Achieving Your GoalsAchieving results| 00:04 | We've all taken time at the beginning
of a new year to reflect on the past and
| | 00:08 | make resolutions for the future.
| | 00:10 | It comes from the desire to have a
better life or make oneself a better person.
| | 00:15 | Setting goals is important, but I want to
talk about how to get the results you want.
| | 00:21 | We want to explore how to finally
make the changes in your life that you've
| | 00:25 | tried in the past or perhaps have
been putting off year after year.
| | 00:29 | This is why this course is not titled
Setting Goals, but Achieving your Goals.
| | 00:36 | When you achieve results on a
consistent basis, it becomes very motivational.
| | 00:41 | Seeing evidence of the progress you've made
will actually push you to make more progress.
| | 00:46 | On the other hand, it can be demotivating when
you set a goal too high and don't achieve it.
| | 00:53 | This course is not meant to teach you
everything there is to know about goals or
| | 00:58 | the psychology of success;
| | 01:00 | instead, we're going to give you a
straightforward seven-step process, so that you
| | 01:06 | can achieve results on
the goals that you've set.
| | 01:09 | This process is based on well over a
decade of experience working with people
| | 01:14 | in all kinds of positions.
| | 01:16 | As a CEO coach, I've helped business
leaders move off of performance plateaus
| | 01:22 | and achieve better results
than they have in the past.
| | 01:25 | This seven-step system is an abbreviated
version of the process I've shared with
| | 01:30 | leaders around the world. The seven steps are:
| | 01:33 | creating a vision, dividing to conquer,
processing into actions, making your
| | 01:40 | commitment public, establishing
accountability, celebrating your successes, and
| | 01:47 | reviewing your progress.
| | 01:49 | We'll cover these seven steps in
greater detail in the videos to follow.
| | 01:54 | Let's get started!
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| Using the exercise files| 00:00 | Throughout this course, I'll be
asking you to fill out worksheets to better
| | 00:04 | understand how well you're doing
with your goal-setting process.
| | 00:08 | These worksheets have been provided
in the exercise files tab on the Course
| | 00:13 | Details page for all lynda.com
subscribers. Or, if you're watching this tutorial
| | 00:19 | on a DVD, the exercise
files have been included there.
| | 00:23 | I suggest that you download these
worksheets and print them out prior to
| | 00:28 | watching the course.
| | 00:29 | At various points throughout the course,
I'll be asking you to pause the videos
| | 00:34 | and fill out a worksheet.
| | 00:35 | In order for you to get the most out of
this training, I recommend that you have
| | 00:39 | these worksheets on hand.
| | 00:41 | Now, let's get going!
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| Creating a vision| 00:00 | The first step toward achieving your
goals is to create a vision that's as
| | 00:05 | vibrant and clear in your mind as possible.
| | 00:08 | There are many studies confirming that
athletes who continually visualize their
| | 00:12 | goals achieve a great deal of success.
| | 00:15 | When you establish a very clear vision
in your mind and make it as real for
| | 00:20 | yourself as possible, your goal
will become more meaningful and more
| | 00:24 | motivational to you.
| | 00:26 | However, many people either don't
know where to begin or don't have a clear
| | 00:30 | understanding of what they really want in life.
| | 00:32 | I've provided a worksheet
to help you in this process.
| | 00:36 | At the top of this worksheet, you'll
see the statement "These are the things
| | 00:40 | I must accomplish in order to feel
successful on," with a blank space for a
| | 00:45 | date one year from now.
| | 00:47 | To be fully motivated, set goals for
things you feel you must accomplish.
| | 00:53 | If you list things that you would merely
like to accomplish, you'll find it much
| | 00:57 | harder to stay motivated.
| | 00:59 | The stronger the desire, the more
likely you'll achieve your goals.
| | 01:04 | Notice in the instructions,
the terms "become," "do," and "have."
| | 01:09 | Each part of your vision will fall
into one of those three categories: either
| | 01:14 | who you want to become as a person,
what you want to do, or something that you
| | 01:20 | want to have in your life.
| | 01:22 | Let's follow one example.
| | 01:23 | Imagine I feel I must complete
a marathon one year from now.
| | 01:29 | First, I want to describe that thoroughly.
