More Effective Goal Setting

By: Mohamad Latiff

Traditional goal setting does not work as effectively as most 'experts' would have you believe.

This is because there is one factor, one key, a missing link, which, without it, you'd simply have no motivation to go about doing the things you are supposed to do to bring about the achievement of your goal.

And that is The Big Picture. Now, this is in my own words, what I've learned from an audio interview I listened to a few days ago.

What do I mean by The Big Picture?

The Big Picture is like a Vision. It's an Obsession. A Passion. A Dream. A big, grand, bold dream that you have for your life.

In other words, it is a Purpose. A Life Purpose.

I know these may all sound like big words to you, but the point here is for you to have an ultimate purpose for all your goals in life. What most people have are goals for material objects or for career advancements or monetary gains.

Most people, and I didn't say ALL, merely stop at these 'bite-sized pieces', these small goals when it comes to goal setting. They don't continue on to think about why they set these goals and for what even bigger purpose do they set these goals.
Ask yourselves - why do I want this new Mercedes? Why do I want this big mansion? Why do I want to earn an extra $100,000 a year? Why do I want to have so and so person as my spouse? Why?

Keep asking why. And again, most people would realise that it comes down to a feeling or sense of fulfilment, happiness, of being loved, of being secure and safe, or of being free. Some people would just say, "I just want these things".

Well, all that may sound good and fine but do you truly think that once you get that Mercedes or that big mansion or the extra $100,000 a year or that person as your spouse, you'd be truly happy, fulfilled, free, secure and alive?

Try and look back at one past goal which you have achieved. Take a look at one milestone which you've already gone through. Do you find yourself something saying something like, "And now what"?

Most of us do. That's because we don't have that biggest, ultimate, most grand purpose for our lives. The reason why we are born. Some people call it destiny, or phrase it as "God's place for you in the world". Whatever it is, don't think of it as something beyond your power.

This thing called Purpose or The Big Picture is a thing that is both within your power to choose and also outside your power to choose. It is the sum total of all your life choices from the day you were born up to this very day.

The proof that it is within your power to choose is the fact that you've been making all the choices and decisions in your life all this while, asking for this and that, regardless of whether or not you got what you asked for, to build up an image, a vision or The Big Picture of your life, which is your ultimate life purpose - that reason you were born and the thing that you must fulfill in your life before you die.

Whereas the proof that it is also beyond your power to choose is the fact that you already have made all those choices before in your past and there is little or nothing you can do to alter those choices you've made in the past. There are some decisions we made which we can undo, but not without a significant amount of trouble, and there are many decisions we simply cannot undo.

This is the irony of human life and why it is beautiful to be human.

But if you are sitting right there where you are, reading this post, you still have hope. You do still have a chance. Create for yourself a grand vision of your life - why you are here on this Earth. Conceive big, bold dreams.

Imagine you are a historian or a scholar studying the history of your life. What would you like to be remembered for? What would you like to be famous for? What would you like to be associated with whenever your name is mentioned?

Write an essay about yourself, as if you were a historian in the future, looking back into your life. Include all the glorious things you have achieved, and even the flaws, the mistakes and huge failures you've made. But also include how you've transcended these flaws, mistakes and failures. Write about the difference you've made to the world, no matter how small (or big) it is.

Have you left behind a wonderful family? Have you left behind a legacy? Have you left behind a successful business? Or simply a happy memory in the mind of a person you've helped in a small or big way?

Now, after you've done this exercise, you may proceed with your traditional goal setting methods. Create sub-goals out of this Big Goal of your life. Create the secondary goals to this Primary Goal. Set the milestone goals that would define your ultimate life purpose.

What this does to you is create a certain insurance or feeling of security, because, although you may fail to achieve your small goals (no matter how bold they seem to be), you're still on track because you have not lost sight of your ultimate life goal.

About The Author:

Mohamad Latiff is giving away his amazing FREE $997 value goal setting and accelerated wealth attraction technology on how you can achieve all your goals and your inherent unlimited potential for wealth, success & happiness in your life! Only at http://www.UltimateSecretsOfSuccess.com

Breakdown, Breakthrough

By: Joseph Norman

Recently, I was reading a fantastic blog on personal development by Million Dollar Lifestyle business coach, Melanie Benson Strick. In one of her recent posts she discussed the “breakdown - breakthrough to success process.” She goes on to note that typically, humans are more motivated by moving away from pain then they are by pursuing pleasure.

This week I challenge you to reflect on the hard times you may be going through and strategize your way to success. There is no doubt that it is a difficult time in the global economy right now. In fact, we hear the myriad of reasons on the news, day in and day out. What matters is not what is happening, but how you react.

What is it that makes you break down? It’s a variety of external stresses caused by things like work, neighbors, significant others, personal finance, health, etc.

