Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is my new career success coach book.  I’m proud to say that it has just gone into its second printing.  I want to thank all of the kind folks who have posted a review of Success Tweets on Amazon.com.  You can pick up a copy at your local bookstore or on line at amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook version for free at www.SuccessTweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Success Tweet 85…

Always be on the lookout for new ideas.  Find opportunities where others see obstacles.

Henry Ford once said…

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

Good one Henry.  I have a great story about this.  It involves a trash can and a hair dryer cord.

In our bathroom at home, the trash can sits under a shelf.  Cathy keeps her hair dryer on the shelf.  The cord loops down in front of the trash can.  Being the frustrated NBA player I am, and also being a normal guy who turns even the most mundane things into sport, I make a game of tossing my used tissues into the trash can.  For the longest time, I focused on the hair dryer cord as I tried to swish my tissue into the waste basket.  I hit the cord almost two thirds of the time, missing my game winning shot in the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

Once day I saw Henry Ford’s quote on line.  The next day, I began focusing on the waste basket opening – which is a lot bigger than the hair dryer cord anyway – and I swished the shot; thereby winning the Denver Nugget’s first NBA championship.  I kept doing this in the days that followed, and I ended up with more NBA championships that Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Kobe Bryant  and Shaq combined.  I couldn’t miss – all because I kept focused on the goal (the trash can) not the obstacle (the hair dyer cord).

This may sound like a stupid story told by an overgrown adolescent.  It’s not.  It makes an important career success point.  When I tried to avoid the obstacle, I hit it very frequently.  When I tried to hit the goal and ignored the obstacle, I began making the shots – achieving my goal.  And that’s what you need to do too. 

Here’s the career advice that comes from this story.  Keep focused on your goals.  Don’t take your eyes off of them because you’ll begin seeing all of the obstacles to overcoming your goals.

30 years ago this September, I enrolled in a PhD program at Harvard.  I had to overcome quite a few obstacles to get my degree.  First, I had to get accepted.  Once I was accepted, I had to figure out how to pay for the privilege of attending an elite university.  Then I had to make sure I graduated.

I spent the time necessary and wrote the very best application I could.  I got accepted, one obstacle down.  I sold my car when I moved to Cambridge.  This money – along with grants, student loans, work study jobs and a part time teaching job at Northeastern University — were enough to pay for my education.  By the way, I was in my late 40s when I paid off my last student loan.

Graduating became a little more challenging.  I left Harvard after I finished my course work, but before I had completed my dissertation.  I took a full time job in New York.  Professors advised me against this.  They told me that it is very difficult to work full time and write a dissertation.  They were right.  It took me four and a half years, but I submitted a dissertation that my committee accepted.  I kept focused on the goal – the right to call myself “Dr. Bilanich.” – interestingly enough I never use the title except when I want to get a reservation at a crowded restaurant.

I have too many friends that are ABD – “all but dissertation.”  These folks wander the earth with a sense of profound incompletion.  I promised myself that this was never going to happen to me.  I kept my eyes on the goal – even though I had quite a few obstacles thrown at me along the way — and I achieved it. 

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people achieve their goals because they stay focused on them.  They follow the advice in Tweet 85 in Success Tweets.  “Always be on the lookout for new ideas.  Find opportunities where others see obstacles.”  Obstacles often are opportunities in disguise.  Successful people see opportunities where others see obstacles.  And, as Henry Ford said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eye off the goal.”  My best career advice here is to keep focused on your goals – whether it’s bathroom basketball, or getting a PhD — and you’ll be able to turn obstacles into opportunities.

That’s my take on the career advice in Success Tweet 85.  What’s yours?  What obstacles have you turned into opportunities?  What goals did you accomplish a result.  Please take a minute to share your story with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

My latest career success coach book, Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is now available on Amazon.com and in bookstores.  I am in the process of blogging about each of the tweets in it. You can get a free copy of Success Tweets at www.SuccessTweets.com.  If you like it, I’d appreciate a positive review on Amazon.com.

