By RODGER BLAKER

One of the most common challenges clients bring to coaching is the question of how to achieve their most important goals. They have important personal or business goals but they are not achieving them, and in fact, they often tell me they are not even getting started. How to help them?

There are many possible reasons for this, of course, but the reasons "why" are rarely important. Who cares "why" we don't make progress? The key is to find a SOLUTION and start moving forward. Here are three common solutions:

1. Clarify the REAL desire.

Clients often assume that a coach will be a huge fan of "goal setting" and are surprised to learn that I'm actually rather suspicious of most goal-setting programs. Now, obviously having clear goals is a good thing but most people spend far too much time setting false goals.

We've all done it. It's New Year's, and we "have to" create some targets for the coming year. Or, the boss sends us to a "motivational seminar" and we are told to come back with a set of written goals, so we do what we're told. Or, to pick on some other common themes, we know we "should" lose weight, quit smoking or spend less, so we set that as a "goal". No wonder we fail!

Those are NOT true goals! Those are merely exercises to sooth our boss, our spouse or our conscience!

The solution is obvious: Define what you REALLY want and set THAT as your goal. Most people are actually pretty good at achieving goals IF the goal is realistic, IF they have a clear plan, and IF they really, really want it.

2. Create a SYSTEM for achievement.

Weight Watchers(tm), Alcoholic Anonymous and other support groups work because they create an environment where we are supported and encouraged to succeed, every step of the way.

Too many people set goals and try to achieve them in isolation. Human beings are social creatures and we do our best when our friends are cheering us on, offering support, giving advice and making it easy for us to succeed.

Surround yourself with people, posters, music, tools and models that make it easier to succeed than to fail! Arrange your life and social situations so that every thing around you (your "Eco-system") pulls your forward! There are coaching models on how to create an environment that pulls you forward instead of feeling as if you must constantly find ways to push yourself forward

3. Take SMALL steps.

Too often we try to take giant leaps, when we are far more likely to get to the top of the mountain in a series of small, incremental steps.

Giant leaps are fun and dramatic, but they can also be up-setting. They change our world and confuse people. That's one reason many people, after losing weight in a hurry, gain it back just as quickly. They've changed "who they are", including their body image, their ward-robe, diet and lifestyle, and the brain naturally misses the old, familiar patterns.

The wisdom of experience tells us to slow down and take smaller steps.

Today, take one small step in the direction you want to go. Save a dollar, if saving money is one of your goals. Skip desert if losing weight is a goal. Compliment your significant other if you want a closer, more loving relationship.

Take small steps, but take them every single day. Take the smallest, safest, easiest step you can, but keep moving in the direction you want to go. If you like the results simply do it again tomorrow, and the day after that, and again the day after that. To achieve great things, keep walking, one step at a time, in the direction of your goal.

Rodger Blaker is a Professional Certified Coach who helps small business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals become more successful at growing their business or in their profession while creating a life of abundance. To find out how he can help you take your business to the next level and create more balance in your life, visit his site at http://www.rodgerblaker.com/.

 
By BRIAN BEARDEN

Want people to bring you money and then pay you each month if they need some of their money back?

"I would strongly advise buying a bank if you ever get a chance,'' said Messett Financial president Robert Messett. "It is a good racket."

We kept notes as Messett showed investors at Richardson, Grapevine and Fort Worth seminars how money turns over five to seven times a year.

He explained how people bring their money to the bank. The bank loans some of it out in a mortgage. Then the homeowner needs a home equity loan and the bank gives out more money. Then the bank customer needs to buy a car and the bank lends the money. The customer gets a credit card and pays interest on that, too. Each time the bank makes money.

Fact or fiction? Putting money in your 401 (k) will make you rich?

"It is a myth,'' Messett said. "I've never seen anyone get wealthy by only investing inside their 401 (k). The financial planners and mutual fund companies want you to do that because that's how they make money."

Instead a portfolio can include having a business, owning real estate, owning stocks, bonds, mutual funds and being insured.

"What really wealthy people do is get a conference room every six months and bring in all of their advisers."

It can get heated as the insurance agent, financial planner, CPA, attorney and others look over the portfolio.

Messett said real estate can be a good investment. The renter pays for the mortgage and every month the balance of the mortgage principal goes down. The property has appreciation. Rents rise every year. Investors can also take a rental property and borrow up to 90 percent of the equity to buy more real estate.

"The whole objective of an investor is to get a higher rate of return at a low risk," Messett said.

Money markets and certificates of deposit at the bank are safe ways to save.

But, wait, what's that waiting in the shadows? Taxes and inflation.

"Most people who put money in CDs don't see what is happening to their money,'' Messett said. "Taxes and inflation are eroding way your money."

Trust no one?

"If the government is telling us that the inflation rate is two or three percent, it is probably higher," Messett said.

Watch out for excise taxes, too.

"An excise tax is really a success tax," Messett said.

There's another cloud on the horizon.

"The problem is we don't know what the tax rates will be,'' Messett said. "Medicare and medicaid will be much bigger problems than we think."

Losing money in the stock market is a big worry.

Millions of baby-boomers retiring is another, according to Jerry Tuma of Cornerstone Financial Services.

There's a bigger risk, too.

"The risk is the income tax risk, not the investment risk'' Messett said. "It is a lost-opportunity cost because you don't get to invest that money. I think it was Einstein who said the most important thing discovered in the last 100 years was the power of compound interest in growing wealth. It can work the other way too if you lose money to taxes or poor investments. That can compound every year, too."

Champions Group CEO Cliff Robertson said not diversifying properly can be a mistake.

"You make money from your business, in real estate and in other investments. Investing only in the stock market is risky."

What does Messett do with his own money? He makes sure his family is insured, invested in the market and in real estate. He's owned a business and worked with wealthy clients.

"I'm one of those people who was really lucky to have someone take me under their wing,'' he said. "It is extremely important you align yourself with people who look forward.

"We look at the big picture. I'm not here just to sell you investments. A financial planner should look at all of your financial info to make sure that the insurance and taxes are taken care of too."