How to Set and Achieve Your Goals for Lasting Success

achieve your goals

Why Successful People Always Set Goals

Research shows that one of the biggest differences between top achievers and everyone else is goal setting. The most successful 10% don’t just have goals in mind—they write them down.

Most people dream of more than they will ever need, but because they don’t know how to set realistic, actionable goals, they achieve far less than they could.

Why Do So Few People Set Goals?

There are three main reasons why most people never set or achieve their goals:

  • They’ve never been taught how. Many have experienced the small satisfaction of achieving a short-term target, but don’t realize the life-changing impact of consciously setting goals.

  • Fear of failure. Some avoid setting goals because they’re afraid of failing. What they don’t realize is that even the highest achievers are ordinary people who worked persistently toward success.

  • Procrastination. We often “intend” to set goals or change our lives, but never take action.

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals

If you want to grow your business, increase income, or simply live with more purpose, you need a clear system. Here are five proven measures to set and achieve your goals:

  1. Define your goal clearly.
    Vague goals like “I want to earn more” don’t work. Instead, set specific, measurable goals such as: “I want to increase my business revenue by 25% this year.”

  2. Make it believable.
    Your goals should challenge you but also feel achievable with the right plan.

  3. Fuel it with desire.
    If you don’t strongly want it, you won’t stick to it. Motivation comes from setting goals that genuinely matter to you.

  4. Create a detailed plan.
    Break your goal into smaller steps, set deadlines, and prepare resources or budgets. Learn from others who’ve achieved similar success.

  5. Visualize the benefits.
    Imagine what life will look like after you’ve achieved your goal. This visualization keeps motivation high when challenges arise.

Start Small, Build Momentum

Getting started is often the hardest part. Begin with small, manageable goals to build confidence. Each small win fuels your motivation for bigger achievements.

Even completing simple unfinished tasks can give you more energy. For example: tidy your workspace, clear out your car, or finish household chores you’ve been postponing. Completing cycles restores mental clarity and momentum.

Practical Exercise

This weekend, make a list of tasks you’ve been avoiding. Estimate how long each will take, decide when you’ll do them, and then complete the list. You’ll be surprised how much lighter, focused, and energized you feel.

The Bottom Line

If you want long-term business or personal success, you must learn to set and achieve your goals. The process isn’t difficult, but it requires clarity, planning, and commitment. Once you master it, success is no longer a matter of chance—it’s a guarantee.

 

Ensure excellent customer relations through thorough record-keeping

The other day, I visited the doctor for a routine check-up.  On arrival, I was informed that my file had been lost, and I therefore had to fill in all the information again.  Not only that, but the receptionist had the attitude that it was my fault the file was misplaced!  All the information regarding previous visits was lost, and it took quite a while to sort out my medical history with my physician before the actual examination could begin.  I was not impressed.

The next day, I had a query with my internet service provider.  When I phoned and gave my name, the receptionist immediately had access to my file, and could respond quickly and appropriately to the query.  The problem was sorted out professionally, increasing the company’s credibility in my sight, and I thus feel free to recommend them to others.

This got me thinking about how important good record-keeping is for a small business.  Beside the legal obligations regarding documentation, your satisfied customers are one of your most crucial assets, as you cannot run your business without them.  One way in which to ensure the most positive relationship with each customer is through taking extra care with good record-keeping and archiving.

As a small business owner, it is easy to overlook the value attached to good record-keeping.  This job is often given to the lowest paid employee.  It is far easier to shove documents into a file than to pay someone to index and sort them.  In fact, most businesses do not know they don’t have their important documents until they need them!

This is a potentially dangerous situation, and could cost the company at best an inconvenient amount of lost revenue.  For instance, if you have a proof of delivery document to the value of $500 and you lost it, technically the client does not have to pay.

Good record-keeping is not a stand-alone function but rather a support function to other aspects of running a business.  Beside the legal requirements, good record-keeping is also good for PR.  Customers are always impressed if you can draw a file easily or deal with any issues that require documentation to clear up.

Clients want to know that they are regarded as important by a company.  They are far more likely to go back to a business that attended to their query or problem quickly and professionally.

These days, it is so easy for customers to complain about poor service via the internet.  Good record-keeping can assist in keeping the bad word-of-mouth rumour mill at bay and even in gaining a few good references.

If you want to enhance customer satisfaction through correct documentation procedures, contact Virtual Productivity Solutions to help you develop an easy-to-use documentation system for your small business.

The tickler file – then and now

I first encountered this very simple but effective system when working for a lawyer years ago.  Every time we worked on a file, we would reschedule it for follow-up after a certain time.  For instance, if we sent a letter of demand to someone, we had to proceed with further steps if the person had not responded within 14 days.

The tickler file is a system meant to tickle your memory, and to help you keep track of details you don’t want to think about or have lying around on your desk.

This is how we used it.  You have 31 folders – these represent the 31 days of the month.  In addition, you have 12 folders, one for every month of the year.

The daily tickler files help you organize the papers you need for projects that need to be done on a certain day during the current month. For instance, you have sent out a quotation to do work for a client, and you want to follow up within 3 days.  You just stick the quotation (or a small note) into the daily tickler file to be done in 3 days’ time.  Another way to use it is to track whether you need to remind someone about a payment due.  When planning your day, you consult the tickler file to see what you need to do.

As you do each item on the appropriate day, you discard the reminder.  If you cannot do it on a particular day, reschedule it in the file (but make it a top priority, so that it does not get postponed too long).

The monthly tickler files are there to remind you of long-term items.  You could, for instance, have an index card in each folder containing the birthdays for that month.  It is also for items like insurance that you update yearly, or when you’d like to follow up something, say, in six week’s time.

Of course, there is a paperless solution to the Tickler Files.  Best of all, it’s free.  Have a look at FollowUp.  Once you have registered, all you have to do is make a quick note of when you want to be reminded about something, along with the details (eg. Contact details, file details, etc).  FollowUp will send you an e-mail to remind you at the right time.

What systems to you use to remind you of what needs to be done?  Are there easier ways to do it?  Please comment below.