Clearly Defined Goals Will Help You Achieve Success

I have discussed in the past the importance of setting and tracking goals and how it can affect your results on both a personal and financial level. I wanted to take a moment to discuss in more detail how goal clarity combined with a positive attitude can help you achieve better things both personally and financially.

First, what is goal clarity? In essence it can be defined as your ability to set and reach specific goals. The important part of this definition is the word specific. A very broad or general goal won’t help drive you to success. If your goal is to get up and go to work in the morning, that is not a well-defined goal. It may be easy to achieve and a very important thing to succeed at, but it really has no strong emotion behind it.

Instead a goal should be clear, concise and worth achieving in which a specific outcome is reached. Unfortunately, we are less likely to consistently set such specific or high goals because of many self-limiting thoughts. People generally tend to stick to the safe and secure status quo and try not to get out of their comfort zone. To further illustrate the importance of setting high and specific goals I want to take a piece out of the book Integrity Selling for the 21st Century by Ron Willingham.

He describes the various emotional stages you feel once you set these higher and more specific goals as:

1. Initial excitement – the thrill of new possibilities can be intoxicating until you realize how much extra effort is usually required before change can take place.
2. Conflict - you might wonder, “Can I actually achieve this new goal? What if I try and fail?”
3. Doubt - focusing on the difficulties or roadblocks, and wondering whether you can overcome them.
4. Resistance to change -the idea of changing your habits, beliefs and routines become uncomfortable.
5. Commitment - a renewed sense of dedication to whatever work, education or effort it might take to reach your goals.
6. Acceptance - finally believing deep down that you’re capable of reaching your new goals.

The problem most people have comes after the first few stages of emotions take place. The initial excitement gives way to conflict and doubt and if your focus is on the negatives and not the positives you will abandon the goal.

Setting Attainable and Intermediate Goals in Order to Achieve the Ultimate Goal

There is nothing more discouraging than setting a a lofty goal and then failing. We don’t like to fail and we don’t want others to see our failures. This fear of failure is what causes people to avoid setting higher or more specific goals. There is a fine line between setting a lofty goal that is attainable and one that is simply out of reach. For example, if I set a goal right now that said I wanted to make $250,000 by the end of the year, it would be a great goal that I’d love to reach, but the chances of reaching that goal is slim to none baring an unexpected inheritance or lottery jackpot. This is not the type of goal you should be setting.

Think of your ultimate goal as a game of baseball. Every batter that comes to the plate doesn’t go up there and try to hit a home run. A game of baseball is long and requires strategy and finesse to reach the end result of a win. Yes, hitting a home run is a great thing to accomplish but the probability of hitting one every time is very small. Instead, the team focuses on smaller and more reasonable goals that will hopefully add up to reaching the ultimate result. Some batters will go up looking to just get on base, another may follow up and bunt, or the team may have to sacrifice an out to score a run. If the team can reach these important, yet manageable goals the likelihood of success is much higher than trying to rely on knocking one out of the park every at bat.

The goals you set are no different. Maybe you want to retire at age 50. Ok, that is a great goal to try and reach but it is not well-defined and without hitting a home run it might be difficult to achieve. Maybe in order to retire at age 50 you need to tackle some credit card debt or put a child through college first. Or maybe you need to increase your income or save more money to help you reach that goal. Whatever the ultimate goal is there are many small goals you can set that lead up increasing the probability of success. Think of paying off your credit card goal as a base hit on your way to retiring early and finally getting your kid through college is a sacrifice fly to advance one of the runners home.

Emotional Response Determines the Outcome

Looking back to the six stages of emotions above it should be clear that you have to overcome the first four in order to have a chance at success. If your goal is too broad or easy to accomplish you will breeze through the series of emotions quickly with very few negative thoughts or apprehension. At the same time, if your goal is too high or incredibly specific you are likely to stall out after reaching number two or three on the list and never reach the goal.

If you can overcome the conflict, doubt and resistance to change you will find a sense of commitment and acceptance that you really can reach the goal you’ve set for yourself. If you let negative feelings take over, either because the goal is virtually impossible to complete on its own or there is no motivation to achieve it, you are setting yourself up for failure which in turn brings you back to sticking with the status quo.

Take Action Today

As an example let’s assume one of your big goals you’ve had for a while has been to pay off about $15,000 worth of credit card debt in 3 years. Clearly you understand the importance of reaching this goal yet you find that you aren’t making much progress. The reason you aren’t making good progress is that it is a bit overwhelming without understanding what it takes to get there. The first thing you should do is determine what it will take to pay off that debt. Generally speaking this would require:

1. Earning more money to accelerate payments, or
2. Find more money you currently have to accelerate payments
3. Put the money I do have to work and earn interest

Now that you have determined what it will take to reach that goal you can begin to set more specific goals. For instance, maybe you think finding additional income is a good way to achieve this goal. So, now you can set an intermediate goal that will increase your likelihood of paying off that balance. You may set a new goal to find a way to make $50/month by doing some sort of side work, or maybe you set a goal to have a garage sale or sell a bunch of items on eBay to generate some more money. Whatever the case may be, these new goals you set are easier to reach than simply saying you need to knock out $15k of debt in three years, yet these smaller and more concise goals will help you reach it without feeling a sense of failure.

