Goal setting is a subject to be emphasized early in the development of a business career, and we can't emphasize it enough. We have formed the habit of setting goals daily, weekly, monthly, annually and for the next 10 years! We think you should, too.

A Personal Story from Bud Haney

I learned the power of goal setting early in my career when a mentor asked me to name something I really wanted. I told him I had always dreamed of owning a Cadillac. With his coaching, I learned how to turn my dream into something I could drive. I soon learned the motivational power of visualizing my goals.

I went to the Cadillac dealer's showroom and found a brochure with a picture of the exact model I wanted – a blue convertible. I cut out the picture and made copies, which I pasted in places where I would see them often every day: the bathroom mirror, the refrigerator door, the dashboard of my car and the cover of my appointment calendar. Then I began writing a step-by-step plan for reaching the goal. Looking at the pictures of "My Cadillac" deepened my desire and motivated me to sell harder. When a prospect told me, "I want to think about it," I was motivated to try one, two and three more closing questions. When I felt like quitting for the day, I would make a cold call. I prospected for people I could see on weekends or in the evening. My goal was constantly on my mind. It made me more focused on how I was using my time, and I carefully prioritized my daily tasks to make the most of every minute. I was driven by my desire to be driving "My Cadillac."

In less than a year, I returned to the dealership with cash in hand, and drove away in the car of my dreams. The experience made me a confirmed goal-setter. I learned a process I have repeated thousands of times to achieve other personal and business objectives.

Here is an interesting approach to the subject of goal setting. We present these ideas so you can use them to drive the car of your dreams and obtain all of the other goals important to you, too.

Is your life an antelope hunt or a chipmunk chase?

A former world leader once used an analogy wherein he regarded himself as a lion, the head of a pride, no less. And all of the issues he ever faced were either antelope or chipmunks. Even when a lion is dying of hunger, he won't give chase to any of the many smaller animals, like chipmunks, which gambol nearby, offering a quick and easy snack.

Why? Even if he made the effort and caught one, and there's always an outside chance he'd fail, it simply wouldn't satisfy him. However, even when weakened by hunger to the extent that he can hardly move, when an antelope shimmers into view miles away across open plains, the sight moves the lion to action. In spite of being so weakened that he knows a failed effort could be the end of him, the lion commits to the hunt. If there's even a slight chance of success, he'll give his all because success will fill his belly for weeks to come. The greater reward is worth his all, and so he begins the long process of focused effort which he clearly envisions will end in a successful kill.

A single-minded focus upon clearly defined antelope is what also characterizes most successful businesspeople.

Have you identified your antelope? Do you hunt them every day at the expense of less-satisfying chipmunks? Look out across your plans and spot your own antelope.

1. Think about your life or your business and write down what you'd like to achieve. Would you like to drive your company sales up to $10 million or a billion? Write a book? Hike through the Himalayas? On a single piece of paper, write down everything you'd ever like to achieve.

2. Identify the one item on your list you most want to achieve. This is your first antelope – shimmering in the heat of day, miles out on the plain of your life.

3. Focus on this first antelope. Build a clear picture of it in your mind. How will you feel when you catch it? How will it change your life? What will your loved ones say? Get a clear mental picture of exactly how the end of a successful hunt will feel. See it in full color, full detail. As you sight your first antelope and begin, the process of throwing your whole self into an all-or-nothing hunt, you are going to need the energy to keep you in the hunt, even when things become difficult. That energy is passion. Fuel your passion: review the mental picture you've built, and capture on paper all of the benefits you'll enjoy once you've run this beauty to ground. Describe every benefit in detail. The more benefits you record, the greater the passion you'll bring to the hunt.

4. If it were easy to catch an antelope, we'd all dine on venison daily! At least we'd enjoy the benefits of achieving major goals daily. Life simply isn't that easy, is it? Obstacles always seem to get in the way. So now write down every obstacle that comes to mind. What's going to stop you from bringing down your antelope? Work out precisely how you will deal with each obstacle. Form a clear strategy to deal with every pitfall you can predict. Doing so will enhance your confidence and vision.

5. Set clear deadlines in writing. Think about the various stages of a successful hunt. What must you do first? How much time will you need? What has to happen next and when will the next stage be complete? Work your way through all of the stages of a successful hunt. Your target deadline is the date at which the last stage of your hunt is complete.

6. Now do it again. Go back to your list and find more antelope, and work them down to the deadline stage. Don't separate out a whole herd. Simply find one or two prime candidates. Later, as you complete one hunt, you can replace it with a new one.

7. Finally, on an index card (or using the software program of your choice), note all of your antelope as succinctly as you can, including your deadlines. Once they're written, see if you can refine them – make them even sharper and more compelling. Keep this information in sight at all times. Read it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. As you start each day, ensure that you have scheduled some actions to take you closer to your antelope. No day should go by without moving you closer to one or all of them.

Don't allow yourself to get distracted by those easier-to-catch chipmunks. Always keep your focus on those more satisfying targets way out on the plains.