Today I visited a farm with my family.

They had goats, sheep, guineas, chickens, peacocks and turkeys to name a few. It was a relaxing tour. But it also reminded me about a time when things were simpler.

As someone born in Topeka, Kansas the farm is not alien to me. Although I never lived on one, some of my extended family members did. My grandfather’s neighbor grew potatoes and I’d often go help dig them to pass the time. I’d visit my other grandparents where we’d drive out to the farm and return with ‘bushels’ of corn, peaches and snap beans. Regrettably, I still don’t know what a bushel is.

But what is clear about the old way of farming is the work was clear. You shucked corn until every ear clean. You dug potatoes until there are none left to dig. There was time for thought and time for talk. And there were harsh consequences for farmers if they did not do their work.

Today’s work is not so clear – especially if you are working on yourself. Your arms won’t rot off in October because you didn’t harvest push ups today. You probably won’t starve to death in December because you forgot to plant the seeds of your small business in April.

That’s what makes getting ahead these days so persnickety. Consequences for inaction can take years to appear.

The solution is we must all work on our fortune telling skills. It’s not as hard or mystical as it sounds. We can use imagination and logic to see the result of not acting today, tomorrow and the next.

You don’t need a crystal ball to see what happens after 3 years of drinking a bottle of vodka each day. Nor do you need one to see what happens after 3 years of developing a profitable service that helps thousands of people.  Successful fortune telling means seeing the future and altering your behavior accordingly.

Leaders call this having a strong vision.

Persistence unlimited turns 4 years old today. It is almost hard to believe we’ve been on the internet for 4 years now..

Here is a link to the original post that kicked it all off. After that, there have been some good times and not so good. But it’s been an adventure either way! I really appreciate everyone who’s been reading for all these years.

Photo by Velo Steve

I got a question on twitter today about how to set a daily goal. It’s a good question. Some of my short-term growth goals are a month-long. So a daily goal is almost alien to me.

However the question reminded me having a daily goal is important.

I have gotten so accustomed to the way I handle my goals and tasks.  I tend to not think of a daily goal but a #1 priority task. So what I am getting at is that whether you call it a daily goal for a top-task isn’t important.   But choosing what you want to accomplish each day is critical.

How to Choose Your Daily Goal

I recommend picking your goal based on what you want in the future. If your goal is something big like to save up for a new house… okay.  There is a goal you can do today to make that happen.  Maybe your goal might be calling a realtor.  It might be talking to the bank.  Or it might be a half-dozen other things.

Like I said we can split hairs over whether we call it a #1 priority task or a daily goal.  Whatever you call it, your daily goal should be the most important thing you can do today to move the ball forward.

There’s an important distinction to be made between a daily goal or priority task and a half. We wouldn’t call working out necessarily a daily goal. Unless it was based on something such as I want to lose 50 pounds instead if you wanted to build your health you might call your daily goal actually a half developing the habit of exercise every day. I know this is confusing to some but I think it’s important to remember that if you’re going to be doing the same thing every day forever and ever amen, then what you’re talking about is developing a habit you’re not talking goals or tasks necessarily.

Tips to get Your Daily Goal Done

1. Start Early in the Morning – Early in the morning the emails haven’t started pouring in.  The demands on your attention haven’t landed.  In the morning you have freedom to pursue what you want.  If you don’t get started early, there is a risk you won’t.
2. Start the Hardest Part of the Daily Goal First – I hate to say it, but the thing you dread doing, the thing you are putting off is probably the most important thing!   A student doesn’t put off launching a web browser to do research – he puts off making flash cards for his study – because that’s harder.  Yet, it might be the most important task to do to pass the test.
3. Allow yourself flexibility – If you’re like me, you miscalculate how long it is going to take you to do something.  Here we have to be patient and carry your daily goal over to the next day.  So you accomplish it a day late.  So what?When I was building the first Pocket PC version of Achieve-IT! goal software, I set a goal to have it done in a year.  It took me 13 months.  So what?  I was a month late, but it still got done.  Had I beat myself up about it on the 12th month, it might have been longer…

Now it’s your turn

I’m sure many of you have comments about successful ways to knock out the daily goal. Why don’t you give your successful strategies in the comments?  Beginners might be having a tough time laying out their day in this way.  It could be confusing and it can be sort of anxiety building for some of us to narrow down what we should focus on.  Your comments will help.

