By Debra Zimmer, The Expert Marketing Coach and CWCC Member

Success begins with a goal. The goal drives your strategies and tactics in your business and your life. It drives your decisions. It drives the choice of your teammates and coaches.

I believe in living a balanced life. And as such, your business goals need to support your life goals. So I’m going to share a goal setting exercise with you that sets you up to achieve your goals.

I’m going to share one approach I’m taking this year to achieve even the smallest of my goals.

1.     Write down these categories

Write each category on its own piece of paper so you have plenty of room for the next steps.

• Physical Environment
• Fun & Recreation
• Personal Growth
• Romance
• Career
• Money
• Health
• Friends and Family

2.     Make a list

Now under each of these areas I want you to make a laundry list of all the things you can think of that you’d like to see happen. I don’t want you to worry about whether it’s a long-term or short-term goal. We don’t care if it’s a strategy or a tactic or a vision. Just write down anything you can think of that you’d like to see in your life and put it in the category for which it belongs.

Here’s just a subset of my goals. The full list is 5 pages long and I haven’t finished yet.

Physical Environment

(Warning: we have a LOT of unfinished house projects)

• landscaping and plants
• fix hot tub
• swap dishwashers
• build outdoor kitchen
• repair cars
• kids effortlessly helping with chores
• Hang up pictures
• Master suite addition to the house
• fix gutters

Fun and Recreation

• ski passes
• hiking
• mountain biking
• beach trip
• Cabin trip
• exercise 2x per week
• learn snowboarding at Erika’s Burton board camp

Some of these are visions like the kids effortlessly helping with chores. Some are long term, like a second story master suite addition to the house. Some are specific like attending the Burton Board Camp. No matter.

You will also notice that many of these things I can budget for. Others I can book a timeslot in my calendar for. Some are easily achieved by budgeting and scheduling. Some will take some iterative and interactive work and perhaps some training (like having the kids effortlessly help with chores).

3.     Prioritize and sort.

For each category of items, I want you to identify which items are most important to you. Which ones do you want to accomplish this year and which ones can wait? Which items have to be completed before you can do something else?

For example, beach trip is a priority for us. And, at least for us this year, we need to budget time and money for it to happen. My husband needs to take time off of work and I need to plan my client contact around that time so I can truly take off and unwind. To do this we are blocking out time now, 6 months in advance, to make sure that trip happens. We are also looking now at ways to make that trip affordable to us and to set aside money each month to make that trip happen.

4.     Book a time slot.

Many of the things on my list are small tasks that can be completed with no additional resources. They just take time. Simply block out some time in your calendar.

We are blocking out 2 hour chunks of time on selected weekends so we can knock of projects on our list. Now we may not decide in advance which projects are to be completed, but by having the time set aside, we assure that some will get done. And, we have set up a weekly meeting where we sit down and review our plans for the week to prioritize and ensure that the important things do get done.

5.     Identify a budget.

Know how much you are and aren’t willing to spend to achieve these goals. This will help you identify what financial goals are required to get the other goals on your list. And remember, its OK, that some carry over to the next year. Just make sure you identify which ones you are willing to let go to the future and which ones you aren’t.

Having just completed this exercise, I can’t tell you how on top of it I feel. Like I am back in control of my destiny and I’m leaving nothing to chance.

That simple step just raised our energy level a few notches, at a time when it was very much needed.

These same techniques can be applied in your business too. It’s just one way to take your business up a notch. Elite athletes know their schedule 6 months in advance. They know which competitions they are attending and how much it will cost. They know how many training sessions they have to prepare. They know the skills they need to win at each level. Nothing is left to chance and winging it.

Let’s face it. Sometimes you get lucky. But most of the time success comes to those who aren’t afraid to choose to create the planned out calculated road to success.

Can you use these skills to create your own elite program that puts you on your path to success?

What other techniques have you used?

Debra is the author of “Blog for Abundance”, teaching entrepreneurs how to establish themselves as experts in their field. She is a coauthor of “Lessons from the Recession” and one of 60 global business executives who provide valuable advice on starting or running a business from the trenches. And her blog, “BestFreeMarketingTips.com”, available through Amazon.com, guides entrepreneurs through the often confusing and overwhelming world of social media and internet marketing to provide real-life tangible solutions.

To receive bi-monthly Marketing Gemstones from Debra, and a complimentary test drive of “Brand Building Secrets”, subscribe today at http://ExpertMarketingCoach.com.