A goal achievement guide 7 steps to fulfilling your future vision
By Daniel T. Drubin, DC, and Peter J. Drubin

Living or working without goals may lead you down an unsuccessful path, but properly set goals can help you achieve more than you ever dreamed.

Since goal setting is based on future outcomes, identify what your goal is, then reverse the process to determine what you must do to achieve it. One way to accomplish this is by completing a goal achievement guide.

A goal achievement guide is a series of steps that sets you on the right path to accomplishing your goals and creates a plan of action for you to follow. Here are seven steps to get you on your way.

1 Commit to a mission. Your pledge of commitment is equivalent to a mission statement.

For example: “As part of my commitment to achieve personal and professional greatness, I pledge to accomplish each goal I have set for myself. I will complete these goals within the time frame that I have set for each accomplishment.”

2 Acquire an accountability partner. Choose someone you can confide in and share your goals with. The role your accountability partner will play is similar to that of a mentor/coach. Your partner is responsible for holding you accountable and insuring that you are taking the right action steps to meet your goals.

3 Visualize your future. One of the greatest tools to use in reaching your goal is visualization. You can increase your power of visualization with a “dream board,” or a collage of your future.

Cut out images of things you desire; put them on one piece of cardboard; and study it daily. The more you focus on what you want, the closer you come to attaining your goals.

Visualization is the key to changing your current status in your quest to achieve or accomplish more, because the human mind works in pictures and the subconscious delivers what you visualize the most.

4 Create a checklist. Write down, in detail, everything you wish to accomplish in your business, family, and everything in between and remember to think large.

If this list isn’t three or four pages long at least, then you are not thinking large enough, or in enough detail. Many first-time goal setters do not aim high enough. For example: If you want your clinic to see 1,000 office visits per month, you can reach or exceed that goal if you think big, work diligently, take massive action, and be unwilling to settle for anything less than your goal.

5 List your action steps. You can reach your goals, provided you have a realistic plan of action. For example: A goal that states, “I will increase my office visits 50 percent next year by increasing internal and external marketing, creating stronger relationships, and by better educating my patients” is an excellent goal supported by a practical plan of action.

Once you have the goals and action steps listed, sit down with your accountability partner and go over each goal.

6 Organize your goals into subcategories. Break your master list into four sub-categories — 0-2 years, personal; 0-2 years, profes-sional; 2-5 years, personal; and 2-5 years, professional. Each subcategory should have its own sheet of paper.

Then take one item at a time from your master list and write it on the page that matches the proper category by time frame and personal or professional.

Remember that goals do not work in ranges and should be date specific, so keep them in priority order.

7 Read your goals regularly. Since repetition is the key to learning, you must commit to reading this document frequently. A good reading schedule for goals is three times a day for the next 30 days, two times a day for the following 30 days, and one time a day until every goal is reached.

But, do not memorize them! Memorization will dilute the goals and your vision will not be as clear and focused as when you first constructed these goals. When a goal is completed on your list, take a red pen and write “victory” across it to signify your achievement. Success is a series of recorded victories.

Daniel T. Drubin, DC, is president and founder of 4th Dimension Management Corp., in Arizona. Peter J. Drubin has a degree in business administration from Hofstra University. The authors can be reached at 520-575-0207 or through their Web site at www.MasterOfChange.net.