And if you have a goal setting question, feel free to ask me on Twitter or by submitting it here. I really do appreciate questions about goal setting and productivity, so ask away!  You aren’t hurting my feelings. 

Image credit: svilen mushkatov

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein

Do you ever feel like you need a kick in the seat-of-the-pants?  A push in the right direction?  Perhaps you need a boost in morale or need some attitude adjustment.  Try giving yourself a self-development day.

Benefits of a self-development day

1. You almost program yourself for optimism

2. You feel better, refreshed and ready to seize the rest of the week

3. Side-advantage: You knock out some minor tasks you’ve been procrastinating

4. You’ll be more organized for the days and weeks to come.

The way I’ve done this in the past is I’ve picked one or two self-development/motivational audio programs that I would listen to nonstop for a whole day.  I put on some headphones and do some long-delayed cleaning and filing.  At the end of a day like this, I am feeling much more positive, more organized and a lot more energized about how I am going to deal the rest of the week.

So why does this work so well?

The simple reason is constant exposure.  If you have ever attended an all-day program sponsored by Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy or similar speaker, you probably felt pretty good about yourself and your future after the day was complete.  Constant exposure to new motivational ideas prevent the little negative thoughts (gremlins) from taking hold so easily.  For lack of a better word, it’s healthy brainwashing.

Best of all, this method is simple to do.  Just pick a day, and choose a few self-development audio programs.  Prepare some repetitive or routine work and get to listening.  Don’t stop until the end of the day!

Here are 8 tips:

1. Pick audio programs where you feel you’ll learn something or reinforce behaviors you want to preserve.

2. Make sure the day you choose is one where you can either be alone or where you can listen without people interrupting.

3. Choose titles that can get you moving in new and better directions.

4. Mentally approach your self-development day listening time with a sense that you will learn something.

5. Set aside a full day, where you can do stuff like clear your desk, your office closet, dust, file…choose simple tasks such as organizing so you can focus on the audio messages.

6. Also, keep the computer and radio OFF.  This is self-development day, not surf day.

7. It’s also not audio-book day, so don’t choose novels.

8. If you find yourself bored with the message, keep the tapes or CDs rolling.  If your mind drifts, let it drift.  Just keep it rolling.  It’s likely the next chapter will snag you.  If not, you are still getting something.

Some ideas for what to do while you listen can include filing and tossing out old papers.  Remove all the books from your bookcase, dust them and put them back.  Clean and arrange your desk drawers.  If you typically take a break, this time take a break and go for a walk.

A self-development day is an Investment in you.

This is pure YOU time, this is for your health and mental well-being.  You will surely get many ideas during this day and will probably feel a great sense of motivation and drive when the day is over.

Need some suggestions?

Here are some titles I’ve enjoyed over the years:

• The Psychology of Winning

• Lead the Field

• The Psychology of Achievement

• Your Secret Wealth

• The Art of Exceptional Living

• Conversation Power

Updated: Originally published May 8, 2006

This is the first in our new series The goal setting Diaries.  The Goal Setting Diaries is a group-think project similar to the sex diaries and the money diaries.  Real stories from real people who want to achieve a goal.  This is a diary from Carol, do you see any tips you can give her?  Post them in the comments below.  P.S. She was awarded a free copy of Achieve-IT! goal setting software for submitting her goal diary.  You can get the same if you submit yours and I post it on this site or in my newsletter read the FAQ for more information.

The goal: My goal is to lose 20 pounds. I started at 180 pounds and want to get down to 160 or below. I am 35 years old single woman.

Sunday

Started out well. Had a good breakfast of two boiled eggs and some toast and strawberry jam. In the past, I haven’t eaten breakfast a lot, but they say to eat it if you want to lose weight. Had a cheese sandwich for lunch, cleaned my kitchen. Got bored, popped some popcorn and watched TV. Eventually, guilted myself into going to the gym to work out. Had hamburger helper for dinner.

Monday

I hate Mondays. I had a bowl of Basic 4 cereal and after I finished, there was some milk left so I poured more cereal in the bowl. It was busy as hell as most Mondays are. Went to lunch with a friend from work. It was her turn to choose so we ended up at the Deli. I thought about having the salad. “Yawn” I had the burger instead with chips on the side. I didn’t have anything else to eat until dinner. I felt guilty for what I ate for lunch and wanted to be good. So I had a can of tuna and some Rice-A-Roni (not the whole box, thank you.) Watched Greys Anatomy on my DVR as I ate. I didn’t work out.

Tuesday

Woke up and hit the snooze button 3 times. It made me too late to make myself breakfast. Decided I’d stop at Starbucks and get something. Picked up a Grande Mocha Latte and saw Starbucks new Oatmeal advertised on the counter. It looked healthy, but too messy for the car. I went for a bagel instead.

At work, people kept stopping by my desk and interrupting me. At least it wasn’t Monday. Got shaky around 11A.M. from the caffeine. And I feel a little nauseous.

Went to lunch with friend again at the deli downstairs. Had an egg salad sandwich on Whole Wheat and a side of carrot sticks. (that’s healthy right?)

But a dumb co-worker brought in a cake for no reason. I couldn’t resist, so I had a big piece. Got tired at work and dragged myself home. Thought about going to the gym, but I was too tired. Took a nap.

Wednesday

Wednesday – I had a small bowl of Basic 4 cereal and coffee for breakfast. Work was an average Wednesday. A lot less busy than Monday or Tuesday.

I brought my lunch today and surfed the Net as I ate. Had Peanut Butter and Jelly on white bread and a bag of Lays light potato chips. Felt good about saving money and eating lighter than if I had gone out. Had some trail mix as an afternoon snack and talked to Tom (guy I met online.) We are going out Friday night.

For dinner all I had was two packages of Top Ramen noodles with green peas stirred in.

I was starving an hour later so ate a Chocolate marshmallow Cliff bar as a snack.

Thursday

Thursday – Skipped breakfast, with the exception of coffee. Started feeling sick around 10 so I ate some trail mix. It didn’t do much to calm my stomach. Started getting a headache.

Drove up to Subway and had a full Subway club for lunch with lettuce, tomato, onions, peppers, olives and light ranch dressing on white bread no chips and water to drink.

Didn’t go to gym today, but I started to feel guilty so I put on some sneakers and sweat pants and did some fast walking through the neighborhood (about 15 minutes). Back home did 30 situps while watching Entertainment Tonight.

Dinner, had 1/3 a box of spaghetti with Ragu sauce and 1 piece of white bread with butter. Felt full afterwards but during sitcoms, I ate 3 Chips Ahoy cookies (normally I’d eat 4) and 1/4 cup of 2% milk.

Friday

Woke up late again, but it’s Friday! Went to Starbucks and got a regular grande coffee and a scone. Lazy at work, I didn’t do much except surf the Internet. Went for Japanese with a group from work. Had the teriaki chicken with rice and vegetables. It was a lot of food. Took half of it to go for later.

Tonight is my big date with Tom. We went to Fridays and split an appetiser of potato skins. He’s a computer engineer and two years younger than me. I guess that makes me a cougar. I had the Chicken Ceasar salad and 1 glass of chardonnay. He bought dinner, even though I offered to pay for mine.

Afterwards, we went to see the Batman movie (I paid because I didn’t want to be obligated.) Great movie!

Tom and I will see each other again, so it’s been a good day!

Saturday

I slept through breakfast and woke up at 11. Had a lunch of a bagel with cream cheese and some orange juice. Popped some microwave popcorn for a snack at 2 and then went to the gym at 2:30.

