The Power of Written Goals

Using goal-setting to help you create significant results in every area of your life.

We are very pleased to introduce a new section to The LifeExcellence
Newsletter. Make a Difference will focus on specific ways to help
people and organizations in need, and will also highlight examples
of people who are making a difference in the world.

If you have suggestions for non-profit organizations that you would
like included, or a story of people "giving back" in some way, please
email me at brian@lifeexcellence.com.

We are also pleased to offer our FREE LifeExcellence Motivational
Screensaver, which contains a collection of over 100 awesome
motivational quotes and 30 scenic photos! You can download it
here, or from our website. Install it on your PC at home and work,
and forward it to your friends, family and business associates!

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Table of Contents:

1. Baby Steps
2. Feature Article: The Power of Written Goals
3. Quotes
4. Recommended Resources: Goals
5. Self-Care: Top 10 Strategies for Stress Management
6. Make a Difference
7. Final Thoughts: The Daffodil Principle

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1. Baby Steps

As we head into the last quarter of the year, businesses, organizations
and governments are starting to think about their plans for 2002.
Although it may seem a bit early to start thinking about next year,
highly successful individuals have also started this planning process.

In the coming weeks, I request that you begin to think about what
2002 might look like in order to be your best year ever. Upcoming
articles between now and the end of the year will provide guidelines
to support you in this process.

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2. Feature Article: THE POWER OF WRITTEN GOALS

One of the common characteristics of highly successful people is
that they are intensely goal-oriented. Successful people know where
it is that they want to go in life, and they have a clear plan to get
there. Their "roadmap to success" is the list of goals that they have
written down.

Goal setting is certainly not a new concept. We have all heard about
the importance of having goals. For example, we know that Olympic
and professional athletes have goals, and constantly strive to achieve
them. Amazingly though, less than 3% of the population has a written
set of goals. Furthermore, less than 1% reviews their goals on a
regular basis.

Here are several reasons to have written goals for your life:

1. Written goals increase your odds of success. An architect would
not think of proposing a building project without a blueprint. A
commercial pilot always has a flight plan. Few movie producers
would begin filming without a script. Why? Because the blueprint,
the flight plan and the script are all "roadmaps" that help people to
achieve the results that they want to create. Without these plans, the
process would be far less efficient, and probably unsuccessful. The
same holds true for written goals, as they relate to your success.

2. Written goals increase your motivation to achieve them. By
knowing your specific outcome, you will be able to measure
progress toward the achievement of your goals. As you notice your
forward progress, you will be inspired to continue the actions that
have caused this progress. The process will continue to motivate
you as you take more action, then notice the positive results from
doing so.

3. Written goals build self-confidence. As you take action that
causes you to move toward your outcome, you will become more
confident in your ability to do so. Your confidence will continue to
build as this occurs.

4. Written goals provide clarity of purpose. With written goals, and
an action plan to support those goals, you will know precisely what
you need to do to achieve your desired results. This crystal-clear
picture will help you to be more efficient, thereby avoiding the waste
of time, money, and effort.

5. Written goals move you steadily toward your goal. Creating
written goals often seems like holding a magnet underneath a sheet
of paper filled with iron filings. Like the magnet, your written plan
will pull you toward the accomplishment of your goals. This often
seems effortless, as if the only action necessary was to write down
the goal.

Goal setting is a very powerful technique that can help you to create
significant results in every area of your life. Begin today to write
down goals for your life!

In the next newsletter, this Goal Series will continue with "Why
People Don't Set Goals."

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3. Quotes

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Walt Disney

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you
to achieve it.
Paulo Coelho

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in
what direction we are moving.
Oliver Wendall Holmes

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4. Recommended Resources: GOALS

Creating Your Future: Five Steps to the Life of Your Dreams
by Dave Ellis

If you are looking to get more out of life, then this book is for you.
The simple exercises contained in the book help readers to visualize
a more meaningful life, and then integrate that plan into our lives.
As Ellis shows us, we all have the power to create the life our dreams!
To order book, click here

The Power of Focus
by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt

This book provides a practical guide for achieving desired results
in the key areas of your life. The action steps at the end of each
chapter make it easy to formulate your plan and then implement
it immediately in your life.
To order book, click here

Success is Not an Accident
by Tommy Newberry

Success is not something that randomly happens to you; it is
something that you make happen. This incredible book provides
a turnkey system for managing yourself and your life more
effectively, thereby creating positive, predictable results.
To order book, click here

Think and Grow Rich
by Napolean Hill

This is one of the classics of personal development literature,
and is a "must read" if you are serious about achieving your
goals.
To order tape set, click here
To order book, click here

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5. Self-Care: TOP 10 STRATEGIES FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress occurs when the pressures upon us exceed our ability to cope
with those pressures. The demands of everyday life are greater today
than ever, and the increasing pressure results in stress.

