Learn how having SMART goals can help you earn more…

Read any self-help book and you’ll discover that setting goals is a prerequisite to a happy, healthy and wealthy life. Not only do goals provide the necessary structure for success but - as acupuncturist Colin was to learn – they also make the journey through life far more exciting...

Colin was looking for inspiration. In his first year of trading as an acupuncturist he’d only just managed to keep his head above water. Knowing that he needed help, Colin decided to seek the services of a business coach, which is why he found himself sitting in my office on a cold, wet afternoon.

Colin listened carefully when I told him that there are three kinds of people – those who see opportunities and watch them go by; those who take opportunities and the smallest percentage of all: those who make opportunities.

If Colin wanted more for his business than mere survival, then it was up to him to create the success he was seeking.

Sadly, like many people starting up their own practices, Colin had hoped that his expertise would be sufficient to carry him through. However, he’d been faced with a rude awakening.

Working for yourself is about far more than having a specific skill set. Equally important are your abilities to market the business and create long-term client relationships. But first it’s important to get down to basics.

Colin – like so many therapists - had no clear goals in place. Instead he’d just been hoping that hard work would be enough. As we chatted, he began to see the importance of having a vision.

“After all,” I’d pointed out, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to know when you get there?”

Colin agreed to start work immediately on setting himself some personal and business goals. As he began to write on the notepad he’d brought with him, he admitted that in the past, he’d run his business reactively. While this had taught him a lot about crisis management - it had done little for his peace of mind!

He smiled when I reminded him of the old adage that “Failing to plan is tantamount to planning to fail.”

Goals are so important in every area of life - not just for material ambitions - because they provide a structure. Research has shown that people with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Ritten & Timed) goals are significantly more successful than those without goals.

For example, in an experiment more than 30 years ago, students at Harvard University were split into two groups – those with SMART goals (about 10%) and those without (the other 90%). When researchers questioned the students twenty years after their graduation, the 10% with goals were found to be worth – in financial terms – as much as the other 90% added together.

Hearing this, Colin was eager to start focusing on his own “bigger picture” – and in no time at all, he described his dream of where he wanted to be in ten years’ time. Initially, he felt that his aspirations were too grandiose, but I explained that by chunking down the big picture into more manageable goals, he had every chance of turning his dreams into reality.

With a clear picture of a successful future in mind, Colin’s next task was to create an action plan. By focusing on the gap between where he was now and where he wanted to be in ten years time, Colin could see what he needed to do.

Rather than using a mind map for the exercise, I suggested that Colin create a timeline mural for his office. The mural would graphically depict every action – and timeframe – needed to manifest his goals. Colin knew that seeing his own strategic mural everyday would keep him focused – and he left my office with a definite spring in his step.