YOU 
        You are here to succeed. 
        Don't let anyone take that ability from  you. 
        Life isn't a job.  It's not an obligation. Life isn't a punishment. 
        Life IS a perspective. 
        If you believe you have nothing to live for...you don't. 
        If you believe you have everything to live for...you do. 
        Being numb is too easy.  You tightly shut your eyes and wander through your life doing what is expected of you, being ever so careful not to take any risks.  But you know your heart is starving.  You can feel it in the silence. 
        It's time to live up to your own expectations. 
        It's time to stop taking the easy way. 
        It's time to take YOUR way. 

GOALS 
        Setting goals will reawaken your life. 
 Suddenly you'll have a reason, a real reason to pop out of bed in the morning.  Goals also have a way of easing depression.  They also cure boredom. 
        "I feel like I have no direction," you've 
heard people say. 
        Setting goals will set you motion. 
        If being human means you have to face suffering from time to time, then the opposite of suffering is that state of bliss you feel when you know you are moving forward. 
        You can have that pleasure anytime.  You can have it all the time. 
        WHAT DO YOU WANT? 
        It's time to grab a shovel and dig out those dreams that have been out of sight for too long. 
        Take some time to answer the following seven questions.  Write your answers down on paper. Allow yourself to be free. Think about what you truly want, not what you think you should have: 

1.  What are the five things you value the most? 

2.  Time yourself.  In 30 seconds or less, write down your three most important goals. 

3.  What would you do if you won a $1 million? 

4.  If you found out you had only six months to live, what things would you do with your remaining time? 

5.  What have you always wanted to do but were afraid to attempt? 

6.  Look back at the past events in your life.  What situations brought you the greatest feeling of importance? 
When did you really feel good about yourself? 

7.  If you were granted one wish, what would you ask for? 

        Yes, they are common questions, but they can never be asked enough. 

        What do you want? What do you want to gain? 

HOLDING BACK 
        Which one of these fears is holding you back? 
-fear of failure 
-fear of success 
-fear of commitment 
-fear of change 
-fear of cost 
-fear that someone else will suffer because 
of your success 
        Move away from your fear by taking one graceful stride at a time, by setting daily goals you will achieve. 
        Success provokes success.  Prove to 
yourself that you don't need to be afraid. 

MAKE A LIST 
        Take another look at the answers to the seven questions you answered earlier.  You'll begin to see a pattern within your answers.  Each one is your vision.  You can make your visions succeed. 
        Make your list of goals both short-term and long-term. 
        Good goals: 
        -are chosen by you 
        -must challenge you 
        -must help you to grow 
        -should be positive 
        -should be kept to yourself, especially at the beginning of your quest 
        -should be beneficial to others 
        -SHOULD ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS 
        BE WRITTEN DOWN ON PAPER 
        Your goals will fit into three categories, to become, to do, to have.  Put your goals in order.  First you must become.  Then you must do. And then you must have. 
        For now, don't worry about how you will achieve your goals.  Instead, ask yourself why you want to achieve your goals.  A clear vision is a sharpened sword. 

        AIM HIGH 

SET YOUR GOAL 
        Write down your goal.  Be specific.  Add as many details as possible. 
        Begin your goal with the words... 
        "I am now in the process of..." 

SET A TARGET DATE 
        Give your goal a specific date.  Don't think of it as a deadline.  Approach it as a target, something to be aimed at, not dreaded. 

WRITE DOWN YOUR SKILLS 
        I read a million times that in order to bring a goal to realization you have to use your "natural skills". 
        What are your natural skills? 
        Recall a time when you lost track of time. You were focused.  You were living in the moment.  You didn't notice if it was afternoon or evening.  You didn't notice if you were hungry or tired. 
        What were you doing at that time? 
        That's one of your natural skills...write it down and think of more. 

WRITE DOWN THE NEW SKILLS 
YOU MAY NEED 
        Is there information you have to find?  Is there a class you have to take? Are there questions you need answered? 
        Write them down. 

WRITE DOWN YOUR PERCEIVED 
OBSTACLES 
        What is stopping you? 
        Write it down. 

MAKE A LIST OF THE PEOPLE YOU 
WANT TO INVOLVE 
        In the beginning your goal is a vulnerable seed.  You need to protect it from outside influence.  As your confidence builds and your passion strengthens 
you may choose to involve other people. 
        Write down their names. 

CREATE A PLAN OF ACTION 
        First, look at where you are right now.  Determine how close you are to achieving your goal today.  Over time, your plan of action will become longer and more detailed, but for now write down three things you can do within the next 48 hours to get things moving forward. 
        Write three things down right now. 

SELL YOURSELF THE GOAL 
        "So self," you whisper out loud, "why should I go through with this? What's in it for me?  What's the payoff if I put effort into this goal?" 
        Write down your answer. 
        If you want to achieve your goal, you have to be convinced that it's something you really want and something worth battling your fears over. 

        And finally... 
        VISUALIZE...VISUALIZE...VISUALIZE 
        Imagine the outcome of the goal as though it already exists.  Don't become fixated on the outcome though. 
A goal is nothing more than a process, a recipe for your life.  It's the actions you take to make it happen that makes all the difference. 

        NEVER GIVE UP!!! 
        Why??? 
        BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE 
        AND A GLOWING SPIRIT TO GAIN 

FINAL THOUGHTS 
        With beautiful honesty and passion, Linda, a MM subscriber wrote this: 

"I think often about goals.  My big picture goal is to be a part of acceptance,acceptance of all 
others, their feelings, visions and realities.I believe I can achieve this through communication, open honest communication that listens with understanding, that does not judge, that empathizes.  I also know the 
only one I can change is myself.  So if I behave as I believe, am open about who I am and accepting of others then I will effect change.I have finally, at almost 40, begun to know who I am.  I, for many years, did the socially correct thing, had a spouse, had children.  But now, I am learning the who that I was had been buried under my trying to live someone else's expectations." 
 
        I believe Linda has written what most of us feel. 
        Thank you for putting it into words Linda. 
 
Until next time...be well 

Forever always, 
Wendy