By J. William DeMarco

“I am appalled at the aimlessness of most people’s lives. Fifty percent don’t pay any attention to where they are going, forty percent are undecided and will go in any direction. Only ten percent know what they want and even all of them don’t go toward it.” – Katherine Anne Porter

It’s one of those morning where there are 50 different thoughts going through my mind, so this lands somewhere between Oingo Boingo, John Maxwell, and Andy Traub’s stellar Seth Godin/Linchpin podcast….oh and of course the Talking Heads Road to Nowhere….

Do you really know where in the heck you are going? Personally, I spend a ton of time thinking about it, writing about it, planning it…but I’m still not sure. So when I read the quote above, I realize many never even ponder direction.

So it’s all about goals… or vision for your life. If we really want to have impact in the short time we are around…we need to think, plan, write. This is not about being Pablo Picasso, or Steve Jobs, but what do you want from life (oh, now I am hearing The Tubes)? John Maxwell notes: Goals give us something concrete to focus on, and that has a positive impact on your actions. Goals help us focus our attention on our purpose and make it our dominant aspiration.

Be sure your goals are SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

“The world makes way for the man that knows where he is going.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson