And the winner is ...

My Life List!

My Life List was recently awarded a $50,000 prize and given the honor of “Best Startup in Boston,” by Mayor Tom Menino and VenCorps, the world’s first crowd-sourcing venture capital firm. It was an unforgettable moment, an award the My Life List team is honored to have earned. (And we plan to quickly use it to help our community members reach their goals faster.)

To be successful in this business competition, we had to develop a strategy and work smart. Without a well-defined goal, major preparation, commitment and execution, that moment of victory and elation would not have been possible.

No different than any of your major life goals.

Just as companies define their growth strategy and identify benchmarks as stepping stones down the path to success, personally, you have to stay aware of your goals and incorporate the same process into your everyday life.

Your “big picture” should be represented in your life list. What is the overall vision for your future?

Once you have that list defined, you have to get tactical. This is where My Life List’s goal-achievement tool works, to help you create a roadmap, tangible mini-goals, each one designed to eradicate barriers and get you in motion.

Every celebration story on the site is full of the same joy and sense of accomplishment we felt last Thursday night. Pick a goal on your life list today and put yourself in action. Your life portfolio should be full of promise, and bursting with moments you’re proud of.

Your own victory is right in your hands.

Shelagh Braley, COO of MyLifeList.org, is an experienced entrepreneur and former journalist. She lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts.