Millionaire Series Part 1 – The Goal is Set – Now What?
This is the second article in the Millionaire Series Part 1. You can find the Secret to Goal Setting here.
Now What? Once you have figured out where you are now, where your destination is and you have written them down in goal format, you may say, “Ok, but now what?”? The next step is to figure out your flight plan.?
Figure Out the Flight Plan – Short Term Goals
Are you looking to fly from Atlanta to Japan? So first take a look at where you are now, and where your destination is. How far away are they? Should the flight be broken into smaller easier flights so the plane can be refueled?
Break your goals into shorter term goals. If you want to be a millionaire but have $60,000 in debt, getting out of debt should be your first goal. If you are afraid getting out of debt will be too hard, then your first goal should be paying off only your credit card debt. Break it up into chunks that are easier to accomplish.
Creating short term goals are a good idea because you can quickly see the progress you are making. Once you see progress you are more likely to keep up with the long-term goal. Plus you can celebrate each short-term goals along the way!
Fuel the Plane and Do Safety Checks – Prepare for Issues
So I’ve written both my long term and short term goals. I’m ready to go, right?
I suggest before jumping right into your goal, figure out what issues you may run into. If you are flying the plane and have an issue you need to be able to think fast to recover. Preparation and knowledge will get you through.
How can you prepare for your journey? Figure out what things could go wrong and how you will overcome them. Our brains tend to automatically think of the worse case scenarios anyway, especially for a big goal that might stretch you. When these imagined scenarios are not dealt with, they start to break down your commitment to your goal, because failure seems inevitable. Why bother?
-What if the car breaks down?
-What if the budget is too hard?
-What if I die tomorrow?
What if the worse case scenarios were to actually happen? Once you know what those worst case scenarios will be, brainstorm solutions to them. Write down each problem and solution.
Problem: What if the car breaks down?
Solution: I will not use a credit card to pay for it. I will have a small emergency fund prepared for those types of issues, and if it is too much I will sell item #1 and Item #2 to cover the difference.
This exercise solidifies your commitment to your goal even if you run into issues. During that critical moment when you could give up or move forward, you will be prepared and have the knowledge of what to do.
Take Off – Tell Everyone!
Now with all of your plans under your belt, you are sitting in the flight deck and ready for take-off. You’ve prepared the best you can and have as much knowledge as you can. You are the pilot, the next step is to tell air traffic control you are ready for take-off. Once you tell someone, there is no going back!
This is the part where you start to tell your family, friends, and anyone who will listen?to your goals. The reason why this is important is to make the pain of failure greater. If you fail and no one knows, it doesn’t hurt as bad. You want to make the pain of failure as great as possible, which will make the commitment to your goal even stronger.
Action
Are you ready to pilot your own plane? Write your goals, write your contingencies and then come back here and tell them to the world!
Click to read the final part of the?Millionaire Series Part 1-The WHY.
Tags: Goal Setting, Goals, Lifestyle, millionaire series, Planning
Categories: Debt Freedom, Finances, Goal Setting, Goals
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