Since then I have done some analysis of my own goals and I am quite happy about my progress this year.

Some I am not so happy about and I’ll have to really get moving on them to make them happen in the time lines I have commited to.

But, I am pretty well on track for most of the goals I set at the beginning of 2010.

Some of them have fell behind and some of those I have to question as to whether I really want them or not.

I may just let them fall away as I am not finding them to be important enough for me to give the effort they would need to be fulfilled.

This is perfectly acceptable to me to let these goals go, because I am going after other bigger goals and I want to minimize any distractions.

In January, I usually set my goals for the year and then I plan to achieve them in 11 months instead of 12, so I wind down in December for holidays and rewards.

Once I set my goals for the new year I go after them with gusto and enjoy every bit of the journey.

This year I did the same.

But just as I have found out, remember that some goals you set, may not be achieved.

You have to decide whether to re-commit and re-apply yourself to them, or let them fall away because of another priority goal that may conflict.

Maintain momentum and focus on what is most important to you. You may even postpone going after one goal in order to get another.

Anyway, I wanted to share that thought and a quote and poem with you.

This particular quote has been hanging over my desk where I can ponder it often.

This quote often reminds me that everything is possible, I can have whatever I want as long as I decide to have it and work towards it.

. . . And as long as I don’t distract myself with other conflicting things that will dilute my creative powers.

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A good quote to remember . . .

William James of Harvard said, “If you would be rich . . . you will be rich. If you would be learned . . . you will be learned. If you would be good . . . you will be good.

But wish then for one thing exclusively, and don’t at the same time wish for a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.”

– William James

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And here’s that poem. It is a classic and you have probably read it before, but have you really internalized it?

Have you really taken it to heart?

My Wage
by J.B. Rittenhouse

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at the evening,
When I counted my scanty store.

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.

– J.B. Rittenhouse

How are you coming with your goals? What do you want to achieve this year? Have you written your goals out on paper?

Are you looking at them and reading them out every day, each morning, before you set out on your day’s plans.

Are they aligned so that each one helps build momentum and adds to the quality of your life?

Are there any goals you should let go because they conflict with more important goals?

See you next time. Go For It!

Practicing creativity processes, such as the mind mapping technique, have become more important than ever.

Why? Because the rules of the economy are changing.

Left-brain skills, such as logic and analytical thinking, once drove successful careers and businesses. In the modern economy, however, these have become necessary, but not sufficient competencies.

Creativity, innovation, and holistic thinking have become king.

Think about the companies that have changed the world in the last five years: Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook, to name a few. These companies have all harnessed creativity to revolutionize the way we conduct business and interact with each other.

The good news it that everyone can be creative. Creativity is not just for starving artists, creative geniuses, first-graders, and masters of innovation at Apple.

To tap into your own creative reserves, you just need to learn a few techniques and practice them.

Mind mapping is an easy, accessible, and highly effective technique for generating divergent thinking and getting your creative juices flowing.

Organizations and people around the world have used the mind mapping technique for many years to generate new ideas for plans, products, services, initiatives – and anything else needing creative thinking.

But, it’s not just for work. You could use it for anything requiring a little out-of-the-box thinking, and the more you use it the better you’ll get.

There are two major “muscles” you will develop.

1. Divergent thinking – the ability to generate many options and ideas.
2. Holistic understanding – the ability to see the relationships among these ideas and options.

These muscles will play larger roles in the economy of the future. More importantly, these muscles create opportunities for you to express yourself, grow, and create new possibilities for your life. Research also reveals a strong link between creative activities and happiness.

There are lots of mind-mapping sites on the internet and lots of complex software exists to help you out. In general, however, for most projects you can keep it simple.

Find a place where you can focus and get creative, and perhaps put on some music to help you relax and focus. Grab a blank sheet of paper and some markers and get started.