Today’s career success coach post is on Tweet 32…

Stuff happens as you go about creating a successful life and career.  Choose to respond positively to the negative stuff that happens.

It’s simple, really. Success is all up to you, and me, and anyone else who wants it. We all have to take personal responsibility for our own success. I am the only one who can make me a career success. You are the only one who can make you a career success.

Stuff happens: good stuff, bad stuff, frustrating stuff, unexpected stuff.  Successful people respond to the stuff that happens in a positive way.  Humans are the only animals with free will.  That means we – you and me – get to decide how we react to every situation that comes up.  That’s why taking personal responsibility for yourself and choosing to respond positively to the negative stuff that happens to you is so important and is some great career advice.

I tell my career success coach clients that personal responsibility means recognizing that you are responsible for your life and the choices you make. It means that you realize that while other people and events have an impact on your life, these people and events don’t shape your life. When you accept personal responsibility for your life, you own up to the fact that how you react to people and events is what’s important. And you can choose how to react to every person you meet and everything that happens to you.

The concept of personal responsibility is found in most writings on success. Stephen Covey’s first habit in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is, “Be proactive.” I have a little book called Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People also by Stephen Covey.  It is one of the most read books that I have.  I like it because it provides a little snippet of career advice from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People everyday. 

The daily reflection for September 24 goes directly to the career advice in this tweet, and it gets to the heart of personal responsibility and life and career success.

“It’s not really what happens to us, but our response to what happens to us that hurts us.  Of course, thing can hurt physically or economically and can cause sorrow.  But our character, our basic identity, does not have to be hurt at all.  In fact, our most difficult experiences become the crucibles that forge our character and develop the internal powers, the freedom to handle difficult circumstances in the future and to inspire others to do so as well.”

Dr. Covey provides some great career advice here.  We can’t always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react to both the positive and negative experiences we have as we go through life.  Successful people choose to make lemonade out of lemons.  Unsuccessful people choose to complain about the bitter, tart taste of the lemons they are handed.

I know the “lemons into lemonade” line is a cliché.  However, clichés become clichés because they have an underlying truth.  The important point is that human beings are blessed with free will.  As such, we can choose what we do and how we react to the world around us.  We can choose a positive, productive path; or we can choose a path of self pity and inaction – and hurt only ourselves in the end.

The 7 Habits advice for September 25 carries on in the same vein…

“Proactive people can carry their own weather with them.  Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them.  They are value driven; and if their value is to produce good quality work, it isn’t a function of whether the weather is conducive to it or not.”

I love the concept of carrying your own weather with you.  It is great career success coach advice.Choosing to react positively to the negative people and events in your life is the best way to carry your weather with you– and to take personal responsibility for your life and career success.
 
The common sense career success coach point here is clear.  Successful people know that they can choose how they respond to everyone they meet and everything that happens to them.  They know that “the devil made me do it” is never an accurate statement.  They also know that no one can “make” them mad.  In short, they follow the advice in Tweet 32 in Success Tweets.   “Stuff happens as you go about creating a successful life and career.  Choose to respond positively to the negative stuff that happens.”  If you want to create the career success you deserve, remember Stephen Covey’s advice.  Carry your weather with you.  In this way, whether it rains or shines on the outside, it will be sunny on the inside.  Choose to react positively to the negative people you meet, and the negative things that happen to you.  When you do, you’ll find that you’ll have less negative things happening and fewer negative people entering your life.

That’s my take on the career advice in Tweet 32 in Success Tweets.  What’s your?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 29…

Aim high.  Set and achieve high goals – month after month, and year after year.  Do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.

This post is more about goal achievement than goal setting.  You know that you need to set goals in all parts of your life.  You know you need to set S.M.A.R.T. goals.  You know that you need break your goals into manageable milestones.  You know that you need to keep your goals with you.  You know that you need to write your goals and share them with others.  All of this is a great start.  However, it’s just the start.

Successful people do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.  This takes commitment and tenacity.  It means working towards you goals when you are tired.  It means not giving up in the face of problems and setbacks.  It means doing what needs to be done, not what you want to do, or feel like doing.

