What’s the one result you want more than anything?
How many times have you attempted to achieve that goal?
Do you continually try the same strategy without success?

Regardless of your past failures and your current challenges, it’s possible to cultivate a new mindset, feel confident, take action, and reach your goal. These five steps will help you harness your inner strengths and innate fighting spirit to find success in whatever it is you want to achieve. It begins with intention.

DREAM
Your biggest dream can be achieved, but first your objective must be very clear and specific. And, your intent must have a meaningful purpose or provide value to you and others. A clear and compelling vision of the goal you DREAM of achieving is one of the most crucial elements in setting and reaching it. That vision is what you’ll continually draw upon to keep you in your success-conscious mindset.

DECIDE
A success-conscious mindset requires you to make an unwavering decision. Failure can no longer be an option. You must DECIDE that you WILL (not “maybe” or “hopefully”) accomplish your goal no matter what. It’s from that confident mind space that an intangible power and a mental chemistry provides you what you need when you need it. It’s where your heart-felt dedication harmonizes with your passionate intention to give you the motivation to take you the distance.

DESIRE
An all-consuming, burning DESIRE is imperative to make your goal a reality. Maintaining that white-heat of desire is vital to your success. There’s no guarantee it’ll be easy, so you’ve got to be completely devoted to having what you want. Setbacks and challenges are part of the deal in goal achievement. It’s in the falling down and getting back up that confidence and success lies. Your heart-felt desire is what will keep you keepin’ on.

DRIVE
What’s fueling your dedication? Why do you want this desire of yours? The next essential requirement is DRIVE. Your ‘Why’ must be compelling enough. It has to be non-negotiable. What you want cannot be open to compromise. There can be no possibility of ever going back to your current results. Once you have an unbending, uncompromising motivation, you’re ready for the last D.

DATE To bring to life the unspoken desires of your heart, you’ve got to be intentional. It’s important to establish a definite DATE and clearly specify when you WILL achieve your goal. You must state what you WILL accomplish and by when. It’s helpful to make a verbal or written commitment to another person – a family member, friend or a coach. Being accountable and wanting to honor a commitment will increase your probability of success.

HINT: When you use the S.M.A.R.T. acronym, you can create clear and meaningful goals that are easily attainable. Each one should be:
S – specific
M – measurable
A – action-based behaviors
R – realistic
T – time-bound