Identify your main idea at the center of the page, and then identify related ideas as branches coming off of it. Next, add some sub branches, and a few more sub branches. Some of the branches on your mind map will contain brilliant ideas; others may be crazy. Just try to get all your ideas out.

Once you’re done, step back and take a look. It will look like a big sprawling spider, but the relationships between the ideas will make sense to you.

And, keep practicing because you’re not just creating a mind-map. You’re building creativity muscles that will prepare you for the economy of the future and bring fulfillment in other areas of your life.

Adam Chalker

Adam Chalker is a certified personal coach with a Masters in Education and Human Development. His website, www.best-personal-growth-resources.com offers instructions on how to implement the mind mapping technique.

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iMindMap is your tool for everything you need for Mind Mapping. It’s the only software officially endorsed by Tony Buzan, the creator of Mind Mapping, and for good reason.

iMindMap is filled with tools and features so extensive that there is nothing else you will need anymore ever again.

Now you can make all kinds of notes in your Mind Map. Fancy Texts, audio files, audio attachments, video attachments, images, icons, Office files, links, it’s all a go!

Make your maps rich with content of all types so you never have to lose any detail from your thought process. It will help you visualize exactly what you wanted to.

iMindMap comes with features that help you optimize your workspace environment with amazing viewing capabilities so you can zoom in and out of any particular portion of the map, create sub maps, expand and collapse your workspace.

There are also visual tools available to take your creativity to the next level.

iMindMap is very flexible tool. It can be integrated with any of your other programs. You can import all kinds of files onto your map, be it document files, presentations, spreadsheets, images, etc.

And from all kinds of software too. iMindMap supports full integration with Microsoft Office, Open Office.org, SVG and OPML files.

iMindMap gives you seamless mapping experience by supporting Linking Capability that makes dragging and dropping easy. Its organic style of branch drawing gives you freedom to make the trees as you want them without even having to learn how to make them.

The Speed Mapping mode makes mapping on the go simple. For additional information, you can create box branches that can hold lots of information in a small and accessible space.

Don’t want to start from scratch?

iMindMap Ultimate Plus comes with over 75 templates for you to choose from and start out with.

iMindMap Ultimate Plus also comes with a book by Tony Buzan, creator of Mind Maps and Chris Griffith, CEO of Thinkbuzan.com on how you can maximize your business with iMindMap.

iMindMap is the best tool for all sorts of program planning. It comes with the ability to inegrate into any of your e-learning courses.

Now you can easily plan any e-learning course in all it’s depth with iMindMap. You can teach and draw with tablet compatibility of iMindMap and simultaneously share your map during presentation.

It makes the whole experience much deeper and more colorful!

The use of iMindMap has helped countless of successful people to expand their businesses, improve their studies and achieve their goals. Find out more about mind mapping software from the iMindMap review website now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Kendrick

Mind mapping is a technique that uses visual representation of a central idea that helps someone memorize and learn information in a very specialized way. The credit for introducing this technique to the world goes to Tony Buzan. Since that time, there have been so many interpretations on how to properly mind map.

So where do you begin? You start out with a blank piece of paper and you write down the main idea or concept on the center of the page. Most experts prefer that you use a colorful image to represent that idea, but you can still use words if you want to.

From here, you think of related ideas connected to the main idea. You then draw lines, arrows and even branches to connect the ideas together. Again, color is recommended when you draw these connections. This how it all begins and those are the 2 simple steps to follow.

How does it work? The simplest way of saying this is that it uses the whole brain instead of just the left or the right brain. Think of it this way, in school and at work we are often asked to review, study and even memorize lists and tables.

When we do this, we only engage the left side of our brain. Mind mapping uses both sides, thus increasing a person’s learning ability. The use of colors, lines and pictures allows the map to access the right side of the brain.

Does this work for everyone? Yes, if done correctly.

Here are some guidelines to remember to ensure you’re doing things correctly.

First, use only keywords and not whole sentences because this would only confuse yourself.

