3 Key Principles of Goal Setting

Before we set out on our goal setting journey it’s important to understand some of the foundational principles that will help us set better goals for ourselves.

The “Acres of Diamonds” Philosophy: In Russell H. Conwell’s famous speech, he tells the story of a Persian farmer who went to look for diamonds. For years he searched with very little success. Then at the verge of giving up he returned to his farm to find that it was literally covered with diamonds. The problem with diamonds is that they don’t look like diamonds in their natural state. They look like ordinary rocks. Likewise many of our best opportunities come disguised as hard work and our best opportunities, like the “Acres of Diamonds” story, are probably right under our own feet – figuratively speaking.

In order to make the “Acres of Diamonds” philosophy work, you must be willing to move out of your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to take a chance. When you get an idea or opportunity, move on it quickly. The more things you try, the more likely it is that you will eventually triumph.

Find your Area of Excellence: You will never be truly successful and happy until you become absolutely excellent at doing something that gets you the kind of results that you want and that earns you the kind of money that you deserve.

It’s only when you become truly excellent at something that you will excel and succeed. Find your area of excellence, for once you do your possibilities become virtually unlimited. Goals founded on something you are excellent at will have a dramatically higher chance of success.

If you know you need to be excellent in an area you are currently not, make an effort to become so. What do you need to do now to become excellent in a vital area?

Determine your Major Definite Purpose: Your Major Definite Purpose (MDP) is the one goal that you want to accomplish more than any other single goal. It’s the one goal that can help you achieve more of your other goals than any other. This is the goal that you desire with a burning intensity and that you absolutely believe you can accomplish if you work at it long enough and hard enough.

Your ability to think through your life and to settle on a MDP is the key to unleashing your full powers and to unlocking your true potential. When your MDP becomes your mission you will find it to be a driving force in your life and all that you do.

In order to be effective your MDP must be clear, specific and measurable. It must be time bounded and committed to paper. It must be accompanied by a plan to achieve it. It should be the central focus and key measure of most of your activity. Once you have decided on your MDP and begun to move toward it, you whole life will begin to change.

Remember that a plan is critical to the success of your goals. Any plan is better than no plan at all. Clear, specific goals combined with a realistic and workable plan will create a complete and integrated system for success & achievement.