============================================== "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 9, January 2005 ============================================== Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a bi-monthly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "Strive to Thrive in 2005!" 2. Office Happenings (Inclusion in an upcoming resume book) 3. Helpful Resources (More great websites for job seekers) 4. Favorite Quotes Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. Enjoy ... ========================= Strive to Thrive in 2005! ========================= As we say goodbye to 2004 and welcome the arrival of 2005, many of us are embracing the opportunity to set new goals and pursue our dreams. We're excited by our resolution to once and for all lose that weight, start that business, discover that new career, get that new job, change those nasty habits, or spend more time with family and friends. We look ahead and ask ourselves what we want to accomplish and what changes we want to make this year. We relish the opportunity to chart a new course and set some new goals. But what if you're like many people who've set goals in the past, only to be disappointed at how little progress you've made in achieving them? Every self-help book published stresses the importance of setting goals. If you want to be successful, set goals. Write them down... keep them simple... make them achievable. So you do that, and yet six months later, you're surprised at how little action you've taken. You started out with a bang, only to have your motivation fizzle. You wonder what happens... why is it you set goals with such vigor, only to lose momentum shortly out of the starting gate? If you're determined to make 2005 a life-changing year for you and your career/business, take a moment to put your goals to the following test. Answer these questions honestly and you will discover which goals are so compelling and so motivating that you are propelled into action... both today and for the longterm... and guaranteed to achieve success. 1. Do I really, really want this goal? It may sound nice, it may be something I should have or might enjoy, but do I really, deep down in my soul want it? Or not? An old Welsh Proverb says, "The hand will not reach for what the heart does not long for." 2. Why do I want this goal? What will this goal give me that I'm not currently getting in my life? Having many compelling reasons for why you want to achieve a goal will drive you more powerfully than anything else. "I want to be a doctor because I want to save a child's life" will motivate you to stay up all night and study far more than "Being a doctor seems like a good career." 3. How, specifically, will I benefit from achieving this goal? Being clear and specific about the benefits that will come from completing our goals is a powerful motivator. "Losing weight and exercising will help me live to see my grandchildren" is very different than "If I do this, my spouse will stop nagging me." 4. Is this goal consistent with my values? Or is it in conflict? Often, there's a subtle, unnoticed conflict between our stated goals and our values. For instance, the goal of becoming Top Sales Person of the Year may conflict with our core value of spending more time with family. Conflicts with our values can soon cause our enthusiasm to fade. 5. Is this goal consistent with my beliefs about myself and my abilities? The years of training and total commitment to winning an Olympic medal are only possible if the athlete truly believes they have the potential to succeed. Doubts about our abilities or what's "possible", or a belief that we don't deserve or can't achieve a goal will undermine performance every time. 6. What is the cost of not achieving this goal? What is the cost to my health? My relationships? My family? What pain will I feel and what will I miss out on if I don't achieve this goal this year? 7. Who else wants me to attain my goal? Knowing that family, friends, business partners, a coach, or the entire world is cheering for us, counting on us and supporting us is critically important and can keep us motivated. Who else knows about and wants you to achieve your goals? 8. What one critical step can I take today that will move me towards my goal? Some goals are so large or so far off that they seem like mere dreams or fantasies. A more motivating goal is one you can work on today. Make a phone call, sign up for a small business course, take a walk, tell your spouse you love them - whatever your goal, find a specific task you can do today, and then just repeat it a few thousand times! 9. Are there smaller projects that will both lead to my larger goal and give me pleasure in the meantime? If your goal is to run a marathon, train for a local fun-run first. If your goal is to start a new business, take a class on how to write a business plan at a local college. 10. Depending on your answers to the first 9 questions, the 10th question is: "Is there another goal, or another version of this goal, that is really much more important and much more doable?" If the first 9 questions haven't motivated you to take action and produce the results you desire, then ask this question and see if a more meaningful goal emerges. We all do our best at accomplishing our goals when we have compelling, motivating reasons for achieving them and when our goals are tailored to our values, priorities and personal situation. Rudyard Kipling, Nobel Prize winning author, once said, "If you do not get what you want, it is a sign that you did not seriously want it." Set your goals carefully this year, put them to the test of the above questions, and Strive to Thrive in 2005! ================= OFFICE HAPPENINGS ================= Once again I'm thrilled to announce that one of my resumes has been chosen for inclusion in an upcoming publication, "Expert Resumes for Military-To-Civilian Career Transitions." This book will have a selection of resumes written by professional resume writers for men and women seeking to transition from a career in the military to a career in the private sector. Look for it's release in late spring/early summer 2005. ================= HELPFUL RESOURCES ================= Below are some great websites for job seekers in a variety of fields: For civilian employment opportunities with the U.S. Army - http://www.cpol.army.mil For job opportunities for people over 50 - http://www.seniorhelpwanted.com http://www.retiredbrains.com http://www.seniorjobbank.com For openings in the insurance and financial services industry - http://www.IFSjobs.com For openings in social work and social services: http://www.socialservice.com http://gwbweb.wustl.edu/jobs/ =============== FAVORITE QUOTES =============== "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." -- Michael Jordan "A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." -- Harvey MacKay "If you care at all, you'll get some results. If you care enough, you'll get incredible results." -- Jim Rohn "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -- Thomas Edison Happy New Year everyone! In support of you, Jeanne ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me via this e-mail address. I will remove your name promptly.