This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Malcolm Forbes…

“Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.”

It takes thousands of years and tremendous amounts of pressure to turn coal into diamonds.  While you don’t need to spend thousands of years creating the successful life and career you want and deserve, you do have to stick with it.  If you give up every time you run into a problem, setback or roadblock you’ll never become a diamond.  If you can’t take the pressure, you’ll never become a diamond.  You have to stick to it and bare up under the pressure.  It doesn’t take a career success coach to tell you that you need to be persistent if you’re going to achieve your goals.

I am a fan of Lindsey Vonn, an Olympic gold medal winning alpine skier who makes her home in Vail; so she’s a local as far as I’m concerned.  She is the most successful American woman skier in World Cup history. 

She’s 26 years old and has been skiing for 24 of those years.  She moved away from home and her family at a young age to pursue her dream of being a world class skier.  She started skiing competitively at 7 and competing internationally when she was nine.  She is devoted to her sport. 

Check out what Lindsay Vonn says about going for your goals…

“When you fall down, just get up again.  If you fall get up stronger, hungrier, more ambitious.  Setbacks help you concentrate.  When success falls into your lap, you lose sight of your goals.” 

She fell hard earlier this year and had a terrible bone bruise on her arm.  She didn’t miss an event.  She had a terrible injury just prior to the Olympics and still won the gold medal in the downhill – the most prestigious skiing event – in the 2010 Winter Games.

I tell my career success coach clients that Lindsey Vonn is someone who can be likened to a lump of coal that has turned into a diamond because she’s stuck to her job.  Remember her story the next time you feel like giving up on your goals and your dreams.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers.  They follow the career advice in Tweet 29 in Success Tweets.  “Aim high.  Set and achieve high goals – month after month, and year after year.  Do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.”  You can begin achieving your career success goals by taking personal responsibility for your life and career success.  Do whatever it takes to succeed.  Stick with it when the pressure gets strong.  Do whatever it takes to achieve the life and career success goals you set for yourself.  Respond positively to the negative people and events in your life.  Remember what Malcolm Forbes has to say about success.  “Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.”  Become a diamond.  Stick with it.  Set high goals, achieve them.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.

That’s my take on Tweet 29 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute or two to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 28…

Write your goals.  Share them with others.  You are more likely to achieve goals that you write and share.

Accountability is the key career advice here.  When you write your goals and share them with others you are choosing accountability.

Writing your goals demonstrates your accountability to yourself.  Written goals are real and tangible.  Goals that you keep in your head most often are fuzzy and poorly defined; little more than wishes. 

Besides being solid career advice, taking the time to write your goals, and then making them S.M.A.R.T. (see my recent post) puts some rigor into the goal setting process.   You end up with a set of well defined goals on which you can build your career success.

Sharing your goals with others close to you is another way of choosing accountability.  When you share your goals, you are making a public statement about what you are going to accomplish.  This makes you more likely to do the work necessary to achieve them.

Let me give you an example.  I have made a big effort to improve my level of health and fitness in recent years.  A few years ago, I set a weight loss goal.  I shared this goal with several of my friends, especially those who are committed to their own health and fitness.

One of these people is one of my clients.  I was visiting his office one day.  There was a big platter of oatmeal raisin cookies left over from a meeting sitting in an open area near his office.  As we passed the cookies, I took one.  I was beginning to take a bit when he turned to me and said, “Do you really want that?”

In the moment, I really did.  But in the greater scheme of things and given my health and fitness goal, I really didn’t want to be eating cookies in the middle of the afternoon.  I tossed the cookie into the trash.

Sharing my health and fitness goal with this guy helped me achieve it.  By asking me a simple question, “Do you really want that?” he helped me make progress toward my goal.  He helped me fight the temptation to do something that ran counter to achieving my goal. 

But remember, he never would have asked me the question if I had not first shared my health and fitness goal with him.  This is one of the basic ideas behind the Weight Watchers program.  This works for goals in all areas of your life and career.

