Many people are surprised to learn that the biggest factor that differentiates those who achieve their career goals and those who do not intelligence, personality or education. Rather, it is the extent to which they have ongoing, focused, support. Many people find that they are quite able to articulate their goals and codify a plan for pursuing them. But, they have difficulty staying on task. This is where having ongoing, regular, focused, support is crucial.
Focused support can take many forms.
It can entail gathering a group of friends together who are willing to make a commitment to meet on a weekly basis to provide support, monitor each other's progress and brainstorm solutions to the challenges that one encounters. The most effective groups meet at a regular time and place and have a procedure for ensuring that every group member has an opportunity to seek input from a group. In my experience leading these types of groups, I have found that the most effective ones are diverse with respect to age, background and Work-life goals. There can be advantages to putting together a group of people who did not know each other previously. For those who are less comfortable with the idea of setting up a group, another alternative is to join a professionally led Work-life group.