I knew I’d be splurging for dinner so I wanted to offset it with gym time. Speed walked the treadmill for 20 minutes. Then did some weights for 10 minutes.

Tom called me around 4. We had a light conversation and decided to go out again next week. My turn to pick the place. I’ll probably call him tomorrow to set up.

Met my friends at Red Lobster for dinner. Had the Crab fettuccini which came with a salad. I ate the salad and 3 biscuits. I had 2 glasses of chardonnay to drink and a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

Felt sick afterwards.  Why do I do this to myself?

I thought it would be helpful for all of us to see first hand what life is like for others who are working toward their goals.  Some of you are experts at goal setting.  Some of you need help.  What better way to see your strengths and weaknesses than to capture a snapshot of your life?   From there, we can help you tune your methods so you reach your goal faster.

Why not rip a few pages out of your goal journal and send them our way?

I’ll anonymize and post a week’s worth (give or take) and we all can make suggestions based on what you are doing right and wrong.  — I will even throw in a bonus for your efforts.

Goal setting diaries FAQ:

Q: What are the Goal Setting Diaries?

A: The Goal Setting Diaries is a group-think project similar to the sex diaries and the money diaries.  Real stories from real people who want to achieve a goal.  I will post a week of journal entries about from a lucky reader’s goal journal (anonymously of course).  It will state their top goal and what they did for 1 week to achieve it.  You, the readers, will then be able to voice your advice about how they can more effectively reach said goal.

Q: How do I do a goal setting diary?

A: Simple, write down your main goal and then record your daily actions for 7 days.  Write down each day what you are doing to achieve or not achieve your main goal.  Then simply submit your goal diary using this link or you can email it to me at gmail.com bradisaac

Q: What are you going to do with my week long goal goal setting diary?

A: I will post your week long diary (without your name) for all of our readers here to review, pick apart and make suggestions. Should be fun and enlightening for everyone involved.

Q: What do I get out of the deal?

A: What?  You want more than awesome feedback on how to achieve your goal?  Well, ok I will give you a bonus.  If I use your goal setting diary on my blog and/or newsletter, I will send you a free copy of my Achieve-IT! goal management software to say thanks for participating.

So take out your goal journal (you do have a goal journal right?)  Just type up and send me a week’s worth of your journal entries.  If published you’ll get the advice and feedback and suggestions of this vast and competent goal setting audience.  Plus, I’ll throw in a free copy of Achieve-IT! goal setting software for free.

Q: What if I miss an episode of the goal setting diaries?  I would really hate to miss out.

A: You’ll never miss a diary if you subscribe to my RSS feed.  So subscribe now!

Here is my first application for iPhone.  It is a simple RSS widget that reads the headlines and full posts from my goal setting blog.  Hello world!
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I do not have an iPhone or an iPod touch — yet — so if you have either of these devices would you please, please download it and try it out?  I would like to know that it works as well on the real device as it does on the emulator.

So why iPhone?

Almost every day, someone asks me if I am going to start developing for iPhone.  For months, I have been thinking about how “great” it would be to do some programming on that platform.  However I am very strapped for time.  And I am not sure that taking on another project would be in anyone’s best interest right now.

Well, curiosity got the best of me.  This weekend and last, I spent a lot of time building a hackintosh so that I could install the iPhone SDK.  I wanted to see if I could develop on my existing hardware so that I would not have to go out and buy a new computer which would take up more space, use more electricity and require my tweaking and maintenance.

I also wanted to see what I was getting into with the iPhone SDK before I invested a lot of money into development.  So far, I am not disappointed.

Download goal setting tips for iPhone by pointing your iphone to this link:

http://persistenceunlimited.com/iphone/iPhoneGoals/index.html

I look forward to hearing from you iPhone and iPod touch users how you like the application.  Feel free to post your comments below or drop me an e-mail.

According to the book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, the authors Ori and Rom Brafman claim we all (yes you too) act irrationally at times.  Some of these actions cause more profound pain than others.  But overall, seeking to end irrational behavior is the goal – does the book Sway help end irrational decision making or does it simply chronicle different examples?

