One aspect that many successful people have in common is that they are able to set goals for the things they want to achieve in life. People who are goal oriented tend to be those who are always looking for a new challenge. Once they have become successful in one area of their life, they are rarely content, and move onto the next challenge. Success oriented people are typically those that can tell you what goals they are working on in less than two minutes, and they do not have to spend much time thinking about it, since this is what drives them.

In contrast, many people are not like this at all. Instead of setting specific goals they want to achieve, people choose to accept whatever life brings them. Instead of controlling many of the things that occur in their lives, they are constantly reacting to things. When you ask these individuals what goals they have, the goals they list are either vague, or highly generic. If you are one of these people, do not dispair. There are a number of things you can do to change your thinking and alter the course of your life in a positive way.

The first thing you must do is find out what you want in life. When thinking of what you want, do not think of generic things like becoming rich, buying a house, or getting a college degree. All these goals are totally vague, and are not listed by people who are success oriented.  Instead, you want to be specific when it comes to the things you want.

For example, a success oriented person would say that they want to sell five million albums, become an Olympic gold medalist, start a successful software company, or win the Nobel Prize. Compare these things to the stuff I listed in the last paragraph. Do  you see the difference? While the things listed in the last paragraph are vague, the things listed in this paragraph are very specific. Once you begin setting specific goals that you wish to achieve, you are one step closer to becoming highly successful.

The Role Goals Play in Reaching Your Life’s Mission

It is important not to confuse a goal with what I did like to call your life’s mission. The life mission is the end result of everything you want in life, the one achievement that you wish to have as a part of your legacy. A goal is simply a phase which puts you one step closer toward achieving your life’s mission.

For example, your life’s mission may be to become a multi-platinum selling record artist. However, a "goal" would be to produce your first album, or to get the equipment so you can produce your first album. By achieving these two goals, you are two steps closer towards achieving your Life’s Mission.

It is also critically important to have a powerful focus. To be successful in life, you must have more than just the garden variety focus that most people have. When you study some of the most successful people in history, one thing that you will find is that many of them had powerful focus. This focus came as result of their clarity. Clarity simply involves being clear and concise when it comes to what you want, because when you are, you will have the power and energy which will allow you to get what you want. However, if you wish to be successful, it is absolutely critical that your focus has either an enemy, or barriers which oppose you.

The reason for this is because by having an enemy to fight, you will have a point of focus which can allow you to remain sharp, which facilitates success. Once you have set your Life Mission, from that point forward, you will either be moving in one of two directions, and this is away from your goal, or towards your goal. Some of the things which will move you away from your life’s mission are habits which are bad, fear, or simply the way you respond to competition. Having an enemy is important, and it does not necessarily have to be a person. It could simply be a thing or an organization. It can even be yourself.

It is Important to Develop both Long and Short Term Objectives

Once you have established your Life’s Mission, the one thing you want to achieve, it is important for you to develop goals for the short term. You must come up with things that you can begin working on immediately that will allow you to achieve your goals. You should also become aware of the effects that short term decisions have over the long term, and you must always make sure that the two are in perfect harmony with one another. You must also keep in mind that success will not come immediately. In fact, expect and prepare for setbacks on your way towards success. The way in which you react to these setbacks will mean the difference between success and failure.