Take a look at some of the goals you have set for yourself and consider why you are having a difficult time reaching them. Are your emotions getting in the way or have you simply set a goal that is extremely difficult or too broad? If you can identify the reasons why you are having a difficult time with a goal you can then take the action required to overcome the obstacles and improve the likelihood of achieving that goal.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Your Financial Success Depends on the Clarity of Your Goals

This is a guest post from Grant Baldwin, the author of Reality Check, a book about helping students transition into the real world.  His new website, BrokePiggy.com, answers questions from teenagers about personal finance, savings, and all things money.

This series “12 Things Every Teenager Needs To Know About Money (And How To Teach Them)” is a community blog experience.  This post is only one of the 12 points in the series so to view the other 11, please visit the list of links below.

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

In the book “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas Stanley, he discovered several different common characteristics among millionaires.  One of the leading traits of financially successful people: a passion for their work.

To them, it’s not just a paycheck.  It’s more than just a Monday through Friday J-O-B.  The work they are doing doesn’t feel like work.  It feels more like a calling.

As a motivational speaker for teenagers, I regularly present a workshop at conferences and conventions called “What the heck am I doing with my life?” in which we discuss the importance of finding work you love.  And as Stanley’s work indicated above, doing work you’re passionate about may have a direct impact on your income.

Here are the three characteristics I teach students about when choosing a career path:

• Passion – If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you should find something else. Life is too short to do something just for a paycheck. We all need to work. We all need to make a living. Wouldn’t rather do something you love? The danger is that pursuing something you’re passionate about is risky. What if you fail? What if you’re not good enough at it? What if you burn out? All are valid questions but far too often, people play it safe and end up looking back on a life of regret for what could have been.

• Talent – The fact is nobody wants to do something they’re not good at. Do you? I like playing sports, and I’m pretty competitive, but if you’re killing me at some game, that’s no fun for me. Now if I’m destroying you, that’s great for my self-esteem! The unfortunate thing is we are often taught to figure out what our weaknesses are and improve on them. The problem with this is we can often do this at the detriment of our strengths. There are some things in life I’m never going to be that good at, so I want to spend my energy on the things I do well.

• Enjoyment – Far too many people live life with the mentality of “Thank God, it’s Friday” to “Oh God, it’s Monday.” What a miserable way to live life! This may sound strange, but I actually look forward to Monday morning. I look forward to getting back to doing something I love. It should also be pointed out that no matter how much you love what you do, you won’t enjoy every job 100% of the time. There are some things that just come with the territory but the good should far outweigh the bad.

Here are the rest of the articles in the “12 Things Every Teenager Needs To Know About Money (And How To Teach Them)” series:

• Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees @ Bargaineering.com
• Two Words: Compound Interest @ PoorerThanYou.com
• Delay Gratification To Succeed @ GatherLittleByLittle.com
• Living On A Budget Isn’t An Option @ TotalCandor.com
• Credit Cards Will Steal Your Lunch Money @ PTMoney.com
• A Degree Is An Expensive Piece of Paper @ TheDigeratiLife.com
• Spend Money Based On Needs Not Wants @ MoneyNing.com
• There Is More Free Money Than You Realize For College @ FreeFromBroke.com
• Living On Your Own Isn’t Cheap @ Studenomics.com
• Taxes Are A Necessary Evil In Life @ MoneySmartLife.com
• Do What You Love, Love What You Do @ GenXFinance.com
• Don’t Be A Tightwad: Give Generously @ CashMoneyLife.com

This is a guest post from Grant Baldwin, the author of Reality Check, a book about helping students transition into the real world.  His new website, BrokePiggy.com, answers questions from teenagers about personal finance, savings, and all things money.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

12 Things Every Teenager Needs To Know About Money (And How To Teach Them)

Investing in Yourself Can Yield Returns Far Greater than Any Other Investment

We spend a lot of time worrying about investing and are quick to gauge how things are going by looking at quarterly statements. It’s all dollar signs — bank accounts, 401(k)s, the value of your home — these are the things we invest in and can easily determine whether or not it’s a good investment. These are all important investments, without a doubt, but are these things what really matter?

You often hear about how your home or your career are your greatest assets, but I think that’s a little shortsighted. If you take a look at your net worth or your personal balance sheet, yes, you can argue that your home is one of your greatest financial assets. And if you have a steady job and a rewarding career, it’s easy to see how important that asset is since it will provide income for years and possibly decades to come. But in the end, these assets pale in comparison to your true greatest asset: yourself.

You Are an Asset

You are an asset. Think about that for a minute. If you work for someone else, you are an asset to that company. If you’re married, you are an asset to your spouse. And it goes without saying, but if you have children you are an incredible asset to them. You’re an asset to the community you live in, to your neighbors, and to those you interact with on a daily basis.

