legal sanity

My friend and business associate Keith Ferrazzi emailed me about his goals for 2008. He shared his belief that, “to be a successful goal-getter,” we need to take a few preliminary steps.

First, we have to define our goals. Keith believes that goals usually fall into one of seven categories (he calls them the “seven aspects” of our “personal success wheel”):

• health + wellness

• spirituality

• job + career

• intellectual + cultural

• financial

• deep relationships

• giving back

Step two is to make sure that the goals we define are SMART, which stands for:

• specific

• measurable

• attainable

• relevant

• time-bound

The third step in Keith’s goal-getting approach is a crucial one. We need to get some positive reinforcement by asking three friends to be our “accountability buddies.” The idea is to create a vibrant support network so that no one has to go it alone and everyone stays accountable.

To help us take these steps, Keith and his team have created an application called Goal Post that’s housed at Facebook, the social networking site. According to Keith, Goal Post is “an easy and visual way to set your goals, choose your accountability buddies and keep track of your progress.”

If 2007 found you questioning your job or career path, you can find some guidance and inspiration for the coming year in Curt Rosengren’s new book, 101 Ways to Get Wild About Work.

I was fortunate enough to receive and review an advance copy of the book. Curt offers a lot of practical insight and action points for reenergizing our current work or reorienting towards a different job or career that rewards us on many levels – financial, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. There’s a hefty helping of material here. But, Curt makes it very easy to consume by breaking it down into bite-sized tips, ideas and inspirational perspectives.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and meaningful 2008.