What is it that motivates you during difficult times? A personal challenge to yourself to survive. It is fight or flight syndrome at its finest. My belief is that it stems from an innate desire to get more out of life. We know we deserve better than the hand we are currently being dealt.

What propels the select few to success? A hyper-consciousness for the last thought. Some people are born to push the limits. They are hard-wired to take any of life’s inequities and use it as inspiration for greater achievement. When times are rough, these people see opportunities that others have not opened their eyes to.

What is critical about these three questions is that they are not unique at all. We all experience them at some degree in our lives. The only inimitable experience is how we choose to react.

Some people drop into depression while others propel themselves to greatness. What is crucial to note is that each individual had the same opportunity. Tony Robbins asks a question which is particularly pertinent to this situation; “Is it the beginning or is it the end?”

My challenge to you this week is to make the personal choice that the difficult times will be the beginning of something better in your life, not the end. Success IS a choice.

Get Over It & Get At It

Get Over It! Get At It!
By: Joseph Norman

"Though you cannot go back and make a brand new start, my friend, you can start now, and make a brand new end." - John C. Maxwell, Today Matters

What you did yesterday is not nearly as important as what you do today. We fail and we do it often. It's a necessity of life because failure breeds true success. My challenge to you this week is two fold. Get over it and get at it!

You have something on your mind which is holding you back. You're not proud of the way you reacted to something or someone in the past. You didn't close the deal. You didn't exercise. You ate too much fatty foods last week. You think you're overweight. You are struggling to pay your bills. You got stood up. You broke up with your significant other. You pissed somebody off. You didn't think before you opened your mouth and spoke.

GET OVER IT! Move on. Forgive yourself for your stupidity or inaction and file the experience away. It's over and you can't take it back, so learn from it and leave it.

Now that you have made the choice to evict the insecurities caused by your past, make your new day one focused on living the life you need and want to live.

GET AT IT! Today is your opportunity. It is your open canvas. You are the paintbrush and your life is the paint. What are you going to create? Who are you going to influence? What message are you going to deliver? What story are you going to write on the hearts of the people admiring your life's canvas?

Let them experience that narrative by making it a priority to live it today.

Goal Setting Secrets of the Greatest Achievers

By: Mohammad Latiff

A 7th century Arabian genius once said, "Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning, and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself." The name of this genius was Ali Ibn Abi Thalib, one of the most illustrious, noblest and brilliant leaders of the continent-sweeping Islamic civilization that was left behind by the Prophet Muhammad.

However, it is not the object of this article to discuss a religious figure or the history of a civilization. The quote provided above is to set the impetus for the rest of this article.

"Success is the result of foresight and resolution, foresight depends upon deep thinking and planning, and the most important factor of planning is to keep your secrets to yourself."

It is impossible and illogical by definition and reality to achieve any measure of success without any thought, planning or goal setting put into it. Any attainment that is born out of randomness and chance is not to be regarded a success at all, just as a momentous lottery winning should not be called an achievement.

The achievement of a goal, by definition, requires that there be an element of conscious planning and subsequent effort put into it, because a goal is a purpose that any person, entity or enterprise is working consciously towards. No matter how vague or clear the goal is, some degree of planning, implementation, tracking and refinement is definitely involved.

If you are to observe the life stories of achievers either in your lifetime or in history, you would realize that the truth about their success can be attributed to a number of very common, universal, timeless and unchanging factors - or principles.

These undying principles are universally applicable to almost every area or field of endeavor, from industry to academia, from the ivory towers of the corporate world to the warmth, comfort and safety of a nursery. Changes and challenges that are developing in the world neither add to nor subtract from the validity of these principles. They only serve to create permutations and evolutions in the application of them and not the essence.

Now, what are these principles exactly? Here I shall be listing a few of my findings -

1. The greatest achievers are driven by a huge, humongous, all-consuming Vision either for their lives or for the world. They view the world as a perfect playing field to manifest and make concrete their visionary ideas and are often driven by this vision, whether or not they are consciously aware of it from moment to moment.

2. They set targets and objectives that are in alignment with this grand vision of theirs. They also have the discipline to reject and ignore so-called opportunities, developments, innovations and temptations that are not in alignment with their great vision, often creating enemies because of this. Nevertheless, those who stayed faithful to these achievers and their vision prove themselves worthy as true friends and partners in bringing about their visions to reality.

3. They seek out the best possible methods to accomplish what they seek, never settling for mediocrity or lackadaisical efforts. To these achievers, the terms 'laziness' or 'hard work' are concepts foreign to them. What they are driven by is their vision and the goals they must achieve in order to meet that vision. Whatever it takes to accomplish those targets of theirs, they will accept, and although they are humans too and can feel exhaustion, they do not view the necessary work as something to dread, but something to live with, even enjoy.

4. The great achievers are constantly learning. They learn from their mistakes, from other people's mistakes, from their observations of the necessary goal-attaining processes in which they are engrossed.

5. They do not stop at simply learning, they also put their learnings into action, dynamically and consistently refining their methods in real-time. Sometimes the growth and improvements they obtain from their gradual evolutions borne out of their learnings can be very minimal, sometimes they may achieve tremendous improvement, even breakthrough.

But in their minds, they do not discriminate between small improvements and big improvements, neither obsessing over making huge improvements nor being content with only small improvements. All sizes and manners of growth are welcomed by them.

If all the goal setting secrets of the greatest achievers could be condensed into a handful of principles, the 5 listed above would suffice. Every other discussion of planning, thinking, programming, intending, organizing, managing or controlling are simply corollaries of the above 5 principles.

About The Author:
Mohamad Latiff is giving away his amazing FREE $997 value goal setting and accelerated wealth attraction technology on how you can achieve all your goals and your inherent unlimited potential for wealth, success & happiness in your life! Only at http://ultimatesecretsofsuccess.com/

Amanda Senft

SUNY Geneseo Student

How do you define success?
I think success is defined by a personal standard. If you honestly believe that you committed yourself to something 100% and did the best you possibly could, that is a successful experience whether you reached the goal or not. Success is not necessarily the opposite of failure, it's how much you learn and grow out of a particular experience, and how you feel about it at the end of the day.

Who inspires you? Why?
I am unbelievably inspired by my aunt, who is a very independent woman and has the most positive outlook on life I've ever encountered. She is living proof that bad things happen, but the way you handle it has everything to do with how things turn out. I think it's also important to inspire yourself a little bit - sometimes I look back on the things I've accomplished in the last week or in the last month, and they prove to me that I am capable of making things happen.

If you could pass any bit of information or an idea to everyone in the world, what would it be?
That the values and ideas of every single person count. I think the world is in limbo a little bit right now, with economic crises, the threat of global warming, and the shadow of nuclear capabilities. Now more than ever it is imperative for people to understand that every human on this planet needs to do all they can to preserve it for future generations - the time for letting others take the reins is over.

What do you consider your greatest personal strengths?
I was afraid of this question! Whenever I have to answer it, I always say something about how much drive I have to accomplish things, my open-minded approach to solving problems, or how I consider myself a "people person". The thing is that none of these attributes by themselves mean much - I am who I am because of a beautiful combination of strengths, weaknesses, personal qualities, and character flaws. I've just chosen to let the "strengths" define who I am more than the weaknesses, which I suppose is a strength in itself.

What do you consider your greatest personal weaknesses?
The need to make sure everyone else is satisfied and inconvenienced as little as possible. I don't always delegate, or say no when I become too overwhelmed, because I would rather sacrifice my own time than disappoint others. I have to constantly remind myself that sometimes it's okay to slow down and just let things be.

If you could snap your fingers and create anything, what would it be?
A 26 hour day!

Where do you want to be 5, 10, 20 and 50 years from now?
Five years from now I hope to at least be on the right track to deciding what I want to do with my life. At the moment I'm thinking of exploring publishing, advertising, or school counseling. Hopefully in ten years that will have culminated in supporting myself in a career I enjoy that is making some kind of impact on the world, even if it's just a local community. I do look forward to settling down and having a family, but it's important to make myself happy first. Twenty and fifty years down the road will take care of themselves after that!

So, why English and Psychology?
English because I am in love with the written word. Books, quotes, articles, writing, poetry, all of it. I think there is something incredibly beautiful about the ways people express themselves. Also I think being able to write well and interpret material are valuable skills to have. I added Psychology during sophomore year because it's really fascinating to learn why people do the things they do. I'm hoping the combination will serve me in publishing or advertising.

Final thoughts
A very wise teacher once told me that if you can't think of a profound way to end something, let someone more articulate do it for you.

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in, but forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Contact: ars12@geneseo.edu

Define Your Boundaries

Define Your Boundaries

By: Joseph Norman

“I draw circles and sacred boundaries about me; fewer and fewer climb with me up higher and higher mountains. I am building a mountain chain out of ever-holier mountains.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

In order to truly achieve at a high level and find fulfillment, you need to define your personal boundaries and create a disciplined environment for success.

First, what is a boundary? I’m not necessarily talking about mental restrictions or limiting belief systems, but rather your personal system for managing physical settings and social interactions.

Some people need quiet time while others consistently desire to be social. Many people can share a space effectively while others need to have defined separations so they can rule their own territory. That being said, high achievers tend to have a well thought out structure to their lives and they discipline themselves according to that defined system.

