GOAL-SETTING STRATEGIES TO START THE NEW YEAR STRONG

If you want to succeed in business and in life, you need to set goals and then do everything in your power to achieve them. Here are some proven strategies to help you FOCUS and set SMART goals to start the new year strong.

FOCUS on Your Goals

To achieve what you want, it’s important to write clearly defined goals. Written goals have three powerful advantages:

1. They clarify what you want to achieve. Committing your goals to paper is a powerful way to get clear about what you want to achieve. Plus, the act of writing encodes it in your brain.

2. They create a mental picture to focus your energies. When you have a visual of what you want to achieve, you’re able to FOCUS: Follow One Course Until Success.

3. They unlock the power of the subconscious mind. When your goals are written down, the power of your subconscious mind is unlocked. You constantly think of how to get what you want, even while you sleep.

Get SMART

Often, we miss our goals because we lack motivation, we can’t see progress or we drift off course. To avoid this, we need to get SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound. By writing goals with these themes, you’re far more likely to achieve them.

Specific: Instead of writing a broad goal, such as “I want to make more money,” take the time to really drill down. What does “more money” mean to you? Are you trying to double your annual income, or do you want to close one extra transaction a month? Getting specific gives you a boost of powerful momentum.

Measurable: To know you’re headed in the right direction, it’s vital to consistently track and measure your progress. In the moment, it’s easy to feel discouraged or believe you’ve achieved very little. By tracking every activity and small win, you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come and what you need to do to keep moving forward.

Achievable: If you don’t have the right skills and tools to achieve your desired outcome, you’re setting yourself up for failure. As a new agent, a real estate training program like 100 Days to Greatness® is the perfect way to gain the skills you need to succeed in today’s competitive and challenging marketplace.

Realistic: When setting goals, be realistic. For example, it’s unlikely that you’ll make your fortune in your first year of business. However, if you’re consistent with your activities and you stay the course, you’ll be on track to meet every important milestone and achieve your dreams.

Time-Bound: Give yourself enough time to reach your goals. If you don’t, you’ll end up feeling disheartened and frustrated. Some goals take longer to achieve than others, so be patient.

SMART goal setting can transform your business and your life. Once you start setting goals, you’ll start reaching them, and your confidence will grow. The more your confidence grows, the bigger the goals you’ll set and the greater your accomplishments will be. 

10 Things to Give Up in Exchange for Happiness this 2022

I’m told happiness is a choice.

Unfortunately we complicate our lives to the point of being unable to recognize happiness when it appears before our eyes. So how to clear the slate? Here are 10 things you’ll need to give up in exchange for your happiness.

1. Give up caring what other people think of you:

I know it seems counter intuitive as we humans are primal pack animals that don’t want to be cast from the village; but spending time worrying what others think, is a waste of energy. You’ll never please everyone and it’s none of your business what others think of you.

2. Give up trying to please everyone:

 Unless you’re living life to the beat of your own drum, your tribe won’t be able to find you. Be the best version of YOU you can be, and you’ll naturally attract in the people that are supposed to surround you.

3. Give up participating in gossips:

 100% of the time, those sharing gossip with you will gossip about you. Believing gossip is like gambling everything on a horse sight unseen. It’s naive.

4. Quit worrying:

 Where thoughts go, energy flows. Worry is investing time and energy in something you don’t want to have happen. Learn to let go and trust.

5. Let go of insecurity:

 When we take ourselves too seriously, we think everyone else does too. There is one version of you on the planet. Be it, own it and quit worrying about it. No one really cares or watches you that closely.

6. Stop taking everything personally:

 Truth is, most people are too consumed with their own life to really consider what you’re doing. As my 1st boss said so well: “The world doesn’t revolve around you.” Most people’s reactions have nothing to do with you, so let it go.

7. Give up the past:

 We’ve all been hurt, we all had parents that made mistakes and we’ve all been through hell. You didn’t listen to your parents when you were younger, so why are you still listening to their voices in your head right now? Every experience in life has taught you something or made you stronger.

8. Give up spending money on what you don’t need in effort to buy happiness:

 Living simply allows the space for life to flow. We complicate our lives by spending too much money and filling our home with “things.” Less is truly more.

9. Give up anger:

 Anger burns a hole in the hand of the person still holding on to it. Move it out once and for all.

10. Give up control:

 Control is an illusion, as we live in an out of control world. Learn to embrace the new and welcome change; otherwise you’ll grow old through your own rigidity. Learn to let go.