Photo: Lalji and Raadheesh

Take a moment and look at yourself in the mirror. No, not a mirror in the physical sense, but look at yourself from the outside. How do you look to others? How valuable are you to those around you? Do you stand out as an important asset, or do you slip by as just a run-of-the-mill person? These are difficult question to answer, and the answers may not always be obvious.

Becoming a valuable asset is important on both the professional and personal level. When most people talk about being an asset it has to do with getting ahead in the workplace. This is certainly important if you’re trying to keep your job, advance your career, or enter a new line of work, but it’s equally important on a personal level. These two aspects of your life are more interconnected than you may imagine. Investing in your professional life will impact aspects of your personal life, and investing in yourself on a personal level will undoubtedly help your professional life.

Invest in Your Health

Before you can make improvements in other areas of your life you must first take care of some of your most basic needs. We need to step back for a moment and forget about money. Money is important, but without your health, it’s worthless. Understandably, you’re probably groaning at the idea of what it will take to improve your health. You’re thinking about diets, lots of exercise, and cutting out all the fun stuff in your life. I agree, none of that sounds like much fun. But we’re not talking about making drastic changes overnight. Habits that have developed over the course of years can be hard to break, so it’s best to make small changes over time that will lead to healthier habits.

1. Get More Sleep

We live in a 24 hour world and it is taking its toll on sleep. Between the internet, TV, Blackberries and iPhones, the day doesn’t end when you come home from work. These days we’re constantly being interrupted and our work lives are bleeding into our personal lives. This added stress and lack of down time can really cut into your sleep. While it isn’t uncommon for people to get by on just six hours or so of sleep, studies have shown most of us still need more.

I know, I know. There are only 24 hours in a day and you already can’t get everything done, so how on Earth can you be expected to get more sleep? If you like to hit the snooze 5 times every morning, find you can’t concentrate until you’ve had your first three cups of coffee in the morning, or could pass out at your desk after lunch, then you’re not getting enough sleep. Think about all of the time you waste when you aren’t completely focused or working inefficiently because you’re fighting the urge to sleep. Instead, use that extra hour you’re wasting throughout the day by being tired and get some extra sleep. You’ll wake up feeling better, your body will be rested, and you can make better use of your waking hours, not to mention improve your overall health.

2. Eat Better

This doesn’t mean you should go on a drastic diet and try to cut 20 pounds in a month, but just a few little changes in your diet can go a long way. Start with breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast will jump-start your metabolism and prepare your body for a full day of work. I always had difficulty finding time in the morning to squeeze in breakfast, but I’ve found that just grabbing a granola bar or something before heading out the door helps a lot.

Next, just be a little more conscious of what you’re eating and make an effort to make small changes here and there. If you drink a few sodas each day, start by replacing one with something else to drink. Ideally water, but even juice or something would be a good start. Over time you’ll find that you crave soda less and in the process be cutting out a lot of calories from your diet. If you’re looking to cut back come dinner time, consider cutting back on some of the pasta or rice and throw in an occasional salad. Again, even if you do this just a couple times a week you will begin to create healthy habits that will lead to a healthier you over time. I’ve struggled with working salads into our dinner menu here at our house, so that’s why I put together this visual guide to help you prepare a salad that stays fresh all week.

3. Go to the Doctor

Medicine has come a long way in recent years, but nothing beats preventative medicine. Why wait until you have symptoms before going to the doctor? By then it might be too late and your only option might be something drastic. Unfortunately, the cost of health care is a major problem in this country so it’s no wonder so many people put off going to the doctor until absolutely necessary. But if you have health insurance, use it.

There’s no doubt about it, but going to the doctor is an inconvenience if you aren’t sick. You may have to go late after work, take a few hours off, and otherwise waste a good part of your day. At the minimum, you should be at least getting your annual check up. It might not be the most exciting appointment in your calendar book, but if you can help keep tabs on your health and possibly receive advanced warning of a serious problem that may develop in the future, the last thing on your mind will be the few hours you “wasted” by going to the doctor.

Invest in Your Personal Self

What’s important to you? That’s what we’re going to try and answer right now. Take a moment to think about what you really enjoy and what matters most to you. Spending time with friends? Family? Being outdoors? Helping others? Just reading a good book? Now that you have an answer, how often do you get to do these things? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably, “not often enough.” Life is too short to be stuck running around constantly trying to meet deadlines, make more money, and constantly put things off until the future. You need to make time for the things you love.

Photo: Alex Bramwell

Whatever it is that you wish you could be doing, find a way to make it happen. This is easier said than done, I know. But it can be done. Now, we aren’t going to be working any miracles here and have you living on a tropical island when you have responsibilities here at home, but let’s start with gradual changes. Find days to incorporate what you love to do into your regular schedule. The bottom line is that you just have to make time. Don’t make excuses. If you can make time to run to the dry cleaners every week, you can certainly set aside a half hour each week to do something you really enjoy. Whether it’s just sitting down with a glass of wine and a good book, a stroll with your kids through the park, or volunteering your time for a good cause, you just have to force yourself to set aside some time and do it.

