When it comes to books on setting goals, the book I recommend time and time again to business owners is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Think and Grow Rich is a business classic. It is The chronicles of Napoleon Hill’s journey to discover what traits make an individual successful.

Although written in 1937, it still ranks high on the business book best seller lists because it is as relevant today as it was back then.

Think and Grow Rich is the definitive success manual and the book I regularly re-read, especially at the start of a New Year.

You see, the premise of the book is to identify the key attributes of success and distill them in way that “normal” people understand and move forward with.

As my inbox, and feeds are flilled with special offers for someone or others goal setting process, with promises of more clients, more money or simply making this, the best year ever, Napoleon Hill simply lays out a 2-step “process”, for setting goals that you’ll actually achieve.

So before you buy that new “best year ever” course, consider Napoleon Hill’s time tested approach…

Step 1: Set a specific target. This is what Hill calls the “definiteness of purpose.”

The Definiteness of purpose is not a wishy-washy, vague “make a million dollars this year” aspirational type of target, but something that is VERY CLEAR AND VERY SPECIFIC.

Step 2: Have “a burning desire” to achieve your goal. If deep down you don’t really want to do something, then you won’t achieve it. Simply put, you need a burning desire to achieve your goal.

Whether your goal is for getting new clients, running a marathon or giving up smoking, you’ve really got to want to do it, because if you don’t rally want to do it, then, quite simply, you won’t.

Which is why you’ve got to stop your goal for you, and not because someone else For you and not doing it for someone else tells yo, they don’t tell you the full story that you should be doing it.

So, setting a goal is not just an “I want to do X” feeling…but a BURNING DESIRE to do it.

If you aren’t sure whether you have a burning desire to do something, then it’s not a burning desire.

A burning desire is a deep seated emotional driver to achieve something. It’s like wandering in the desert for days without water to come across a man carrying water. You would do anything to get that water.

It’s not I need water, it is I want water.

That is a burning desire.

Without a clear and precise goal and a burning desire to achieve it, you’ll pretty quickly give up at the first hurdle.

Which of course is exactly what happens to the rest of those folks who set goals at the beginning of a New Year only to have them disappear into a distant memory by the second week of January.

How many people join the gym on the 1st January are still going on 3rd week of January? That’s right. Not many.

When you’re setting a goal it doesn’t have to be for the whole year. Many people, myself included, set rolling 3 month goals.

These smaller goals are simply a way of breaking the goal down into smaller “mini” goals which directionally contribute towards the much bigger goal. But make it much easier to achieve.

So the achievement of all the smaller goals means that you will be much more likely to achieve the much bigger goal.

So if your goal is to increase revenues  by $1m in the next 12 months, instead of tackling $1m in one hit,  you might break this down into quarterly targets of $250k which are easier to track and monitor on a more regular basis.

So if you fall behind at any stage, you can set corrective action to ensure you deliver on your goals and get the results you were after.

For help in setting your goals or holding yourself accountable, book a business breakthrough coaching session.

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