In 2000 I bought Cisco stock for, at the time, a low $56 per share.  It was my first chance to dip my big toe in the water of stock market investing.   Almost all analysts said it was a great investment – it had historically proven strong.  With the bonus incentive that Cisco had made many investors millionaires.

But then the Internet bubble burst and Cisco stock started dropping.  It went down to $50 a share.  Then dipped to $45.

I decided if it hit $40 I’d sell.  Well, it breezed right on past $40 to around $37 and I still didn’t sell because I wanted it to go back up to $40 and Then I would sell.  It never hit $40 again.  So I set a new figure.  If it hits $35 a share, then I’ll sell.  Sadly, I still didn’t sell.  I kept riding it out.  How far?  I’ll tell you in a minute.

But first, if you look at the behavior of riding out a dropping stock, you’ll notice it seems like irrational behavior, no?

So why would a seemingly rational person (me) make an irrational decision like ride out a falling stock for his first investment in the market?

Playing not to lose and losing anyway…

Irrational decision making by normal people is what Sway is all about.  After all, my Cisco investment experience went from a simple test of the market to losing my entire leg to the sharks of Wall Street.  And although I haven’t completed the book, the chapter about playing to lose is brilliant.  They call it the “Swamp of Commitment”.  I know that I must be careful with my commitments otherwise I’ll drown in that swamp.  It explains my behavior in my Cisco investment very well.

So why would I have continued such a mistake?  According to the authors Ori and Rom Brafman, in staying with my investment, I was chasing a loss.  Much like a gambler who sits at a blackjack table until the repo man takes his car, I went against everyone telling me to “Brad, for the love of God, get the F— out of CSCO!!”  I simply hoped to recover the money I had lost.  Sadly, I sold out in 2002 for approximately $16 a share.

Before you put on your best Fred Sanford impression and scream “You big dummy!”  I’ll note that playing to lose in this instance isn’t confined only to me or my actions.  It’s quite common.  

• A salesman who takes actions against his company’s best interest so he won’t lose a customer – instead of trying to win more customers. 
• A wife who says things she’ll regret later to her husband so she won’t lose an argument instead of playing to win by formulating a solution where both would win.
• A group of Harvard MBA students who traded $200 for a $20 bill instead of cutting losses at $10 and going home (example from the book.)

Loss Induced Stress

Losing what we have is stressful.  We not only experience a gap, we often have to deal with remorse of losing in the first place.  Friends question us about the loss.  For me, on each successive downturn of the stock, it made the loss greater, thus, the pressure to recover was even more intense.

This leaves me with a number of questions. First and foremost:  If we have a tendency to act irrationally at times in order to avoid loss and we know in hindsight that it’s not good for us, how can we tell ahead of time whether we are acting out of the irrational fear of loss or not?

For instance you know I am persistent, it’s the name of my blog!    I think sticking with things is one of the cornerstones of success. But how do you know what to stick with and what to drop? I am hoping Sway answers these questions for me.

Avoid Playing Not To Lose

Here are five of my ideas based on experience on how to avoid acting irrational out of fear of loss:

1.  Plan before major investments of time, money or energy - Considering an investment in hard earned money?  How about investing months of your life into a new project?  I think it’s crucial that there’ll be a plan in place. How long do you expect to stay in before the payoff happens?  What is an acceptable loss?  Be it time, money or energy, how much can you stand to lose in this investment?  

Example: A lot of people want to start a blog but they give up after the first month. That’s definitely not enough time. But what is enough time?

2.  Set a deadline for progress - Decide on how long you will stick with the investment for it to show a return and stick to it.  On the date of your deadline, take an accounting.  Are you showing the expected progress or is it more or less.  In investing money are you showing more money?  In the investment in a project, is the project close to completion?   

Example:  If you have started a blog and your 6 month deadline was up.  You would want to see the results of your dedication.  Do you see a profit in ad revenue or have you reached your goal 500 readers? Are you at least close to your intended results?

