My goals are what I want to achieve.  Yes, I would love a lake house, but it is not really a goal of mine (just a want).  My current goal is to take an enormous Windows application which I built years ago and migrate it to run on a tablet.

Another goal that I have is to work on my writing which is what this blog does for me.  This blog allows me to convey my knowledge and share my beliefs on a regular basis.  Currently, I am reading an Alan Weiss’ book to gain knowledge and add onto the blogging site when I am comfortable blogging on a regular basis.

As far as achieving my wants, they will fall into place when my career goals are met.  Just like my mentors, they gained “success” once their goals were met.  They defined their goals and worked hard to achieve them even when they felt like they were on a long and winding road (thank you to the Beatles).

A close friend stated we have already achieved success.  We may not be wealthy yet from our endeavors, but we are successful for achieving our each goal and having the fortitude to still believe we can thrive in these tough economic times.

Another thing I witness is people putting too much emphasis on the path and not the end goal.  I have been actually working on things for RD Concepts since 2005 when I was updating my education.  Over the past 9 years, the path has not been straight and narrow.  Many times people see the little jogs of the path, and they believe it is a sign to call it quits.

This is where the tough economy is taking its toll on my entrepreneurial spirit.  We are on a roller coaster ride of emotions.  If it was not for relying upon people close to me in my mastermind group, I think I would have thrown in the towel and called it quits by now.  If it was not for having examples of my mentors, I would be sitting around of a night complaining about not having any goals.

I cannot count how many times I have felt like a failure for being on a crooked path for a long period to achieve a goal.  It took roughly 2 years to build one Windows application for a client.  I am now taking the application and moving it to a mobile platform which will take the rest of the year.  The knowledge from this system and the applications branched out from it have spurred enormous amount of traffic to my site.

What kept me on the crooked path toward achieving my goal is to define what that goal is.  It does not matter if the path is smooth, straight, and narrow.  It matters that I know where I am going.

I have witnessed so many times where people will set their goals but do not start.  They have their running shoes, the outfit, the starting blocks, and they are ready and set.  The starting pistol fires, and they do not move.

I always question myself on whether my actions are working toward my goal.  What have I done today to work toward the goal?  Even if it is something small due to time constraints, did it work toward my goal?

When I meet with my mentors, I am amazed at how they got out of their starting blocks.  My last meeting was poignant.  He spoke of leaving a “solid” company for a startup.  He took a chance when the “solid” company did not allow him to achieve his goal.  Now, the startup is three times larger what is left of the “solid” company.

He is good at what he does, but the original company was not allowing him to reach his final goal.  By switching to the startup and taking his chances, he achieved his goal and won the race.

May not have been a straight path, but the end goal can be achieved.

Everyone needs a goal.  Something in their life which we try to attain.  Something in their life to fuel their passions.

In today’s world and this tough economy, a growing number of people are without hope, without the spark of life, without the desire to achieve more.  Life has just beat out any desire to achieve their goals.

I have always been blessed with focus on my goals.  Knowing “this is where I want to be”.  The path may vary from the original thought process, but the goal remains the same.

A friend, and part of my mastermind group, will put his goals on his phone as a checklist.  Another wrote down his goals on piece of paper and taped it to his office walls.

Knowing goals keeps us focused and gives us the zest for life.