| | 01:32 | One way to think about that is to
imagine that I've taken a time machine one
| | 01:36 | year into the future. I step out.
| | 01:39 | I take a picture of myself.
| | 01:41 | What is that vision like? How will I feel?
| | 01:45 | In this example, I might say, "I will
have run a marathon successfully and I will
| | 01:50 | feel better about myself and be
healthier than I have ever been in my life."
| | 01:55 | I could provide more detail than that,
but that's enough for our example.
| | 01:59 | Next, you'll see an important
question to answer about this vision:
| | 02:04 | why you know you will be successful
in becoming, doing, or having this.
| | 02:10 | There's an important reason for this question.
| | 02:13 | Many brain-science experts and
psychologists have found that the moment you
| | 02:17 | introduce a new idea in your brain, its
tendency is to give you many reasons why
| | 02:23 | you should not or cannot accomplish this idea.
| | 02:27 | To get past this, we want to
consider why this goal is attainable.
| | 02:33 | By framing the question as a why, and
then the answer as because, the brain will
| | 02:39 | come up with reasons why it
can and will become true.
| | 02:43 | In my example, I'll be successful in
my first marathon because I'm using this
| | 02:49 | goal-setting system, because I'm
committed to the process, and because it's
| | 02:53 | something I've dreamed of my whole life.
| | 02:55 | I would list as many reasons why I
know I will succeed as I can think of.
| | 03:01 | The more supporting reasons you can
list, the stronger your commitment to
| | 03:05 | this vision will be.
| | 03:07 | You'll repeat this process for up to five
things that you want to accomplish in the next year.
| | 03:13 | I recommend that you do not list more
than five and ideally have less than five
| | 03:19 | things that you will
accomplish within one year. Why?
| | 03:22 | Well, simply put, by focusing on a
few concrete objectives, the more likely
| | 03:28 | you are to succeed.
| | 03:30 | Once you've created this vision, put it
some place were you can see it regularly.
| | 03:35 | You may even want to frame and put it in
a prominent place in your home, or office.
| | 03:41 | This vision is the foundation for
your success in achieving your goals,
| | 03:45 | so you want to keep it in view always.
| | 03:48 | Once you've written out your
vision, we're ready to move on toward
| | 03:52 | actually achieving it.
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| Dividing to conquer| 00:00 | One of the biggest challenges that
people face when they set a goal is that it
| | 00:04 | seems overwhelming to them.
| | 00:06 | They look at where they are right now
and where they want to be in the future,
| | 00:10 | and the gap seems too large.
| | 00:13 | To help manage your goals, we're
borrowing an old concept, usually reserved
| | 00:17 | for politics and war:
| | 00:19 | divide and conquer.
| | 00:22 | What this means is you'll divide the
visions that you've created into smaller,
| | 00:27 | bite-sized targets, so that
you can conquer or achieve them.
| | 00:31 | You'll find the dividing to
conquer worksheet in your exercise files.
| | 00:36 | The process is fairly straightforward.
| | 00:38 | First, copy the vision exactly as
you created it in the vision worksheet.
| | 00:44 | Next, you'll want to
define how you measure success.
| | 00:49 | Sometimes the things you want to
accomplish are very quantifiable.
| | 00:53 | For completing my first
marathon, that's very obvious.
| | 00:56 | I either finish it or I don't.
Other goals are quantifiable in terms of a number,
| | 01:03 | such as what I want my
income to be in the next year.
| | 01:06 | But, what if something I chose is
more abstract, such as wanting to be a
| | 01:11 | more giving person?
| | 01:12 | That's much harder to quantify.
| | 01:14 | In this case, we can convert the
abstract goal into something measurable.
| | 01:19 | For instance, I might say that I want
to be a 10 on a scale of 0 to 10 in terms
| | 01:25 | of being a giving person,
and right now, I am a 4.
| | 01:30 | It's subjective, but still
helps me see my progress over time.
| | 01:35 | Once we know where we want to be in a
year and how we will measure it, it's time
| | 01:40 | to divide to conquer.
| | 01:42 | We'll start by dividing our one-year
goal in half, and asking, What do I need to
| | 01:48 | have accomplished six months from now?
| | 01:51 | In my marathon example, perhaps
I'll finish a half marathon.
| | 01:56 | In the case of being more giving, if
I'm a 4, and I want to be a 10, then 6
| | 02:01 | months from now, I'll want to be
halfway there, which would be 7.
| | 02:06 | Now, we're going to divide again to
create the three-month target, which is half
| | 02:12 | of the distance to the six-month target.
| | 02:14 | For the marathon, I might list a
distance I'll be running. Or in the example of
| | 02:20 | being a more giving person, 5.5
would be halfway between 4 and 7.
| | 02:25 | Finally, we move to the one-month target,
where we divide that three-month target by three.
| | 02:33 | For my marathon, it might be running
four times per week for at least two weeks.
| | 02:39 | In the example of being a more giving person,
I could say that I'll move it up to a 5.
| | 02:43 | When it comes to dividing to conquer,
don't worry too much about getting
| | 02:49 | it divided perfectly.
| | 02:50 | The idea is simply that you take this
very large, very difficult goal and break
| | 02:55 | it down until it's a smaller, more
manageable target; it's more short term.
| | 03:01 | Once you've done that, it will be much
easier for you to figure out how to take
| | 03:06 | action, which leads us to the
next step in achieving your goals.
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| Processing into actions| 00:00 | Now that we've divided your vision,
we're ready to process those smaller,
| | 00:04 | more achievable targets.
| | 00:06 | Processing is simply the act of
deciding what the next step is to accomplish
| | 00:11 | something, when you're going
to do it, and where is its home?
| | 00:15 | You can use this what-when-where
system for any goal that you've set to help
| | 00:20 | you move forward toward its completion.
| | 00:23 | When we talk about processing your goals
that means that we're going to take the
| | 00:27 | short-term targets that you created in
step two when you divided to conquer, and
| | 00:33 | we're going to process the one-month target.
| | 00:36 | You'll take that one target
and ask yourself the questions:
| | 00:39 | What is the next step, when will
it be done, and where is its home?
| | 00:44 | In my marathon example, I determined
that the one-month target toward that goal
| | 00:49 | was to run four times a
week for two weeks straight.
| | 00:52 | What is the next step to take
this forward toward completion?
| | 00:58 | Well, perhaps getting some new
running shoes could be the first step.
| | 01:01 | But, since I already have a pair, the
next step would be to begin running.
| | 01:07 | Now, for the second question of processing:
| | 01:09 | When will it be done?
| | 01:11 | When during my available
time should I do that step?
| | 01:16 | In my example, I could create a schedule to
run certain days of the week at a certain time.
| | 01:21 | It's important that I commit to a
particular time in my schedule and be very specific.
| | 01:27 | By making an appointment in my calendar,
I'll be much more likely to follow through.
| | 01:32 | Finally, I answer the
question, Where is its home?
| | 01:36 | This sounds a bit abstract in this
context, but it just means where does this
| | 01:41 | thing belong, or where are the
resources that I need to complete it?
| | 01:46 | In my example, I want to make sure
that my running shoes and clothes are
| | 01:50 | accessible and ready to go, to make
it easier for me to accomplish my task.
| | 01:55 | You may find that for some goals, it's
hard to answer the "where is its home?" question?
| | 02:01 | If it's not relevant, then just
answer the What and When questions.
| | 02:05 | One final note: if you find that you
set things on your calendar and still fail
| | 02:11 | to follow through, you may need additional help.
| | 02:14 | In this case, you might consider
completing the Time Management Fundamentals
| | 02:19 | course to improve your
follow-through on scheduled appointments.
| | 02:23 | Now that you've processed the targets,
we're ready to move to the next step.
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| Making your commitment public| 00:00 | Many studies have shown that peer
pressure can be used in a positive way.
| | 00:05 | Knowing that other people are
counting on you to succeed can increase your
| | 00:10 | likelihood of following through.
| | 00:13 | Making your commitment public moves
your goal out of your mind and into the
| | 00:17 | spotlight, so that people around
you can help you accomplish it.
| | 00:22 | Making a public commitment can also
help you avoid procrastination. And often,
| | 00:28 | when you tell others, you'll also see them
get on your side and look for ways to help you.
| | 00:33 | For example, when I decided to write my
first book, The Myth of Multitasking, I
| | 00:39 | made a commitment to my
clients that I was working on a book.
| | 00:42 | I told them I was going to finish
the first draft by a particular date.
| | 00:47 | Making this public commitment
increased my resolve to follow through when
| | 00:52 | writing time appeared on my calendar.
| | 00:54 | So, who is the best person
to share your commitment with?
| | 00:59 | You have several options:
| | 01:01 | You can tell family members, or your friends.
