We all hear a lot about goals. Success magazines are laden with them. Soccer magazines are frantic about them and I have been jumping up and down about them since I incepted "AAvenues 2 Your Success" nigh on two years ago.

Firstly, what is your perception of a goal? Is it something only ultra successful people chat about when being interviewed by a success magazine? Is it really about putting that ball in the back of the net with a fine header ("look Mom - no hands") or is it about listening to me on my soap box ranting and raving about their importance?

Well, first of all; yes it could be all of the above. Goals are very personal which is not overly evident from the above examples. Mr/Ms Success mentions how important goals are but doesn't spend a lot of time during an interview talking about how to implement them. The Socceroos spend five minutes congratulating one another with an abundance of hugging after one of their boys rifles the ball into the net for that ever elusive goal. We know they're important. It's just why they're important doesn't seem quite clear.

Today, I would like to dig into the "personal" level of goal setting. Goals set by others can be only for themselves. They are a personal milestone which means an awful lot to the person setting it. From the same standpoint setting yourself a goal or a list of goals is important to you and you alone.

Goals - firstly and foremostly agree not dreams. They may have been born as dreams but you have developed them into something which is of vital importance to you. Something, which is today, very close to your heart.

It's very easy to see the significance of your own goals as when you picture its achievement a smile on your face as big as the Cheshire Cat will probably appear. Setting your goals in all honesty is not difficult. It's as easy as writing down a (rather long) list of those things that you would like to achieve in your lifetime and prioritizing them into short term and long term ambitions.

Short term comprises: today's "to do" list, this week, one month up until the next 3 months. Long term includes biannually, yearly, biennially, five, ten, twenty years as well as lifetime goals and desires.

You must set time lines for your goals otherwise they may slip down into your "gunna list" (one day I'm gunna get around to this). If this happens then you need to re- evaluate the importance of the goal and give it the respect it deserves, otherwise they may never see the light of day again. Therefore it won't ever get the opportunity to come to fruition.

As you may know by now I am very much a fan of brainstorming. It is only prudent that you spend ten minutes now going wild with your ideas and write your goals down. After you have finished this article make sure you do this exercise as I kid you not, it will play a huge role in your life as to whether you reach them or not.

After you have written them down you may notice at a second glance some of them aren't quite as important as others will be. Put these into a "maybe" list and review their importance each quarter. Then there are the important ones which mean very much to you.

Okay - now you have your starting point. Your short term goals are those that you want to accomplish in the not too distant future. They are therefore, very important. Similarly, a lot of your long term goals will need to be achieved piecemeal so you may need to include additional short term goals as interim stepping stones so that you can actually see the progress you make with them. It really is an excellent way to monitor your strategies.

Keeping focused on your goals is only really as strong as your dedication, desire, persistence, diligence and your stamina.

You must be totally committed to their achievement. If you're not then it quite simply won't happen. You must do more than just promise yourself that you will do it. It needs to be an undertaking of the highest order; a personal commitment.

This commitment will most likely see a lift in your values and standards as not too many goals you set will see them come down a level or two. Goals are always about making you a more complete person as you undertake those things dearest to you. If you find your values and standards, as a result of your goals actually dropping, then I strongly suggest that you re-evaluate them immediately.

You need to write them down and have them in your face virtually at all times. They are important. Maintain the visual. Keep the attitude. Develop your methodologies. Stick to your guns. But whatever you do, do not, at any stage, give up. You may need to re-assess, re-value, adjust and amend on the odd occasion. That's fine. We all need to review our actions to determine our position but if you should ever venture far enough to give up then failure will have found you. This personality killer called failure is the Wolf and you must do all within your power to keep him from your door. If you do manage to not just keep The Wolf at bay but maintain your attitude and focus then you are well and truly on the way to achieving those that are indeed, most dear to you!

We only ever have fifty years on this earth as adults. Every year removes 2% of our entitlement. So the time is now to pursue our dreams. Remember tomorrow never comes so start your goal list now and go for broke...

Copyright © 2000 Darren Roberts All Rights Reserved Subscribe to Darren's popular "Success and Self-Motivation" Weekly publication, "AAvenues 2 Your Success" and receive his new E-Book "How To Build A Healthy Attitude" for free. Subscribe at Darren's web site: Top Living or send mail to join-aavenues-2-your-success@lists.dundee.net