Whether you think you can or think you cannot you are correct.
\n<\/i>Henry Ford<\/p>\n
1 – Introduction – New Year Resolutions<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n We all make resolutions at the start of the year.\u00a0 However, for many these resolutions disappear into the ether around the end of January.\u00a0 Quite often, thirty days is what it takes for old habits to return, for resolutions to be forgotten and for goals not to be achieved.\u00a0 This is in part why I am publishing this essay at the end of January.\u00a0 This is the time when many of us need help achieving the goals we set for the year.<\/b><\/p>\n So how do you do it?\u00a0 How do you achieve your goals? How do you stick to your resolutions for the long term, the whole year, and not just for a month?\u00a0 Here are a few tips that have work for me and I believe will work for you as well.<\/p>\n 2 – Focus on your vision<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Vision is your guiding light.\u00a0 Vision is what you see that others cannot see.\u00a0 Only you know what your vision is and why it matters to you.\u00a0 When setting your new year resolutions, let your vision guide you.\u00a0 By doing so you will set goals that are meaningful in the context of your entire life, not just in the context of this year alone.\u00a0 These will be goals that matter to you and that are are worth committing to.\u00a0 They will be goals that make the hard work needed to reach them worth it.\u00a0 They may be new goals or they may be goals you have been meaning to achieve for a long time.\u00a0 Either way reaching these goals will help make your life meaningful and build your self worth.<\/p>\n <\/b>3 – Set specific goals<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Setting specific goals is half the battle because a goal set is a goal that is already partially reached.\u00a0 This is because setting a specific goal forces you to define the path you will follow to reach this goal.\u00a0 Once that path is set, all you have to do is follow it.<\/p>\n <\/b>4 – Set specific deadlines<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Setting goals is important but without deadlines nothing gets done.\u00a0 Deadlines set a line in the sand, so to speak, a time by which things must get done.\u00a0 Again, be specific when setting your deadlines.\u00a0 For example say: I will have 12 fine art prints matted and framed by June 30th.\u00a0 Or, I will have my folio project that includes 12 prints, an artist statement, a biography printed, packaged and ready to show by July 1st, 2014.<\/p>\n <\/b>5 \u2013 Start with what is hard, reward yourself with what is easy<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Make a list of what you have to do each day, then give a letter to each task.\u00a0 A for the most important and difficult tasks, B for the second most important tasks, C for the less important tasks and D for the easiest tasks.\u00a0 Start your day by working on the A tasks, the most important and difficult ones.\u00a0 When those are all done, move to the B tasks.\u00a0 Don\u2019t move to the B tasks until all A tasks are done.\u00a0 Do this for all the tasks on your list.\u00a0 By the time you get to the Ds you will find them so easy that they will feel more like rewards than actual tasks.<\/p>\n <\/b>6 – Define success in your own terms<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Success is different for all of us.\u00a0 Therefore you need to define what success is for you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t define success as others see it.\u00a0 Define it as you see it.<\/p>\n What constitutes success for you is most likely different than what constitutes success for others. Your goals, your desires and overall what you consider to be success in a specific endeavor is unique to you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about it.\u00a0 Whether what you want is more or less or different than what other people want is irrelevant because you and them are different people in different situations focused on different goals.<\/p>\n <\/b>7 – Be realistic<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Only realistic goals get done.\u00a0 Overly ambitious goals are discouraging because they are so lofty that we feel we will never reach them.\u00a0 Unrealistic deadlines have the same effect.\u00a0 When deadlines are set too far in the future they make us feel we have all the time in the world so we never get started.\u00a0 When deadlines are too short they make us feel we wont\u2019 have time to get things done.\u00a0 Either way we get discouraged before we even begin working on our goals.<\/p>\n A realistic goal is a goal you know you can achieve with the time and resources you have available to you.\u00a0 Only you know what is realistic.\u00a0 Just like success is individually defined, what is realistic is individually defined as well.\u00a0 What is realistic for you is different than what is realistic for others.\u00a0 When you set realistic goals you give yourself the opportunity to succeed.\u00a0 When you set unrealistic goals you set yourself up for failure.<\/p>\n To be effective deadlines also have to be realistic.\u00a0 For example, a good rule of thumb for finishing a photography folio project is 6 months until completion. This time frame works well for me and for my students.<\/p>\n 8 – Quantify<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Even though you defined success in your own terms, it is challenging to achieve a goal that is not quantified.\u00a0 To achieve your goals you need to define them precisely.\u00a0 The first step is to quantify these goals.\u00a0 This means putting numbers on what you want to achieve.\u00a0 How many fine art photographs that you will be proud to show to everyone do you want to create this year?\u00a0 How many projects do you want to complete?\u00a0 How many locations do you want to photograph? How many workshops do you want to attend?\u00a0 The list goes on; these are just examples.<\/p>\n <\/b>9 – Check your progress regularly (daily, weekly or monthly)<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Mark Twain said that bad habits must be pushed out of the house one step at a time.\u00a0 They cannot be kicked out because if you do that they will return. Instead, they have to be persuaded to leave, making it clear that they are unwelcome so they do not come back.\u00a0 This is done little by little by making sure at regular intervals that we are on our way to betterment, whatever the endeavor might be.<\/p>\n Whatever resolutions you took, whatever goals you set, make it a habit to ask yourself regularly what you did so far to reach these goals and resolutions.\u00a0 Do this each day for daily goals.\u00a0 Do it each week for weekly goals.\u00a0 Then at the end of the month do a monthly check during which you list all that you did this month in regard to reaching a specific goal or following through on a specific resolution.