Second, make sure that the central idea is a strong and clear visual image. Remember that it should stand out because it needs to stand out on your mind.

Third, do not limit yourself when using colors. The more colors your map has, the more engaged the right brain is. Fourth step is: do not check or judge your work. Write down ideas as they come, draw images as you picture them and do not stop until there are no more ideas.

Lastly, leave lots of space. Even if you have run out of ideas in one session, you can always go back to your map to add more.

Are there other ways to mind map? Fortunately there are other ways. With the advent of technology, a lot of websites are offering software that will guide you and would even suggest ideas for you. Most of these software applications are very easy to use and the best part is they’re inexpensive and some of them are even free.

This has evolved so much in the last decade and it is fast becoming a mainstream learning tool for students and employees. A lot of businesses have benefited from this and schools are beginning to teach it too. So take advantage of it because others already have.

By simply clicking on the link below, I will give you my best reports totally for free on effective time management tips and secrets.

http://TimeManagementTutor.com

Ashton Dixon

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I’m a confessed mind map user and booster. For that I have to credit Tony Buzan who introduced me to mind maps in the mid 70′s with his book “Use Your Head”. It was one of those “Aha” moments in my life where I recognized that these tools could provide me with insights that I’d never considered before.

I believe that entrepreneurs who must come up with better business proposals and students writing essays and term papers will gain exceptional benefits from using them.

Why are mind maps so valuable for whatever you’re working on? I like to think of mind maps or mind mapping as organized brainstorming. Brainstorming is a very useful technique that I often employ. It works when you/and your team write down a list of ideas, facts, thoughts about an issue or topic, as quickly as possible within a given timeframe.

What mind mapping does is take those brainstorming ideas as they come up and place them into a pattern that’s very focused on that topic or issue.

So imagine, when you come up with each idea, each fact, every single piece of information and you then employ a mind map, every single item is allocated to a section or branch of that map.

What this does is give valuable relationships and interconnectedness that you may never have considered.

I can’t display mind maps in this article. I’m therefore giving you a couple of references to check them out. The first is Tony Buzan’s website at http://www.thinkbuzan.com/. The other is Phil Chambers’ Learning Technology Newsletter at http://www.learning-tech.co.uk/. (I have no connection with either of these sites.)

You physically see, or can determine, how one idea relates to another. In brainstorming many of these relationships are never evident or fail to show the possibilities that they can generate. Mind maps provide the cross-fertilization, the development of fresh ideas, so valuable in the creative process and for increased productivity.

They’re particularly valuable for entrepreneurs when faced with having to submit a winning business proposal. For students there’s no better way of coming up with a viable topic for their essay or term paper.

I make notes using mind map techniques. I can immediately put down on paper where the various points from an interview or lecture are connected and what they may mean. These map techniques link things together (I’m not talking hyperlinks here though there’s plenty of software available if you want to go that route.)

You discover things that you expected and things that you did not expect – and that’s the payoff. Use mind maps and you’ll find that your work becomes that much better.

Here’s the clincher though. It’s very important to try this stuff. Brainstorming is easy. Mind mapping takes practice and there are different ways to do it. It only makes your work better when you use it.

As a long time proponent of mind mapping and its impact on my work, I want others to get the same benefits as I do. So please, if you want to see some possibilities that you haven’t experienced before, try mind maps.

Neil Sawers develops books and e-books to help entrepreneurs, small business and students write more easily and effectively. For a detail presentation of the power of mind maps, entrepreneurs please download the Discovery Process section at http://www.how-to-write-proposals.com/proposal-chapter.html. If you’re a student, or you know a student in high school or first year college, download the following free chapter at http://www.how-to-write-proposals.com/tensteps.html. These are powerful tools. Please use them.

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Are you still setting goals?

Are you still motivated to stretch yourself for the second half of this year?

It’s still game time. Stay In The Game!

Persistence is key, even when you think all is lost, persist.

