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| OCTOBER 2010 |
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I'm a serial goal setter. At all times, I have an ambitious set of goals in play. First thing nearly every Monday morning, I meet with one of my mastermind groups to set and review goals. While excellent in setting and starting new goals, my goals list tends to grow much faster than my goal accomplishments.
In this month's newsletter, I'm going to share a simple strategy I've learned and used to accomplish more of my goals, quicker. Take a few minutes to read the article below. My goal is that you will come away with a tip or an inspiration that you can use to more efficiently accomplish your goals.
The Power of Simple Goals
By John Bisnar
If you're like me, you set goals faster than you accomplish them, and as a result, your goal list continues to grow, and you are not reaching your goals as quickly and efficiently as you would like. Perhaps you have sticky notes scattered across your desk, a calendar on the wall with notes scribbled and dates circled, a to-do list organizer or some online productivity tool. Writing down and keeping mindful of your goals is a very important step in accomplishing them, so never discount the importance of writing down your goals.
And as a lawyer, you probably work diligently on your scheduled work items, act on opportunities as they appear, and put out fires as they ignite. Aside from that, you may have other dream projects that you have set to the side, your non-time committed goal list: writing a procedural manual for all your office's functions, starting a blog, expanding your marketing for new clients or simply taking a vacation. Certainly you have your list, written or not, and many times they're the same goals that have existed for weeks, months, or even years.
You and I both know that it's easy to set goals, but tough to keep on track to accomplish all of them. It takes energy, focus, motivation, and tenacity to move forward continually on your goal list. And even the most driven amongst us is challenged in harnessing these attributes to keep on track with our time tables for accomplishment of our goals.
Instead of feeling "less than" about not accomplishing all your goals on your time schedule, it's time to try something new. It's time to harness the power of segmenting goals.
What does that mean? It means you break down goals into more manageable pieces that can be performed over a shorter time period that will eventually lead to the more efficient accomplishment of the larger goal. This method will naturally give you more "accomplishments" and therefore more feelings of success that will empower you to keep moving forward with accomplishing your goals.
Segmenting Goal System Step 1: Choose Your Goals
Make a list of goals you want to achieve. This is a goals list, not a wish list. Distinguish between wishes and goals. Wishes are the things you hope to happen. Goals are the things that you are committed to accomplishing. This list might end up with ten, twenty items -- it doesn't matter. My list usually has dozens of immediate, short-term and long-term goals. Only write down goals that you commit to achieve. Add a time element on when you intend to accomplish them.
Now, pick out one particular goal. Choose one of the goals that you have the strongest commitment too. Choose one that will reasonably take six months to a year to accomplish. Then add a realistic time element to the goal. You will accomplish this goal by when?
Segmenting Goal System Step 2: Use Sub-Goals, the To-Dos
Once you've chosen your priority goal and when it is to be accomplished, the next step is to break it into smaller sub-goals that you will accomplish in the first couple of months.
As an example, go back a few years (or maybe many more) to when you first decided you wanted to become a lawyer. You needed to get into law school, complete three years of school, and pass the bar exam. There would be no point in trying to accomplish all these steps at once. So you used sub-goals, and you made it happen.
And each of those steps had sub-goals of their own. One of your sub-goals may have been to research various law schools and choose the top five schools that you wanted to attend. And you even broke that step down into several sub-goals such as reading reviews, talking to lawyers you knew, and requesting information pamphlets.
The reason for sub-goals is to create actionable steps, your "to-do" list that will move you towards the larger goal in a systematic manner, on a schedule. If you don't break your goals into smaller steps, you can easily become overwhelmed and not know where to start, lose your momentum when you do start, and/or get overwhelmed with the number and complexity of your goals.
Segmenting Goal System Step 3: Taking Action
Organize your goal and its sub-goals so you understand each step that you need to take. Then, each week, create a "to-do" that will move you closer to your sub-goal. Keep in mind that delegating you "to-dos" can move you along faster and have you working towards multiple goal accomplishments simultaneously.
Each week and then by day, choose "to-dos" that will move you closer to your weekly goal and make it priority. Set a time during your day that you are going to accomplish your "to-dos" for that day. This way you will stay focused on your goal, your sub-goal and your "to-dos" instead of pushing it aside when other things arise during the day. Within just a week, you will see your progress and will feel the manifestation of the goal becoming your reality.
Let's say your goal is to take a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon next summer. You have your goal and your time limit. The first week's "to-do" may be: Day One, research what rafting companies offer Grand Canyon trips; Day Two, research the differences between what the companies offer; Day Three, research the actual trip days that are available; Day Four, research what previous customers have said about the rafting companies; and Day Five, make a decision as to which Grand Canyon rafting company you want to go with. The second week's "to-dos" may include determining which of the rafting dates are available on your calendar, making the reservation, and figuring out your options for getting to and from the Grand Canyon. And so on. After three weeks of accomplishing your "to-dos," your goal is nearly a certainty to be accomplished next summer, even though there are many more steps to be taken to make it a reality.
I know this sounds simpler than it really is. However, it truly works. Instead of chasing down ten dreams at once and never getting anything done, this system will help you accomplish the most important goals you desire -- whether it's a professional goal or a personal one.
The real focus of any project should be to get it done to completion. And by taking action towards a sub-goal and breaking them down into "to-dos" for each day, you will stay focused each week, and you'll be able to move towards completion at an efficient and effective pace until you're done.
The Oldest Profession
A surgeon, an architect, and a lawyer are having a heated barroom discussion concerning which of their professions is actually the oldest profession.
The surgeon says: "Surgery IS the oldest profession. God took a rib from Adam to create Eve and you can't go back further than that."
The architect says: "Hold on! In fact, God was the first architect when he created the world out of chaos in 7 days, and you can't go back any further than THAT!"
The lawyer puffs his cigar and says: "Gentlemen, Gentlemen . . . who do you think created the CHAOS?"
John's Recommended Marketing Events
Interactive Local Media 2010 - December 7-9 in Santa Clara, California
Interactive Local Media 2010 is a three-day mega-conference featuring some of the top innovators of local media, local directories, local search, local mobile, local social, and local direct marketing.
This conference will help you get a deeper look into the strategies you need to use in order to connect with your local market through both online and offline methods.
You'll learn how to maximize local search results, use social media to connect with local prospects, harness the power of mobile apps and products, and much more.
Visit http://www.kelseygroup.com/ilm2010/ for more information.
The Most Powerful Law Firm Growth Tool
Want to grow your practice substantially?
Speak to anyone who has been in a face-to-face business mastermind group about their experience. Having strong mastermind partners, helping you grow your practice has been the most powerful key to the growth of my practice.
Ever wanted to learn from and share ideas with some of the most knowledgeable, skilled and successful attorneys in your practice area to discuss their keys to success and how to apply those keys to your practice? Now think of meeting with such a group on a regular basis. Consider what it would be like if these highly successful attorneys were actively helping you grow and manage your practice. Well, that's what an attorney mastermind group can be for you.
I have been a part of business mastermind groups for 15 years. Nothing has been more beneficial to the growth of my practice than my mastermind groups. I highly recommend you seek out a mastermind group for yourself, or form one yourself.
One of my goals is to form a mastermind group that is exclusively personal injury attorneys committed to the growth of their practices and to the growth of the practices of their mastermind partners. The group would not only mentor each other in marketing and management but would use the power of their numbers to more effectively compete in their individual practice areas and geographical locations for attracting new ideal clients.
My goal will be accomplished in 2011. If you are interested in becoming a member of a rather exclusive mastermind group of personal injury attorneys only, email me at jbisnar@bisnarchase.com. Since first announcing this group two weeks ago, there are law firms that have already reserved their place in the group.
There will only be one attorney per geographical area that practices the same type of personal injury law. In other words, no one in the group will be a competitor of anyone else in the group. The group will meet face to face three times a year for the better part of two days. The group will also meet telephonically every month that there isn't a face to face meeting. It isn't cheap to join and there is a yearly fee.
We Can Help
Call Carey Wagenblast in my office (800-956-0123) for assistance. Carey maintains our referral-out list. It is filled with prescreened attorneys in nearly every practice area in nearly every geographic location throughout the country. We have been developing this list for over a decade and will help you identify the right attorney for your situation.
Are You on Our Referral-Out List?
If you are not on our referral-out list, you may be missing out on potential clients. We refer potential clients to attorneys outside our firm nearly every day. If you would like to be on our referral-out list, send us email with (1) your area of specialty, (2) the geographic location that you handle cases in, (3) the address of your office(s), (4) the state(s) you are licensed in and (5) your bar number(s). The keeper of our list and the person who refers potential clients out to our referral list is Mrs. Wagenblast. She will follow up with you and is someone you want to make friends with.
Referral Fees Paid
This month we completed two seven-figure cases. If you had referred either of those cases to us, you could be receiving a six-figure referral fee check within the next thirty days.
If you're looking to generate additional income without any extra work or overhead, then our Attorney Referral Program is perfect for you!
To your success,
John Bisnar
BISNAR | CHASE
www.BestAttorney.com
1-800-561-4887
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