Article By: Owen Flannery 3.2.22 

Make it a goal to make some goals

In my opinion, the key to success in life is goal setting. Both long and short term goals are key here, you want to set a range of goals for 1 year from now, 5 years, and even 10 years. When you set your goals, dream big. Go for it! Once you have a clear picture of what you're working towards, you can set small tasks to accomplish day by day, week by week, month by month, and so forth and beyond. This is the modern work of setting your sights on a treasure and building a personalized treasure map. Every day chipping away at it bit by bit will bring you closer to the life you've always dreamed of. 

Start by clearing your mind and ask yourself “what does success look like for you?” Visualize what each area of your life would look like if you were totally successful. Be specific and think about all areas of your life. I like to have a piece of paper for each category: health, wealth, travel, relationships, career, hobbies, etc. Write the category in the center and draw branches out to things that you find important within that category. For example, if "relationships" was the category, branches might include "romance/partner," "family," and "friendships." Choose what resonates with you and create as many categories as you need to feel like your map is thorough and reflects what life you have envisioned for yourself. Then drill down further and further until things start to come together: how can I show up for my friends every day? My partner? My family? Having concrete ideas will make bringing about your success easier to do. 

Once you've created this big picture, break it down into shorter and long term goals. Make this into a daily, weekly, and monthly “to do lists” for each of your categories. Think of what kind of habits this version of you would do every day, every week, every month. Make those your new habits. Start small so that they are things you can actually accomplish. For example, creating a habit of a single minute of meditation a day will set you up to potentially be able to meditate for longer stretches over time. However, if you start trying to do a whole hour of meditation a day you're likely to give up before you even start! Be realistic with yourself so that you can make small changes that will lead to big results. 

Actually put pen to paper and post your goals up where you can see them every day. Remember we are what we repeatedly do. Find ways to reward yourself that keep you focused and on track for more success the next day. Don't underestimate the power of a "gold star" sticker each day on a calendar that shows "yes, I worked towards my goals today." A visual reminder of your successes can be incredibly powerful. Find what works for you as a motivator to keep you working towards your goals day by day. By chipping away at your goals every day, and setting small goals that you can accomplish overtime, they will lead you to the successes you've been dreaming of.

Without a plan, the success in your life will be mostly luck based. Taking charge and setting goals will allow you to not only take charge of your destiny, but also reproduce your success over and over again. When you begin this process, you will learn what works and what doesn't work for you, what is key here is to ADJUST, and then try again with a better plan of attack the next time around. 

I personally use this method of goal setting in every area of my life and it has proven successful for me time and time again. I've walked others through this process and seen them succeed as well, which is why I believe in it so strongly. Myself and others have created these little treasure maps to lead us all over this beautiful world, guiding us towards the life of our dreams, and you can create one too. All you have to do is start

Owen Flannery is the Director of Coaching for the Alpine Strikers soccer club in Menlo Park, California and Kinesiology professor at Foothill College in Los Altos, California. Owen has his Master in Psychology with an emphasis on Sports from John F. Kennedy University and a B.A in Kinesiology from San Jose State University.