Here’s another example.  I was having a conversation with Doug Westmoreland, king of motivational videos.  He and I were talking about email list building.  I mentioned that I have a goal of growing my subscriber list.  Doug asked a few questions, made a few suggestions and then said something really profound.  “Bud, you’re a great guy, you give lots of value to your subscribers.  It’s about time that you begin offering them the opportunity to reciprocate by making products available for sale in your electronic correspondence with them.” 

Doug’s comment was really helpful.  He got me to rethink how I communicate with my subscribers.  I never would have received this great advice if I hadn’t shared one of my goals with him.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people set and achieve high goals.  They follow the career advice in Tweet 28 in Success Tweets.  “Write your goals.  Share them with others.  You are more likely to achieve goals that you write and share.”  I have found that writing your goals and sharing them with others are two of the best ways to ensure that you achieve them.  Both of these simple actions increase your personal accountability for achieving your goals.  When you write your goals, they become more real for you.  When you share them, you invite others to help you achieve them.  You build a support network that can keep you on track and moving forward in creating the career success you deserve.

That’s my take on the advice in Tweet 28 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts – and goals — with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 27, one of several tweets on the importance of goal setting and goal achievement…

Create goals in all areas of your life: career, personal, business, family, hobbies, health and fitness.  Make sure they are congruent.

Since I am a self employed career success coach, my career and business goals overlap.  I have personal goals that overlap with my health and fitness.  Biking and reading are my hobbies.  I have goals for them too.  My most important goal is to be a loving and supportive husband.

My career and business goals focus on helping others succeed, getting my career success coach message out in as many different ways as I possibly can, and making enough money to let me travel less and work from home more. 

I have lost quite a bit of weight in recent years.  My personal and health goals focus on maintaining that weight loss and losing even more.  I have a long term goal of doing a metric century bike ride (62 miles) in 2011. 

I set goals for my reading hobby as well.  I have a goal to reread several of Tolstoy’s works this year. 

I also have goals for our marriage.  My marriage goals intersect with my business and career goals.  The more time I spend at home, the more time I have to devote to our relationship.  This means that i need to do a good job on my business and career goals.

See how this works?

What are the important parts of your life?  Do you have goals in each of them?  Are these goals congruent?  Even though I am a career success coach, I urge you to spend time thinking about both your life and career success.  Create goals in all parts of your life.  Make sure these goals are congruent.  You’ll be happier – and more likely to achieve the career success you deserve –this way.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people are well rounded.  They set and achieve goals in all facets of their lives.  What are the important parts of your life?  Do you have goals for each of them?  If not, create some.  Follow the advice in Tweet 27 in Success Tweets.  “Create goals in all areas of your life: career, personal, business, family, hobbies, health and fitness.  Make sure they are congruent.”  Pay particular attention to being congruent.  Your goals need to complement one another.  If they don’t, you’ll find yourself trying to juggle competing priorities.  This is difficult at best, and often leads to failure on several fronts.  Congruent goals on the other hand will complement one another and lead to your life and career success.

That’s my take on Tweet 27 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please leave a comment telling us how you balance the goals in the different part of your life.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 26, one of several tweets on the importance of goal setting and goal achievement…

Keep your goals with you – in your wallet, or on your screen saver.  They will be a constant reminder of what you will achieve.

Notice the last two words in the tweet – “will achieve.”  I didn’t say, “hope to achieve,” or “want to achieve,” or worse yet “try to achieve.”  I said “will achieve.”  “Will achieve” is a positive, proactive statement that reinforces your visualization of your career success.  As the tweet suggests, keeping your goals close at hand is a constant reminder of what you will achieve.  Thinking in terms of “will achieve” rather than “hope to achieve,” want to achieve,” or “try to achieve” is a solid piece of career advice.

The other day, I saw a quote from John Wooden, legendary college basketball coach, and the author of several books on life and career success.  This career success coach has them all in his library.  Coach Wooden’s success pyramid is a truly comprehensive look at how to become the life and career success you deserve to be.

Here is the quote…

“I am not as good as I ought to be. I am not as good as I want to be. I am not as good as I’m going to be. But I am thankful that I am better than I used to be.”

