A goal is a vision of how it is . . . before it is.

In talking about goals at my seminars, rallies and church services, I’ve had a few believers question whether or not goal-setting was important or even scriptural.

I’ve asked those folks why they got saved.  Invariably, the answer is “to go to heaven.”  I then asked if they were going today. If they say, not unless Jesus comes back, I say, “If heaven is not your immediate destination, it is still your goal.”

A goal is the manifestation…the end result achieved through vision, prior proper planning, persistence and peak performance. 

Get a notebook in which you can keep your goals for the rest of your life.   It’s time to stop talking about your future and do something about it.

Isaiah 48:17 in the Message Bible says;

"I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well.  I show you what to do, where to go.”             

The first of the eight steps to goal setting is “Decide EXACTLY what you want in a specific area and write it down as clearly as possible.  Make it measurable and specific. 

If you are unsure to begin with, write down what you feel you’d like to achieve. Get started and it will become clearer as you move forward.

If you want your goals to come true, then you need to write them down as specifically as you can making and decide a timeline for each.

Ask yourself where you want to be in the next month, six months, one year, two years and five years.  WRITE IT DOWN.

It’s important that you cover all the six major areas that make up a balanced life: Spiritual, Family, Financial, Physical, Mental and Social.  REMEMBER, BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.

It may be that you need to find a quiet place away from the distractions of cell phones, pagers, PDAs, text messages and other human diversions.  If you’re married, I suggest that you and your spouse share this process as you are called to be one flesh.  If that isn’t possible, you can still set personal goals. 

If you’re serious about goal setting, it should also be a matter of prayer.  What would God have you do . . . seek His face and direction.

It’s also important you rise above the current situation and circumstances you view as problems.  Stop seeing things the way they are and begin to see the way they can be with the eye of faith.

Remember, it’s not where you are, it’s where you’re going. If it seems like you’re in an impossible situation, there is just something you don’t know yet.  Nothing is impossible with God. 

The second step in goal setting is to: Set a timeline for achievement.  If it is a large goal, break it down into smaller parts and set sub-timelines.

It’s important that your goals be timely, whether they’re immediate (daily, weekly and monthly); intermediate (three months, six months, a year) or long-range (two, three or five years.)

Assign specific timelines to accomplish each goal in the six major areas of your life.  It’s also very important to break them down into manageable tasks with sub-timelines.

For instance, if one of your financial goals is to contact your creditors about lowering the interest rate on your credit card, have the information you need assembled . . . a copy of your statement, the toll-free number and set the date you are going to call.

If one of your physical goals is to lose weight, how are you going to do it and when are you going to start?  How many days a week are you going to exercise?  One, two or three?  By the way, there is a difference between what you’d like to do and what you really will do.  Start out with realistic goals.  You can always add but first you need to experience success.

Set the timeline for the achievement of your goals TODAY.

The third step to goal setting is:  Make a list of everything you will have to do to achieve your goal.

At Christmas, even Santa Claus can’t bring you what you want if you don’t write it down.  In the case that you’re Santa, you know you have to write the list before you can accomplish what needs to be done, with God’s help of course.

Write it done, every single step necessary to achieve your goals.  In starting a business, this is called a business plan.  In running a business, it’s called a critical path.

Many times in developing a critical path, I start with where I want to end up, in other words, the goal line.  Then I start working backwards to list all the things necessary for me to achieve my goal by a specific date.

One of the successful characteristics of millionaires is that they write down their goals.  Keeping it in your head just isn’t good enough.  What would you think of a business that didn’t have written records?

If you do excellent work for someone else … you should do no less than that for yourself. You are a business manager for God. He has made you a steward of everything you are involved in on the earth. 

As stewards we own nothing but we have the awesome responsibility of managing everything and our Boss says we must write the vision and make it plain.

Make your list and carry it with you in either a notebook, laptop, PDA, legal pad or napkin.  Do whatever it takes to keep your goals in front of you every day.

When you write something down, you take it more seriously.  I also suggest you check your goals at least twice a day . . . once in the morning before you begin your day and just before bed each night, so you can review your progress.

The fourth step to effective goal-setting is to organize your list of actions into a plan.

Some years ago I heard someone say, “Plan your work and work your plan.”  That’s it … in a nutshell.

One of the questions you need to ask is who can help you with this plan?  If you’re married, it’s important to at least have your spouse’s agreement.  It’s best if he/she can be involved with you. 

BUT, do not despair if you’re spouse isn’t interested YET.   Don’t let anyone steal your dream, your goal, your vision of how your life is going to be.  When your spouse sees you making progress. . .amazing things can happen.

This is especially true in finances.  Some people are married to financial “free spirits.”  Doesn’t that sound better than saying a person who is foolish or ignorant with money.

If your financial affairs are in disarray, you need to know where you’re at before you can develop your goals for financial freedom.

First, if you’re not doing so already BALANCE YOUR CHECKBOOK.

Second, track where your money is going.

If you’ve got a smart phone…either iPhone or Android get the free app “Easy Spending Expense Tracker.”  You will be able to track every single penny you spend by category for the next thirty day.

If you’re married, both spouses should be involved in this process.  For the next thirty days you need to write down every single PENNY you spend.  I’m sure you know where the big money goes, but it’s most often the little money that adds up to big money.