You may want to share this with coworkers.
| | 01:06 | Making a declaration in public to a
group of people, such as a gathering of
| | 01:10 | friends, can strengthen
your commitment and resolve.
| | 01:14 | I've also seen people make
successful commitments in social networking
| | 01:18 | environments on the Internet.
| | 01:20 | So take a moment to answer this
question: What group of people can I share my
| | 01:26 | vision with? Decide who those people are.
Then share your commitment with them.
| | 01:31 | When you tell them, be sure to let them
know the date that you're committed to
| | 01:35 | accomplishing those things.
| | 01:37 | If you're uncertain about whether you
want to commit to the full vision, just
| | 01:42 | share what you're going to
accomplish in the next month.
| | 01:45 | In this way, you can use the divide
to conquer principle to reinforce your
| | 01:50 | public commitment as well.
| | 01:52 | In the next video, we'll talk about
how to make it even easier to get help in
| | 01:57 | following through, by building accountability.
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| Establishing accountability| 00:00 | Accountability is a critical yet
often overlooked component of getting
| | 00:05 | results when you set goals.
| | 00:07 | It's different than making a public
commitment, as it reflects an ongoing
| | 00:11 | one-to-one relationship.
| | 00:13 | I define accountability as receiving
guidance and follow-up from another
| | 00:17 | person that I trust.
| | 00:19 | By my definition, you
cannot hold yourself accountable.
| | 00:23 | While you can certainly be personally
responsible for the decisions that you
| | 00:27 | make, accountability
requires the help of a third party.
| | 00:31 | Perhaps you've heard a great athlete say
that they're the product of great coaching.
| | 00:36 | This illustrates what I mean.
| | 00:38 | There's tremendous value in having
someone who can assess what you're doing,
| | 00:43 | give you training and support, and
follow up on the progress that you're making.
| | 00:48 | There are three common sources
of accountability to consider.
| | 00:52 | The first are your friends, and in
this, I am including your family and
| | 00:57 | possibly coworkers.
| | 00:58 | Receiving accountability from a friend
is usually very convenient, because you
| | 01:03 | already know them, and it won't cost
you anything, outside from perhaps a bit of
| | 01:08 | humility when asking for help.
| | 01:10 | Friends can be a helpful resource in
providing accountability, but they're not
| | 01:15 | nearly as effective as the other two options--
| | 01:18 | mentors and coaches.
| | 01:21 | Mentors are people who have accomplished
the very thing that you want to accomplish.
| | 01:26 | They've walked the path before, and
they know the steps that you can take to
| | 01:31 | walk that same path.
| | 01:33 | For my goal of completing a marathon, I
might find a mentor who has competed in
| | 01:38 | several marathons and ask for advice.
| | 01:41 | Perhaps you have friends that are also mentors.
| | 01:45 | Because mentors have actually done what
you are trying to do, they speak from a
| | 01:50 | place of experience.
| | 01:52 | One occasional challenge in working
with a mentor is that they have other
| | 01:56 | interests in their life.
| | 01:58 | They have goals they're trying to accomplish.
| | 02:01 | So they may not be able to devote their
full attention to helping you succeed.
| | 02:06 | And this leads us to the third option, coaches.
| | 02:10 | I'm including trainers, therapists,
and perhaps even clergy in this category.
| | 02:14 | These are people who've decided to
devote themselves to the profession of
| | 02:19 | helping other people achieve success.
| | 02:22 | They're usually well trained
and well practiced in that art.
| | 02:25 | It's very possible that you already
have coaches in certain areas of your life.
| | 02:31 | For instance, you may work with a
physical trainer to help you get your body
| | 02:35 | into shape, or a business coach to help
you get your business running smoothly.
