How many times have you said that you want to change jobs? Too often? How many steps have you taken to achieve that goal? Hardly any?

Well my friend, you won’t get that dream job by simply wishing it. You need to take concrete steps to land your dream job and following is a guide to help you out.

Find a role model.

Do you know of anyone who’s already doing what you want to do? This is not to steal his/her job but to learn from what that person has done to achieve his/her goals. For instance, if you want to enter into, say, public speaking, which public speaker do you admire the most?

Read up on his biography and how he came to be a public speaker. If he lives in the same city, get in touch. If he’s offering a course, take it. If he’s on a live speaking engagement, try to attend the event.

To get nearer to your goal, see what others who are already there have done and emulate their steps.

Further your studies.

Sometimes, the dream job we want has nothing to do at all with our previous education and our current jobs so it may be necessary to go back to school and further your studies. Investing in yourself is GOOD. However, if money is a concern, then turn to the Internet. There are plenty of great materials online that you can use to further your craft that cost much less than attending school.

Further your ‘presence’.

It’s important that you work on how to present yourself stronger to other people. This is not about increasing the volume of your voice when you speak but rather how to get your message across firmer, faster,  and more effectively to others.

For instance, are you a very shy person? Join a local group to train yourself in various social situations. Not born with a high ‘fashion sense’? See what others in your dream job are wearing and slowly change your dress sense. Got very bad teeth? Invest in yourself and have them fixed.

Network.

Even if you’re not ready yet for the dream job you want, work the NETWORK scene. You never really know who you’ll be meeting and how that person can bring you so much closer to your dream job.

Don’t let anyone stop you.

Sadly, oftentimes, the people around us are the ones that erode our self-confidence into achieving our dreams. Well, this time, turn a deaf ear to anyone who tries to contradict your goals.

If you really want that dream job bad enough and you work on getting it, you will achieve it. Period.

Image credits: SXC.hu

Hi folks, 2010 is coming upon us and a lot of people are… relieved. Relieved because 2009 was such a tough year for almost everybody. But you know what? Instead of fearing 2010 and what other catastrophe it may bring, why not contradict all the negative energy and focus instead on making 2010 your year of tremendous achievement.

So how do you go about doing that? Here are a couple of tips.

Make Someday… TODAY.

Oftentimes, procrastination gets the best of us and we delay our own success. It seems that everything else is a priority… apart from your own success and what will make you really happy. So change the way you think. No more ’someday… maybe’, but more ‘yes! now! today!’.

What do You Really Want… and Be Specific About It!

Sit down and ask yourself what you really want to happen in 2010. Keep in mind that ACHIEVEMENT takes many shapes and forms and you really need to ask yourself what would really make you happy. For example, maybe your initial thought for success is to be promoted at work. But would that make you really happy? Is that going to be better than say… pursing being a chef? or losing weight? or moving to a better city?

Only you know what would make you really happy and that should be your goal. So when making your list of target achievements for 2010, don’t focus on just material stuff or prestige. Focus on long-term happiness.

Break Down Your Goals into Certain Milestones and Practice ‘Back Scheduling’

Now let’s say one of your main goals for 2010 is to get back to how your weight was 5 years ago. That won’t happen if you don’t kick your ass to eating healtheir and exercising more starting January!

If you’re overweight by 10 kilos (22 pounds) and a healthy way to lose weight is to lose a pound a week, then you need 22 weeks or 5.5 months to get into shape. We’re talking January to June already here my friend. So by the end of January you should have lost 2 kilos, February, another 2 kilos and so on.

So do you see how I broke that goal into measurable and reasonable milestones? Apply the same technique to whatever goal you have in mind. Rememebr, small steps lead to the bigger ones.

Track Progress.

It’s important to write down your goals, the steps to achieve them… and how you’re doing in real-life. Why? Because it helps keep you on your toes! Every achievement spurs the next one. And if you’re lagging behind certain goals, then it’s time to give yourself a pep talk and get right back on track!

So what if  2009 was not so hot? What’s important is what you make of 2010.

Good luck!

Image: Gregory Szarkiewicz / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here’s a tough topic for the Holidays (or for anytime time of the year for that matter), how do you stay motivated with your diet and/or fitness regimen?

It’s so hard isn’t? All that great-tasting, but calorie laden, food so easily available everywhere you go. It’s soooo easy to just give in and try again to eat and live healthier tomorrow! So what do you do if you’re facing one of those ‘evil days’ where you want to fall off your eating and exercise routine? Read on and find out!

Picture your ‘good looking self’ in your head.

