Goals.

If you’ve been into personal development for a mere five minutes then you’ve heard of them. Even if you’ve never cracked a book like The Master Key System I am highly confident that you’ve set a few goals for yourself over the years.

I receive emails from people around the world. I recently received the following email from a fellow who needed help discovering what he really wants. Believe me, this is not only a huge question, it might be one of the most important ones because if you pursue goals that you don’t really want, such as living someone else’s dreams, then you will find yourself in the straits of discontentment. You don’t want that.

So I took my time in crafting a response to him.

First, here is what he wrote to me.

Dear  Anthony,

I have been thinking about this question: What do I really want? Must it be one thing or many things? I had been changing my desire because of feeling like this is not what I really want. How do I find my real inner-most desire?

Here is my response in full.

Your question is one of the main reasons I have discerned that people don’t succeed despite their talent, ingenuity, and drive. Without knowing where you want to go, chances are great that you’ll get somewhere that you don’t want to be. Thus, it behooves you to decide what you want; because once you do that, then — and only then — can you form a plan to attain it.

Now, must your goal be only one thing?

Yes.

And no.

You can have different goals, or “levels” of goals. Business and lifestyle goals tend to be the grand goals. They are goals that impact your entire life. If you decide that you want to become a doctor, then that’s a grand goal because every aspect of your life will be influenced by that decision . . .

. . . you’ll have to devote time to school . . .

. . . you’ll have to work to earn money to attend school . . .

. . . your friends will become fellow students . . .

. . . your role models will become your teachers and doctors . . .

. . . and your future will have a defined path.

You also have a level of goals that are “secondary” goals. You may want a new car. Well, your grand goal will help you to attain the car (or cars) that you desire. The same for your house and your possessions.

Along with those goals, we also have goals for our relationships, our spiritual life, our hobbies. Everything!

Do you want a new shirt? That’s a goal.

A new computer? Another goal.

You get the idea.

The grand goal is the most important goal. It’s the one where you are called to stretch yourself. It should be one that motivates you and practically compels you to take action — lots and lots of persistent action and hard work. That’s why you are well-advised to pick a goal that is not only financially rewarding, but one that you enjoy.

(Please note: Just because you enjoy something does not mean that you will earn lots of money doing it. That’s where you can make a choice between complete enjoyment (emotional reward) and financial compensation (financial reward). Think about it this way: we all want to be rock stars and movie stars; a lot of people actually embark on making that dream a reality; but very few actually attain that goal and the ones that stick with it, even though they don’t “make it,” are the ones that truly love the art.)

So, how can you find your “innermost desire”?

Easy. Use the methods of Charles F. Haanel.

In The Master Key Workbook, you will find all the methods as well as exercises you need to help you define your goals and your vision for yourself. And, of course, it is completely based on Charles F. Haanel’s The Master key System. You can find it right here, easy-peasy . . .

http://www.masterkeyworkbook.com

Here’s a good place to start: Describe what your perfect day looks like.

Sounds easy, right?

It really isn’t. Because what is meant by that is the kind of day you want to live day-in and day-out.

Here’s what usually happens. First, you’ll imagine yourself on a beach with a drink in your hand and your toes in the sand. That’s all fine and dandy. You task is to go beyond that because while that sounds nice and all, you’d more than likely be bored stiff by the end of the first week of living like that.

So you really have to think about what you value in your life. You have to think about things like . . .

. . . do you prefer consistency (a steady job, let’s say) or are you open to change (being your own boss) . . .

. . . are you an introvert or an extrovert . . .

. . . how important are the people around you . . .

. . . where do you see yourself . . .

. . . and a host of other considerations.

You have to really put yourself into a state of mind where you can visualize a truly perfect day.

And that will take some time.

And it will change. A lot.

And that’s A-OK.

Because every change will bring you closer to that ideal and along the way you will see common threads that run through all your visions. Those threads will be the basis upon which you will form your plans.

Once you have some plans, then the world is your oyster.

So get out there.

Dream big.

Work hard.

Make it real.

You can do it!