It’s all about balance. Our lives are filled with responsibilities, deadlines, and work to get done, but these things can’t control us. You need to invest in creating some personal time. Even if it is just 30 minutes a day, the more you can introduce the things you love into your life, the happier you’ll be. Your happiness will begin to spill over into the other areas of your life. You’ll perform better at work, have better relationships with your friends and neighbors, and overall become a greater asset to everyone you interact with. All the time you put in at work and money you save doesn’t mean a whole lot if you aren’t investing in what makes you happy.

Invest in Your Professional Self

A healthier and happier you can go a long way, but if you really want to invest in something that can pay huge dividends, consider investing in your professional self. It doesn’t matter if you’re making minimum wage doing factory work or a veteran executive with a corner office — investing in yourself will shape your future. When most people talk about investing in your professional self, the advice has to do with getting additional education, certifications, or experience so that you can advance your career. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that advice, but I want to touch on a few different areas.

1. Networking

It’s not who you know, but what you know… right? If only it was that simple. If people really got to where they are simply because of what they knew, every CEO would be an Ivy League grad with a Ph.D. You can probably see where this is going. Obviously, it can help to have a solid education and a lot of experience, but it is hardly the only path to success. Just as important as having the knowledge and skills to do a particular job, you need to have connections. These connections will open up opportunities that can be used to leverage your skills and find a path of least resistance to reach your goal.

Photo: Mike Johnson

When it comes to networking, you should strike a balance between quantity and quality. With the advent of the internet, the ability to build a massive network is incredibly simple. Just hop on Facebook, Twitter, or any of the number of social networking type sites and you can almost instantly build a network of hundreds or even thousands of people. While numbers are good, connecting with 1,000 people you never get to know and just connecting for the sake of building a connection will probably be less effective than a network of 20 people who are in your line of work and that you interact with on a regular basis.

One of the best ways to network professionally is through LinkedIn. Unlike many of the other social networks that are filled with updates from people about what they had for lunch, their favorite music, or who they are currently dating, LinkedIn is all business. Here you’ll be able to connect with coworkers past and present and join groups based on your interests or background. These professional connections can lead to a number of interactions you may not have otherwise had access to that can help launch your career in a new direction.

While LinkedIn is great for professional networking, that doesn’t mean you should dismiss the likes of Twitter or Facebook, either. With these sites, you really get out of it what you put into it. If you focus your efforts on networking with other like minded-individuals and actually foster your relationships, you can open many new doors. At the same time, if you just sign up for the sake of signing up and expect great things by befriending as many people as possible, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Finally, don’t forget about local networking. Become a part of your local community and seek out networking opportunities right in your own backyard. Even many of the smallest towns have local organizations, clubs, or functions that will allow you to get to know your neighbors while also allowing you to build your personal and professional network. You’d be surprised at the diversity within your own community, so take some time to regularly get to know the people around you.

2. Build Your Personal Brand

When you think of Coca-Cola, Nike, or Microsoft, I bet you instantly know who these companies are and what they produce. You’ve also probably formed opinions of each of these companies or their products based on how they present themselves and your past experiences with their products. This is a brand.

What if I told you that you were your own brand? It might sound a bit silly to think of just a regular person as a brand, but it’s true. The way you represent yourself and how others see you is your own personal brand. Whether you like it or not, your actions and words speak volumes about who you are. This reputation can follow you for the rest of your life, so it’s obviously important to build a positive brand as opposed to a negative one.

So, what does your personal brand say about you? When someone types your name into Google, what do they see? Do others see you as you’d like to be seen? And when you meet someone for the first time, are you leaving a good impression and clearly displaying what you stand for? In today’s fast-paced world you may only have a few seconds to make an impression. Depending on how you’ve developed your brand, you may have left an unforgettable mark, or simply fade into the homogeneous background with everyone else.

Personal branding is a topic that goes far beyond the scope of this piece, so I’m going to recommend a few great places to get started. First, you’ll want to check out Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Blog. Dan is also the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success. Leo Babauta from Zen Habits also has a great piece on personal branding as well. Make an effort to determine what your personal brand says about yourself, and invest some time in creating a personal brand you’re proud of.

Invest in Yourself for Unmeasurable Returns

It’s easy to get caught up with money. It drives everything we do from paying for food and shelter, to being stashed away for 30 years so we have something to spend in retirement. But as important as money is, it’s just as important to take a look at the bigger picture. Yes, your 401(k) is important, your home is important, and being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle means a lot. But none of this matters if you’re unhealthy, unhappy, and have few prospects.

