In 2008, you can have life happen to you or you can happen to life. Or something like that.

If you set goals (by setting, I mean writing them down and reviewing them), then you happen to life. And congratulations-you’re in the top 3% of the population that actually writes their goals down.

If you don’t set goals, then life happens to you. I call this reactionary living, which is okay, just not how I prefer to live out my life. I want to know where I am going, and mostly, how I am going to get there. Sure, life throws a couple of curve balls here and there, but the goals remain more or less the same. Just the path to them are altered from time to time.

Goals can be set for income, sales, personal interests, family, spiritual-you name it. If it’s important in my life, then there’s most likely a goal attached.

Goals drive expectation. They help define success. They set a bar for measurement. They make you accountable to yourself (this reason alone is most likely why people don’t set goals-they don’t WANT to be accountable).

Here’s my web plug: Set your goals for your web site this year. Perhaps your expectations have been so low-or you know your web site is in no shape to do anything-that setting a goal isn’t realistic. If this is the case, I would suggest this: set a goal for what you would want your web site to do for your business, and then go and get a web site that can accomplish that goal. Making your web site a performer can have a huge affect on your business-and it is possible.

The same can be said for our own lives. If you’ve lived a non-goal oriented life-setting goals and becoming a performer can be life altering. You know the saying: “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Happy goal setting, and may 2008 be a banner year for you!