The most important step

For years I had set goals and not followed through. I'd get inspired in the moment, get all pumped up, but three weeks later I noticed I wasn't following through on anything I'd written down. Writing a goal is certainly the first step, and most people don't even do that; just the action of committing your ideas to paper begins to make them more real. But the most important thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make sure that as soon as you set them, you immediately begin to create momentum. The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man who taught me to first write down the goal, and then to never leave the site of setting a goal without first taking some form of positive action toward its attainment.

As I emphasized in Chapter 2, a true decision is one that you act upon, and one that you act upon now. Use the momentum you've built up in coming up with your top four one-year goals. The most powerful

way to continue this momentum is to take immediate action as soon as you finish this chapter. Even the smallest step—a phone call, a commitment, sketching out an initial plan—will move you forward. Then develop a list of simple things you can do every day for the next ten days. I can promise you that ten days of small actions in the direction of your goals will begin to create a chain of habits that will ensure your long-term success.

If your number-one personal development goal for the next year is to learn jazz dancing, for instance, " let your fingers do the walking" through those yellow pages today. Call the dance studio for a schedule, and enroll in a class.

If your top toy/adventure goal for the next year is a Mercedes-Benz, call your local dealership for a brochure, or visit them this afternoon and take a test drive. I'm not saying that you need to buy it today, but at least find out what it costs or drive it so that it becomes more real. Your intensified desire will help you to start putting together a plan.

If your top economic goal for the next year is to earn $100, 000, then start evaluating now what steps you must take. Who's already earning this kind of income who can teach you the keys to their effectiveness? Do you need to get a second job in order to earn this kind of income? What skills do you need to hone in order to achieve it? Do you need to start saving more than you spend, and invest the difference so that your income can flow from more than just your work? Do you need to start a new venture? What resources do you really need to gather?

Remember, you need to experience the feeling of achieving your top one-year goals in each of the four categories at least once a day. Ideally, you'll look at them once in the morning and once at night. Review your entire list every six months to ensure that your goals stay vital. You may want to go through the brainstorming process again in order to create some new goals, and I'm sure you'll want to add and delete goals as your life takes on exciting new shape.

An additional distinction that's critical for long-term success is that achieving our goals can be a curse unless we have already set up a new set of higher goals before we reach the first. As soon as you find yourself about to achieve a goal, you need to make sure that you design the next set of goals immediately. Otherwise you'll experience something we all need to avoid: outrunning our dream. How many times have we read about people who achieve their ultimate life goals only to say, " Is that all there is? " because they feel they have no place to go from the top?

A classic example of this is several Apollo astronauts who prepared their entire lives for the ultimate mission: to land on the moon. When they finally did it they were euphoric, but after returning to earth, some of them developed a level of emotional depression beyond what most people could imagine. After all, there was now nothing to look forward to. What could be a bigger goal than making it to the moon, doing the impossible, and exploring outer space? Maybe the answer is in exploring the equally uncharted frontier of inner space of our minds, our hearts, and our souls.

I've heard about young women who plan their weddings for months, sometimes years, pouring all of their creativity, resources, and even identity, into a perfect fairytale fantasy. They pin all their hopes and dreams on what they expect will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. After the glow wears off, the young bride, like the astronaut, feels let down. How do you follow up the peak moment of your life? She needs to look forward to the more important, never-ending adventure of building a relationship.

How do people achieve their heart's desire and still feel the excitement and passion that come from aiming toward a goal? As they approach what they've pursued for so long, they immediately establish a new set of compelling goals. This guarantees a smooth transition from completion to new inspiration and a continued commitment to growth.

Without that commitment, we'll do what's necessary to feel satisfied, but never venture outside our comfort zones. That's when we lose our drive: we lose our desire to expand, and we begin to stagnate. Often people die emotional and spiritual deaths long before they ever leave their physical

bodies. The way to break out of this trap is to realize that contribution may be the ultimate goal. Finding a way to help others—those we care about deeply—can inspire us for a lifetime. There is always a place in the world for those who are willing to give of their time, energy, capital, creativity,

and commitment.

Consider Robin Williams, for example. Here is a man who has a great advantage over his late friend John Belushi because he has discovered a way to make sure he never runs out of goals. Robin and his friends, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal, have found a mission that will continually tap their greatest resources: helping the homeless. Arnold Schwarzenegger has found a similar emotional reward in his relationship with the Special Olympics and the President's Council on Physical Fitness. All these successful people have learned that there's nothing quite so compelling as a feeling of sincere contribution.

Make sure your next level of dreams will continually pull you forward in a constant, never-ending search for improvement. A commitment to CANI! is truly the universal insurance policy for life-long happiness. Remember that a compelling future is the food on which our souls thrive—we all need a continued sense of emotional and spiritual growth.