(Well, if you are on your goals schedule and you are one who is achieving all your goals, then disregard all the previous stuff, GRINS!)

But if not . . . there is still time to get all the goals you want for this year.

Have you ever noticed that with the beginning of each season there seems to be a push for people to make improvements in their lives? Just before the end of the year and then when the New Year arrives most people talk about making new years resolutions.

When spring comes people talk about wanting to shed a few pounds to fit into summer apparel.

In the fall people discuss that they are going to plan for holiday time better and at the holiday’s people make promises to make more of an effort to stay in touch with family members and friends.

Usually within a few weeks of making a statement about changing our ways we are back to our old routine. If this is you, then . . .

Here are a few actions that you can take to help you achieve your biggest goals for the rest of this year.

Write down the goal that you want to work on. By writing the goal down you are making more of a commitment to work on this area of your life. Writing things down is critical.

Write down your goals every morning until they become part of your day.

If you seriously want to achieve your goals, then discuss them with the important people in your life. By sharing what you want to accomplish with others they can help keep you accountable by asking you what you are doing to achieve your goals.

Give your friends and family permission to remind you of your goals; what you have said you want to accomplish.

When you are working towards something it is often times easy to forget or overlook small steps that are made to achieve your goals. By keeping a journal of the steps that are taken to achieve your goals you can look back and see that you have been working on things, or you can look back and realize that you have not been making effort and that you need to put more time into what you want to accomplish.

Keep a journal of your daily actions and the goals you reached, to remind you of how far you have come.

The goals we set for ourselves are meant to better our lives and to increase our happiness. The journey towards goal achievement does not have to be paved with self denial and pain.

Make an effort to enjoy the steps made along the way.

Bask in the glory of making small improvements.

Things are not going to change over night. If a goal is worth writing down and talking about it is most likely going to take a while to achieve it.

So often people let their goals fall by the wayside because they feel defeated if they do not accomplish them immediately. When you are writing down the goals that you are working on also accept a reasonable time frame in which to complete them.

Do not make the time so long that you will procrastinate and do not make it so short that you are setting yourself up for failure.

Be realistic and take time to enjoy the journey to achieve your goals.

Remember it’s more important to happily achieve your goals then to achieve your goals to be happy . . .

See you next time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_McClure

Many people look to goal setting templates as a structure around which to base their planning. The good thing about these templates is that they enable you to organize your sometimes disjointed ideas.

However this can come at the cost of sacrificing a degree of imaginative and creative thinking. This article examines how mind maps can add a stimulating component to your goal setting.

The historical origins of mind mapping are debatable (see the wikipedia.org entry for background information) but it has become popular in the English-speaking world these past 30 years, partly as a result of the work of British psychologist Tony Buzan.

Mind mapping starts with a central topic word in the center of the page. As additional ideas are generated they are added to the map in the form of keywords that branch off into related areas, mainly through associative thinking.

For example, if I write the keyword “careers” in the middle of the page and allow my imagination free rein in coming up with connecting words and concepts, it’s very easy to generate a creative flow that links careers to corporate to overseas to expatriate to Asia to Singapore.

The important thing is to let the ideas start flowing in accordance with the the mapping guidelines of using single, connecting keywords in a nested branch structure.

As a flexible goal setting template, the use of mind maps has exciting potential to tap into ideas you may not have thought about when trying to actively create smart goals in a traditional linear note format.

Structure still exists with the mind map itself because the use of single keywords connected via branching lines directs the mind to see possible linkage relationships, particularly as additional words are added to the paper or screen.

Recently there has been an increase in the number of goal setting software packages on the market as people grapple with finding online tools to help keep track of the many important and related aspects of their careers and lives.

Unfortunately, most of these products inadvertently guide their users into inputting visions, mission statements, goals and objectives as chunks of linearly constructed data. There’s little scope for allowing the subconscious mind to contribute to the triggering of related ideas.

