Chris Widener's Newsletter
December 30, 2009
Issue 129

Goals. Most people have a love-hate relationship with goals. They love them because they are such a great idea and a wonderful way to motivate us to achieve, as well as evaluate our progress, but hate them because for many, goals more often than not go unattained and simply frustrate them. This isn’t what goals should do! In this issue, I hope to offer you some useful advice so that you’re ready to make your 2010 goals work!

Happy New Year!
You Are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

P.S. If you've gained value from what you read in my newsletter, then I would like to thank you in advance for forwarding this issue to friends, family and associates!

In This Issue.......

1. Charting Your Course to Success
2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary
3. The Last Word...
4. Download Special Final Days | SAVE 20% More!
5. More Information

1. Charting Your Course to Success

Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Goals and Make Them Work! by Chris Widener

Here are some simple ways to set goals so that we achieve them! After all, what good is a goal if it isn’t something you achieve? Follow these simple steps to make sure that you see change in your life this year.

Narrow your focus. That’s right, start small. Pick two or three areas, tops, that you want to work on. Too many people say to themselves, “I want to do this, and this, and this, and this...” and they end up doing nothing! Most of what you do throughout your day can be done without a lot of mental or emotional exertion, but change isn’t one of them. So focus on a couple. This way you can win some victories in those areas. Here are some areas to think about: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, Financial and Relational. What areas need some work? Now, what one thing should be the first item on the change list? The others will come later, but for now, you should focus on two or three.

Keep the long term in mind, but set your sights on achieving your goals in the short term. Do you want to lose 75 pounds? Good. Long term you will. But for now, think short term. Don’t think about losing 75 pound by summer; think about losing 5 pounds by next month. This does two things. First, it makes it urgent. Instead of blowing it and saying, “Oh well, I still have 17 months to lose the 75 pounds” (because eventually that becomes 2 months to lose 75 pounds) your goal is only a few weeks out. This is better in terms of reaching your goal. Secondly, as you reach these shorter-term goals, it gives you regular victories instead of regular progress. Progress feels good, but achieving a goal is awesome!

Reward yourself when you achieve the goal. When you lose the 5 pounds, go get yourself a grande whole-milk mocha. But just one! Then get back to your goal for the next month, and the next. This puts a little fun back into the process of self-control and self-discipline. You will look forward to the reward, and when the going gets tough, you will say, “two more weeks, two more pounds, then...”

That’s it. I truly believe that it can be that simple for you.

This adds some ideas to the above article.
1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Instead of saying, “I am going to quit my three-pack a day habit cold turkey,” say “I am going to drop to a pack and a half a day.” You can always make new resolutions when you have achieved the first ones. Give yourself small victories a little at a time.

2. Be specific in your timeline. Don’t just say, “I am going to lose 20 pounds.” Say, “I am going to lose 20 pounds by April 1st.” This way, when you’re tempted in the ice cream aisle, you can say, “Nope, only 10 more pounds to go in a month and a half, and I am not going to blow it.”

3. Post your goals where you will see them every day. This will keep it at the forefront of your mind. Instead of forgetting that you are trying to lose weight and ordering a big, thick porterhouse, you will have been reminded earlier that day that you need to go with something a little more on the lighter side. It will help your will beat your desire.

4. Find an encouraging person, who you respect, to keep you accountable. This person should ask you, at an interval established by the both of you, how it is going. They must be the encouraging type, though. If you are blowing it, they can say, “Well, that’s okay, get back to it tomorrow.” If you are doing well, they can say, “Awesome job. I’ll talk to you next week.” You will look forward to their weekly encouragement.

5. Find a partner. That’s right, someone who is trying to accomplish the same thing (or something different if need be). Just make sure that they really want to change, or they will end up just bellyaching about how hard it is and you will both fall into the abyss.

6. Write down a list of all of the benefits that will come if you accomplish this. If it is losing weight, it might be something like this: Feel better, better self-esteem, longer life, clothes are more comfortable, no more time spent sewing on popped buttons, wife says you look 22 again, etc. If it is quitting smoking, it may look like this: Better breath, no more brown fingers, no more wrinkles on my face, no more red eyes, no more smelly clothes, longer life, wife doesn't make me spend two hours a day on the back porch, etc. This will help you see what you will get from accomplishing your goal.

7. Plan a reward if you accomplish your goal. It can be anything from small to large. If you drop the 20 pounds, go out for dinner and dessert. Then get back to losing the next 20. If it is quitting smoking, go on a mini-vacation. Whatever you do, reward yourself. Or let a spouse or a friend pick the reward. Then splurge and enjoy!

2. Made for Success Quote and Commentary

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” —Michael Korda

Chris’s Commentary:
One of the keys to making great gains in short periods of time is to ride the momentum. And you ride the momentum by stretching your goals in that area to greater and higher goals. Sure, you have to keep working at those areas that need tending, even though they aren’t barreling along, but your focus and your high energies go into the areas that are really moving. For example, if you have one particular demographic that is buying from you right now, then you pour more effort into that group. You raise your goals for the saturation of that demographic. Maybe you are really growing intellectually in an area. Well, pursue it more and more! Raise your goal for learning in that area.

Action Point:
What area of your life is moving at its quickest clip? Ask yourself what your goals are in that area. Now raise them, push harder, and see it move you further along than you imagined!

3. The Last Word...

Kick Open the Doors by Brian Tracy

Anyone who does a great job consistently, over and over, kicks open the doors of opportunity in all directions. Such a person will be hired, paid well, promoted, advanced and given additional responsibilities because there are so few of them.

Make a Decision Today
You can put your life and career into an upward trajectory by making the decision, today, that you are going to become one of the best time managers in your field. And in this session, you will learn how to do it.

Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”

Exploit Your Most Precious Resource
Time is your most precious resource. It is all you really have. It is your life. As long as you have lots of time, you can do almost anything. But if your time is cut off for any reason, all of your possibilities are cut off as well.

Queen Elizabeth I of England was one of the richest women in the world. She owned half the country. Yet, when she was on her deathbed, she turned to her doctor and said, “I would give all I have for a few more minutes of time.”

Start This Very Minute
The time for you and I to begin to appreciate how valuable and precious each minute is… is right now, not a later time when our minutes and hours are draining away.

Action Exercises
Resolve to become an expert at time management. Work on becoming more efficient every day.

Ask, “Why am I on the payroll?” Whatever your answer to this question, work on it all day long.

4. Download Special Final Days | SAVE 20% More!

Assemble your own team of success mentors to kick-start your New Year! You can listen to and learn from top personal-achievement experts while on the go. Jim Rohn • Chris Widener • John C. Maxwell • Stephen Covey Les Brown • Brian Tracy • Connie Podesta • Harvey Mackay Tom Hopkins • Zig Ziglar • Denis Waitley and many more! Now you can choose from more than 200 high-quality and convenient MP3 and e-book downloads, including Chris Widener’s The Twelve Pillars Audio Success System. No shipping costs and immediate delivery right to your computer! For a limited time, use the special code below at checkout to SAVE an additional 20% on your digital download purchases. Code: DIGITAL09 <Start Shopping Now!>

*Offer applies to new MP3 or e-book download purchases only and is not valid on previous purchases. Only one promotion code may be used per order. Promotion expires Monday, Jan. 4, 2010, at midnight CST.

5. More Information

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