| | 02:40 | Coaches can be particularly effective
because their success depends on your success.
| | 02:47 | They're typically willing to devote more
resources and time to help you succeed.
| | 02:52 | I know from experience, as a business
coach, that I spend considerable amount of
| | 02:57 | time each month thinking about
ways to better help my clients.
| | 03:01 | With a coach, it's often easier to
have a regular schedule of accountability.
| | 03:07 | Whomever is holding you accountable,
you'll want to have a schedule of follow-up
| | 03:10 | with them multiple times a month for
training and tracking of your progress.
| | 03:16 | Because coaches are professionals,
their services will cost you some money.
| | 03:21 | While this can be a barrier for some, I've
found that the return on investment for
| | 03:26 | a good coach is always many times
greater than whatever the cost was.
| | 03:31 | Take a moment now and consider one of
the goals that you've set for yourself.
| | 03:36 | Ask yourself, for this one goal who do
I want to make myself accountable to:
| | 03:41 | a friend, a mentor, or a coach?
| | 03:44 | Once you've made that decision, take
action on it by contacting that person.
| | 03:49 | Let them know your goal, so they
can begin to hold you accountable.
| | 03:53 | Let's continue on to the next
step toward achieving your goals.
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| Celebrating your success| 00:00 | As you begin taking action on the
smaller targets that you've set, occasionally
| | 00:05 | you'll fail, but most often, you'll succeed.
| | 00:09 | In those moments of success, it's
critical for you to acknowledge and celebrate
| | 00:13 | that success, including making a record of it.
| | 00:17 | Earlier, I mentioned how the brain
is likely to give you many logical,
| | 00:21 | justifiable reasons why
you're not going to succeed.
| | 00:26 | By recording and celebrating your
successes, you're reinforcing to your mind
| | 00:30 | that you actually have many more
reasons you will succeed than you will fail.
| | 00:36 | The process is much simpler than you may think.
| | 00:38 | It starts whenever you think you might not
follow through on an action for yourself.
| | 00:44 | For instance, let's say that I set my alarm
to wake me up at 6 o'clock to begin exercising,
| | 00:51 | but when I wake up, I
start to think, "Oh, I'm tired.
| | 00:55 | I don't want to follow through on this."
| | 00:58 | When this happens, immediately
use the why-because pattern of
| | 01:02 | question-and-answer.
| | 01:04 | Ask yourself questions such as, "Why am
I going to exercise this morning?" or "Why
| | 01:09 | do I love exercising?"
| | 01:11 | And then answer those with a because statement.
| | 01:15 | Because I love the
feeling I get when I exercise.
| | 01:19 | In his book, The Secret Code
of Success, my friend Noah St.
| | 01:23 | John refers to these why-
because questions as afformations.
| | 01:29 | These are different than affirmations,
which are often hollow statements telling
| | 01:33 | yourself that you're going to succeed,
which your brain immediately fights.
| | 01:38 | Instead, asking these why questions
gives your mind an opportunity to logically
| | 01:44 | create the reasons why you should succeed.
| | 01:48 | Now, when you do follow through on your goals,
to any degree, make a record of it somewhere.
| | 01:55 | This can be as simple as putting it
into your journal, or having a chart that
| | 01:59 | you check off on a daily basis.
| | 02:01 | You can even send yourself an
email saying "I did it today!"
| | 02:05 | Then, archive the email.
| | 02:07 | Make your record in a way
that's convenient to you.
| | 02:11 | This physical record shows your mind
evidence that you are following through.
| | 02:17 | This will go a long way toward
combating those negative thoughts and replacing
| | 02:22 | them with positive logic that
shows evidence of your success.
| | 02:27 | Every time you recognize your success,
you'll find it easier to follow through
| | 02:32 | in the future because of the
evidence you've built of past success.
| | 02:38 | I also suggest that you share your
success with others, especially those who
| | 02:43 | you've made the public commitment to or
who you've made yourself accountable to.
| | 02:49 | As you share your successes, your
supporters will celebrate with you and they'll
| | 02:54 | be glad to see you succeed, again,
reinforcing to your mind that you're going to
| | 02:59 | accomplish your goals.
| | 03:01 | Finally, take a moment on a regular basis,
perhaps once or twice a month, to give
| | 03:06 | yourself a reward that's meaningful to you.
| | 03:09 | It doesn't have to be large or expensive.