<\/p>\n Doing so makes you accountable for following through.\u00a0 The goals you set are no longer abstract ideas.\u00a0 They are now live actions that you are working on daily and for which you must show weekly and monthly progress.\u00a0 Accountability is the keyword here.\u00a0 Making ourselves accountable for the goals we set means we feel responsible to achieve these goals.\u00a0 Goals and resolutions are no longer a \u2018maybe\u2019 proposition.\u00a0 Instead they become a \u2018must,\u2019 something we have to get done.<\/p>\n <\/b>10 – Be creative, not competitive.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Competition means trying to outdo someone else.\u00a0 Creativity means finding unique ways of reaching our personal goals.\u00a0 When you operate on the basis of competition you focus on others.\u00a0 When you operate on the basis of creativity you focus on yourself.\u00a0 Eventually what matters most is you.\u00a0 Reaching your personal goals has nothing to do with how well, or poorly as the case might be, others are doing.\u00a0 Reaching your goals is not a matter of outdoing others.\u00a0 Reaching your goals is a matter of outdoing yourself.\u00a0 The way to achieve this is through creative thinking, by making the necessary breakthrough, the leap of faith that will allow you to make the changes you need in order to reach the goals you set for this year.<\/p>\n 11 – Don\u2019t worry<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n There will be obstacles along the way but those can be dealt with in due time, whenever they show up.\u00a0 The problem with worrying about things that have not happened yet is that it means worrying about things that are vague and undefined.\u00a0 Most of our fears never materialize. However, in the process of worrying about what would happen if they did, we waste our time and damage our health.\u00a0 Nobody dies of hard work but many die of worry.\u00a0 The expression \u2018worried to death\u2019 attests to this.\u00a0 Don\u2019t join the list by worrying unnecessarily about things that might happen.\u00a0 Just move forward by working on your goals and deal with problems when, and if, they show up.<\/p>\n 12 – Focus on the positive<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>Focus on what you want, not on what you don\u2019t want.\u00a0 The mind finds ways of obtaining what we think about.\u00a0 Therefore think about what you want and you will get what you want.\u00a0 If you think about what you don\u2019t want, you will get what you don\u2019t want. In other words, as Henry Ford put it, whether you think you can or think you cannot, you are correct.\u00a0 Therefore think that you can.\u00a0 Think of concrete ways of reaching your goals and you will be on your way to making things happen.<\/p>\n <\/b>13 – Get help from people who are where you want to be<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Don\u2019t reinvent the wheel. The wheel has been invented and all you need to do is learn how to use it. To do this get advice from those who have been there themselves.\u00a0 Only those who have been where you want to go can help you get there in a practical, efficient and successful manner.\u00a0 They are realistic about it and they know exactly what it takes to get there.\u00a0 Their advice will get you there faster than you ever will on your own.<\/p>\n 14 – Don\u2019t do trial and error<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n The trial and error process is wasteful of both time and money.\u00a0 If you are like me, your time is precious.\u00a0 Certainly, money is important as well. \u00a0However, for many of us time is more valuable than money because we can make more money but we can\u2019t make more time.\u00a0 Therefore, if we can afford to, using money to reach our goals is the most efficient approach.<\/p>\n 15 \u2013 Focus on both soft skills and hard skills<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Both set of skills are important and necessary for success.\u00a0 Don\u2019t focus on one or the other exclusively.\u00a0 Instead, set goals that foster the acquisition and the development of both.\u00a0 If you are not familiar with these two skills, read my essay titled Soft Skills and Hard Skills<\/i><\/a> because it describes what they are in detail.<\/p>\n <\/b>16 – Conclusion<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Nobody is perfect, myself included.\u00a0 However, we can all improve our success by following the simple steps listed in this essay. If we do so we will be on our way to keep our 2014 resolutions. Eventually, it boils down to a simple approach: focusing on our vision, defining success in our own terms, quantifying what represents success, not letting negativity get in our way and going for it.<\/p>\n About Alain Briot<\/strong> You can find more information about my work, writings and tutorials as well as subscribe to my Free Monthly Newsletter on my website. To subscribe simply go to\u00a0http:\/\/www.beautiful-landscape.com<\/a>\u00a0and click on the Subscribe link at the top of the page. You will receive 40 free essays in eBook format immediately after subscribing.<\/p>\n I welcome your comments on this essay as well as on my other essays. You can reach me directly by emailing me at\u00a0alain@beautiful-landscape.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alain Briot Whether you think you can or think you cannot you are correct. Henry Ford 1 – Introduction – New Year Resolutions We all make resolutions at the start of the year.\u00a0 However, for many these resolutions disappear into the ether around the end of January.\u00a0 Quite often, thirty days is what it takes for old…Continue reading Being Successful Reaching your Goals in 2014<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[107,27,83,105,35,104,106,103],"class_list":["post-2123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success","tag-alain","tag-alain-briot","tag-briot","tag-deadlines","tag-fine-art","tag-goals","tag-photogrpahy","tag-success-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2123"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2986,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123\/revisions\/2986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI create fine art photographs, teach workshops and offer DVD tutorials on composition, image conversion, optimization, printing and marketing. I am the author of\u00a0Mastering Landscape Photography, Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity and Personal Style<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Marketing Fine Art Photogra<\/em>phy. All 3 books are available as printed books on Amazon.com and as eBooks on my website at this link:\u00a0http:\/\/beautiful-landscape.com\/Ebooks-Books-1-2-3.html<\/a><\/p>\n
\nArizona
\nJanuary 2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"