Malcolm has just released a new video on YouTube.
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Why is it that the beginning of the year always feels electrical with the excitement of *this year* being the one where you achieve all of your most important goals? Like most people, starting on New Year's, I spend time thinking about my goals, write many of them down, and start taking action. While I am happy with the progress I've made in the past, I've had the feeling that many of my goals seem to lose momentum after a few months. Starting a couple months ago I began researching how I could effectively be reminded about my goals on a daily basis, but not be overwhelmed by tons of information or underwhelmed by boring goals written on a piece of paper.
My research has paid off. I've leveraged my interest in information visualization, organization, and mind maps to create a unique approach to goal setting, and I want to share this technique with you. The entire process of getting your goals into the mind map takes 4 steps:
Overview
Step 1 - Find Your Purpose and Passion
Step 2 - Create Your Vision
Step 3 - Download the Mind Map Template and Install Mind Mapping Software
Step 4 - Write Down Your Goals
The mind map template I've created serves two purposes:
1. Give a quick overview - All of your goals can be easily printed and viewed on a single 8 1/2 X 11 piece of paper. Goals are organized by a particular area of your life (Physical, Financial, Relationship) and allows you to be reminded to keep a healthy balance. And, all goals have visual markers to show their priority in relationship to each other.
2. Save detailed information - Since the mind map will also be saved on your computer, you can add much greater detail than the printed version. This detail includes specific information for how you will achieve your goal (who, what, when, where, and why). And, also allows you to write down your longer-term goals, and even keep a personal journal.
The Internet and Blogosphere is literally filled with thousands of e-books, articles, blogs, and websites with tons of information on how to set goals. I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel for this article, so I'm just going to give some pointers to some of the more useful resources I've found. OK, so let's get started.
Step 1 - Find Your Purpose and Passion
Many people (my past self included) usually start setting their goals, and don't spend a lot of time figuring out who they are, and if these are the things they really want. It's like the analogy of making progress climbing the ladder, but only finding out that your ladder was up against the wrong wall the whole time. The point of finding your purpose is to locate the one thing that your absolutely passionate about in life, and then realign all of your activities and goals to that purpose. Here are some great links:
Steve Pavlina - How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes
Curt Rosengren (Passion Catalyst) - The Occupational Adventure Guide
Personal Development Ideas blog - Discover Your True Self
Once you've uncovered your true purpose and passion, you should be feeling a lot clearer about the direction you want to take. Let's take it one step further and create your vision. You're vision is the long-term plan for what you *really* want in your life. Visualization is key, and there are some fantastic techniques you can use.
- Visualization
Instigator Blog - Achieve Your Goals With 3 Types of Visualization
- Written Vision Statements
Radical Mutual-Improvement - Write your ideal scene
- Vision Collages (Treasure Map)
Curt Rosengren (Passion Catalyst) - Treasure map
- Video Vision Statements
I've started blogging about this recently. Malcolm Cohan has created a fabulous way to make your own video vision statement. I'd highly recommend this!
Malcolm Cohan's Website
Eric Blue - Vision Statement: The Power of Goal Visualization
Eric Blue - My Personal Vision Statement
Step 3 - Download the Mind Map Template and Install Mind Mapping Software
I used MindManager to create the mind map template, however I can recommend some other (and free) mind map applications.
Mindjet MindManager 6 (Free 5-day Trial/Commercial)
ConceptDraw MindMap (Free 30-day Trial/Commercial)
IMindMap (Free 30-day Trial/Commercial)
Now you're ready to download the goal mind map template:
Online Preview
Online Preview Using MindMap Viewer (flash)Downloads
[Right-click and select Save Link As]
Goals Mind Map Template (.mmap)
(63KB, Mindjet MindManager format)
FreeMind (.mm)
(24KB, MM format)
Goals Mind Map Template (.xml)
(246KB, XML format - can be imported to other programs)
Screenshots
Step 4 - Write Down Your Goals
OK, this is it, the moment you've been waiting for! Fire up your mind mapping software, and load the template you just downloaded. To make your goal mind map most effective, I'd recommend setting a few guidelines when settings goals:
1. Balance in your life is important. I've created 8 major areas for categorizing your goals, ordered from right-left: (1) Physical/Health, (2) Career, (3) Contribution, (4) Finances, (5) Rest/Play/Hobbies, (6) Relationships, (7) Mental/Emotional, (8) Spiritual. These are not set in stone, so feel free to rename or modify these categories.