Notice that Coach Wooden uses positive affirmative language when he says, “I am not as good as I’m going to be.”  Even at 99 years old, he is still growing.

Keeping your goals with you is a great way to help you become better than you are.  For one thing, keeping your goals nearby makes it easy for you to reflect on them several times a day – see the post I did on this.  For another, keeping your goals with you, makes them part of you.

I keep my goals in my wallet.  They’re easily accessible.  I pull them out and look at them so often I usually have to print a second copy midyear.  The original gets creased, dirty and threadbare from so much folding and unfolding.  Having my goals in my wallet in right front pants pocket every day makes them seem more real to me.  Reviewing them a couple of times a day motivates me to do the work I need to do to accomplish them.

As I often am when I write these blog posts, I’m on a plane.  I just wrote all of this week’s posts.  Then I took a minute to stretch and review my goals.  One of those goals is to create a membership site using Success Tweets and these blog posts as part of the content.  The sooner I write all 140 blog posts, the sooner I’ll be able to put up my membership site.  The sooner the membership site goes up, the sooner I’ll be helping more people take advantage of my career success coach thoughts and ideas.  Just reviewing my goals gave me the energy to keep writing, instead of reading for the last hour of the flight.

See how this works?  First of all, be thankful for being better than you were, believe that you will be better than you are.  Use your goals – the things you will achieve – to inspire you to do the work necessary to become better than you are, and to become the life and career success you deserve to be.  Pretty good career advice, if I do say so myself.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people set and achieve high goals.  Goals are your promise to yourself that you will become better than you are.  If you follow the advice in Tweet 26 in Success Tweets, “Keep your goals with you – in your wallet, or on your screen saver.  They will be a constant reminder of what you will achieve;” you will be more likely to achieve your goals, become better than you are, and create the life and career success you want and deserve.  I keep my goals in my wallet, and look at them at least a couple of times a day.  Try this career success coach advice.  You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.

That’s my take on Tweet 26 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment telling us where you keep your goals and how often you refer to them.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 25, one of several tweets on the importance of goal setting and goal achievement…

List the reasons you set for each goal you set for yourself.  These reasons will come in handy when you get tired and frustrated.

A couple of days ago, I mentioned Denis Waitley’s ideas on goal achievement.

1. Your goals need to be clear.
2. Your goals need to be written.
3. Your need to focus on your goals several times a day.
4. You need to visualize yourself achieving your goals.

Listing the reasons for your goals can help you with visualization.  This is turn will help you when you get tired and frustrated.  Tweet 14 says, “Don’t visualize the pain of failure, visualize the euphoria of success.”  Achieving a goal should be a euphoric experience.  If not, you probably didn’t set a high enough goal.

If you want a job with a specific company, list the reasons why you want to work for that company then visualize yourself showing up at work the first day and entering your new office.  If you want a promotion, list the reasons you want it and then visualize yourself reading the congratulatory emails from your friends when they read the announcement of your promotion.  If you want to start your own business, list the reasons for starting a business and then visualize yourself depositing your first check.  If you want to marry the woman (or man) of your dreams, list the reasons you want to marry that particular person and then visualize yourself on your wedding day and honeymoon.  This is some of the best career adivce I can give you.

Listing the reasons for each of your goals and then creating a vivid mental image of the euphoria you’ll feel when you accomplish them is a great way to keep you going when you are struggling with a goal. 

I used to work for Marathon Oil Company.  My job with Marathon was my first job in business.  Prior to that, I had been working in government.  I met my future Marathon boss at an American Ssociety for Training and Development convention in Atlanta.  He invited me to company headquarters to interview.  I arrived there the night before I was scheduled to have a full day of interviews.  I had the names and titles of the people with whom I would interview.  I had one big reason for wanting this job – it was my ticket to a career in business, a stepping stone to creating my own business one day.

That night, before I went to bed, I visualized myself on my first day of work there.   I also visualized (and rehearsed) what I would say to each of the people with whom I would interview the next day.  This visualization and rehearsal helped me relax during the interviews.  I kept the image of me on my first day at work for Marathon in mind as I interviewed.  I got the job.  I was euphoric. 

