Compliments of the season. As we get set for the new year, I will want us to take a look at an important question…”where do you see yourself or your [tag]business[/tag] in 5 years?”. If you can not answer this question in 5 seconds, then you need to sit down right now and take a look at your life or business. Some years back, in my final year on campus, five of us were faced with this same question. We were about to graduate from the university and the future stared at us.

Each of us shared our picture of where we would be in 5 years. Looking back today (about 7 years after), I am proud to say that we have achieved everything that we shared at that time.  Now, take a look outside your office now…Spend the next 5 mins watching people pass before you. How many do you think out of those passing before you have specific [tag]goals[/tag] in their life? Do you think they have any specific thing they are pursuing with vigour? I am sure if we decide to take a survey now, we would find very little. This is exactly why many achieve little.

Many people’s paychecks are not large enough to pay their bills because they have no goals. They have no concrete plans on how to improve their life or expand their knowledge so as to increase their value to the society. They wake up each day with their ship heading nowhere.This season is a time to set yourself free and set goals for your life and business.

All tangibles objects began as goals or ideas in the mind of people. So, if you will achieve anything in life, it must be first exist in the form of an idea or goal. This is the starting point. Get out of the camp of many that just exist from day to day, week to week or even year to year without goal or a picture of what they want to achieve in life.

Spend this festive period to design a five-year goal for your life and business. Find half an hour when you know you will be free of all distractions. Use it to make a list of all goals that come to mind.  Include the most outrageous goals you can imagine. Don’t worry about whether the goals are realistics or unrealistics at this point. Just write down everything that comes to mind. After you have written down all your goals, now go over the list and carefully pick out the five which are the most important to you.

Be careful not to fall into the situation where your goals concern only your business or your [tag]career[/tag]. Think of your marriage (even if you are still single), your friends and other important areas where you feel you can improve your life. Write these 5 down on a set of cards and paste them where you can see them everyday. You may need to put one of the cards in your wallet. Just ensure that your goals are visible to you. The result? Your life will always be focused on specific goals. And you will be making progress in all important areas of your life with a steady and consistent pace. Start today and carve out a goal for your life and business.