Second, if you have what my friend, Tim Hess calls a dumb phone then get a small pocket notebook that a man can easily carry in his pocket and a woman in her purse.  Record the same sort of information manually.

This may not seem like your kind of fun, but let me tell you that it won’t be fun the day you realize you’re broke, busted and wallowing in a poverty mentality.  Believe me, it’s worth it.

Here’s the good news. . .once you know where your money is going, then you can re-direct it to other places.  Once you have the facts, you can begin to list your actions into priorities and sequence (timeline).

Hebrews 3:19 in the Message Bible says:

“They never got there because they never listened, never believed.”                                                 

The fifth step to effective goal setting is to identify the obstacles or limitations that might hold you back from achieving your goals both in the situation and within yourself.

What or who’s the greatest obstacle or limitation you face in achieving your goals?  LOOK IN A MIRROR for your answer because it’s you.

Forget what people have said or even more importantly, what you have thought about your own abilities and failures in the past.

Always remember, failure is an event, it’s not who you are.

When you look in that mirror you need to realize that you’re not alone.  You’ve got the Father, Son and Holy Spirit working on your team.

Proverbs 3:26 in the Amplified Bible says:

“For the Lord shall be your confidence, firm and strong, and shall keep your foot from being caught [in a trap or some hidden danger].”        

Get your eyes off the obstacles of life or your own self-imposed limitations and focus on the One whose power is working in you.

The sixth step to achieving your goals is:  Once you have determined your goal, developed your plan and identified your obstacles, immediately take action toward achieving your goal.

Don’t talk about it. Do it.

You are the writer, producer, director and star of your own life story.  You write the script.  You produce all the resources necessary to bring it to the big screen.  You direct all the action and overcome all the obstacles and limitations.  And finally, you’re the star. . .the main attraction.  Just always remember who gave you all the abilities and opportunities you enjoy.

The devil’s greatest desire is to neutralize, contain and render you ineffective for the kingdom of God.   His greatest achievement is not an active sinner but an inactive Christian who is not fully aware of the power working in and through him.  Get that down in your spirit and it will take you up and over the circumstances in life.

You’ve made your list of goals. . .now it’s time to start taking positive steps to bring about their immediate manifestation.

You will never achieve your goals if you decide to only work on them when it’s convenient or you feel like it.  In six months or six years, you don’t want to look back and be an “Ida.”  That’s someone who says “If I’d of” only done this or If “I’d of” only done that.  The one thing you don’t want to say as you look in the mirror of your life is the words “coulda,” “shoulda,” “woulda,” or “One day I’m gonna.”

No excuses.  Now is the time, this is the day, YOUR DAY, YOUR TIME.

Proverbs 12:27 in the Message Bible says:

“A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done.                                       

The seventh effective step to successful goal setting is:  Do something every day that moves you closer to your goals.

When you wake up in the morning, before your feet hit the floor and certainly before you walk out the door. . .it’s important. . .no, it’s essential that you begin to dress your mind as well as your body.

Somebody once asked Abraham Lincoln what he would do if he had eight hours to chop down a tree.  Lincoln said:

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend seven sharpening my axe.”

How much time do you spend sharpening your ax?

How much do you spend on those trips to the beauty or barber shop for hair care, cuts, fros, dos, bobs, weaves and/or coloring? What about the money spent on hair sprays, gels, shampoos, brushes, picks or hair dryers?  All that money goes on the outside of your head.

The real question is how much do you spend on what goes on inside your head?  Your book and CD library reveals the depth of your respect for money and success that goes into your mind.

If you spend $600 on car payments; $230 on gas; and $800 on your apartment, how much did you invest in books and tapes that will fed the greatest computer ever invented. . . your mind?

Do you spend more on DVD rentals at Red Box or Blockbuster than you do on the pure, the powerful and the positive from the Word of God and His anointed teaching?

When was the last time you bought a book meant to help you improve yourself from a Christian bookstore or a CD series from your local church or a ministry like the Debt Free Army?

Here’s the bottom…..Jesus was always improving Himself.  Should we do any less?  Luke 2:52 says:

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

And finally, every morning you should review your goals, what you’re  going to do TODAY that moves you closer to your goals and how you can better equip yourself to meet the challenges of the day.

The eighth and final step to achieving your goals is to NEVER GIVE UP.

Though adversity may come, never give up.  The key to fulfilling your dreams, achieving your goals and living your destiny is to never give up. 

There will be times when it seems that progress is a distant vision or an almost forgotten memory, but never give up.  Keep doing what’s right, work your plan, pursue your goals and never give up.

Let me tell you about the giant bamboo tree.  It has a really hard seed.  The bamboo tree is so difficult to grow that you must water and fertilize that seed EVERY DAY for four years before any part of it appears above the soil.

But in the fifth year, the smallest green begins to break the soil and is capable of growing at rates as fast as five feet a day to a height of not less than ninety feet in one month.  You can even stand by the tree and literally watch it grow.  So here’s the question.   Did the bamboo tree grow ninety feet in under one month or did it take five years?

What would have happened if the owner had stopped watering and fertilizing the tree in the third year and eleventh month because he/she didn’t see any growth.  The blessing would never have manifested. The deeper the roots, the greater the reach.

You should NEVER NEVER GIVE UP on your goals, dreams and visions.

I challenge you to take the time. . .pray. . .seek God. . .and determine your goals for the six major areas of your life. 

Remember, a goal is a vision of how it is, before it is.

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