This is especially true in trying financial times. When the news is filled with gloom and doom, your investment accounts drop like a rock, and you can’t sell your house, it’s easy to get caught up in the feeling that things are just helpless and it’s all out of your control. Well, it’s true that you can’t control the economy or magically make your retirement account go back up, but there is one investment you can make that will pay off. When you invest in yourself you might not be able to immediately put a dollar amount on the gains, but over time you will have realized returns far greater than those money can buy.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Investing in Your Most Valuable Asset – Invest in Yourself

If you’re a college student preparing to graduate, you may find that some job markets aren’t exactly hot right now. There are plenty of jobs out there, but finding your ideal job will be harder than it has been in the past few years. While many of these tips are helpful for someone seeking their first job out of college, the tips can be used by anyone that is seeking employment.

Experience Matters

Those with real-world work experience in their field will have a significant edge over those without such experience. If you have done any work in your field while in school, either through an internship, summer job, or work-study program, this will be a great asset. Companies have to make smart decisions when hiring new talent, so coming in with even a little experience will help you edge out other candidates who may not have the experience. When polishing up your resume, you’ll certainly want to highlight any work experience.

But what if you’re graduating this year and you don’t have any experience? You need to sell yourself. This is when it pays to have your interview skills honed in and projecting confidence can help you land that job. For most people, the only way to get really good at interviewing is to practice. Practice with your spouse, friend, or roommate until the process feels natural. Certainly, a real interview for a real job will never quite be the same, but the less you have to think about what you’re saying in the interview will go a long way in calming your nerves.

Start Early and Plan Ahead

Even if your friends and classmates haven’t begun searching for jobs yet, don’t delay. You’ll want to begin looking for opportunities as soon as possible. Not only will this give you a head-start, but it may provide flexibility. Getting an early start will put you in the position of being able to turn down jobs without the potential you’re looking for and holding out for a job with more promise.

Look for a company that promotes from within and has the structure to provide opportunities for career advances to talented and hard-working employees. How will you know if a job is right for you? Before you start looking for jobs, think through all the things that are important to you and make a checklist. Some things to consider:

• What is more important: pay, or a flexible schedule?
• Are good benefits more important than higher pay?
• Would you give up some perks in order to work in the city or are the suburbs more appealing even at a lower salary?

To fully compare different job offers, you really have to look at the whole package. If you plan on needing benefits, consider what those benefits actually cost or could save you money on. If you’re looking at two different offers, the base pay is important, but if the lower paying job has a retirement plan match or better health benefits, it could be a case where the lower paying job could actually end up providing the greatest total compensation.

Networking

Networking is one of the most powerful methods of finding a great job. Make a list of your contacts and how they might be able to help you. Talk to people who are working in the field you’re interested in and in the companies you’d like to work for. Don’t limit yourself to newspaper help wanted ads or online job postings. This is where it can be a good idea to begin building a LinkedIn profile so that you can begin to network with others in your field. There are also a lot of recruiters and HR personnel who use the service to find talent.

The best jobs usually go to those who start looking a little earlier, a little longer, and a little harder. Take advantage of any contacts you have in the field you’re hoping to work in, as recommendations are usually going to carry a little more weight than a a blind resume.

Additional tips:

• Take advantage of your college’s career center.
• Attend job fairs on campus.
• Participate in on-campus interviews set up by local companies looking for staff.
• Before going to an interview, research the company as thoroughly as possible so you can speak intelligently about the company’s business and its goals and how your skills and experience can help advance the company’s agenda.
• Use all the job-hunting strategies available to you. Don’t limit yourself to one or two methods of job hunting.
• Remember that your resume is your ambassador. A messy, unprofessional resume, or one with typos in it will give a bad impression to your potential employer. Take the time and effort to prepare a professional-looking resume that succinctly highlights your strengths and experiences and will make a good impression on those who read it.
• Once you’ve landed the interview, be sure to follow up afterwards with a brief, neatly written note expressing your interest in the job and demonstrating your understanding of what the company is looking for in the ideal candidate.
• Once you have the job, give it your best efforts, even if it’s not your ideal job. Your work ethic and work habits will follow you around from one job to the next. Make sure the news is all good.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Job Hunting Tips for the New College Graduate – Or Anyone

If you are a part of what is considered Generation X, you know that you probably have anywhere from 25-35 years until retirement — or at least that’s what the government and most pension plans suggest as a retirement age. Since we’re currently focused on other aspects of our lives such as building careers, starting families, and trying to accumulate wealth, why would I bring up a topic that is seemingly more appropriate for someone closing in on retirement?

To answer this, all you have to do is ask yourself if you plan on retiring at 65-67 or later just because that is what is expected of you. I’m guessing that you would rather “retire” earlier and then have the freedom to pursue your dreams before reaching this predetermined age. For some, this may be starting a second career, others may want to travel the world, and some of you may simply want to have the flexibility of working on your own terms. Whatever your dreams are, it doesn’t make any sense to begin to seriously plan for them in the ten or so years before you plan on retiring. There are plenty of steps you can take today that will position yourself for making the moves necessary to achieve your goals plenty of time in advance.

As a retirement planning counselor, I am often asked what kinds of books or resources are available to help people begin planning for the rest of their lives. I’m not just talking about money and investing for retirement, we do enough of that already. Many people are looking for much more — they are already maxing out their retirement accounts, they have paid off all of their debt, so there has to be some greater goal. Luckily, there are a lot of resources available to help you put things into perspective and begin thinking about what matters most in your life. So, I have compiled a list of 20 of the top books in this category that can, and probably will change your life and how you view retirement.

Don’t Retire, REWIRE: 5 Steps to Fulfilling Work that Fuels Your Passion, Suits Your Personality, or Fills Your Pocket by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners.

These authors provide an alternative to traditional retirement that recognizes the varied needs of individuals. Thanks to modern medicine, many people are living longer than ever and are able to continue working to otherwise contribute to society for years after what most people would consider retirement. This book is full of information, quizzes, and discussion to help you identify what your own personal drivers are and provides tips for creating your own optimum situation. Don’t Retire, REWIRE will force you to think about what you want to do with the rest of your life in a completely new way.

The Number: What Do You Need for the Rest of Your Life and What Will It Cost? by Lee Eisenberg.

We all know that money is an important part of life, and even more important if you want to live a comfortable retirement. Eisenberg, the former editor of Esquire magazine, bridges the gap between preparing financially for retirement and the importance of creating a life plan that identifies where the money will actually be spent. We always hear numbers and rules of thumb that allow you to estimate how much money you’ll need to have in retirement, and while a good start, they are only estimates. This book attempts to go beyond the money basics and emphasizes the importance of life planning alongside financial planning.

Life Launch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of Your Life by Frederic M. Hudson and Pamela D. McLean.

Life Launch is a book for any age as it provides insight and road maps of all life stages from twenty to ninety. Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People gives this book high marks and says it “provides the tools for productivity approaching change during our adult years with confidence, vigor and excitement.” This book presents planning with a unique use of maps, or visual concepts that guide you through the various stages of your life. Life Launch will give your life passion and purpose.

Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, Revised 25th Anniversary Edition by William Bridges.

Life is full of change, and this book has been in print for over 25 years helping readers cope with the change and transitions in their lives. Bridges describes the three stages of transition as: endings, the neutral zone, and the new beginning. Regardless of your age or financial position, you will experience transitions in your life, and this book can help provide the road map that allows you to navigate them.

Second Acts: Creating the Life You Really Want, Building the Career You Truly Desire by Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine.

Second Acts is another great book that is geared towards all ages. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out your career, or you’re winding down and look forward to retirement, this guide to reinventing your life talks about how to pursue your dreams. This book features many success stories from not only the authors, but from those of their clients as well. If you’re looking to reinvent yourself and create the life you really want, this book will be very motivational.

How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won’t Get from Your Financial Advisor by Ernie J. Zelinski.

Do you want to retire in your 30s? Well, this is the book for you. The author of this book did retire at age 30, even while still in debt. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can retire at almost any age. The trick is finding what is more important to you and taking the plunge. It is up to you to make the most of your life, and this book provides a lot of motivation to steer you towards your goals and provide the inspiration necessary to take that next step.

The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

Anything is possible, and this book aims to change your entire outlook on life through illustrating possibility as an art. This national bestseller is written so that it is very easy to read and anyone can relate to the illustrations and situations that are presented. Not only does the book address making positive changes in your personal life, but it goes beyond that to describe changes that can be made in your professional life as well.

Too Young to Retire: 101 Ways To Start The Rest of Your Life by Howard and Marika Stone.

Everyone likes a good list, and this book delivers 101 ways to start the rest of your life. While these ideas are great, the book goes beyond just providing ideas for what to do with the rest of your life and discusses stories, exercises, and resources covering everything from money to wellness. One unique feature is the “try this” section at the end of each chapter. These small activities allow you to make progress towards your larger overall goals.

The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life by Gene Cohen, MD, Ph.D.

The Creative Age is chocked full of inspiring stories backed by medical and scientific evidence that illustrates the stages of life. There are many forms of creativity, and the book argues this basic human attribute increases with age. Dr. Cohen was also the director of the National Institute on Aging and founded the Washington DC Center on Aging. This book will help you develop your creativity and put it to good use as you continue to age.

The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain by Gene Cohen, MD, Ph.D.

The Mature Mind is another book by Dr. Cohen that discusses the aging mind, but this one is more technical in nature and discusses scientific research on brain functionality and structure. Dr. Cohen also goes on to expand on famous research by Erickson and introduces developmental intelligence. This book brings good news if you’re worried that you will lose some of your cognitive abilities as you age since his studies show that older brains are even more flexible.

Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman Fortgang.

Laura is a life coach that has been successful in teaching people how to make major changes in their lives. The book is full of exercises that allows you to define your life and what inspires and motivates you. By identifying your talents, values, and needs, you can begin your journey to take your life in a new and positive direction in as little as 90 days. Each chapter contains more anecdotes and specific exercises, which help make the goals practical and tangible and the idea of change seem possible.

Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life by Richard Leider and David Shapiro.

Repacking Your Bags focuses on achieving purpose, balance, and change. If you’ve ever packed your bags for a long trip, you know that in order to maximize space and limit wrinkles, you need to pack in a specific way. This book uses this metaphor to illustrate how you may have to unpack and then repack the bags of your life in order to maximize your life’s purpose. Repacking Your Bags will help you identify your own personal vision of the good life and design your life in order to live it.

Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development by George E. Vaillant, M.D.

This book is a culmination of a Harvard study that spanned over 50 years and followed over 800 subjects. Aging is a complicated process that takes into account many social and physiological factors and this book discusses findings from the study so that you can age well. Aging Well is recommended for readers who are interested in learning about the quality-of-life issues of aging from the people who have the most to teach. A respected researcher, psychiatrist, professor at Harvard Medical School, and author of several books, Vaillant uses individual life histories to illustrate how social and emotional development is an ongoing process.

How to Create the Life You Want After 50 by Sara Brown Ph.D. and Joan Malling.

While the title of the book is discussing life after 50, you certainly don’t want to wait until then to read it. This book provides tips and resources for anyone who is willing to learn how to identify opportunities, needs, and desires in their lives and then create a plan to reach them by retirement. This book will help you create a step-by-step process that allows you to construct a plan now that will guide you into your later years and beyond.

The Second Half of Life: Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom by Angeles Arrien.

As we approach midlife, many people begin to ponder what comes next. After years of establishing a career, starting a family, and finding stability in life, you begin to question what is in store for the second half of your life. This book provides a collection of teachings and stories from various cultures to help you navigate the “great crossing” that occurs at midlife. Angeles Arrien, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses.

Looking Forward: An Optimist’s Guide to Retirement by Ellen Freudenheim.

Thanks to increased life expectancy, Americans are living longer. Most people can happily anticipate many healthy years to come, yet they’re often at a loss about what to do in this new phase of life. And many of them may have an unfulfilled dream or two they’ve never quite been able to shake. Author Ellen Freudenheim, a baby boomer, shares her generation’s uncertainty and excitement. In an engaging, encouraging tone, she tells readers how to successfully pursue everything from second careers to additional academic degrees to volunteer work.

The Power Years: A User’s Guide to the Rest of Your Life by Ken Dychtwald.

Ken Dychtwald is a well-known psychologist and gerontologist made famous by Age Wave, published in 1989. The Power Years is your step-by-step guide to “repowerment” and personal reinvention after forty. In this unique guidebook, the leading authority on aging Ken Dychtwald and award-winning journalist Daniel J. Kadlec combine their decades of cutting-edge research and reporting to reveal how you can make the Power Years the best years of your life. The Power Years helps readers envision and embrace this new chapter of life as they develop a carefully thought-out plan for personal fulfillment.

Retirement for Two: Everything You Need to Know to Thrive Together as Long as You Both Shall Live by Maryanne Vandervelde, Ph.D.

Many of us will head into retirement with a partner, so there is much more to planning for the future than simply trying to get what you want. Vandervelde discusses topics such as how to manage money within the relationship, dealing with different wants and desires, and even important medical and legal matters. There’s more to retirement than money – much more – and Vandervelde’s book can help you and your spouse understand just how different — and how much fun — life can be in retirement. –Ric Edelman, author of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth.

My Time: Making the Most of the Bonus Decades After 50 by Abigail Trafford.

I know that many readers here still have many years until age 50, but don’t dismiss this book too soon. We are constantly developing as human beings, and Abigail guides readers through various obstacles that occur as we approach this age so that we can make the most of the years beyond 50. Thanks to the longevity revolution of recent decades, today’s 55- to75-year-olds are living and working longer and healthier than ever before. This generation is the first to experience the period of personal renaissance in between middle and old age-what Trafford calls “My Time.”

The Third Age: Six Principles for Personal Growth and Rejuvenation after Forty by William Sadler.

In the Third Age, Sadler conducted over a decade of research on people between the ages of 40-80 and summarizes the findings which identifies six principles of growth and renewal. Practically instructive and powerfully inspiring, The Third Age expertly guides us toward and through the second half of our lives. Sadler’s theoretical framework makes his advice more thought provoking than prescriptive, so this gracefully written volume is more challenging than many self-help guides.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

20 Books That Will Change Your Life and How You Think About Retirement

I have discussed in the past the importance of setting and tracking goals and how it can affect your results on both a personal and financial level. I wanted to take a moment to discuss in more detail how goal clarity combined with a positive attitude can help you achieve better things both personally and financially.

Goal Clarity

First, what is goal clarity? In essence it can be defined as your ability to set and reach specific goals. The important part of this definition is the word specific. A very broad or general goal won’t help drive you to success. If your goal is to get up and go to work in the morning, that is not a well-defined goal. It may be easy to achieve and a very important thing to succeed at, but it really has no strong emotion behind it.

