This post is from JB over at Get Rich or Die Trying.  It’s great post about setting goals and achieving them.  Take a moment to visit his site as well. It’s fun and easy to read.

 I’ve been reading about millionaires and how they obtained their wealth.  One thing a lot of them seem to have in common is that they set goals.  We  all know we should set goals… I remember in junior high I had a teacher that always talked about setting goals and writing them down and putting them up on the wall.  When I look back that was some really great advice.

But how many of us actually do set goals?  How many of us actually write them down and put them somewhere that will remind us of what we’re tryingto achieve?

Goals must be Quantitative

One goal I hear a lot around the personal finance blog scene is, “I want to be financially independent”.  That’s a great goal to have… but what does that mean?  Does that mean that you have a million in the bank?  Or that your retirement accounts have reached 3 million?  The answer is up to you, but define it for yourself!  When setting financial goals use real
numbers!  You can’t measure being financially independent, however you can measure having a million in the bank.

Goals must be Achievable

My goal is to save 75% of my paycheck each month this year.  Great goal…but probably not going to happen.  Set realistic goals that you can reach. This part is tricky however.  You want to set goals that you can reach, but at the same time you don’t want to make them so easy that you might as well have not even set the goal.  Goals must be challenging enough that
you feel a sense of satisfaction once you achieve them.

Goals must be held Accountabile

You can have all the goals in the world, but if you’re not accountable for them - it’s easy to just brush them off.  One thing I like to do is tell anyone that will listen to me what my goals are.  “Hey Ray - I’m trying to save up enough cash so that I can buy my next car without any financing at all!”  Then after I buy my next car and I see Ray, he’ll ask me, “so were
you able to save up enough cash to buy your car outright?”  That point in time will be in your head throughout the time you’re trying to achieve your goal so that when that time comes you are able to say, “Yes, I was!”

Goals should be set for all time periods

I always hear a friend of mine talking about starting his own business. That’s a great goal to have to start your own business… but that’s his only goal - that’s a HUGE goal!  I never hear him talk about having a goal of writing a business plan, or having a goal to get financing, or any intermediate goals regarding his business at all.  You need to set goals
for all time periods.  Again the goal to be financially independent is a goal that most of us set for the extreme long term - usually our lifetime.

 However we also must set goals for 20 years, 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, 1 month, even 1 week and 1 day goals.  An example of a goal you might set for yourself each day is, “I will pack my lunch and not eat out at work today.”  That’s a measurable and reachable goal that you can set for yourself everyday.

Conclusion

Set goals.  Period.  You must set goals if you want to get anywhere. Write them down, put them above your door, and tell everyone you know about them.  Do whatever it takes to get those goals accomplished.