I like goals, and especially new years resolutions.

I went back and reviewed some of my 2007 new years resolutions. Some I had accomplished (buying my first investment property and making it cash flow) and some are still in progress (sale of a business). But in all honesty, the majority of them I had not accomplished, primarily because they are no longer goals. I guess my goals change often.

Nevertheless, I think its awfully worthwhile to write your goals down (and far more often than once a year!). Here are a few tips on your 2008 resolutions:

• Write them down
  Goals in your head are no more than ideas. Writing them forces you to get all the details. (Yes, typing counts)
• Make them measurable
  Saying “I want to earn more” isn’t measurable. You can never know if you actually achieved it or not. Saying “I want to earn $76,500 in the year 2008″ is measurable.
• Don’t forget the how
  Careful what you wish for. Saying “I want to weight 146 lbs” doesn’t specify how. There are some unhealthy ways to accomplish that, and you want to be specific.
• Keep it positive
  Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Instead of saying “I stop hating my boss”, try “I get a raise and promotion”.
• Use the present tense
  Saying “I’m going to…” or “I will try…” is weak. Write the goal as if it has already taken place. “I date Heidi Klum.”
• Make them ambitious yet possible
  Force yourself to reach, but if you make them too ambitious you’ll be disappointed. There should probably about a 50/50 chance of accomplishing it in your own mind.

• Make them public
  I don’t always recommend telling your goals to people who won’t be supportive, but making them public in a supportive place will help you stay on track. We’re more likely to follow through with peer pressure, which is why…

You have the opportunity to write your #1 goal to accomplish in 2008 below. Please leave a comment (sticking as best you can to the guidelines above, doesn’t have to be perfect). If you leave your email, I promise I’ll check up on you before the end of 2008 to see how things are going!