THE 10 BASIC NEEDS IN MARRIAGE 

1. THE NEED TO BE MADE TO FEEL SPECIAL 

Marriage is an exclusive union one enters into with the promise of faithfulness. This means there will be an expectation for your spouse to make you feel special and as a priority above every other 

2. THE NEED FOR COMPANIONSHIP

No one leaves singlehood to enter into marriage to feel lonely. In marriage, the longing is to feel you have someone to talk to and spend time with. This is why communication is key in keeping the marriage warm 

3. THE NEED TO BE HEARD

In marriage, you want to do life with someone who listens, who considers your thoughts and views and will not suppress your voice or dominate every conversation

4. THE NEED TO FEEL RECHARGED

Marriage ought to be the place you go to for encouragement and rejuvenation. Your home should not be the place you dread going to, but the place you go after a long day and when life issues way you down to be consoled, cheered up and motivated

5. THE NEED FOR SUPPORT

In marriage, you expect to have a life partner, someone to do things with, solve problems with and who will support your dreams and goals

6. THE NEED TO FEEL SAFE 

Marriage should not be the place where you are intimidated, insulted at, ridiculed or attacked to the point you feel you have to watch your back. Marriage should be the refuge where you find shelter, the place you can rest your head safely, the place where you can relax and be yourself without feeling judged 

7. THE NEED TO FEEL OF VALUE

Marriage should be the place where you are put to good use, where you feel you are contributing something of use. It should be the place with someone who shows you they need you, someone who asks for your help, who notices and appreciates what you do for them 

8. THE NEED TO SEXUALLY PLEASED

Since you are expected to be faithful and no one else should have your body but your spouse, marriage ought to be the place where your sexual longings are met, the place to explore your sexuality and where you can request for sexual pleasure without being denied 

9. THE NEED TO BE TOUCHED

Your skin was meant to be touched. No one should discover the secrets of it but your spouse. Marriage should be the place where you get hugged, cuddled, massaged, caressed and your body played around with 

10. THE NEED TO BE CARED FOR

Marriage should be the place where you feel someone is looking out for you, someone cares about your feelings enough to apologize when they wrong you, someone serves you without asking and shows you compassion, someone wants to know how you truly are 

The more you take care of these 10 needs both of you have in marriage, the more fulfilling marriage will be 

REAL MEN LOVE YOU WITH THE REALEST OF ACTIONS, NOT THE FAKEST WORDS

When it comes to love, men have made it really difficult for us women to maintain our standards. If we have high standards—we are asking for too much. If we don’t have boundaries—we are too compliant. If we do nothing—we don’t know what we want.

But what about men?

Are their words simply enough to sweep us off of our feet? Do they think that we should be satisfied with their poor and uninventive treatment of us (in the majority of cases)? Your Words Mean Nothing Because Your Actions Showed The Truth

No. We definitely shouldn’t! And do you know why?

  Because real men love you with the realest of actions, not the fakest words. They don’t believe in just sweet nothings.

They roll up their sleeves and make their dreams a reality.

Real men don’t just say they want you to be theirs and then wait for you to jump into their arms. They roll up their sleeves and work hard to win you because you deserve to be chased. The only thing they believe in is their dreams and actions.

And you are their dream. Real men don’t treat you like something replaceable because they are afraid that they will never find someone like you. And they don’t make you wait. They appreciate every second spent with you. Real men don’t just say they love you. They make an effort to prove it to you with their actions.

Yup. The easiest thing a man can do is say he loves you and then do nothing about it, expecting you to believe him.

The easiest thing a man can do is repeat these three words for the rest of their life and even then they probably wouldn’t realize that their words mean nothing if they are not followed by actions.

Real men don’t do this. They don’t act like boys. They don’t say they love you and the next day turn their back on you. They are here. They are present and they want you to know that they will always be there for you when you need them.

They spoil you with sweet gestures because they want to make you feel special. They listen to you because they are interested in everything you have to say. They hug you and hold you in their arms instead of just saying that everything will be all right.

And they do so because they want to (not because you asked them to). They do so because they know a woman deserves to be treated like a delicate flower that they need to water if they don’t want it to wither. They do so because they appreciate her true beauty inside out and not just her appearance.

Real men shower you with the realest affection, not the fakest of promises. They don’t tell you that you are the one and then cheat on you for their selfish purposes. They don’t promise you a fairy tale if they are not sure of their feelings because real men don’t live in fairy tales. They know how they feel about you and they act accordingly.

They don’t expect you to fall head over heels for them after one date. They don’t expect you to believe anything they say if they don’t prove it to you with their actions. They don’t expect you to be something you’re not only to fit the definition of perfect. Real men don’t expect you to be perfect because they themselves know that they are far from that.

They don’t have a problem with you wearing baggy clothes because they know you feel comfy in them. They don’t have a problem with you being mad at them when they don’t give you the treatment you deserve.

They don’t have a problem with anything that makes you happy.

Your happiness is their priority.

When they fuck things up—they do everything for you to forgive them. When you’re feeling sad—they do everything to make you smile. When someone hurts you—they hurt them.

They don’t take your happiness for granted because seeing you smile is their priority. Real men don’t give up until they succeed in making you happy. They don’t give up fighting for what they believe in at the first obstacle they face.

They don’t give up fighting for love because they know that every beautiful thing requires efforts. They don’t give up on you. Real men feed you with true love, not the toxic kind.

They stick to their promises instead of breaking them. They watch the stars with you instead of buying you expensive gifts. They hold your hand when you’re scared.

They tell you they love you the way you are. Real men get rid of your insecurities instead of making you feel unworthy.

Real men love you with a pure heart and not a selfish one.