Goal Setting and Goal Getting: The BD3 Approach – Goal-Setting
Goal Setting and Goal Getting: The BD3 Approach
Most people have no problem setting goals. At the same time, most people have a great deal of trouble getting their goals.A specific strategy for setting and getting goalsRemember R2D2 and CP3O of Star Wars fame? Well, this strategy is called BD3, which stands for Brainstorm, Decide, Do, and Distinguish.Brainstorm - Get yourself in a quite place where you are not likely to be disturbed. Let your mind focus on these questions:What would you like to accomplish in the next two years?
What would you like to change?
What would you like to be?
What would you like to have?
What would you like to do?
Where do you want to go?
What would you like to contribute?Now spend 5-10 minutes writing down whatever goals come to mind. For this exercise, there are no limits. Let the ideas come freely, without evaluation. Don't just think about them, write them down. Remember, the weakest ink is better than the strongest memory. Come up with as many goals as you can. Now you are ready to............Decide - on two things:1) Choose one goal from the brainstorming list that you most want to accomplish in the next two years, and2) Decide it will happen. Decide that no matter what, you will get this goal sometime in the next two years.This is a very powerful decision to make. Because change can occur in an instant, deciding that you will get this goal begins the process of change, and begins to build momentum.To continue building momentum, now it's time to...........Do - all the necessary things to make it happen. One way to do this is to work backward from your deadline to now. For example, if your goal is to save a certain amount of money by the year 2006, how much will you have to save each year, each quarter, each month, each week, each day? In this way, you are able to break a rather large goal down into daily actions. Remember, once you set and commit to a goal, you can only have two results: you get the goal or you have excuses why you didn't.While you are taking daily action toward your goal, it's crucial to............Distinguish - between what is working and what is not. Are your actions moving you closer to your goal or further away from your goal? If what you are doing is working, great for you, keep it up, and perhaps do even more. If what you are doing is not working, change your strategy. Remember, if you keep doing the same things you have always done, you'll get the same things you have always gotten. Keep changing your strategies until you get the results you want.Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.
How VALUABLE is Your Speaking Topic? – Public-Speaking
How VALUABLE is Your Speaking Topic?
What information can be used immediately by the audience and what is to follow?Can you tell the audience in 30 seconds or less what you do and also give them three things that they can use immediately? The chances are that you probably cannot. If you do not have a practiced and enthusiastic response to how valuable your topic is, then you are likely not going to win over the audience. Not only do you need to think it is valuable but the audience also has to buy into it. You will need to do some market research even if it is only asking questions to your intended audience.You need to know ahead of time that what you are speaking on is of value to them and that they will be able to walk away from you speech and feel that they got value. So what is the best way to find out how valuable your topic is at this point in time? There are three easy steps that you can take to make sure you are addressing your audience. First you must choose a topic with which you feel comfortable (it may be several). Second, pass the topic titles by friends and local businesses to see if they are interested in the topics and which ones they would put on the top of the list. You should also make sure that they tell you which ones they would be interested in attending. Lastly, put out an email to your circle of influence and have them rate your topics and give suggestions. Once you have completed these steps, you are on the road to presenting something the audience will like.If you do your impromptu research before spending money on advertising the event, you will get a better idea of what the market will bear. If you ignore the market survey and go on your own, you risk having few attendees and wasting your own time and effort. The audience needs to have something tangible for their effort in listening to what you have to say.Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com
Want to Build a Pond?-Gardening
Want to Build a Pond?
A pond, logically, the first question you should ask is WHERE? Do you have a huge yard with a lot of trees and shrubs and flowerbeds? In other words what is the present landscape like? Would you prefer your pond in a sunny spot or in the shade? That may not seem too important, but if you should decide to surround your pond with flowers, it becomes very important. It seems (to me at least) that there are many more varieties of flowers that are sun lovers rather than ones that prefer shade. Another consideration also is that if you place your pond too near to trees, then falling leaves become a cleanup problem.Once you've decided on a location, then the next question is HOW BIG? Do you want a small pond that will only need a few hundred gallons to fill, or something more like what you see in the pictures that accompany this text that holds around three thousand gallons? Do you have a water spigot close enough to your pond location so that you don't need three hundred feet of hose to fill it?If you are going to have a pond with a pump and filter to re-circulate the water, then you will need an electrical source nearby. Are you thinking of having a water fall or fountain? Do you think that you are going to want fish or other aquatic life in your pond?Will you need a fence? Does your city or township require fences or any other kind of safeguards around ponds? If there are no local ordinances in this regard, then how about your own personal feelings about keeping such an area safe for small children, who all seem to love water and gravitate to it like bees to honey?Where is the one really good spot in your yard where you love to sit and commune with nature? If you have a spot like that, then that is probably the perfect place for your pond. Just sitting and watching a waterfall or fountain is very relaxing, and if you've decided to liven up your private little lake, then choose fish like Koi, Comets, and Shabunkins which seem to be quite hardy specimens. They winter well, even here in northern Ohio. We haven't lost one fish to the weather in the eight years we've had our pond.Now, as to the basic "hardware" needs. Set your mind to having a strong liner, even if it's more expensive. This is the key to a trouble free pond. Firestone makes a liner material called EPDM PondGuard that is tough and very puncture resistant. (Holes in the liner are a real pain in the neck!). Besides the liner, you'll need a submersible water pump, a pond filter, a UV light (sometimes called a UV filter), and a few pond plants.Just some things to think about before you build your pond.Robert Dorrance has had a pond for the last eight years and would like to share his experiences with you. Be sure to come by and download the free e-book, How To Build A Beautiful Backyard Pond. Find out more at http://www.Backyard-Pond-Guide.com