Many of the naysayers in my life told me that since I had worked in government for five years after college, that I would be unlikely to get a job in business.  I proved them wrong – because of my very important reason for wanting the job, my visualization of my success and because of my preparation.  It seemed as if I knew more about Marathon Oil Company than many of the people who interviewed me. 

These days I visualize myself as a successful internet entrepreneur.  I work in my home office, creating new information products that I sell on line.  I see big numbers in my PayPal account.  My reason is simple.  I want to spend more time at home, with Cathy and doing all of the things I like to do in beautiful Colorado.  I want to spend less time on planes and in hotels.

What are your reasons for each of your goals that will lead to your career success?  Are they really important to you?  Do you have a clear vision of you achieving these goals?  Are these mental images sharp, clear and vivid – or are they fuzzy and out of focus?  If it’s the latter, sharpen them up.  Create a really vivid mental image of you achieving each of the goals you’ve set for yourself.  Use the reasons for setting these goals in the first place as a place to start.  As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts and in several of my career success coach books, visualization isn’t daydreaming.  It’s important work that will help you become the life and career success you deserve to be.

The common sense career success coach point is simple.  Successful people follow the career advice in Tweet 25 in Success Tweets.  “List the reasons you set for each goal you set for yourself.  These reasons will come in handy when you get tired and frustrated.”  As a career success coach, You will get frustrated as you pursue your goals.  Your reasons for each goal will help you better visualize the euphoria of achieving it.  If you can vividly imagine the euphoria associated with achieving your life and career goals, you’ll be well on your way to achieving them.  Visualization makes it easier to do the work when things are not going well.  The reasons for each of your goals helps you create clear and vivid images of you as a success.

That’s my take on Tweet 25 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  What are your goals?  Please leave a comment sharing with us your vivid mental picture of what it will be like when you achieve one of them.  You will inspire us all.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

Today’s focus is Tweet 24…

Focus on your goals several times a day.  Spend your valuable time on the things that will help you achieve them.

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Denis Waitley’s ideas on goal achievement.

1. Your goals need to be clear.
2. Your goals need to be written.
3. Your need to focus on your goals several times a day.
4. You need to visualize yourself achieving your goals.

In this post I want to focus on the third of Denis’ points – the one that is lacking for many people – even those with clear, written goals.  Too many of us treat goal setting as a once a year process.  Some of us set quarterly milestones and check our progress then and only then.  Few of us review our goals daily to make sure that what we do every day brings us closer to achieving our goals.

I always suggest to my career success coach clients that they stop a couple of times a day and ask themselves this simple question: “Is what I’m doing right now helping me achieve any of my goals?”  If not, I give them the following career advice:  “Stop what you’re doing and move on to something that will help you achieve one of you career success goals.”

Here’s an example.  I am on a plane as I am writing this post.  I was reading the latest Barbara Kingsolver novel – a writer I enjoy very much.  However, long ago I realized that airplane time is found time – free of distractions, time that can be very productive, if I choose to use it that way.  So I closed the novel, opened my laptop and began writing this blog post.  Blogging brings me closer to achieving my goal of being a successful internet information marketer.  Reading a novel doesn’t.

I wrote the first draft of 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations on a trip to Hong Kong.  That was two 15 hour flights (there and back), plenty of time to think and write – and to work on achieving one of my goals of publishing a book on how to run a successful organization.  Want a copy?  Send me an email, and if you’re in the USA, I’ll send you a free copy.  If you’re outside of the USA, I will have to charge you a few bucks for shipping.

