Giving Yourself the Greatest Gift this Holiday Season!

What a truly amazing time of the year. As we exchange gifts with our friends and loved ones please do not overlook the greatest gift that you can possibly receive this year. The gift to reflect, to learn and to grow. How can you give this gift to yourself and those that are nearest and dearest to you? Actually, is really quite easy.

Many of us will enjoy some time off during the next several weeks. We will have an opportunity, given the fact that it is the end of the year, to reflect upon what we have done well and to congratulate ourselves on accomplishments, what we could have done differently or better, what things we need to improve upon, what educational opportunities or methods are there to learn from and how can we make 2016 the very best year of our life.

Goal setting is one of the most productive things that you can do with your time especially as we enter the last weeks of this year. Many of us develop New Year's resolutions which may last into the second or third week of January. What if you could set out a game plan that would take you from where you are to where you want to be utilizing a system that would guarantee your success? What goals would you set for yourself if you knew could could be achieved without fail? Why would you not take one hour out of your life to set aside and to develop the plan to get there?

First, find several like-minded individuals who are interested in setting and achieving goals for 2016. Decide on a time and a location where you will not be disturbed. Bring a pen and pad and get ready to get to work. On the top of the first sheet of paper write: By December 31, 2016 I will: followed by 10 specific goals you wish to accomplish within the next 12 months. What are your health goals? What are your relationship goals? What are your financial and work goals? What do you want to learn? Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Make sure you set very lofty goals!

These goals must be very specific. You do not want to say that you are looking to lose weight but rather you want to write down your goal weight.

You cannot say that you want to earn a lot of money or get more clients you must be specific in the amount of money you are going to earn or the number of new clients you are going to obtain. You are not going to say that you want to go on exotic vacation you are going to indicate the exact country that you are going to visit. The more specific your goal, the easier it will be for your subconscious mind to process this information to help you to achieve that outcome.

After you have formulated this list of 10 specific and lofty goals, take a separate sheet of paper and at the top of that page write: By December 31,

2016 I will, and then choose the one goal from the preceding list that you most want to accomplish in 2016 and write it at the top of that page.  You will then write down 10 actions, acts or activities that you can take on a daily basis that will help you to achieve that goal. You should spend at least one hour a day doing something on that list and you will achieve that goal without question.

By way of example, if you are looking to obtain 48 new clients in 2016, you know that you have to obtain four new clients a month or one new client a week. Your progress in this case would be very easy to track. So what can you do to obtain one new client a week? Here are some examples: make two telephone calls a day to potential prospects; send out five emails a day to potential prospects; follow-up with two prior clients a day and ask them how you could assist them in making their life easier; send out one note a day to someone you know congratulating them about something you heard or read; develop four press releases a year on something that you or your business is doing; go to one networking event a month; join your local Chamber of Commerce and get involved with that organization; join Toastmasters; contact one person a day who you can form a joint venture with whereby each of you can develop business through the other person's contacts; write one blog post or article per week and post those on Facebook, LinkedIn or some other vehicle where your potential clients would be looking; volunteer or join some organization where potential clients or referral sources might be; and/or be creative and come up with any one of a number of other activities you could do generate business.

If you do one, or multiple, things on that list every day for at least one hour then you will attain your desired goal. After this process was explained to a group of people, one listener asked; what happens if it does not work? The facilitator of the meeting then asked; what happens if it does work? Even if you fall short of your expected goal, you will be amazed at the difference this brief exercise will make. It will also form a habit that will enable you to accomplish more in less time and will provide you with a great sense of accomplishment. Give yourself the greatest gift this holiday season and determine what goal you most wish to accomplish and then obtain it.

Wishing you the best of everything, and especially good health, for 2016 and beyond!