Perhaps you get a new album of music
| | 03:15 | that you've been wanting for a while, or
you treat yourself to an evening out on
| | 03:19 | the town with a loved one.
| | 03:20 | Whatever is meaningful to you, give
yourself credit for the success that you've had.
| | 03:26 | As you do that, not only will you find
it easier to progress toward your goal,
| | 03:31 | but you'll also enjoy the journey
that you follow in getting there.
| | 03:36 | And now we're ready to do the final
step toward achieving your goals, which is
| | 03:41 | reviewing your progress.
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| Reviewing your progress| 00:00 | As you work toward accomplishing your
goals, you'll occasionally want to check
| | 00:05 | in and see how well you're progressing.
| | 00:07 | You can use this review time to repeat
some of the necessary steps in the system
| | 00:12 | for achieving your goals.
| | 00:13 | First, I recommend that you create an
appointment for yourself once a month to
| | 00:18 | review each of the goals you established.
| | 00:21 | This session will last
likely a half an hour to an hour,
| | 00:25 | so I recommend planning for an hour.
| | 00:28 | As you review the vision, you'll
repeat the worksheet on dividing to conquer.
| | 00:33 | In other words, you'll assess where
you are right now and then divide again,
| | 00:38 | the distance between where
you're at and what the goal is.
| | 00:42 | Repeat this process until you
get down to a one-month target.
| | 00:47 | You'll then repeat step three in the
system, which is reprocessing your new
| | 00:51 | target. And you're deciding what you're
going to do with it, when you're going
| | 00:56 | to do it, and where is its home.
| | 00:59 | Also review step four, where you may
decide to make another public commitment.
| | 01:04 | In reviewing step five, you'll
reestablish your accountability and make sure
| | 01:09 | that you have a scheduled meeting
with your friend, mentor, or coach.
| | 01:14 | Then step six, you'll celebrate any of
the successes you've had so far, either
| | 01:19 | by recording your past success or
setting up some simple reward for yourself.
| | 01:25 | This review time is not so much
about reviewing your successes and your
| | 01:30 | failures as it is about reviewing
the system for achieving your goals and
| | 01:34 | recommitting to it again and again.
| | 01:37 | Keeping this appointment with yourself
on a monthly basis will help you always
| | 01:42 | keep those goals in mind.
| | 01:44 | And this will help you avoid one of the
biggest problems that people have, which
| | 01:49 | is conveniently forgetting
their goals and resolutions.
| | 01:53 | When you're reviewing and
celebrating your successes, if you've already
| | 01:58 | accomplished one of the goals you've
set for yourself, you can use this review
| | 02:02 | time to add a new goal, using
the Creating a Vision worksheet.
| | 02:07 | Then, follow the seven-step
process for your new goal.
| | 02:12 | By using the review process and
going back through the steps of this goal-
| | 02:16 | setting system that I've given you,
you'll make small advances toward
| | 02:20 | accomplishing your goal.
| | 02:22 | And by doing this consistently, the odds
are great that you'll find yourself at
| | 02:28 | the end of one year at exactly the
point you intended to be, or even past it.
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| Final thoughts| 00:00 | Thank you for investing this small
amount of time to watch this course on
| | 00:05 | achieving your goals.
| | 00:06 | As you've seen, this is a process that
you will not complete just one time, but
| | 00:11 | you can use repeatedly to
accomplish many things in your life.
| | 00:15 | It's a surprisingly simple system.
| | 00:17 | All it requires is for you
to follow it consistently.
| | 00:21 | One final suggestion to keep in mind:
| | 00:24 | be patient with this process
and be patient with yourself.
| | 00:28 | Impatience is the enemy of success.
| | 00:30 | Get-rich-quick schemes usually lead
to getting poor quick, and fad diets
| | 00:36 | usually lead to relapses.
| | 00:38 | But those who have a clear vision
and take one step at a time toward their
| | 00:43 | destination most often accomplish
their goals, and also experience joy in the
| | 00:49 | journey of getting there. Thank you again,
| | 00:52 | and I look forward to hearing
about the goals you will achieve.
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