If you want to be successful, you have to know exactly what you want to accomplish. You need strategy and focus with a clear line to point to. Unfortunately, most people never even get that far. Most people are standing around and wondering, “How the heck did I get here?”

I’ve always thought that because I have direction, I also have goals. Law school. Happiness. Financial security. But are any of these ideas goals? What would you do with a law degree? What will you do to gain happiness and financial security? And how will you even know when you’ve achieved those things?

Guess those plans aren’t actually goals. So if setting goals are so important, how come we don’t know how to establish them?

With all of the schooling, experiences, and opportunities your life has afforded, can you set true goals? The biggest deterrent is admitting that our goals might fail. Our plans might not work. No one takes a little kid seriously when he says what he wants to be when he grows up, so he feels free to keep dreaming and imagining his future. When you and I say our dream careers, people hold us up to it. They remember. Yet going to college doesn’t mean you’ll leave with the same perspective, and having the direction doesn’t mean you’re setting true goals.

So how do you set goals?
1. Be specific.

The biggest difference between having direction and having goals is the detail. Set dates and quantities. Don’t just bake cookies for the food bank; bake 350 cookies by January 4. You could plan on starting a business or say, “I will start a ___ business by the year ___.” We all need a kick in the butt’and who better than ourselves?

2. Tell someone.

Sharing our goals is the hardest part because we’re afraid of failing or finding dissatisfaction when we reach our goals. Tell a person who can encourage you, push you, and support you even when your goals change or don’t work out.

3. Decide if your plan is a goal or an idea.

Too often, we don’t know what we want, so we start talking, thinking, and dreaming. How much of this process is required for you to set your strategy? Some people spend their lives dreaming of the perfect goal the way some people are always looking for Mr. Right. Are you passing up Mr. Really Wonderful because you’re afraid that he isn’t quite Mr. Right? Doubt puts out passion faster than anything, so if you find something you’d love, why aren’t you going for it?

4. Go for it.
5. Follow up.

Make sure you’re working your way toward your goals’often!

You can spend your entire life climbing the ladder of success. But what you are climbing the wrong ladder? Tomorrow when you wake up, close your eyes and imagine the perfect life situation for one year from now’your work, your finances, your family, your health. If you don’t know what you want, then people who do know what they want take control of your life’your boss, your landlord, your local fast food places and advertisers, and shareholders of the businesses you spend your money.

You might tell everyone how much you hate WalMart. The great thing about democracy lets you vote with every dollar you spend. Every dollar that you spend at WalMart is a dollar vote in favor of their practices and attitudes. Don’t say you hate WalMart; do something more.

You can gain an overwhelming sense of power in your own life when you set goals’it’s something most people never even experience.

It was about a year ago that Katie and I started Aridni, and in the last year we have had some all kinds of articles. Some good ones, some Great ones, and of course some lousy ones. Today I want to highlight what I think have been some of the years best articles for each month in 2006.

1. January – Investing: When can you start? How can you start?

One of the earlier articles from Aridni to help get you going in the stock market. What are the issues and skills you need to be aware of and possess?

2. February – I’ve got a Big Sky Booya coming at ya!

Watching Jim Cramer is like jumping into the stock market. It isn’t easy for the novice, but here are some tips to getting started.

3. March – “Acey said ten percent.” – Why less is more.

I still really like this ideology about investing less to learn more.

4. April – Weekend Homework: Define “Value”

What is important to you? How are your actions stacking up to what you hold important?

5. May – Marketing with MySpace

While this approach works out well in theory, it’s a lot harder than my article makes it look. I’ve been trying things out and will certainly post some new ideas about it.

6. June – How you might destroy $1,000,000 dollars or more today.

Do you keep track of your ideas? Tomas Edison didn’t either, until got fed up with losing to many. From then on Tom and ‘the boys’ filled up thousands of notebooks with all kinds of ideas and discoveries.

7. July – Expand your business with “The Three C’s”

What’s the best way for you to set raise the capital needed to increase the output of your business?

8. August – An employee finds a second job. An entrepreneur finds an opportunity.

Katie takes a moment to ask just what exactly is she working towards.

September – Have you ever considered that you are not good enough? With Billions of people in the world, you might not be good enough. By no means does it mean that those who are won’t be willing to work with you.

9. October – Is real estate calling you?

This is an article Katie wrote about some of here experiences and thoughts after spending some time in the real estate market.

10. November – On hiatus for the month!

A little break before it’s back to the grindstone.

11. December – Step back from the obsession with $

Katie gives us some reflections about money and the desire for wealth. What is money, and how does it work?

Katie found some of her favorite posts from the past year and put them in an article called Seeking Goals and Reaching Objectives – THIS YEAR

I hope that we can provide another great year of ideas and inspiration. And as always, feel free to leave a comment or even send a message with our Contact form

Last night, the musician screamed into his microphone, “45 seconds until the new year. Have you made your resolution?”

Did you spend any time reflecting on ways that you wanted to be better this year? Given 45 seconds, I didn’t come up with a foolproof improvement plan. Lucky for me, I have a database of favorite Aridni articles that I often look to for inspiration:

What does it really take to make money? This article guides you in defining and reaching your financial desires

Is it better to let your dreams die or do a poor job? Todd’s had an idea for about a year… but he lacks skill. What does he do? What do you do?

No longer the bride today I celebrated my one-year anniversary this summer and found a finance partner to boot for – I discovered a 5-step plan to seeking goals and reaching objectives.

Are you climbing to the top when there is no top? Before you can get somewhere tomorrow, you have to think of where you are today. Examine the corporate ladder at your office.

Make your success move from the polls to the ballot Women are starting new businesses twice as fast as men. Three success secrets revealed–

One month to impress Define your image in one month, step by step.

Do you remember the last time you decided to set up some New Year’s resolutions? I’ll go out on a ledge and assume it was roughly a year ago. Now exactly how long did that self improving quest last? If you’re like the majority of people you set up your resolution and soon drop it within weeks. By the time you see a coin stamped with the year 2007, your mind will be the so far away from resolutions that they won’t pass through until we’re getting ready to set up the set for 2008.

So what exactly is the resolution solution? How can we keep our resolutions to improve ourselves for this New Year?

The best way to stick to your resolution is to make resolutions that you can stick with.

Instead of making a drastic resolution that you know you won’t be able to keep, why not make something that actually has a fighting chance.

If last years failed resolution was, ‘I will stop smoking.’ Perhaps you should make this year’s resolution be simply, ‘I will smoke 5 less cigarettes a day”

Frustrated because you can’t stick to your resolution to stop eating junk food? How about go with something along the lines of the 90-10 eating rule. Ninety percent of the time, eat foods that are okay for you. The other ten percent of the time you can eat grease burgers and fries. You know, the tasty stuff.

So when you resolve to improve yourself this year, make it something that you can achieve.

What are your resolutions?