2. Try not to have more than 5 goals per each area.
3. S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Based) guidelines should be followed
*Who: Who is involved?
*What: What do I want to accomplish?
*When: Establish a time frame.
*Where: Identify a location.
*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.4. Assign each goal a priority within each respective area.
1 = Most Important: Critical!
2 = Desired
3 = Nice to Have5. Focus is on short-term goals, but long-term goals are listed to keep perspective. Write down 3 year, 5 year, and lifetime goals.
6. Emphasize between 1-3 Top goals for the year. These take precedence over all others.
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Malcolm Cohan, an audacious visionary, has decided to take his vision statement seminars abroad and will be coming to the United States soon. For those of you who haven't yet heard about Malcolm, or his vision statement movement, check out this article I wrote a few months ago.
Malcolm's first stop will be in Los Angeles in a couple weeks, and then he'll be moving on to Chicago, Miami, London, and back to New York. Here's a link to the latest seminar schedule and info:
VISION Statement 2007 Seminar Schedule
AND
What happens at a VISION Statement seminar?
In the meantime, checkout one of Malcolm's latest videos and his vision for humanity.
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Last month I posted about a new Internet phenomenon created by Malcolm Cohan. Malcolm's idea is for people to create their own personal video vision statement. I signed up for an online seminar that was held on New Year's day. The purpose of this seminar was to show you how to create your own video.
For the last few weeks, I've been slowly adding photos and modifying my statements. Today, I added a fantastic version of U2's song "Where The Streets Have No Name" by Joel Cage. Joel's acoustic version is really amazing. This song has always been inspiring to me, and I think it really helps bring a lot of meaning to my vision statement.
The video is ready now and available on YouTube.
Here is the direct video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMFZkAV8NRI
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I just finished reading a great article title The Ten Part Mental Fitness Program. In this article, the author Kelly Huston provides 10 tips for improving your way of thinking and approach to personal development.
1. Think About the Future
2. Create a Five-Year Vision
3. Take a Test Every Day
4. Think About Your Goals
5. Commit to Excellence
6. Focus on Results
7. Concentrate on Solutions
8. Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning
9. Retire Ten Years Early
10. Do It Now!
I'd highly recommend reading this article!
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I just finished reading an awesome post and discussion on Brian's Blog on Zaadz. Brian posted a link to Dan Millman's thoughts on The Secret. I'd like to first comment on Dan's article, then on the comments that followed on Brian's blog.
Dan Millman, author of numerous self-help books such as Way of the Peaceful Warrior, recently provided a refreshing perspective on the uber cool DVD The Secret. His overall feedback on the The Secret was positive, but he offers some (I believe) well deserved constructive criticism on some of the magical thinking that surrounds the Law of Attraction and Manifestation. In a nutshell, wishful thinking by itself is not enough. There needs to be real action behind thoughts, desires, and wishes. Dan ended his post with a truly great, and applicable, quote from Henry David Thoreau:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. Now put foundations under them.”
I briefly alluded to this on my recent post on Malcolm's Cohen's excellent Vision Statement meme that is hopefully going to get mass attention. Effective visualization brings about 3 key things:
1. Clarification - Know what you *really* want to do.
2. Focus - Repetition helps you narrow in on exactly what you need to do.
3. Passion - Adding emotion to your goals gives you the passion and energy to make things happen.
There were also a number of great comments on both Brian and Dan's blogs. A few in particular really stuck out at me. The first (which inspired the title of this post) was from Nancy Shuford:
"Action + Visualizing = Actualizing"
What a great formula! And, Obi (Uberman) pointed out James Ray's formula that he discussed on Larry King.
"You've gotta go 3-for-3!""... Your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions all need to be firing simultaneously in alignment."
Definitely something to "think" about. ;)
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Update: I've created my own vision statement, and posted here.
I found an amazing video this evening on MindHacks.org. A gentleman from Australia named Malcolm Cohan has put together a fantastic production titled "Think It So" that illustrates the power of goal visualization. You can visit his website here. Or, his YouTube page here.
His visualization technique, called a Vision Statement, is a twist on traditional affirmations and goal setting. In a nutshell, rather than using a paper-based goal visualization technique like a Treasure Map, or a Goal Collage, he has taken a high-tech approach and opted to create a slideshow/video of inspiring photographs, with music and captions that focus on what you want to achieve. Check out the video.....
