The first few days of the new year have come and gone.  Know what that means?

Well, if you didn’t guess it, it means that most of us have already made and subsequently broken a new year’s resolution.

• Work out more.
• Lose weight.
• Read lots of books.
• Quit smoking.

Have you tried any of these in the first few days of 2008 yet?  Still successful?

Resolutions are great, but in reality, they rarely work.  The fact is we use them as an excuse to go out and spend a bunch of money on fancy exercise equipment that will only end up in next summer’s garage sale.  On the other hand, real goal setting is proven to have a profound effect on our success.  Here’s how to make it work…

Recognize the Benefits of Goals.

Goals really do work, especially when they’re written and frequently reviewed.  Yes, write them down on paper and take them out of your desk drawer at least once a week to review and track your progress.  Goal setting does little good if the ideas are just filed away for the long term.  It’s been proven that by reviewing goals often and keeping them at the top of mind exponentially (likely subliminal in nature) increases our chances of reaching them.  Give it a try!

Don’t Procrastinate!

This is probably the most important step of goal setting – taking action now.  The new year is the perfect time for any of us in the real estate business to start fresh.  Heck, it’s a slow time of the year anyway, so that gives us even more reason to take action and start planning the rest of the year.  Accomplish your goals by setting them this week and no later.  All too often, any procrastination will just put them off completely for another year.

Make Goals Reasonable.

There are dreams and then there are goals.  Both are great to have, but in all practicality, we’ll actually end up accomplishing goals that are challenging but reasonable.  Use your dreams for the big picture vision and then break them down into baby steps.  For example, for each aspect of your goal setting, make a five year goal, a one year goal, and then a “take action today” step to get the ball rolling.  It’s so much easier to achieve small steps – plus, the momentum will help to keep us interested.
 
So what are you waiting for?  Make 2008 wildly successful by setting goals now!