When you look at the world’s greatest businesses, what is it that you see? To name a few things, you discover rules of engagement, unique physical settings, key metrics, and management and employee manuals. All of these things define a mode of operation which has been time tested to work for that particular organization. Why not take this set of principles and apply them to your own life?

In your living space, do you have boundaries? If you have roommates or children, it is easy to let things flood into all parts of the apartment or house. So, define your territory and hold others accountable! Let them know your space and define the experience you want them to have in it. Where I live and work I desire to maintain a calm, positive energy and I want people to feel a complete comfort to fully express themselves.

Another area where you need definite boundaries is with your schedule. Don’t let people commandeer your time! Define your priorities and let people know how they can properly secure some of your time. For example, a few successful businesspeople I know define when they will answer emails and return phone calls. They communicate their schedule and discipline themselves to it. This helps them limit distractions and achieve more!

Your challenge this week is to define a few of the boundaries in your life:

What is your personal space?

What are the “rules of engagement” in that space?

How will you communicate them to people that enter your space?

Where do you work and where do you live?

Are they different spaces? Even if they are under the same roof, they should be separate spaces with defined rules in order to create a balance.

What does your daily agenda look like?

Do you have defined times and places to do the things that are important to you?

Are you letting people hijack your time and take advantage of you?

Define your boundaries and take control of your life. If you treat yourself right then others will do the same!

Matthew Ketterer

Matthew Ketterer

I first met Matt when I was a freshman in college at SUNY Geneseo. He was living in Geneseo, volunteering with the cross country and track teams and completing his Masters Degree in History at SUNY Brockport. We got to know each other through a few mutual friends and we all have subsequently stayed close to this day. We even went as far as creating our own pseudo organization, Team Spirit, which was founded on a shared set of common beliefs and enthusiasm for life’s adventures.

Matt is a unique individual who I admire whole-heartedly. He possesses a tremendous sense of humor and a wit which often blows my mind with obscure historical references and spot on social observations. A life long athlete and history buff, Matt currently teaches Global Studies and European Civilization at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. Entering his third year in the district, Matt’s intelligence, passion for the subject material, and teaching style has enabled his students to excel.

It is an honor and a pleasure to feature a few of his thoughts this week. ~Joseph

What is your definition of success?

MK: I was going to try to come up with something of my own for this question, but then I remembered the Winston Churchill poster hanging in my classroom. Churchill said, “Success is the ability to move from one failure to another with no loss in motivation.” What better way to define success than to be able to turn failure into it?

Who inspires you? Why?

MK: Me. I inspire myself. If you need to look to outside sources for inspiration than you have already lost whatever it is that you are doing. Everyday is an opportunity for me to do better than I did the day before and I don’t need other people to tell me that or inspire me to that. People should develop an intrinsic motivation for what they do rather than looking to others to provide them with it.

What do you consider your strengths? Weaknesses?

MK: What is this a job interview? If it is I suppose I will do the old turn my weakness into my strength tact and say my sense of humor. I am able to laugh at most things and have a tendency to joke around to fill dead air. Unfortunately, the students sometimes interpret my willingness to joke around as a sign that they do not need to take the material as seriously as they should.

Why are you a teacher?

MK: Why do people like sleeping? Some things are just the way they are.

What are some things you try to bring to the classroom to provide a more enhanced learning experience for your students?

MK: Since I teach Global Studies and European Civilization there isn’t as much time in class to look at the current election as I would like or they would like for that matter. But I have attempted to integrate it into my lessons still by having the students evaluate the candidates from the perspective of the people we are studying. For instance, during the Enlightenment unit last year they researched a primary candidate of their choice and had to determine how “enlightened” that person was. Some, needless to say, turned out to be more enlightened than others.

What are some short term and mid term goals for you?

MK: Short term: Remember to brush my teeth in the morning.

Mid term: Develop an indoor track program that our students take seriously. Right now our indoor team is struggling so the good distance runners actually use winter to swim instead. I want to help change that and provide them with an attractive opportunity to run and compete all year. Getting tenured is another goal.

Being a history buff, who are three people from any time period that you would like to meet?

MK: Cleopatra, Nietzsche, and Aaron Burr; at least two of them for the conversation.

What are some books that have made a lasting impression on you?

MK: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek, and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max. All are great books and I would encourage everyone to read them, even if you disagree with them/especially if you disagree with them. It’s always a good thing to know what the other side is thinking and you might just learn something about yourself along the way. Rand and Hayek are particularly important for anyone who plans on voting or taking part in society. Max, well you should just read it and then do your best to live a TS lifestyle.

Final thoughts?

MK: There is no way for me to come up with a final thought without sounding cliché so I am going to just have to end it here.

Matt Ketterer

Social Studies Teacher

Horace Greeley High School

E: MattKetterer@yahoo.com