I’m not saying that you should spend every waking hour working.  I am saying however, that you should focus on your goals continually.  Ask yourself if what you are doing at any given moment during the day is bringing you closer to achieving one of your goals.  In this way, you will be making a conscious decision to work your goals or take some time for yourself.  I have spent more than one plan trip reading a novel.  Sometimes recharging my batteries is the best thing I can do to help myself achieve my career success goals.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers.  They set high goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them.  Really successful people focus on their goals several times a day, every day.  This is in keeping with Tweet 24 in Success Tweets.  “Focus on your goals several times a day.  Spend your valuable time on the things that will help you achieve them.”  Stop for a minute during the day and ask yourself if what you are doing at that particular moment is bringing you closer to achieving at least one of your goals.  If it isn’t, stop what you’re doing and start doing something related to achieving your goals.

That’s my take on Tweet 24 in Success Tweets – how to achieve your goals.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

But I must admit that I have received some less than flattering comments about Success Tweets.  One of my fellow Penn State alums said that “140 tweets is not a book, it’s a page.”  Another Penn State alum told me that tweets lack intellectual rigor, and are the hallmark of people who are too lazy to properly research a subject. 

What is it with Penn State people anyway?  Maybe it’s the air in Happy Valley.

My answer to the anti tweet people comes from one of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein…

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”

I’m not calling myself a genius, but from personal experience I know that it can be very difficult to simplify complex issues.  If you recall I shared my values in a post last week.  “Simplicity” is one of my core personal values.   As a career success coach, I work hard to simplify the complex issues involved with creating the life and career success you want and deserve.

Besides that, concise writing can be very time consuming  — as it often means heavy editing of the first draft.  Mark Twain once got a telegram from a publisher that said: “Need 2 page short story in two days.” He responded: “Can’t do two pages in two days.  Can do 30 pages in two days.  Need 30 days to do two pages.”  I agree with him on this one.

There, I got that off of my chest.  I think tweets are a handy, not lazy, way to communicate – if they’re done well.  Of course, sometimes it takes more than 140 characters to get across everything you want to communicate about a subject.  That’s why I’m doing this series of blog posts – to further explain the ideas in Success Tweets.

On to Tweet 23…

Goals are important.  You can’t get what you want if you don’t know where you’re going.

If you want to create life and career success, you must commit to three things.  First, you must take personal responsibility for your success.  Only you can make you a career success.  You need to be willing to do the things necessary to succeed.  Second, you must set high goals — and then do whatever it takes to achieve them.   Third, stuff happens; as you go through life you will encounter many problems and setbacks.  You need to react positively to the negative stuff and move forward toward your goals.

The other day, I came across a succinct statement on goal setting and goal achievement from Denis Waitely…

“The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we’ve already achieved them.”

I really like what Denis has to say.  Let’s break it down.

1. Your goals need to be clear.
2. Your goals need to be written.
3. Your need to focus on your goals several times a day.
4. You need to visualize yourself achieving your goals.

Clear goals follow the S.M.A.R.T. formula.  They are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.  Do your goals pass the S.M.A.R.T. test?  If you’ve written them, it should be pretty easy to review them to see.

Here’s a goal that one of my career success coach clients shared with me recently.

To become a millionaire selling products on the internet.

Let’s see how well it stacks up to the S.M.A.R.T. test.

Specific?  Reasonably so.  This guy wants to become a millionaire selling products on the internet.  This goal would be more specific if he had specified the product or type of product he wants to sell, and if he is going to develop the product himself, or resell others’ products.

Measurable?  Overall yes; if he defines being a millionaire as having a net worth of over a million dollars.

Achievable?  Probably.  He’s a smart guy who has the desire.  And, he is committed to this goal.  I think he can achieve it if he works hard and smart.

Relevant?  For him, yes.  The guy defines success in monetary terms, so becoming a millionaire is certainly a relevant goal for him.

Time Bound? No.  He hasn’t set a date by when his net worth will reach one million dollars.

Not bad for a first try.  Here’s how I would make this goal more S.M.A.R.T…

To build a net worth of $1,000,000 by the time I am 40 by being an internet super affiliate marketer, reselling products in the self help field.

Specific?  Very.  Net worth of $1,000,000; internet affiliate marketer, reselling self help products.

Measurable? Yes.  He can check his net worth on his 40th birthday.

Achievable?  Likely, given some hard work and tenacity.