While many people are resigned to living a stressful life, it doesn't
have to be that way. Here are some steps you can take immediately
to control stress by (1) reducing the pressures or (2) increasing our
ability to cope with life's demands.

1. Exercise. Engage in some form of cardiovascular exercise at least
three days per week, for a minimum of 20-30 minutes per day. Pick
an activity that you enjoy doing, and have fun!

2. Enjoy a healthy diet. In addition to reducing stress, a healthy diet
will also lower your risk of disease. Eat more living foods, such as
vegetables and fruits. Reduce your consumption of animal products,
caffeine and refined sugar.

3. Increase your awareness. Be more attentive to your body's reaction
to the demands placed on it, and act accordingly. Notice the events
or habits are causing increased stress, as well as activities that are
effective in alleviating pressure.

4. Do something enjoyable. Make time for activities that you are
truly passionate about. Be creative, and engage in a hobby or other
interest!

5. Relax. Engage in "quiet time" on a regular basis--daily, if possible.
This routine could take the form of yoga, meditation, a warm bath,
deep breathing exercises, prayer, or just sitting quietly or listening
to relaxing music.

6. Enhance your support structures. Improve the quality of the
relationships with people whom you enjoy and who support you.
Surround yourself with pictures, plants, or a favorite quote that
helps to keep things in perspective.

7. Maintain a positive attitude. Thoughts can have a powerful effect,
either positively or negatively. Make sure that your thoughts (and
words) are serving you. For support in this area, read motivational
or inspirational books, or listen to audio programs.

8. Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can adversely affect quality of
work, and also lead to ill health. Be sure that you are adequately
rested at the start of each day.

9. Learn to say "no." While this seems especially challenging today,
saying "no" to excessive requests is essential. Choose your activities
carefully, and filter out the rest.

10. Smile and laugh. Doing so will not only reduce stress, but can
have a positive affect on others, too.

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6. Make a Difference

Make-A-Wish Foundation

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with
life-threatening illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope,
strength and joy. The organization is the largest wish-granting
organization in the world. Since 1980, it has granted more than
83,000 wishes to children around the world.

To find out more about supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation,
click here

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7. Final Thoughts: The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say..."Mother, you
must come see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go,
but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will
come next Tuesday, " I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so
I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged
and greeted my grandchildren. I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn!
The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the
world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to
drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears--and then
I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me
over to the garage to pick up my car. How far will we have to drive?"

"Just a few blocks," Carolyn said, "I'll drive. "I'm used to this."

After several minutes I had to ask "Where are we going? This isn't
the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by
way of the daffodils."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise, you will never forgive yourself if
you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes we turned onto a small gravel road and I
saw a small church. On the far side of the church I saw a hand-lettered
sign "Daffodil Garden."

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed
Carolyn down the path. Then we turned a corner of the path, and I
looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked
as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down
over the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers were planted in
majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange,
white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each
different-colored variety was planted as a group so that it swirled and
flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. Five acres of flowers.
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. "It's just one woman"
Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home."
Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and
modest in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house. On the patio we saw a poster. "Answers
to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The
first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second
answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet,
and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me that moment was a
life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never
met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun -- one bulb
at a time -- to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure
mountain top. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year,
had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed
the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest
principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and
desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at a time--
learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily
effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can
change the world. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn.

"What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful
goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it one bulb at a
time through all those years. Just think what I might have been able
to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her direct way.
"Start tomorrow," she said.

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Thank you for reading the LifeExcellence Newsletter.
Start tomorrow to become what you might have been!
- Brian Bartes

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Are you ready to take action toward the achievement of your
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