Malcom is conducting an online seminar in Jan/Feb with step-by-step instructions for how to create your own Vision Statement. I'm definitely looking forward to this. I think this is going to be a powerful tool, and can see this gaining an enormous amount of momentum. I'm not sure if this is specific to my personal experience, or if these topics are becoming more mainstream, but there might be a new trend forming here.
Over the last year, I've had a couple recurring themes popping up in my research and day to day experiences. One major theme has been the Law of Attraction and Manifestation. Last year (in fact almost a year ago today) my wife's aunt gave me her copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill.
Shortly after reading this book, I started to dig back into success literature and some personal development websites. I was lucky to come across Steve Pavlina's excellent blog and found a pivoting article on the Law of Attraction. Shortly after reading this, I discovered The Secret DVD and finally got around to watching it last week. It's definitely an amazing piece of work, and hopefully will make many more people aware of how much they can affect their own reality.
Overall, I'd say the concept behind the Law of Attraction and Manifestation are intriguing. Regardless of one's personal belief in the possibility of esoteric metaphysical phenomenon that help shape our reality, I think there is real power in intentionality. In the case of the Vision Statement, I think this technique above all helps to:
1) Bring Clarification - the shear act of producing a vision statement (or treasure map/goal collage) will help people better figure out what they really want to accomplish in life. I'd recommend reading Steve Pavlina's numerous posts on finding your purpose and setting goals. It's probably safe to assume that 90% of the population is not willing to spend the time doing this exercise. This means that you are going to be much more prepared to recognize and act on opportunity when it presents itself.
2) Reinforce Focus - if you truly intend to be serious about watching your Vision Statement everyday when you wake up and before you go to bed, then this type of repetition is going to dramatically affect your focus and attention. In a sense, repetition of something used in a positive context, is going to help raise your level of consciousness. Learning to focus daily on your goals and what you want to achieve is going to help filter out (or significantly lessen) obstacles to your goals. These obstacles can be negative/repetitive thoughts, negative situations or relationships, spending time working on the wrong things (e.g. things that won't significantly help propel you to your goals). Short-term hurdles won't stop you from reaching your long-term goals.
3) Magnify Passion - one thing I've read and experienced numerous times is that you can visualize all day long, but if there is no emotion/energy/passion behind your goal then not much is going to happen. I believe that the critical detail in getting an effective Vision Statement is to pick your images, music, and affirmation text carefully. Whatever the goal or desired outcome, it needs to hold a lot of meaning for the person. And, it should bring about an intense feeling (intellectually and emotionally) when viewed. Coupled with repetition, this type of experience can really help motivate people to achieve their goals and stick with them even when motivation is naturally lowered (due to time and mood), or when different opportunities present themselves.
Naturally, wishful thinking by itself isn't going to be very effective. However, if you create an inspiring vision, energize it, and be consistent, then this is going to dramatically improve your mental focus and ability to acheive what you want. I think this, by itself, is going to really help a lot of people. Of course, factors like environment (physical and social), skill, knowledge, and determination are other tools that will ultimately help your chances with getting what you want in your reality.
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The guys at 37 Signals have posted a great article on the topic of Flow. I first heard about Flow in the mid-nineties and have always kept this book (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience) on my ever growing read/wish list. After reading this article I think it's about time I start digging into this book (I need to deprioritize the other 290+ books on my list!).
Although I haven't yet read the book, I understand what Flow is about since I've been fortunate to have experienced it on a somewhat frequent basis. Having had a music and software development background, on many occasions I've experienced (a sometimes magical) feeling of completely being in the moment, where time seems to melt away, and whatever I'm currently working on (work is a strong word) just seems to all click. I think this feeling of Effortless Effort is the main reason why I enjoy what I do for a living.
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Since my last post, The Ebb and Flow of Goals and Personal Growth, I've been digging deeper into the complex subject of change. I read a great post yesterday at The Practice of Leadership blog, titled The structures and tensions required to make change. George Ambler reviews 3 models/formulas dealing with change: The Paradigm Shift model, Structure Determines Behavior, and Structural Tensions. Based on this article, I definitely plan on expanding my research to include the authors of the books mentioned: Richard Beckhard and Robert Fritz.
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I had a bit of an epiphany today, and thought I would share. But first, a little background....
