Well, everyone set goals. Some set big goals, some set small goals, but they all are setting goals. Some are highly motivated toward their goals, some are not. However, of all 100 people who set their goals, only about 5 of them really achieve the results that they want. Why is this so? It is because many people thought that all they need to do is just to write down their goals, and everything will come automatically.

As you know, goal setting is just a process that helps you stay focused in your direction. Therefore, you must learn the right way of goal setting. Goal setting is not just about writing down your goals on a paper. If you do just this, you are just waiting for success to fall from the sky. So you must learn the 4 secrets to successful goal setting.

1. The first secret is that your goals must have deadline. Well, you may say that this is no secret, you knew about this and all of your goals have deadline. Trust me; more than 50 percent of people who set their goals did not set the deadline for their goals. A goal without a deadline is not a goal; it is a wish, a dream. This is because you don’t even know when you are going to achieve it. If you set your goal to be a multi-millionaire, it can be 1 year from now, 3 years from now, maybe even 20 years from now. Which one is going to be? So set your goals with specific deadline.

2. The second secret is this; your goal must be a stretch goal. So what is a stretch goal? A stretch goal is a goal that you need to stretch yourself in order to achieve it. You cannot achieve a stretch goal by merely working harder a little bit; you need to change your strategies in order to get it. For example, if your current salary is $2,000 a month, and your goal is $2,400, this is not a stretch goal. This is what I called an incremental goal. It is easy to achieve an incremental goal, all you do is just to work harder, spend more time and you will achieve it eventually.

However, a stretch goal is different. Take back the example above; for instance, a stretch goal can be earning $5,000 or even $10,000 a month. This is a goal that you cannot achieve with ordinary strategies. You need to change your strategies and do things differently, and this is where you need to think creatively.

3. Third secret, your goals must be exciting. Think about it, between earning $2,400 a month and earning $10,000 a month, which one of these goals are going to jump you up from your bed early in the morning? Of course, earning $10,000 a month is a more exciting goal and will wake you up immediately from your bed when you think about it. Many people did not know about this, and they set boring goals that lead to boring results. Thus, many of them fail to achieve what they want in their life.

4. The last secret, you goals must be as specific as possible and must be achievable. I bet you know about setting a specific goal right? While for achievable goal, it means that your goal must be something that can be put into works. Let me give you an example, ‘to conquer the Australian market’, is this achievable goal? Not at all, how in the world are you going to ‘conquer’ the market?

The goal should be set this way, ‘to sponsor 3 Australian per day’ or ‘to sell products to 3 Australian per day’; these are the right and achievable goals. By sponsoring 3 Australian or by selling products to 3 Australian per day, you will eventually ‘conquer’ the Australian market. This is how it works. Your goals must be specific and achievable.

So there you have them. The 4 secrets to successful goal setting that you must adopt in order to achieve anything you want in your life. Make sure that you follow all these 4 criteria in your goals. If your goals do not follow these criteria, make sure that you review them back.

Last advice from me, once you have set your goals; take at least 3 actions toward your goals immediately. This way, you will develop the momentum that necessary to keep you going. So take the first step now.