Comments on: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Big Goals Achievable

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:05:16 +0000

I’m with you– break it down.

I say chunk it and make a game of it– and you will get it done.

You’ve Got to Start Somewhere, So Chunk It! http://divorceddadfrugaldad.com/2009/02/03/youve-got-to-start-somewhere-so-chunk-it.aspx
Play Games, Get Things Done http://divorceddadfrugaldad.com/2009/01/10/play-games-get-things-done.aspx

By: TStrump

TStrump — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:04:32 +0000

I’m wondering if you can have too many goals?
I used to have something like 20 or 30 goals at any given time and I would carry them in my PDA for instant reference.
The problem was, nothing got done.
I’ve now paired them down to a few ‘priority’ goals and I focus on them first.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:13:38 +0000

Tammy, you should also go to Writers Weekly. I think you will find that if your content is worthy, Angela Hoy will help with publication.

By: tammy

tammy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:22:07 +0000

Ten years ago, I started writing a book about the music business. As time wore on, I realized I would never get it finished and if I did, and by some miracle found a publisher, that I would be most likely not of this world anymore! I decided to publish the tome as small booklets (20-40 pages)dealing with one or two subjects pertaining to music and business. The breaking of a huge project into managable pieces helped me write THREE booklets last year and now I have tons of material for more booklets in the future.
Sometimes, just trying to do ONE thing is better than not doing ANYTHING at all.
Clean ONE drawer – write ONE great paragraph-save pennies in a jar. The intention in the effort builds positive emotional energy!
LOVE this post and all the comments. I am so glad I found The Simple Dollar!

By: Cheryl Morris

Cheryl Morris — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:38:09 +0000

For Zelda who wants to start a veggie garden: There’s a great book called, “The New Victory Garden,” written by Bob Thomson. It might be available at your library or Barnes and Noble.
I bought it ($25) many years ago. It gives a wonderful step-by-step guide to growing vegetables. I used this when I started my garden and it answers all your questions and details when to plant, how to prepare, etc. the land for different vegetables. It was my Bible and well worth the cost, if you have to buy it. I had never done any vegetable gardening before, and it was just great!
From Cheryl

By: Sharon

Sharon — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:32:20 +0000

Trent, I have a couple of additional resources for your fiction writing ambitions.
1. go to your library and look at the back issues of Writers Digest. They have a wealth of articles on the how-to’s of fiction writing. You might even want to invest in a subscription.

2. Go to Writers Weekly, an on-line newsletter by Angela Hoy. She has contests for short stories and lots of information on the business of publishing, as well as a section warning about scam artists in the field.

By: Michelle | When I Grow Up

Michelle | When I Grow Up — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:52:08 +0000

I just wanted to share a link to a post I wrote on CHUTZPAH Goals, since it relates directly to figuring out what your big goal looks like. Here’s the short version:

C is for Celebration.
H is for Honesty.
U is for Unique.
T is for Timely.
Z is for Zest.
P is for Precise.
A is for Assessable.
H is for Honor.

Yeah, I know, it’s a lot of steps – but I promise if you clarify each step it’ll make accomplishing that goal a lot clearer, easier, and funner! (I know funner isn’t a word, but it’s funner than “more fun”). You can find the post here:
http://is.gd/gB7Z

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:52:48 +0000

This was a very good article. For some reason I can tackle financial goals with ease, but other goals, such as decluttering and organizing my house, seem too overwhelming and get pushed off. Now that I feel like I’m drowning in clutter, I know I’ve got to do something about it, but I wasn’t sure where to start b/c it seemed to be so far out of hand. Thanks for putting things into perspective and reminding me it can be done! :o)

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:41:06 +0000

I agree, especially with the point about starting a blog about your goal! Blogs are a great way to capture and share your ideas and helps keep you accountable (to a degree) throughout your progress.

By: Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:39:45 +0000

Trent, Great post. The one thing I’d consider adding, which has been particularly effective for me in both financial and financial life matters, is the power of visualization. Whether it be seeing your foul shot go in before you release the ball or imagining the feeling of knowing you have money in your emergency fund to pay an unexpected bill, picturing your success dramatically increases the odds it will actually occur.

By: Beth @ Smart Family Tips

Beth @ Smart Family Tips — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:21:01 +0000

Like other readers, I really like these tips. My husband and I have been talking about our savings goals, but we really need to break them down into specific items. An “emergency fund” is too broad for us. We need to get specific about what kinds of emergencies we’re expecting that fund to cover.
Thanks.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:20:07 +0000

Insightful post, Trent. :-)

As they say, the toughest part is in the starting. Your sharing on Figure Out the First Step hits the nail on the head.

Btw, I don’t read nor write fiction. But I realize I’m telling “stories” somehow in my blog. Those are accounts from our travels though.

All the best for your dream penning the novel! Thanks for inspiring!

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:53:18 +0000

Small things are generally so much easier to surmount, so when there is a collection of these things which add up to a larger whole, then the little things really do seem large!

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:44:44 +0000

Like the others, I agree that this is well written. I agree with Breanne. Working backward is how I usually determine the steps to follow.

With my goal to start blogging, I thought about it and thought about it for a long time and about the type of material I would blog about. Finally, I set a wrote down a date. I worked on getting the site ready for a while. Then the day of my goal came. I decided I didn’t like the design at all found something new and dove in with the plan to write at least one post a week. I’m still slowly getting the blog design the way I want it and slowly developing Flash pieces for the posts but I’m glad to have started. I am at least making progress.

The micro goals are an important key.

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:50:06 +0000

Reading this article really got me excited. I am excited that you wrote so well on this subject. It seems many times we accept the fact that we start something only to never follow through. Why? We should never accept that as normal! I have been writing about just this sort of thing and it was great to read your approach to it. Great job! I’ll definitely recommend this article to others I know. Keep ‘em coming!

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:20:06 +0000

I loved this article Trent. I’m great at seeing the big picture, but terrible at breaking things down in to action tasks. I’m starting a business in six months. This article gave me great inspiration to sit down tomorrow and break the process into small chunks with due dates.

By: DB Cooper

DB Cooper — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:18:23 +0000

As a coach, I strongly advocate S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely (or Tangible)

Check out the website at http://www.topachievement.com/smart.html

Really, I believe these are the only goals worth striving for. General, vague, unmeasurable, unrealistic, open-ended, intangible goals cannot really be realized, which leads the athlete (or anyone else) feeling like a failure.

By: Joy

Joy — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:54:28 +0000

Excellent post! Zelda might begin her gardening project by contacting her local state University Extension Office. They usually have loads of excellent how to information, as well as advice on growing seasons and what will do well in the particular area.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:47:36 +0000

I have to agree with this article. In the past we have always set the goal to save more. It didn’t really happen. This year we set 3 goals. Save $3000 for a new roof, save $2000 for a beach vacation and save $10,000 for a new car. We are well on our way to meeting these goals. Roof – done. Beach – 1/2 way there. Car – 1/4 way there. Not only did we set specific goals, but we made a list of exactly how we were going to reach them. It worked!

By: Young Cash Cow

Young Cash Cow — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:43:49 +0000

Great post. My wife and I made a list of dreams and goals when we got married. We go over this list once every few months to evaluate where we are in life. We’ll check off ones that we’ve achieved and add new ones we have thought of. Reviewing it every so often keeps the goals and dreams fresh in our mind and excited to one day check them off. Recently we checked off “See a Wild Whale Breach.” If we hadn’t created the goal, we wouldn’t have spent countless hours on both the Oregon and Alaskan coastlines making sure our dream came true!