How often have you found yourself saying something like, "I'd like a huge downline and a beach house in Spain," or, "I want to be the same size I was in high school?" How many times have you actually mapped out what it would take to make those things happen?



Don't mistake wishing or wanting for goal-setting. Simply desiring your network marketing business to take off so you can quit your job won't bring it much closer to becoming reality. Setting a goal to achieve a specific end, however, is a completely different story.

Your goals must be meaningful to you. This should go without saying, but every day I see people trying to achieve goals set for them by others. A goal set for you by your employer or spouse is not really a goal at all.

To be effective, your goals must be specific. "I want to make a lot of money," is not a goal. You must state how much you will accomplish, and by what date you will have this done. "I want to earn $5,000 a month in residual income by August 31 of this year," is a valid goal.

For goals to be specific, you must write them down. Many insist using paper and pen, but I find typing mine on my computer works just fine. That way, I can continually edit and update them.

Written goals provide direction to your activities, kind of like a road map. With so much information out there, it's sometimes difficult to know which steps to take and when. By reviewing your written goals, you get a better sense of what needs to be done right now.

When writing goals, begin with brainstorming. This means dreaming. Write down, uncensored, everything you'd like to have in your life, from now until the end of your life. Don't even think about it. Just write.

When you finish this, make another list of goals. Limit this to things you want to accomplish in the next twelve months. Make sure these goals mesh with your longer term goals.

The next step is very important. In order for goals to be realized, a price must be paid. It's like in physics, the whole "for every action there exists and equal and opposite reaction" thing. Nothing is free.

Your task, then, is to erase those goals you're not willing to pay the price for. For instance, if your goal is to live in Southern France, but your mate wants to live close to family, are you willing to do what it takes to achieve that goal? If not, it's not doable, and is not a viable goal.

Once you have your short and long term goals written down, you must break them down into smaller, more manageable chunks. For example, if it's your goal to recruit fifty new downline members in twelve months, how many will you need to recruit in 90 days?

What will you need to do in those 90 days to make that happen? What do you need to do next week? Tomorrow? Right now? Make a list of activities you simply must do to attain these goals. This keeps it real.

Which brings me to another point. To be challenging and motivating, your goals must be perceived as attainable. I've seen people set some pretty lofty goals, only to feel an overwhelming sense of failure when they couldn't achieve them. Small, even baby steps sometimes are necessary to build confidence.

Rewrite your goals every 3 months or so. If you're like me, your goals are constantly changing to some degree. Rewriting helps keep them, and you, focused on what you really want and are striving for.

Written goals help you end up where you want to be, kind of like a boat with oars, or even a motor and a rudder. Contrast that with the majority of people who, it seems, float aimlessly and have no clue where they'll end up.

Which boat would you rather be in?