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Goal Setting Is the Fast Lane to Success

By: Brian Moore

When I first decided to get into an online business, I became so
excited that I worked day and night to get everything set up and
ready to go. I put everything else aside and developed a kind of
tunnel vision of what I wanted from my home based marketing efforts.

I put aside time from leisure activities and put a lot of things in
my life on hold to create sufficient time for my business. I'd say if
you're in this for the long haul like I am, you've done likewise.

But now that you've developed tunnel vision and found more time for
your business, how do you get the most from that time? The best thing
I've found is what the best business people both on and off the
Internet do: set, meet, and maintain goals towards success.

If you're wondering what this is all about or how to go about it,
here's what to do.

Set goals at three levels and try to stick to them. The three levels
are long-term, mid-term, and short-term goals.

Long-term goals reflect how much you'd like to increase your income
and how soon. Make those decisions and memorize them. Put your
business on a time line and follow it day by day.

In order to avoid disaster that could put you out of business, be
careful in selecting the business opportunities you're going to
pursue. Don't bite off more than you can chew by joining every
affiliate plan presented to you.

Limit yourself to no more than three at the beginning. Be very
selective, making sure that those you're involved in balance each
other, hold to a specific theme, or belong to one business type.

The long-term goals determine mid-term ones. How much do you have to
make per week, per month, every six months, to achieve the long-term
goals?

After answering these questions make up your time line, using a sheet
of paper. Draw a line at the left all the way down the paper. Divide
the line into twelve months with hash marks. Label the hash marks by
the month.

To make sure you are working towards you're goals post them on small
notes on your computer, around the house, and in your car. Find
places you'll be likely to see them - on the bathroom mirror, the
frig, the TV, and the car dashboard.

Now choose your short-term goals - the daily and weekly ones. Make up
a "to-do today" list and a "to-do tomorrow" list. Check yourself
regularly to make sure items on these lists get the attention they
need and are completed each day. At the end of the week, check off
your weekly goals.

Okay, now you've met your goals, so what? Well, meeting your goals
should make you feel very good, and you should highlight that with
some kind of reward system.

We all know we can't spend the profits of our work before we even
make them. It is indeed possible and appropriate to meet goals before
we make money. However, what profits we do make need to go right back
into the business as advertising, new software, web hosting, and the
like.

But we can reward ourselves when we meet certain goals. Short- term
and mid-term goals can be rewarded non-monetarily.

For completing a short-term task that's been haunting you lately,
don't go out to eat. Rather, have a nutritious snack, watch a TV
show, or read your favorite section of the newspaper.

For mid-range goals met, go to Ebay and price a set of golf clubs,
let's say, or look at car ads. Perhaps you could get out photos from
a recent vacation and dream of your return to the spot. Use photos
instead of notes posted as reminders of meeting your goals.

Long-term rewards can be monetary, but don't break the bank.
Hold off on making any major purchases out of your profits until
later. Instead, take the family out to eat at a moderately priced
restaurant, go to a football or hockey game, or have friends over for
cards and snacks.

Keep your tunnel vision active by chipping away at your goals.
Remember, short-term, mid-term, long-term goals are the avenue to
success.

About the Author

Brian Moore publishes 'BizOps Secrets', a complete
ezine resource for online success. AllPro BizOps, Proven Business Secrets That Work
Online. http://www.allprobizops.com

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