Coach Says It's Time for Goal Setting...

I heard someone say the other day that just because you have a dream or vision, without a clear and definite goal, that dream will never become reality.

Today I had a powerful and productive meeting with my coach Angela!  While I've accomplished quite a few of my smaller goals for Back2Basics so far, I've yet to tackle my core goal of finalizing the plans for developing and implementing the infrastructure.  

It's been a long time coming but I've finally turned this corner and I feel so excited I can hardly stand it!


It reminds me of the feeling you get when you're trying to conceive and you take a home pregnancy test that ends up positive.  Of course you're excited, however, you experience a different level of excitement when you actually ago to the doctor who confirms your pregnancy.  That's when you really get excited!

I've spent over twenty years with a deep desire to discover my authentic self...my likes, dislikes and my purpose...all of it.  Until the past six months or so, I never actually pushed the pedal to the floor and just went for it.

At the onset of my journey, I had a goal of transitioning from my job in corporate America to becoming a successful blogger, published author and speaker.  I knew in order to achieve this, I would need to do two things:  1) create my list of clearly defined objectives and 2) formulate plan of action by which I could measure my progress in successfully realizing my goals.

Working with my coach helps me to:

• Stay focused
• Be accountable
• Plan strategically
• Stay encouraged 
• Maintain balance

Since my initial step in naming my baby (my vision), with each subsequent step I find myself less insecure or intimidated at the thought of making such a big shift in my life.

I've heard it said that revenge is sweet.  I beg to differ.  In my opinion, there's no greater feeling in the world than the sense of empowerment that results from putting on courage, daring to dream and build and creating the life I've always wanted to live.

I'm in a place now where I know my dream is not just a fad.  What was once a tiny seed of a dream has now evolved and taken full root in my heart.  I visualize Back2Basics growing on the inside of me like a fetus grows in its mother's womb.  That's how real it is to me.

A pregnant woman, who is unable to tangibly see or hold her baby before birth, relies on fetal kicks and her growing bump as evidence that she's pregnant.  Comparatively and although my vision isn't fully developed, every blog post, every sentence of my book, every part of the vision I plan is a step towards accomplishing my vision.  For now, I patiently wait in anticipation of the day the fruits of my labor are fully manifest in the earth.

So as for goals...What are they anyway?  Goals are in essence objectives or intentions.  A goal is a plan of action to for accomplishing something.

Make sure that your goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-Oriented 

Specific...

Goals should be well defined, specific, detailed and focused.  Objectives should explain:

• What is going to be done?
• Why it's important to do it?
• How it will be done?
• Who will be involved?
• When it will be done?

Measurable...

Goals should be capable of being measured to determine success.

• How will it be determined that the objective is met? 
• What measurement will be used?

Attainable...

Goals should be reasonably achievable not impossible.

• Is it possible to achieve my objectives?
• Can I reasonably accomplish them in the time?
• Does completing my objectives challenge or frustrate me?

Realistic...

Goals should be cased on resources readily available to help you accomplish them.

• Are your skills adequate?
• Do you have the funding necessary?
• Do you own or have access to equipment needed?
• Do you have the personnel?
• Will I need to rearrange my priorities?
• Is it truly possible for me to accomplish this?

Time...

Goals should have deadlines for completion that sufficiently motivate us to action.

• Are the deadlines realistically obtainable?
• Have you broken down any complex objectives into smaller ones?
• Does the time allotted strike a balance between urgency and action?
• What is the earliest possible date to complete the objective?
• Is the completion date included in the goal/objective?

I am revisiting and rebuilding my goal matrix on this leg of my journey back2basics.

What goals are you currently working on?  Is there anything about your life you'd like to see change for the better?  If so, how will you make sure accomplish your goals?

Let's create, review and rebuild our goal matrix together on this leg of the journey!

Goal setting is a key to success on the journey back2basics...

E.