HOW TO CRAFT YOUR DEFINITE CHIEF AIM ~ MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM 'LAW OF SUCCESS' AND 'THINK AND GROW RICH' BY NAPOLEON HILL

I have had initially crafted the following simple design and execution template for myself in the late seventies or so, and subsequently expanded it to help high-school and pre-university students in Singapore throughout the nineties, as part of my strategy consultancy work in the schools, to set compelling, inspiring and overarching long-range goals and achieve goals in life.

Here are the operating mechanics:

A) First and foremost, know exactly what you want, and why, in terms of compelling, inspiring and overarching long-range goals and objectives:

a) what do I want to be?

b) what do I want to do?

c) what do I want to have?

d) what do I want to improve?

e) what do I want to change?

f) what do I want to learn?

g) where do I want to go?

h) who do I want to meet or engage as mentors?

in tandem with the following major life dimensions in your life:

i) academic pursuit (further and beyond);

ii) mental development;

iii) career aspirations;

iv) physical health;

v) financial wealth or financial development;

vi) family relationships, including romance;

vii) social networking;

viii) recreational ventures (including hobbies, interests, sports, vacations, etc.);

ix) spiritual development (including contributions to society, volunteering, religious pursuits, etc.);

x) entrepreneurial side-gigs, if any;

Take your time, a few days if needed as you are thinking about your

future!

You may end up with several useful ideas.

Narrow them down to say 3 to 5, by asking yourself, as you evaluate your goals:

• Do I really like or want it?
• Will I enjoy it when I get it?
• Am I prepared to do whatever it takes to get it?

If Yes for all questions, proceed; if NO, it's a NO GO!

B) Translate all your long-range goals and objectives in (1) into specific, prioritised and executable tasks that you need to accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even annually;

C) With the end in mind as formulated in (1) and (2), work out your start-point, end-point and the developmental path of transition points in between;

In tactical execution, (2) and (3) form the basis of your systematic game plan.

This is where you can factor in your learning agenda, or study plan, or even your side-gig project plan, if any.

D) Pinpoint specific tasks that you need to accomplish at each transition point till the endpoint;

E) Establish metrics to measure your progress, or milestone accomplishments;

F) Assign and allocate personal accountability, as some tasks may need to be shared, e.g. with team members, if any;

G) Identify and marshal resources that are required to get all the work done;

[I like to call them the 7 M's: Money; Methods; Men; Machines; Materials; Metrics; and Mojo!]

H) Schedule a timetable for completion of each predefined task;

I) Highlight potential problems or challenges that may crop up along the Highway of Life, as you traverse on it;

J) Brainstorm and wrap up a slew of possible strategies to deal with (I);

This is your contingency plan.

K) Institute some form of system, like a visual Pert Chart, to track, control and monitor your forward trajectory, as laid out in your systematic game plan, in conjunction with all the critical elements of (4) to (10);

L) Follow-up massively and follow-through consistently your systematic game plan;

M) Put in your sweat equity of intense effort and focused execution;

N) Stay focused on your strategic objectives, but remain flexible in your tactical execution;

The ultimate fire test of your goal setting and goal achieving is in (L),(M) and (N)!

A nice parting shot, as food for thought:

"Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon,... must inevitably come to pass. "

~ Paul J Meyer;