AIM FOR THE STARS!

The important thing about goal setting is,you should have a goal.What do you want to do?-This is an important question.The answer to this question will give you direction to your destination.You should know where you are going,otherwise you will end up nowhere.Here is a classic conversation between the cat and Alice in "Alice in Wonderland":
Alice came to a fork in the road.
"Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.
"I don’t know," Alice answered.
"Then,” said the cat, "it doesn’t matter."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
The first step in goal setting is having a goal.The next step is that you should write them down.The third step is to prioritise them.The fourth step is to visualiZe them as if you have already achieved your goals.The final and important step is to take consistant action towards the goal.

While writing you goals,follow the SMART method:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Realistic
T- Timely.
For example,i want to increse my monthly income to $10,000 from september of 2007.This fits the SMART method of goal setting.

Firsthand example of goal setting:
short term(< 1 year): I want to complete the construction of my house and have housewarming by the end of Aug'07.
Mid Term(> 1 year and < 5 years): I want to pay the full mortgage for my house by the end of 2009.I want to reduce my weight to 170lbs by the end of 2010.
Long Term(> 5 years): I want to retire by the end of 2012.I want to start my own business by that time.
Master Goal(It alignes with my life's purpose which is to help others): To start a Educational Trust in my grandpa's name and help the poor kids to get a good quality education.

If your goal is too big to handle, if you think,break it down to smaller chunks.Per example,to get rid of 36 lbs in 3 yrs is a big task for myself.but if i break down,it will be 12 lbs per yr,1 lb per month,.25 lbs per week which is very easy to achieve,right.
Be flexible in your path towards goal,relax a bit in between,treat yourself if you achieve a big chunk of it on the way.Goal setting and achieving it gives you immense satisfaction and increase your selfconfidence and self esteem.

GOAL SETTING QUOTES:

1. Arise, Awake and stop not till your goal is reached.-swami Vivekananda.
2. “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”- Zig Zagler
3. “Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.”-Bo Jackson
4. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”- C.S.Lewis
5. “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.”-Fitzhugh Dodson
6. “The most important thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make sure that as soon as you set them, you immediately begin to create momentum. The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man who taught me to first write down the goal, and then to never leave the site of setting a goal without firs taking some form of positive action toward its attainment.”-Anthony Robbins
7. “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”-Anthony Robbins
8. “You don’t have to be fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. you can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.-Edmund Hillary
9. “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success”.-Stephan Brennen
10. “I feel that the most important step in any major accomplishment is setting a specific goal. This enables you to keep your mind focused on your goal and off the many obstacles that will arise when you're striving to do your best”.-Kurt Thomas
11. In life, as in football, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are.-Arnold Glasgow
12. “You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures”.-Charles c.Noble
13. “Any definite chief aim that is deliberately fixed in the mind and held there, with the determination to realize it, finally saturates the entire subconscious mind until it automatically influences the physical action of the body toward the attainment of that purpose”.-Napoleon Hill

14.Failure is not reaching your goal,but in having no goal to reach-Benjamin Mays

15.This one step,choosing a goal and sticking to it,changes everything.-Scott Reed

16.The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this:
decide what what you want-Ben Stein

17.Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take
eyes off your goal-Henry Ford.

ALL THE BEST!