We are easily motivated by RESULTS. So by picturing how good you’ll look wearing those new tighter, sexier clothes, it helps to keep yourself in check with your diet. you can try buying new clothes even if they don’t fit you yet as a way to motivate yourself.

You can also paste a picture of yourself on the refrigerator door so that the next time you’re tempted to open it and take a slice of cake or a chunk of cheese out of it, you’ll see yourself and think twice.

Some put a picture of themselves in their current weight semi-naked so that they are confronted by the weight. Others, however, prefer to put a picture of themselves during ‘fitter times’ because it re-affirms that they CAN do it. Hey, if you looked that great before you can look that great again, right?

Do NOT deprive yourself of anything.

‘Never’ and ‘forbidden’ are words that trigger the brain to ‘go ahead’! So instead of depriving yourself of, say, chocolate, moderate the amount you eat instead. In short, take a pieace but don’t finish off the whole bar. This way, you don’t crave the food item even more.

The 20-minute rule.

The brain takes about 20 minutes to register if you’re full so before you dive into that second serving, give yourself some time. Even if you end up taking a second serving, chances are you will NOT get as much as you would have 20 minutes earlier.

Apply the 20-minute rule too if you have cravings. For instance, want some potato chips? Get a piece of FRUIT first and eat it. Still want the chips after 20 minutes? Then go and open the bag and get a FEW chips. (Moderation, not deprivation, remember?)

A lot of people try to eat a lot of OTHER things to get rid of a bad craving… only to give in in the end. If you do this, then yes, you’ve piled on double the calories. So try to stave off the craving as a first attempt. If it doesn’t work and 20 minutes has passed an you still want it, then go for it… moderately.

Exercise: just do it!

A healthy lifestyle is not just about diet or exercise alone. They really do go hand-in-hand. A lot of times, you won’t feel like exercising at all. But you know what? JUST DO IT. Why? Because 9 out of 10 times, you’ll reach the end of your exercise regimen feeling GREAT. Think of it this way: instead of spending time, thoughts, and energy on preventing yourself from going to the gym or jogging outside, just get on with it already!

Try not to entertain any other thought than getting out of that door. The reward is that you’ll go back through it feeling much better… and more than a few calories lighter. Good luck!

Goal setting is not new to everyone. Everyone has a goal no matter how big or small the goal is. Whether goals are formulated systematically or just out of the blue, they are still goals. Some may be short term and others long term. But have you ever used goal setting worksheets? Do you have any idea what they are and how to use them or where to get them?

Overview of Goal Setting Worksheets

Goal setting worksheets are basically forms where you put your goals into writing. There are a variety of such worksheets out there and each may be suited for one type of person better than the next.

On the other hand, many people actually start with a blank paper. They simply formulate their goals there and write all the relevant details without following a strict format. Nevertheless, they achieve their aim to put their goals into paper.

Why You Need Goal Setting Worksheets

While some people may think writing objectives in goal setting worksheets is a waste of time, it actually does a lot to help you achieve your goals. For one, writing down your goals makes them official, so it somehow strengthens your resolve to achieve them.

Having your goals in writing can also help you stay focused. It will prevent you from taking random steps that can only waste your time and take the accomplishment of your goal even longer.

How to Use Your Goal Setting Worksheets

Goal setting worksheets generally begin with your targets or objectives, of course. But for your goals to be achieved, they have to be developed effectively. For instance, while you may have so many goals, you may have to limit them according to priority. Otherwise, you may get overwhelmed by their number and end up losing sight of how to achieve each goal instead.

It is important to have a positive attitude in everything you do, and so you should express your goals in a positive manner as well. It is also important to be precise when expressing your goals so you will know if and when you achieve them. One way to do this is to express your goals in quantifiable terms. This will make it easier for you to evaluate if you have indeed achieved it or not.

In between expressing your goals and evaluating your accomplishment, however, you will have to indicate WHEN you want to accomplish your goals. You cannot simply express an ongoing goal unless it is long term. But then, there should be a time element there so you know if you are on track or not. You may have to divide long term goals into shorter ones for this purpose.

More importantly, you have to enumerate the steps you need to take in order to achieve your goals. This is important so you will remain focused on every goal and your efforts will not go astray in the process. You won’t have to waste any more time formulating later on what to do since everything is planned out already. While certain circumstances may lead you to adjust your goals a little or adjust your steps a bit, the main idea really is to have direction in your career and in your life as a whole. Only then can you achieve your potential.

Good luck!

Almost all top motivational and personal development coaches teach about the power of goal setting. Does it work? Absolutely.

Here is the great Zig Ziglar on goal setting: