Ambition aside, the reality is, if you don’t have a goal in mind to accomplish, you’re not going to get where you want to go. You can’t set the world on fire, if you don’t know how to ignite a fire…

Yes, my friends, it requires education. It requires know how and determination. 

Goal setting is the first part of knowing how to achieve your dreams. So, let’s talk about that for a moment or two.

Everyone grows up with some goal in mind. The little guys will tell you by the time they’re 5 that they want to be a farmer, a fireman, a scientist, a doctor or lawyer, or a preacher. Usually that goal is set because they see Mommy or Daddy in a specific role and want to immolate them. In those instances, the child wants to be a fireman to save people out of houses, or to study other planets, or to tell children about God.

On rare occasions, one parent had achieved their dream and the other isn’t, so the parent lacking achievement pushes their ‘ambition’ off onto their child, steering the child (forcibly most of the time) to achieve the dream they haven’t the gumption to get up and do themselves. In those instances, the child wants to be ‘whatever’ because it will make Daddy (or Mommy) happy. They don’t have that desire to ‘set the world on fire’ as a garden gnome, because they like to help flowers grow. They’re choosing that goal, because some adult, somewhere in their life isn’t capable of living their own life well, so they’re force feeding the child a specific set of dreams and goals.

Instead of focusing your children’s lives on your own dreams, live your own dreams out and make them happen.

Set a goal.

Set your own goals – one that brings you a feeling of personal success. If you want to be a preacher, read the Bible, go to Bible college and learn the rules, then be a preacher. Be a teacher. Be a rocket scientist and get a degree in engineering. Or maybe even more up your alley, grow a garden. Whatever you choose to do, set a goal, learn what you need to know and, by taking one step at a time, achieve your own goal.

If it takes education, it’s never too late. Go to school, get an education and work toward achieving your goal.

Now, about that other part… The part about actually moving toward your goal.

There are some steps you need to take:

• Write down a summary of where you are right now.
• Write down your goal.
• Separate those items and divide up  your responsibility according to a time line for achieving your goal. If it’s a 10 year plan, divide it up by year, first. Then take the first year and divide it up by month. Then the first month and divide it up by day. You should have one major step to take each day.

The significance of taking one major step each day is the consistency of having a plan to follow.  Whether your plan is personal or professional, setting a daily goal is one way to pull your efforts into an organized pool of success.

This post was my first effort to set the world on fire… My goal. To get a goal for the next year and pull it into focus, using the daily steps. I’ll be posting many of them here… But I’d really like to hear about your goals too.

I’ll be sharing my goal tomorrow, right here.  Don’t miss it.