Goal-Setting Strategies to Start the New Year Strong

If you want to succeed in business and in life, you need to set goals and then do everything in your power to achieve them. Here are some proven strategies to help you FOCUS and set SMART goals to start the new year strong.

FOCUS on Your Goals
To achieve what you want, it’s important to write clearly defined goals. Written goals have three powerful advantages:

1. They clarify what you want to achieve. Committing your goals to paper is a powerful way to get clear about what you want to achieve. Plus, the act of writing encodes it in your brain.

2. They create a mental picture to focus your energies. When you have a visual of what you want to achieve, you’re able to FOCUS: Follow One Course Until Success.

3. They unlock the power of the subconscious mind. When your goals are written down, the power of your subconscious mind is unlocked. You constantly think of how to get what you want, even while you sleep.

Get SMART
Often, we miss our goals because we lack motivation, we can’t see progress or we drift off course. To avoid this, we need to get SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound. By writing goals with these themes, you’re far more likely to achieve them.

Specific. Instead of writing a broad goal, such as “I want to make more money,” take the time to really drill down. What does “more money” mean to you? Are you trying to double your annual income, or do you want to close one extra transaction a month? Getting specific gives you a boost of powerful momentum.

Measurable. To know you’re headed in the right direction, it’s vital to consistently track and measure your progress. In the moment, it’s easy to feel discouraged or believe you’ve achieved very little. By tracking every activity and small win, you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come and what you need to do to keep moving forward.

Achievable. If you don’t have the right skills and tools to achieve your desired outcome, you’re setting yourself up for failure. As a new agent, a real estate training program like 100 Days to Greatness® is the perfect way to gain the skills you need to succeed in today’s competitive and challenging marketplace.

Realistic. When setting goals, be realistic. For example, it’s unlikely that you’ll make your fortune in your first year of business. However, if you’re consistent with your activities and you stay the course, you’ll be on track to meet every important milestone and achieve your dreams.

Time-Bound. Give yourself enough time to reach your goals. If you don’t, you’ll end up feeling disheartened and frustrated. Some goals take longer to achieve than others, so be patient.

SMART goal setting can transform your business and your life. Once you start setting goals, you’ll start reaching them, and your confidence will grow.

The more your confidence grows, the bigger the goals you’ll set and the greater your accomplishments will be. 100 Days to Greatness is specially designed to help you get on track to achieve your goals in your first 100 days in real estate. Find out more today.

Brian Buffini is the founder and chairman of Buffini & Company, the largest training and coaching company in North America. Based in Carlsbad, California, Buffini & Company has trained more than 3 million business professionals in 41 countries and has coached more than 25,000 business people.