Instead a goal should be clear, concise and worth achieving in which a specific outcome is reached. Unfortunately, we are less likely to consistently set such specific or high goals because of many self-limiting thoughts. People generally tend to stick to the safe and secure status quo and try not to get out of their comfort zone by nature. To further illustrate the importance of setting high and specific goals I want to take a piece out of the book Integrity Selling for the 21st Century by Ron Willingham.

He describes the various emotional stages you feel once you set these higher and more specific goals as:

1. Initial excitement – the thrill of new possibilities can be intoxicating until you realize how much extra effort is usually required before change can take place.
2. Conflict - you might wonder, “Can I actually achieve this new goal? What if I try and fail?”
3. Doubt - focusing on the difficulties or roadblocks, and wondering whether you can overcome them.
4. Resistance to change -the idea of changing your habits, beliefs and routines become uncomfortable.
5. Commitment - a renewed sense of dedication to whatever work, education or effort it might take to reach your goals.
6. Acceptance - finally believing deep down that you’re capable of reaching your new goals.

The problem most people have comes after the first few stages of emotions take place. The initial excitement gives way to conflict and doubt and if your focus is on the negatives and not the positives you will abandon the goal.

Setting Attainable and Intermediate Goals in Order to Achieve the Ultimate Goal

There is nothing more discouraging than setting a a lofty goal and then failing. We don’t like to fail and we don’t want others to see our failures. This fear of failure is what causes people to avoid setting higher or more specific goals. There is a fine line between setting a lofty goal that is attainable and one that is simply out of reach. For example, if I set a goal right now that said I wanted to make $250,000 by the end of the year, it would be a great goal that I’d love to reach, but the chances of reaching that goal is slim to none baring an unexpected inheritance or lottery jackpot. This is not the type of goal you should be setting.

Think of your ultimate goal as a game of baseball. Every batter that comes to the plate doesn’t go up there and try to hit a home run. A game of baseball is long and requires strategy and finesse to reach the end result of a win. Yes, hitting a home run is a great thing to accomplish but the probability of hitting one every time is very small. Instead, the team focuses on smaller and more reasonable goals that will hopefully add up to reaching the ultimate result. Some batters will go up looking to just get on base, another may follow up and bunt, or the team may have to sacrifice an out to score a run. If the team can reach these important, yet manageable goals the likelihood of success is much higher than trying to rely on knocking one out of the park every at bat.

The goals you set are no different. Maybe you want to retire at age 50. Ok, that is a great goal to try and reach but it is not well-defined and without hitting a home run it might be difficult to achieve. Maybe in order to retire at age 50 you need to tackle some credit card debt or put a child through college first. Or maybe you need to increase your income or save more money to help you reach that goal. Whatever the ultimate goal is there are many small goals you can set that lead up increasing the probability of success. Think of paying off your credit card goal as a base hit on your way to retiring early and finally getting your kid through college is a sacrifice fly to advance one of the runners home.

Emotional Response Determines the Outcome

Looking back to the six stages of emotions above it should be clear that you have to overcome the first four in order to have a chance at success. If your goal is too broad or easy to accomplish you will breeze through the series of emotions quickly with very few negative thoughts or apprehension. At the same time, if your goal is too high or incredibly specific you are likely to stall out after reaching number two or three on the list and never reach the goal.

If you can overcome the conflict, doubt and resistance to change you will find a sense of commitment and acceptance that you really can reach the goal you’ve set for yourself. If you let negative feelings take over, either because the goal is virtually impossible to complete on its own or there is no motivation to achieve it, you are setting yourself up for failure which in turn brings you back to sticking with the status quo.

Take Action Today

As an example let’s assume one of your big goals you’ve had for a while has been to pay off about $15,000 worth of credit card debt in 3 years. Clearly you understand the importance of reaching this goal yet you find that you aren’t making much progress. The reason you aren’t making good progress is that it is a bit overwhelming without understanding what it takes to get there. The first thing you should do is determine what it will take to pay off that debt. Generally speaking this would require:

1. Earning more money to accelerate payments, or
2. Find more money you currently have to accelerate payments

Now that you have determined what it will take to reach that goal you can begin to set more specific goals. For instance, maybe you think finding additional income is a good way to achieve this goal. So, now you can set an intermediate goal that will increase your likelihood of paying off that balance. You may set a new goal to find a way to make $50/month by doing some sort of side work, or maybe you set a goal to have a garage sale or sell a bunch of items on eBay to generate some more money. Whatever the case may be, these new goals you set are easier to reach than simply saying you need to knock out $15k of debt in three years, yet these smaller and more concise goals will help you reach it without feeling a sense of failure.

Take a look at some of the goals you have set for yourself and consider why you are having a difficult time reaching them. Are your emotions getting in the way or have you simply set a goal that is extremely difficult or too broad? If you can identify the reasons why you are having a difficult time with a goal you can then take the action required to overcome the obstacles and improve the likelihood of achieving that goal.

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Achievement Comes From Goal Clarity