It's an amazing thing to watch as people from all walks of life, all ages and both sexes, go through the whole New Year's resolution ‘thing' and tell themselves lies about what the next 12 months will bring them.

You know what I mean.

11.59pm on New Year's Eve you turn to a loved one and say “This year is going to be different. I'm really going to achieve some great things!” and for that one minute, that one moment in time, you mean it.

You REALLY mean it!

You are fired up, raring to go and ready, willing and (despite the glass of champagne in your hand) able to commit to that new diet, getting that payrise or new job, starting that company, writing that book and a whole host of other great sounding things.

Then the bells ring in the New Year and a funny thing happens.

January 1st rolls around and, whilst the goals are still in your head, they don't seem as important anymore. (maybe it's the champagne?)

January 2nd comes and by lunchtime you're telling yourself that some of your goals are ‘just silly fantasies' and you scratch them off your list.

January 3rd arrives and, despite a much shorter list than you had just 2 days before, you start to tell yourself that “I've got all year to do this. I don't have to start right now. Let me just ‘settle in' to the year first and ‘get myself sorted' and THEN I'll work on my goals”

Like I said, all lies!

In fact, when you actually break it down, there are FOUR of them…

Lie number one:

‘This year is going to be different'

The truth of the matter is, for most people, sad though it is, 2008 is going to be EXACTLY the same as 2007 was.

Why?

Because their strategy is EXACTLY the same as it was last year and, as the saying goes, if you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.

Lie number two:

‘The goals don't seem as important anymore'

Yes they are, and you know it!

They're just as important as they were 24 hours ago it's just that somewhere deep down you've started to persuade yourself that your goals are somehow unachievable and, if the truth be known, you're scared about failing so instead you lie about their importance.

Lie number three:

‘They're just silly fantasies'

This is a continuation of lie number two but much more harmful. With this lie you've started to rationalise and justify why your goals are impossible and use all kinds of excuses disguised as ‘reasons' as to why your goals are unrealistic…

the biggest lie of all!

Lie number four:

‘I'll settle in and get sorted'

What a great lie!

This is an ‘I'm not giving up, I just need to get back into the flow at work or school before I attack these goals' kind of lie that you use to delay things until the time is right.

But wait a minute…

Wasn't work, school or your other favourite excuse the reason why you couldn't achieve your goals before New Year?

Be honest with yourself. You know that lie number four is simply a delay tactic, that ‘one day' lie that we all tell ourselves in order to get out of taking action when we know we could, when we know we should.

You know, ‘one day when I have more time…' or ‘one day when I have more money…' (or whatever else you use to delay your goals).

Regardless of your ‘one day' excuse, the results are the same… zero!

Now, if you've read this far you're probably recognising many of these lies as ones you've told yourself in the past, and maybe even ones you're still telling yourself now. But, like many people, you have no real idea about how to breakfree from the habit of creating ‘wish-lists' and then lying about why they didn't come true.

In short, you're not really that sure about how to make 2008 any better than 2007 was.

Well, if that's the case then you definitely need to keep reading because I'm about to lay out a strategy so simple, yet so highly effective that, if applied as I describe (the important bit) simply cannot fail.

Interested?

I bet you are!

Well, you'll be pleased to know it requires six steps and six steps only.

Just 6.

Follow them all and seriously great things will happen for you, miss one and it's game over on your goals. I can't put it any clearer than that.

Ok, here is success in 6 simple, straightforward, easy-to-understand steps:

1. Know what you want

2. Know why you want it

3. Know when you want it by

4. Write it down

5. Know the price

6. Pay it

If your first reaction to that list is one of ‘is that all?' then you're underestimating the power of simplicity for achieving great things.

You see, that those steps, whilst simple, really do form the most powerful goal achievement strategy on the planet. You'll be hard pushed to find a single successful person on that planet who isn't committed to using these six steps on a daily basis.

In part 2 we'll explore the four lies even further and develop an action strategy to counter then