We often live our lives day by day, not planning for the future or considering the after affections of our decisions and choices. What motivates us to make a positive impact on the world?  What will it take for us to look at the big picture of our lives and transform short-term decisions to long-term results? The true question is, what legacy would you like to leave behind?  How would you like to be remembered and are you on the path to achieving that? 

Let’s first uncover the challenges people face in creating a life purpose or goal. This could include the changes we make as we grow up. As we get older and wiser, our views and priorities change.  The career we once thought was perfect for us, is now a nightmare and rediscovery or re-educating ourselves to a new career is necessary.  Then family priorities change.  At one time we thought we’d get married by a certain age and then have kids by a certain age, and then suddenly we find ourselves single (no kids or spouse in sight) when we had already planned to be done having kids.  So, these variances between our plan and reality kick in. What now?  How much control do we really have? 

There’s no guarantee in life that everything will work out your way.  On the contrary, life will always challenge you and it’s your job to overcome and achieve.  So, in the big scheme of things, how do we create the legacy desired with all the unexpected variables?  Well, what do you have control over?  Starting out easy is the only way to put things into perspective and gain a hold of life.  If you want to be remembered as a generous person, when was the last time you helped a friend or gave to a cause?  If you want to be remembered as honest, have you lied or mislead anyone lately?  If you want to be remembered as an entrepreneur who employed 100’s of people, what is your big business idea and what’s the plan of attack to help get you there? 

Bottom line, we can live life day by day, make decisions for the moment, and not consider the repercussion of our actions.  However, before we know it, 20 or 30 years will go by and we’ll ask, “Where did the time go?”  Why put yourself in that position?  How rewarding would it be to create a legacy, know how you want to be remembered, and start living that life today?!?

Do you have a dream, a goal…something to achieve and work towards?  If not, what drives you to wake up in the morning? 

Having the desire to be someone, accomplish something, and leave behind a personal legacy all starts with setting personal and professional goals and setting out to achieve them.  Once that concept is understood, the question becomes: “How do I stay focused on accomplishing goals without losing sight of the purpose and not getting distracted by life’s struggles and constant changes?”  This is a very common concern and often negatively effects staying on track to achieve a goal.  Here are some suggestions:  

1.       What is the goal?  Focus on what motivated you to create this goal.  Is it a health concern, financial concern, or personal goal?  Be aware of the importance and positive changes that will occur when this goal is achieved.

2. Place a reminder around you.  Either cut out a picture of the ideal body you want, home you want to live in, or career you desire.  Whatever the goal, it’s important to see it on a consistent basis so it’s not forgotten.  Place it somewhere in your home or office where it’s visible; when you pass by the picture, visualize yourself already accomplishing that goal. Experience the feeling every time you see the picture.  In order to manifest your dreams and desires, you must believe that they can occur and see your life changed because of them.

3. Break down the goal so it’s measurable and achievable, so you can work towards it on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Set a reminder for yourself every month to track your success. You can easily create a spreadsheet to measure how far along you are.

4. Find an accountability partner whom you’ll share your progress with. Therefore, make sure this person is aware of your short term goals in order to achieve the ultimate long term goal. This way, your accountability partner can make sure you’re on track.

5. Have a backup plan in case you fall behind.  Are you willing to accelerate things one month to make up for a previous month’s shortcomings?  If so, make sure your accountability party is aware of how to motivate you.

6. Celebrate the small successes.  If you’ve worked hard for several weeks/months or accomplished half the goal, reward yourself!

7. Make sure to have fun; create a game out of it.  Track and share your progress, struggles, etc. with your accountability partner.  Allow your partner to support you and make suggestions.

8. Make sure to remember the reason you created the goal and visualize achieving it every time you loose focus or purpose.

9. Good luck and enjoy!!!