In Basketball, Goal-Tending is not a good thing! In life…tending to your Goals is not only a good thing…it’s essential to success.

It has become popular lately to bash Goal setting! Some say it’s a waste of time! I believe that Goals are the seeds of dreams, and a dream is like an invisible escort, guiding you…leading you … and propelling you toward your destiny through Life Training.

I agree with the great orator, Yogi Berra, who once said…"If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else."

Goals unify people, motivate them, and focus their talent and energy. They are the first step … and without them, most journeys never begin. Without Goals, you have signed the death warrant to your dreams. So, most unfulfilled dreams are the result of not having clear-cut objectives and Goals in the first place.

When a Goal is set, it must be clear so you can maintain focus. A clear-cut vision refuses to look to the left or the right. It stays focused! If you lose focus you’ll see all the obstacles…and there will always be obstacles. You learn that in Life Training.

Henry Ford said…"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your Goals."

The more you look at your Goals the clearer they become. The more you look at the obstacles the bigger they become!

Your Goal is also like the sail on a sailboat. It determines your direction. The wind does not determine your ultimate direction, how you set your sail does. It’s not the gale; it’s the sail that determines your ultimate destination.

A teacher asked a student, "If you mowed 12 lawns at $8.50 each, what would you have?" The student said without hesitation, "A new bicycle!" He knew what his Goal was!

Life Training teaches us that most victories are not won in miles, but in inches. Inch by inch…focused on the Goal …eyes on the prize!

When you are setting Goals, it’s important to prioritize them. Don’t be like the blonde who suspected that her husband was having an affair, so she went to the pawnshop and traded her watch for a handgun. When she came home, her husband was in bed with a redhead, so she held the gun to her own head. The husband was pleading and begging her not to kill herself so she said, ‘‘shut up, you’re next." She definitely lost sight of her priorities!

A Goal is a dream with a deadline. Set the Goal…set a time frame and move forward! Be specific! Don’t be like the old boy who said, "All my life I said I wanted to be someone…I can see now that I should have been more specific."

The Goals we set today make a reservation for our future. We have to make plans now for where we want to be tomorrow! Set Goals…and act on them! Be guilty of Goal-Tending!

This is not new. It’s not novel. But it is necessary. And it’s powerful!