Goal Setting

What sets those people who achieve their goals apart from those who don’t? The clue is actually in the question – it’s having a goal.

“When people tell us that their business isn’t moving forward as fast as they would like it to or that they are frustrated with their progress, our question back is always ‘what are your goals for the next 12 months?’ We are astounded how often people reply that they do not have any goals, do not know how to set them or are afraid of failure.

Quite simply, successful goal setting is – in our opinion – the one thing that more than anything else turned our lives and our business around. It’s simply too important not to do it.

The best goal-setting exercise we have ever found is the one in Jim Rohn’s excellent book, 7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness. We had never set proper goals, but this book taught us how. It shows that the key is to make a long list of everything you aspire to – at least 50 things to start with.

What do I want to have?
What do I want to see?
Where do I want to go?
What would I like to share?
What do I want to do?
What do I want to be?

With these half-dozen queries in mind, answer the primary question: What do I want within the next one to ten years? Don’t try to be too detailed now, this will come later. If you want a grey Mercedes 380SL with blue interior, just write ‘380’ and move onto the next item.

After you have completed your list, write alongside each thing the number of years you want to achieve it in – one, three, five or ten. Then check your goals are in balance. Too many one year goals means that you are not thinking big enough, while too many ten year goals is probably a sign that you don’t want to get to work today!

The next step is to choose four goals from each timeframe and then write a detailed description of that goal, followed by a paragraph of what it will be like when you achieve it and why you want to. If you find you cannot do this for any particular goal, this indicates that it is not a true goal for you.

For More on goal setting go to How to set and achieve Goals

82% rise in insolvency cases in 2009

A similar rate of business closures is forecast for this year.

The new figures show that an average of four companies went out of business every day last year.


The data - compiled by Insolvencyjournal.ie - showed that the services and hospitalities sectors experienced over 400 insolvencies.

123 companies in manufacturing failed, while 58 businesses in the motor trade went bust.

O'Briens Sandwich shops and Budget Travel were among the high profile casualties.


More and more people are now turning to running businesses from home as a way to cut their expenses.