3.  Simply ask yourself if you are taking actions to avoid loss - This step will take some soul searching.  But here is a tip.  Think of all the times you have said “I have to do… or else____ will happen.”   If you are taking a compulsive action to avoid something from happening, you are likely playing to lose.  

Example:  We all have a “whipped” friend or two who jumps through seemingly crazy hoops to please their significant other.  We wonder how a guy can baby talk on the phone 5 times a day.  We wonder how a woman will put up with a cheating husband.  I am sure the thought “I have to do this or they will leave.” has crossed their minds.

4.   If it’s not working, consider restructure - if you created something like a blog for people who like jaywalking and you find that you have absolutely no readers. What else could you spin your idea into that would be successful? Perhaps a blog on walking for fitness would be more successful.  In my stock investing example, I could have traded Cisco stock when it hit the emergency level of $40 for something outside the technology sector.

5.   Give up gracefully and learn - At the end of your deadline, you may decide what you are doing is not working.  Also, there is no satisfactory way to restructure it.  Many business partnerships work this way.  One person wants out the other doesn’t.  One person does the bulk of the work, the other is a lazy jerk.  In the case where your deadline comes and you are showing no progress and it doesn’t appear progress in on the near horizon.  Give up gracefully.  

Giving up gracefully means not beating up on yourself or others.  It also means not giving up on yourself.  Take your loss in stride and learn from it.  While many people will stick with a long failing business because of the fear of loss, they never consider what they gain by letting it go.  They don’t consider the free time they’ll have to do other things.  They don’t consider the money they’ll recover since it’s no longer going into a bottomless pit.  They don’t consider the valuable knowledge that can come from failing at a business.  Only through failing can they know at a reflex level dozens of actions not to take in their next venture.

I’m sure you have some ideas on diagnosing irrational behavior and stopping it.  Please share your ideas in the comments.

For more articles about playing to win subscribe to my RSS Feed.   

Hi all… A quick note to let you know I’ve put together a new build of Achieve-IT! goal software for Windows computers.  Like Steve Austin, this version is better, stronger and faster than it’s been before.

I’ve spent a lot of time cleaning and polishing the little stuff so it looks better too.  (I’ll list out the changes later) But for the early adopters, you can download the installer here:

Achieve-IT! Desktop Release Candidate 3 (build 2.99.3138)

Unless I hear any bad news about this, this will be the final version of the Desktop app.  The sync component and Pocket PC update will soon follow.

So please take it for a spin and let me know how it does.

Download Achieve-IT! Desktop Release Candidate 3 (build 2.99.3138)

Update: For people who use European style date settings only: There is a file called A.I_Euro_dates.mdb in the Achieve it folder. Delete the A.I.mdb file and rename the A.I_Euro_dates.mdb to A.I.mdb. This should fix the registration problem.

I am excited to announce my new book 107 Goal Setting Breakthroughs – The Definitive Collection of Simple Ways to Turn your Dreams into Reality. I will be releasing it in limited commercial avenues. But my newsletter subscribers know how much I value you as readers!

Newsletter subscribers got it free.  I am also extending it to new subscribers to the newsletter as well to say Welcome aboard!

So if you aren’t yet a subscriber, what better time to get your free subscription?

Here are some of the comments from people who read it:

I think you may actually be a bit insane to produce such a massive list! – Mike King

The compilation of the list itself demonstrates the steady work to achieve a worthwhile goal! -Dick Hamblin

The (count them!) 107 suggestions that Brad gives here are sure to encourage you into action. – The University Blog

There are 3 simple ways to sign up for my newsletter:

1. Fill out the blue form at the upper right hand corner of the blog.
2. Fill out the form at the very bottom of this page
3. Send a blank email to [email protected]

100% Spam Free

Just make sure you verify your subscription so I can send you the book. I am committed to running a 100% spam free newsletter. Thus, I can’t send you the book or anything else if you don’t verify you want to get information from me.

I might eventually make it available to the RSS subscribers too. But I’m not sure the best way to distribute it at this time.

- Enjoy!