Relevant?  Yes.  Money is how he defines success.

Time Bound? Yes.  His 40th birthday is a hard deadline.

This career success coach suggests that you take some time to review your goals.  Make sure they are S.M.A.R.T.  S.M.A.R.T. goals are written and clear — the first two recommendations from Denis Waitley when it comes to accomplishing your goals.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people set and achieve high goals.  They understand the power of Tweet 23 in Success Tweets.  “Goals are important.  You can’t get what you want if you don’t know where you’re going.”  Written goals are the first step when it comes to life and career success.  Sharpening your goals until they are clear and concise is the second step.  If you don’t have written goals for your life, and for this year, write some today.  Then check them against the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.  Make sure your goals are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.  If you take just these two steps you’ll be well ahead in the career success game.

That’s my take on Tweet 23 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

On to today’s post — a continuation of the series further explaining the ideas in my new book Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less.  I am giving away the eBook version of this book to promote my career success coach business.  My goal is to giveaway 10,000 eBooks by the end of June 2010.  If you would like a copy, go to www.SuccessTweets.com.  Feel free to send your friends there too.

I am on to the second section of the book and the second C of Success: Commitment.  Today, I am focusing on Tweet 22…

Set and achieve S.M.A.R.T. goals.  S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.

Outstanding performance and life and career success begin with S.M.A.R.T. goals. Let’s look at the S.M.A.R.T. goal criteria

Specific – Your goals should be targeted, nor broad and general. They should be unambiguous and explicit.
 
Measurable – You should be able to tell quickly and easily if you’ve met your goal. Develop a set of criteria that will be indicative of success or failure in meeting each of your goals.

Achievable – Set goals that are challenging but not incredibly difficult to achieve. A challenging goal is motivating, an impossible one is demotivating.

Relevant – Set goals that are related to your purpose and direction in life.  Your goals need to be consistent with your life purpose – your mission.  Goals are stepping stones to making your vision of your career success a reality. 

Time Specified – Set deadlines for achieving your goals. Well developed goals come with time limits.

Once you have developed a set of S.M.A.R.T. goals, you need to work them. Here are some ideas for accomplishing your goals and becoming the life and career success you deserve to be.

Write your goals. People who take the time to write their goals accomplish them more frequently that people who don’t.

Keep your goals with you – in your wallet, on a clipboard, on your screen saver. In this way, they’ll be a constant reminder of what you are going to achieve.

List at least one reason you want to achieve each goal. These reasons will help you stay focused when you get tired and frustrated and begin asking yourself questions like, “Why am I working so hard on this?”

Share your goals with people with whom you are close. These folks can be a big help in achieving your goals. Goals become more real when you share them with others. Goals that you don’t share are merely aspirations.

Talk about your goals at social and networking functions. The help you need to achieve one or more of your goals can come from some surprising places. You never know who might be the one person who can offer the assistance it takes for you to get over the top on one or more of your goals.

Focus on your goals several times a day. Ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now helping me achieve one of my goals?”  If the answer is no, stop what you’re doing and do something that will help you reach your goals.

Stay balanced by creating goals in all areas of your life: career, business, personal, family, hobbies, health. These goals will help guide you to where you want to go.

Have congruent goals. Make sure your goals are congruent with one another. Conflicting goals create undue stress. If you have a work or career goal that is going to take up 60 to 80 hours a week of your time, it will be pretty difficult to realize a goal of running a marathon. You simply won’t have time to train.

Consider the sacrifices – what you might have to forego or give up in order to reach your goals. This could be things like family or hobby time. Ask yourself questions like, “Is this goal important enough for me to give up time with my kids or my weekly yoga class?”

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people follow the advice in Tweet 22 in Success Tweets.  “Set and achieve S.M.A.R.T. goals.  S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.”  Once you set S.M.A.R.T. goals, work them.  Focus on them.  Do whatever it takes to achieve them.  Setting and achieving S.M.A.R.T. goals is some of my best career advice.  I hope you take it to hear.

That’s my take on Tweet 22 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute and leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us.  As always, thanks for reading.

Bud