How can we achieve SMARTER goals?

By Shelagh Braley, COO

Conventional wisdom says in order to reach your goals, they must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. This process has been proven successful time and again in business. But when you want to rev up your life across the board—not just at work—creating SMART goals can get a little boring, just like work.

So how can you infuse the SMART goal method with more motivation, to put to good use in all areas of your life?

Try adding these two tips to generate SMARTER goal power.

1. Explore areas beyond your knowledge.

Are there places you don’t know about? Experiences you’ve never heard of? If you stretch your imagination, your information-gathering skills and your concept of what is possible, you might find the world is even bigger and more exciting than you thought.

This was one discovery I made on the site, quite by mistake, and it’s always been my favorite. I instantly added it to my life list. The brilliantly colored, mystical photos alone are reason enough to go. http://www.mylifelist.org/experiences/experience.aspx?ID=2616

2. Reconnect with your past successes.

Are there moments you look back on that make you feel amazing and accomplished? What did you do to make them happen? It’s likely you had a point of inspiration, support and a solid plan. But did you take enough time to share your new-found knowledge to solidify your expertise or to help someone else achieve a similar goal?

According to positive psychology studies from Harvard Medical School, happiness generates far-reaching results (even for people we do not know, through social network effects) and this becomes a major influence on our emotional stability, achievement motivation and collective knowledge.

Here’s a link to my personal profile: http://www.mylifelist.org/members/PublicProfile.aspx?PID=1320

Maybe there’s something on My Life List that will inspire you today. If you find it, be sure to celebrate that inspiration, get yourself in action and pass it on. These two little extra steps will ensure that your goals match your dreams—and help you actually achieve them.

How good a friend are you?

By Bill Starr, CEO
I spend a great deal of time reviewing articles and qualifying the value of a friend or follower on Facebook and Twitter. And it seems to me the definition of friendship has taken on new meaning in this digitally connected age.

In my experience, I can identify three distinct groups of friends based on the type of activities we do and the depth of engagement we create together. All of this is supported by the way we communicate with each other.

Acquaintance or Colleague (200 to 500 people)
At one point, we may have shared a common activity, occupation or interest. We went to the same school, we worked at the same place, we took a course together. These friends form part of our wider network and typically we communicate via social media. For a business acquaintance, we will engage on Linked In and for a personal acquaintance, we may engage on Facebook. The depth of engagement is minimal and these are easy friendships to maintain. In our experience, 1 in 10 people will support you if you ask a direct favor and only if they are not busy and believe in your cause. Their participation is 100 percent optional.

Good Mate (25 to 50 people)
At one point, you may have lived in the same city or neighborhood, perhaps you were best friends, but due to distance may have grown apart. While initially you met as an acquaintance, with time you developed a deeper friendship by sharing more experiences or time together. These are the people we fondly think of when we recall our past. We invite them to our weddings and we try to connect when we can. When we meet, it is as if no time has passed at all. We typically communicate via email but in some cases may share a note on social media. The depth of engagement is based on circumstance, and although they’re not present all the time, these friends rally when asked. They can champion you when need be and can be very helpful in sharing information and advice. In our experience, 1 in 2 will support you if you ask a direct favor. Not considered optional to support but sometimes due to time and other commitments may not be able to participate.

Best Friend or Life Partner (5 to 10)
When you have amazing news or when things feel a little out of control, these are the friends we call. They comprise our inner circle, the people most present in our lives who provide both practical and emotional support, especially when it comes to our major life goals, challenges and achievements. When you ask a favor, they respond with their tool box and will do whatever they can do to help. These are the friends we ask to stand beside us in our lives. We share our deepest desires, hopes and dreams. We typically communicate via phone but will use whatever medium we can to stay present in each other’s lives. Nothing is optional with these friends and we feel the same way about them as they do about us.

For many of us, it is easy to identify who in your life falls into each category of friendship. The question is: Are the people we communicate with more of an acquaintance or a good mate? Has the form of communication you use impacted the depth of your relationship? How we communicate matters and how we share matters. So take charge of your relationships. Why not send an acquaintance an email and become good mates or even better, pick up the phone and call a good mate and make them a best friend. You will be surprised how the form of communication impacts the depth of your relationship.

Bill Starr is an avid life lister and a founding partner and CEO of My Life List™ (http://www.mylifelist.org/), the premiere social network for goal achievers.

Life List trumps Bucket List

By Bill Starr, CEO of mylifelist.org
Since the movie 'The Bucket List' came out in 2007, I've heard a lot of people compare a life list to a bucket list. But they are not exactly the same thing.

I first became aware of the concept of creating a life list after reading the story of the real-life Indiana Jones, John Goddard, in the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book in 1993. I had just graduated from university and was reading everything I could get my hands on to help me in my new career as a financial planner. As the story goes: "One rainy afternoon, an inspired 15-year-old boy named John Goddard sat down at his kitchen table in Los Angeles and wrote three words at the top of a yellow pad, "My Life List." Under that heading, he wrote down 127 goals. These were not simple or easy goals. They included climbing the world's major mountains, exploring from source to mouth the longest rivers of the world, piloting the world's fastest aircraft, running a mile in five minutes and reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. Now, a generation later, he has accomplished 109 of these quests, and has logged an impressive list of records in achieving them."

John Goddard created a road map for his future by writing down his life list. A bucket list, as referred to in the movie, is a list of all the things you want to do before you die. The key difference is outlook.

It’s important to see a life list, not as a static thing but a dynamic list that reflects the ongoing changes in your life. While I was young and single, I had education, sports and career goals at the top of my list. As I got older, I added more travel and adventure activities. Recently, I have been adding more family and lifestyle experiences to my list.

Although John Goddard started with a list of 127 goals, he added things to his list and has achieved more than 400 over the course of his life. I can assure you, John, now in his 80s, is not writing his bucket list. He has lived a full life and followed through on his life list by setting new goals all along. John is the original inspiration for mylifelist.org and a few years ago, I had the pleasure to meet him at the Adventurers' Club in LA. With a twinkle in his eye and a presence that could make a rushing hippo stop, he greeted me as a kindred spirit.

So here’s my advice: Skip the bucket list and don’t rush to complete a finite number of goals before the end is near. Make your life – and your life list – something to strive for and savor every day.

My Life List® Best of 2010

The holidays are happily under way, and here at My Life List, we are preparing for our busiest and most important time of year – New Year’s Resolution time. We’ve got more momentum than ever and we think we have a lot worth celebrating.

Which got us thinking: You’ve probably accomplished a lot this year, too, haven’t you? An exotic adventure with your best friend? A hard-earned degree? A job you love? A change in behavior that has made your life easier, healthier or more exciting?

Why don’t you share it on mylifelist.org right now? In the spirit of sharing this season, we’re going to name the best story for each category on the site (Travel & Leisure, Relationships, Personal Development & Community, Career & Finance, Lifestyle & Culture, and Sports & Adventure) as My Life List® Best of 2010. They will be featured as part of some exciting upgrades on the site in January, and the writer will receive one of six $100 American Express gift cards.

The deadline for stories is December 28, with winners announced December 31. So get celebrating! Your accomplishment will inspire many, and acknowledging your progress will push you forward, too.

And don’t forget these exciting upcoming events:

The 21-Day Challenge Win cash and prizes to help you achieve your goals, Jan. 10-31
The Life Listers’ Ball Black-tie party at Seaport Hotel Boston Feb. 5