This is where mind mapping excels. Computer literate people have a number of mind mapping software tools to choose from, both commercial and open source.

Should you go with a software solution, I recommend that you confirm the program’s capability to export into standard linear format e.g. Microsoft Word – and also confirm its ability to import a word processing document into the mind map format.

The potential for combining the best of logical and analytical thinking with that of a more intuitively conceptual form of idea generation is a very powerful personal development tool.

Make use of it!

Need help with goal setting but can’t afford an excellent coach? Goal Setting Online Course

http://www.goalcreationmaps.com

Mark McClure is a certified career coach and solo business owner.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_McClure

Two quotes I ran across today made me wonder if I was doing all I could to reach my goals and enhance my future . . . and I decided that I could do more. I thought I would share them with you here.

Are you following all the success steps you can to get what you want? I mean really?

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“Do more than is required.

What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following?

The extra mile. “
– Gary Ryan Blair, Author and Motivational Speaker

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“The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor: the people you choose to connect with.

When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited.”
– Dan Sullivan: Speaker and coach to entrepreneurs

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Are you doing more than your job, business or relationship requires? Are you going the extra mile every day?

Are you associating with the people who are following the same path as you and may be a few steps ahead of you? Are you making the right connections to move you forward?

If you answered these questions in the negative then really think about this . . . are you really commited to doing whatever it takes?

Food for thought. Just think about it . . .

Al

How Do You Plan Goals?

When you are setting goals, you need to pay special attention to planning them. The planning phase of goal setting is easy for some people and more difficult for others. If you don’t plan well, you may not even have a goal to reach for.

There is no set way you should go about planning clear goals, but there are ways to make the planning phase easier and more effective. The following suggestions will help you set clear goals you can achieve:

1. What do you want? No matter how big or small your goal is, you need to know what you want to achieve. If financial success is your goal, what amount of money is enough? If you plan on losing weight, how much? You need to clearly picture your goal and what success would look like.

• Don’t rush this process. It is better to spend some time thinking about what you really want. There will be a lot of ideas in your head to go through but you have to make sure you set the right goals and take action to reach them.

2. Set specific goals. Your goals should have a lot of details and be very specific. You don’t want to say you want to be a better athlete. You should specify which sport you want to succeed at and what form that success is going to come in. An example is doing very well at cheerleading tryouts so you can be the captain of the team eventually. The more specific your goal is the easier it will be to set up a plan to reach it.

3. Put your goals in writing. You should write your goals and all your thoughts down either in a notebook or on a computer. Whatever system helps you record your goal and monitor your progress along the way and works for you is great. The only way to set clear goals is to see them in writing and visualize them.

4. Set up steps to reach your goals. If your goal is a big one, you will want to set up mini goals along the way to aim for. The more you break down a big goal, the easier it will be to work toward it. You will feel a sense of accomplishment with each success, which will keep you motivated.

5. Do what works. When you identify a system that helps you set clear goals, use it for all your goals and you will see great success.

• You can set personal goals like enjoying the company of your family more by coming up with specifics on how you can enjoy time with them and what sorts of things you can do together. You can record all these information and see how you are progressing.

Do It Now!

Often, people are afraid to set clear goals because they really fear success. It may sound crazy, but that is the truth. Sitting back and doing nothing is the safe and easy way to go through life but you will miss out on successes and rewarding experiences. When you are ready to set a clear goal, you have to be ready to act on the goal as well. Start now! Don’t wait because the sooner you start, the sooner you will succeed.

Barbora Knobova is an internationally published author, speaker, coach and radio host. She writes books for strong, bold, fearless ladies of all ages, who have a sense of humor and the courage to embrace their true self. On her edgy, funny and very feminine blog, she reports on Delicious Girl’s uproarious daily adventures with men, travels and shoes. Do you want to discover Barbora’s Delicious Books? Download three chapters of each book for free at http://www.barbora-knobova.com

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