Nothing on this earth is standing still. It's either growing or it's dying. No matter if it's a tree or a human being.

—Lou Holtz

So, are you growing?

Or are you stuck and feeling sorry for yourself because you are not making any progress towards where you want to be in life?

Been there, done that.

I wish I could tell you that getting unstuck, setting your goals and working towards them is a piece of cake.

It’s not.

Achieving any goal is like swimming upstream. You could let the current of life bring you where it wants. More often than not, it'll drop you at “stuck in a rut” island.

But if you are ambitious enough to be the boss of your own life, you need to push. And that isn't easy.

Also even if you push, fight and hustle, you can still flunk.

But do not despair.

Read on and learn how to set and achieve your goals the right way.

Dreams are the cradle of your goals

Choose the areas of your life you want to work on. Then fantasize about your perfect life, in as many details as you can.

This should be easy and fun. If you don't sabotage yourself in your mind.

For example, you dream of leaving your 9 to 5 job and starting a business that will enable you to both work and travel. But, what about the kids? Oh, you can’t possibly make that happen, so why dream about it.

Don’t worry about the obstacles in your dream right now (not to say that kids are the obstacle).

Try this exercise:

It works better if you close your eyes. And open your mind.

Imagine you can magically accomplish ANY goal you think of. No limits. Whatever you wish for your life, it will come true. All the obstacles you perceive are magically resolved in the best possible way. You simply cannot fail. Picture anything, and it's yours.

Now, imagine your perfect life. The lifestyle you'd want to live.

Open your window. Where do you live? Who do you live with? Open your bank statement. How much money do you see? What does your day look like?

Just dream. Big-time.

Because even though there is no guarantee you will achieve your dream goals if you don't have them why would you try to?

When you dream big, you:

• motivate yourself to be the best you can,
• become more action oriented,
• get rid of your limiting beliefs,
• attract new opportunities,
• grow and learn new things
• build new relationships with ease.

And when you dream big, shoot for the moon!

Because "even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

Set intentions

Back to reality.

You are down here and your dream is up in the sky. How do you get there?

Well, first set your clear, firm intention to stick the flag at the top of that mountain. Be sure to set a time frame. You needn’t be precise, but try to be as realistic as possible.

Show that you mean it.

Something like this:

“I will make $100.000 of net, steady income a year, in 3 years.”
“I will get married by 2025.”
“I will lose 45 lb in a year”

Can you bring your A-game when you're miserable?

Many people promise themselves to be happy and content when they achieve a certain goal.

"If only I made more money, I'd be happy."

The Law of Attraction tells us we can’t be miserable and unhappy and expect to attract nice things. You attract what you emit.

So you need to feel joyful and satisfied with what you’ve got before you have achieved your goals.

And frankly, Law of Attraction or not, this makes sense. You don’t want to wait a month, a year or more to be happy, right?

“Enjoy the journey as much as the destination.” — Marshall Sylver

The best way to get into the happy mood is to write a kind of gratitude journal. Set out a few minutes each day to write down at least 5 things you are grateful for.

Don’t rush through. Let the sensation of gratitude fill you up.

The next best thing is to help others.

Divide your big goal into smaller chunks and make them SMART

The most effective way to embark on a journey of achieving your goals is to divide your big goal into smaller chunks. And make them S.M.A.R.T.

Just in case you don’t know what S.M.A.R.T. is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Timely

So, “I will make $100.000 of net, steady income a year, in 3 years.” is now:

“I will plan my business, marketing and sales processes to make $3.000 a month by the end of this year.”

“I will get married by 2025” turns into:

“I will write down what qualities I want in my partner and stick to finding them in people I date. Also, I will go on 80 dates by the end of this year”.

And “I will lose 45 lb in a year” now becomes:

“I will lose 15 lb in the next 4 months”

Your goals seem much more manageable now, don't they?

Plan and execute - setting the system in place

So, how do the changes happen?

You take your goal-bit and grind it into a daily planner.

I will explain this best with examples:

Goal: “I will plan my business, marketing and sales processes to make $3.000 a month by the end of this year.”

Goal: “I will write down what qualities I want in my partner and stick to finding them in people I date with. Also, I will go on 80 dates by the end of this year”

Goal: “I will lose 15 lb in the next 4 months”

Simple enough, don't you think?

Dealing with setbacks and failures

Sh** happens. You messed something up, procrastinated or failed miserably.

What do you do?

More importantly, what don’t you do?

1. Don’t move on before experiencing your loss.

It’s OK to feel bad if you failed. You should allow yourself to feel down and depressed for a while. Those negative feelings will motivate you to learn from your mistakes and not wreck the same thing next time. But,

2. Don’t wallow in self-pity.

If you messed up, it’s past tense. Moan and yearn for a while. But don’t overdo it. Because every new day is your chance to bounce back and pick up where you left off.

3. Don’t give in to guilt (for too long) If you are to blame for the mistake you made, don’t let guilt and the inner critique impede your recovery.

Analyze what you did wrong. Fix it if you can. And if you can’t, learn your lesson and move on.

A SPRINKLE OF FAIRY-DUST, JUST FOR YOU

You must have a little faith.

Whether you believe in Divine intervention, the force of the Universe, plain old luck or a happy coincidence. Trust that when you do all you can, it will interfere.

And you will grab that opportunity. And it will change your life and make your dreams come true.

For real.

Step by step.

Goal by goal.