Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. He is also founder and President of The CFIDS Foundation of Cda Inc [A registered Charity]. As an International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management, Recruiting Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590 success150.com Ask anybody on January 2nd 2006 if they have New Years Resolutions or goals and nine out of ten will say, "Yes!" ...Ask the same people about their resolutions three months later and they'll look at you like a small goat discovering a new fence for the first time.
All good intentions aside, exhaustive studies have shown only 3% of the population engage in some form of goal-setting and only 1% on average, write them down.
Moreover, there is no small coincidence in the 1% that write goals down and the highest achieving, highest income-earning men and women around the world.
Setting goals is the genesis from which things great and not so great are accomplished. Read any book on achievement or watch the Biography Channel and see the quintessential message is clear: Goals = Success!
If it's that simple though, why then are most people so unsuccessful in the fundamentals of Real goal setting?
One legitimate answer may be, our generation is busier than any generation in the past. Life today is not static and our preoccupation with just trying to 'get by' runs juxtaposed to the activities needed for maintaining concentrated goal achievement. Fair enough.
On the other hand, these same studies, mentioned above, are just as clear on the real reason most people - the ones who bother to set goals - will never achieve them. They fail to write them down relying rather they be left to our memories to manage.
The Fact is: Your goals are future landmarks on paths created by You.
Goal experts, however, will be quick to point out, "Unwritten goals are nothing more than Wishes"... and we know the world is full of people with plenty of wishes. Go to any lottery office or anywhere they sell things like DotCom Stock. In one place, they wish they'd bought more, in the other they wish they hadn't bought any at all!
Real goal-achievement has so nothing to do with merely thinking of what we'd like to accomplish and everything to do with Not Forgetting.
As the young man once said, "My memory is the thing I use to forget with". If we buy-off on the precept, we are now the busiest, most preoccupied generation, it's no stretch then to believe the experts when they say, "Goals left only to memory are destined to fade like so many wishes".