Background
Nearly 10 years ago I was at a crossroad. At that time I had some very tough decisions to make and had to seriously evaluate whether or not I should further my education or focus full-time on my career. In retrospect it's quite possible that I could have attempted to balance both. But I had a high degree of passion towards furthering my career and felt that focusing and directing my energy was the best choice.
I'm satisfied with the decision I made. Shortly afterwards I ended up starting my own consulting business and ran it successfully for 2 years. Since then I've pursued quite a few other opportunities in the wireless and ISP sector and have been happy with my progress and the status I've attained. I've been responsible for designing and building technology solutions that have ultimately been used by millions of subscribers, have developed numerous software applications, and have been fortunate to have developed a product that has seen the light of day on the shelves of Best Buy, Staples, and Circuit City.
Now that I can look back in retrospect, the one catalyst that brought about the most change for me in '96 was starting to systematically set goals and start asking some tough questions. At the time, the specific formula that made this happen was the Personal Power II course from Tony Robbins. After taking this course I was really able to step back, take a 50,000 foot view of my life, and start setting some direction and real goals. Regardless of opinions on various techniques like NLP or NAC, I think the real value in courses like these is not only the emotional charge and excitement you get, but more importantly the emphasis on asking questions. After I got really clear on my goals in areas such as finance, relationships, and career I saw really immediate and significant gains.
I was recently looking through my success journal, which is the personal log/diary you keep while going through the Personal Power course. It was a great feeling to go through my lists of challenges, ideas, dreams, and goals and to see the progress I've made. In some cases I significantly exceeded my initial goals and expectations. In other areas I've made slower, but notable and gradual improvement. And, in others I'm still facing some of the same challenges. So goes the story of human development and learning. I now have the distinct feeling (more of a knowing) that I've reached a plateau and am ready to take things to the next level.
At this point in my life I have significant interest in a few diverse and possibly opposing areas: Technology, Business, Philosophy, and many aspects of Human Potential . I feel I've reached sort of a fork in the road and need to decide how I will focus (or maybe this time divide) my research and energy. In the last couple weeks I've started really thinking hard about my future plans, and have dove back into success literature with a specific interest in goal setting/visualization and time management.
I think my perspective has matured a bit in the last 10 years since I now have some "real world experience" and over time have digested volumes of literature related to success, personal development, and time management: Tony Robbins, Steven Covey, Wayne Dyer, David Allen, Brian Tracy, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and countless others. Over the next couple months I plan on investing some serious time and thought into my new goals and plans for the next 5 to 10 years. I feel that I'm on the verge of another break through in thinking and will be excited to share any discoveries and tips that I find along the way.
Different Ways To Look at Goals and Change
In the past couple years I've had a real interest in information visualization: Mind Mapping, Decision Trees, Clouds, or anything visually-oriented that helps people view data in new and interesting ways. I started thinking about how this applies to personal growth, change, and goals. In the past I usually thought of progress and change as linear over time, followed by a potentially lengthy plateau, and then followed by more linear changes and plateaus. It turns out that this view is a bit too simplistic and there are other ways to visualize progress.
The S-Curve of Success
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URL: http://itotd.com/articles/318/the-s-curve/
The S-Curve (the classic learning curve) is used to model and represent growth and progress for many different phenomenon. There are distinct phases for innovation (early stage), growth (middle stage), and maturity (final stage). When applied to success you can see the analogy between the initial excitement and application of new ideas, the accelerated growth, and the eventual plateau that is reached. |
Goals as Waves
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URL: http://www.grahamenglish.net/blog/graham-english/your-goals-as-waveform/
It turns out that using the characteristics of waveforms as an analogy for intentionality, goals, and energy is a very interesting and useful tool. Intentionality has characteristics such as frequency, wavelength, and amplitude. And, the applications of those intentions as goals has distinct phases: Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release. |
The Physics of Progress
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URL: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/4705.html
While this article is geared towards project planning and software development, many of the principles apply to learning and progress in general. Physics topics such as acceleration (enthusiasm) and velocity (momentum) are taken into consideration when modeling progress for projects in various phases (inception, elaboration, construction, and transition). |
The Satir Change Model
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URL: http://www.stevenmsmith.com/articles/satir_change_model.htm
The Satir Model is a 5-stage change model. Unlike the other models listed, this model does not have an immediate positive affect (or incline) or progress right after the change catalyst is introduced. There is more of a personal, human, or emotional response to the desire for change (usually driven by some external force). These stages include the Status Quo, Resistance, Chaos, Integration, and the New Status Quo. |
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