Go back and review your top priority dreams. Take a moment now and write out one of your short range goals in your notebook, as per the logbook outline at the end of this section.

Then do the same for a medium range goal and a long range goal.

Once you have it written out, review it to see if the goal is S.M.A.R.T. Remember, to be S.M.A.R.T. it must be specific (well defined or described) measurable, attainable, realistic, and trackable (to a specific date).

Be as specific and descriptive as possible. Understand or define the meaning of relevant word used. You want to create as clear a picture as you possibly can in as few words as possible. Clarity is what gives you 20/20 vision.

The next step is to add a completion date for each of your goals. Be the master of those dates, not the slave. Don't abandon your goals, just change the deadlines if you have to. Self-motivation and personal leadership include the ability to distinguish between defeat and setback. Write in a realistic deadline for each of your goals. You will lay out the milestones toward these dates later in your action plan.

The outcome is the result you want, expressed in detail. State your outcomes in positive, sensory-based terms: the sights, sounds, and feelings you want to experience. You have to bring in your senses and make it real. You have to see it, feel it, and hear the desired end result in your mind as if it has already been accomplished. You have to live your goal, your desired end result, in your mind, before you will ever realize it in life.

Place yourself at the date that you want your goal accomplished. In your mind, be at that date now and see, hear, and feel it accomplished. Can you clearly see the realization of that goal What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? Write them out.

The next task is to identify the obstacles that could stand in your way. What events or circumstances might make it difficult to reach your goal? How will you handle those roadblocks? It is better to identify them now and have alternate plans ready than to be caught by surprise. Be ready.

Take the time now to list all the obstacles that you might encounter. Once you have done this for each of your goals, go back and prepare your contingency plans. "If this happened, I would…". Be ready.

Based on the possible obstacles you have identified, what can you do in advance to prepare? If an obstacle caught you by surprise it could knock you down. If you have a contingency plan, you will stand tall and realize it as just a bump along the road to success. You implement your contingency plan and move on. You just saved yourself two steps in the process with : being knocked down, and the other getting back up.

Take the time now to identify some possible contingency plans for obstacles you identified earlier and write them out.

How, where, and when will you learn those skills necessary to achieve your goals? Behavior can be defined as the way you conduct yourself. Will you need to change your behavior in order to put your skills into action? Write them in your notebook.

In order to reach your ultimate goal, you must form a group of people with ambitions like your own, but differing in specialized knowledge. Together, the group can solve problems that no one person alone could solve.

You can accomplish only so much on your own. You can achieve much more by calling on the help of different people, groups, or resources. Regardless of your goal, you will attain it with much less difficulty if you ally yourself with others.

Some people create mastermind groups, others create an advisory board, others consult with their friends and families, while others benefit from being members of an association. It is through others that we sometimes get our best ideas. The best results come from an organized effort of two or more people working towards a definite outcome.

What individuals or groups of people could help you? What resources can you call on? List them now.

An action plan is a step-by-step outline of the tasks that lead to the achievement of a goal. Treat each action step as a sub-goal. What do you need to do to turn your goals into reality?

Establish a logical sequence of steps. Prioritize them and place a target date for accomplishment beside each activity. By dating each step along the way, you can monitor and measure your progress and reward yourself accordingly.

Acknowledge the events beyond your control upon which goal results depend. Identify the areas where you will co-ordinate your actions with other people, in order to get the support you need, when you need it.

Identifying the actions you need to take and the schedule for those actions makes all the difference between a wish and a realistic, achievable goal. The main objective is to set up your action plan in a way that guarantees you success. By this, I mean create an action plan that is full of little steps at a time so that you can experience success along the way. Too many people just identify gigantic steps, steps that turn out to be unrealistic or unachievable in the time frame allocated. They soon sense that they can't do it and then give up. Don't do that to yourself.

No matter how big the goal is, always take the time to break it down into daily behaviors. Take your big, long-term goal and break it down into years. Take this year and break it down into quarters. Take this quarter and break it down into months. Take this month and break it down into weeks. Take this week and break it down into days. What are your daily behaviors?

Take the time now to list all the necessary steps to accomplish each of your goals. Use extra paper if you need it. This is the most important stage in creating your goal logbook. Take the time to list everything that comes to mind. When you are done, review your list and identify the steps in order of priority. Spend a lot of time in this area before moving on. Identify everything right down to the little steps, and set yourself up for success.

Knowing how you're doing will motivate you to keep going. How will you monitor your behavior and measure your progress?

Think of some ways in which you can do this on an ongoing basis. Monitoring will allow you to recognize your progress and reward yourself accordingly. It will also warn you to take corrective action should you find you are not following your plan.

On day 29 you will be provided with a simple form of monitoring and measuring. But start to think about it now. How can you make sure you are on track? What sort of measurements can you take regularly? Note it in your notebook.

How are you going to reward yourself when you accomplish your goal? You deserve something besides the achievement of that goal. Visualize the rewards you'll give yourself.

Also, decide how you can reward yourself along the way. It will be easier to keep up the good work when you periodically reward yourself. What are the things you really enjoy?

Plan to treat yourself to some of these things after you complete each action step. This way you will practice discipline—doing what you have to do even when you don't want to—and accomplish your goals at the same time. Remember that action that gets rewarded gets repeated. What are your daily and weekly behaviors and rewards?

This is where you make a commitment to yourself. This is such an important step that I have dedicated tomorrow to it.

The goal logbook is as follows: