I have to give up to get what I really want?" A third possibility is that your direction has changed. What you thought you wanted originally has really taken a back seat to something else that has perhaps become even more important. And finally, another possibility is that you lack the discipline to follow through. The answer I have found for this is to add coaching or an accountability partner to the mix. This adds an extra layer of accountability that may help even the biggest procrastinator to pursue their dreams. Please let me know how you make out in 2007. |
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Copyright © November 16, 2006 Kim Olver. All rights reserved. |
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Hi Everybody,
