read it and write down thing to implement SECRET
Develop a
Clear Sense
of Direction
A person with a clear purpose will make
progress on even the roughest road.
A person with no purpose will make no
progress on even the smoothest road.
—THOMAS CARLYLE
TAKE YOUR DREAMS out of the air and crystallize them into
clear, specific written goals. Perhaps the greatest discovery in
human history is that “You become what you think about most
of the time.” The two factors that, more than anything else,
determine what happens to you in life are what you think
about and how you think about it most of the time.
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The 2 1 S u cce s s S e c re t s o f S e l f - M a d e M i
l l i o n a i re s Successful people think about their goals
most of the time. As a result, they are continually moving
toward their goals, and their goals are continually moving
toward them. Whatever you think about most of the time
grows and increases in your life. If you are thinking about,
talking about, and visualizing your goals, you tend to accomplish
far, far more than the average person, who is usually thinking
and talking about his or her worries and problems most of the
time.
Here is a simple seven-step formula for setting and achieving
goals that you can use to become a millionaire:
First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life,
especially in your financial life. Most people never do this.
Second, write down your goals clearly and specifi-cally.
Something amazing happens between your head and your
hand when you put your goals in writing.
Third, set a deadline for each goal. Set subdead-lines if a goal
is big enough. Give yourself a target to aim at.
Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you will
have to do to achieve each goal. As you think of new ideas,
add them to your list until it is complete.
Fifth, organize your list into a plan of action. Determine what
you are going to do first and what you
D e ve l o p a C l e a r S e n s e o f D i re c t i o n 11
will do later. Decide what is more important and what is less
important.
Sixth, take action on your plan immediately. It is amazing how
many splendid goals and plans are never realized because of
procrastination and delay.
Seventh, and perhaps most important, do something every day
that moves you at least one step closer to your most important
goal. This commitment to daily action will make you a big
success in anything you decide to accomplish.
Here is an exercise for you. Take a sheet of paper and write
the word “Goals” at the top of the page with today’s date.
Then, make a list of 10 goals that you would like to achieve
over the next 12 months. Write your goals in the present
tense, as though a year has passed and you have already
achieved them. Begin each goal with the word “I” to make it
personal to you.
By making out a list of 10 goals for yourself for the next year,
you will move yourself into an exclusive group consisting of
only 3 percent of adults in our society. The sad fact is that 97
percent of adults have never made a list of goals in their
entire lives.
Once you have your list of 10 goals, go over the list and ask
this key question: Which one goal on this list, if I were to
achieve it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?
Whatever your answer to that question, circle that goal and
make that your number one, most important
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The 2 1 S u cce s s S e c re t s o f S e l f - M a d e M i
l l i o n a i re s goal for the future. Set a deadline, make a
plan, take action on your plan, and do something every day
that moves you toward that goal.
From now on, think and talk about that goal all the time.
Think and talk about how you can achieve that goal. Think
and talk about all the different steps that you can take to
make that goal a reality. This exercise will stimulate your
creativity, increase your energy, and unlock more and more of
your potential.
◆
ACTION EXERCISE
Always think on paper. Sit down and
begin writing out your goals and creating your plan to
achieve them. This exercise alone can make you a self-made
millionaire.