A lot of people pride themselves in "shooting from the hip" and "living for the moment". They wear their lack of goals, plans, and schedule as a badge of freedom. If you peel the badge back, what you'll probably find is a lack of discipline, a lack of focus, and lack of any real objective for each day.



If that describes your life, that's cool. But, if you have dreams, ambitions, or achievement in mind, the practice of "shooting from the hip" is rarely going to deliver the success you're after. Also, having vague or broad objectives such as "I want to be rich" or "I want to become more spiritually disciplined" aren't likely to produce results either.

What you need are SPECIFIC goals, plans, and objectives to be able to determine your path to achievement. Having specific goals will motivate you to take action because you will have a clear picture of the goal. Specific objectives give you a framework for you to take tangible, specific action.

For example, if I say, "I want to grow spiritually by helping the needy for one hour a week," then I can do exactly what is needed to accomplish that goal because the goal is realistic, measurable, and specific.

Write your specific goals down on paper so you can review them regularly. Goals in writing do not become fuzzy or forgotten. Written SPECIFIC goals allow us to have a laser-like focus when we need to decide what actions to take on a given day to obtain them.

Goals must be measurable. "I want to earn $400 more per month," or "I want to see some growth in my spiritual life, so I will give 5% of my income to charity," or "I would like to be a better father, so I plan on spending at least one hour a day playing with my kids," are all goals that can be measured. Goals that are measurable are ones that can be achieved.

Objectives need to be personal and realistic. Make sure the goals you set are yours. What I mean by that is don't set goals to make others happy. You must be passionate about your goals for YOUR sake because if the goals aren't yours, they won't hold your attention for long.

In addition, your specific objectives must be realistic. I could have a specific goal to play golf on the PGA tour, but believe me, that is not going to happen. Your specific goals have to be attainable to be realistic.

Don't jump over this point too quickly. I often hear "I want to be a millionaire in 6 months." Specific yes, but realistic? Depends on a LOT of factors. "I want to weight 100 pounds less in 4 months." Specific, you bet, but realistic? Probably not. How about "I would like to lose 4 pounds a week"? That's getting more into the range of difficult, but realistic.

Make sure your goals are compatible with each other. You can't set a goal to build a business, coach a little league team, train for a triathlon, and get your Master's degree all at the same time. You have to be realistic about how your specific objectives fit together in a master plan.

Lastly, make sure to put dates and times on your goals. This will assure a sense of urgency that will lead to action. Take the time to regularly assess your progress along the way. Setting up these "mile-markers" will show you if you are behind schedule or not. If you are, then you are able to adjust your intensity level to catch up or even get ahead.

There are times when "shooting from the hip" is appropriate. However, if you are serious about financial freedom, spiritual fulfillment, and a well-balanced life, "shooting from the hip" is not a plan for success. Having specific, realistic goals with timelines will put you on the path to successful life management.