MADE Maven October Issue MADE Magazine | Page 41

MADELIFE the beginning start with something that you know can be done, be realistic, and work your way up from there. Relevance ensures that your goal is something that you should be striving towards at all. Determine if this goal aligns with other objectives you have, be sure that you are the right person for the goal and that it fits within your life’s framework. The goal also has to be timely. Can it be done in the amount of time you’ve allotted for it? What’s your target date of accomplishment and how much time have you given yourself to get there? Create a big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG) then break it down into bite-size pieces AFENYA PONGO MONTGOMERY Founder of the iCan Collective @afenyabsn WHEN YOU HAVE A GOAL, BUT NO IDEA HOW TO EXECUTE… Setting goals for our personal and professional lives is critical in order to attain any level of success. We often have ideas, plans and goals but have no idea of how to launch a strategy to make our goals a reality. You have to take actionable steps to transform your goals into the vison you have seen for yourself. Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. SMART Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. Get very specific, know what you are trying to achieve and be clear about it. During this phase, think about your “why.” ‘Why is this goal important?’ ‘What do I want the outcome to be?’ ‘What are all of the moving parts?’ Make sure your goals are measurable, this is how you will track your progress and remain focused on the end game. Your goal has to be achievable. It’s great to dream big and accomplish even bigger but in This is where you can be a total visionary. Think about where you want to be 10, 15, 20 years from now and then make it even scarier. This goal can be as big as you want it because your next step will be to filter everything you do under the lens of this huge goal. With action you take, ask yourself, ‘Is this getting me closer to my BHAG?’ You will start to gain clarity of your vision and attract people and situations that only lead you towards your goal and not away from it. Find case studies, mentors and get inspired! Chances are, whatever your goal is, someone before you has accomplished it and THAT’S OKAY. Actually that’s great because now you have a model to get inspired by. Find case studies, talk to people who have done it before, and get inspired on Google and social media by others who have accomplished the same goal. When there’s someone else who has achieved something before you, you can avoid many of the pitfalls that they may have struggled with. Use that to your advantage! The inspiration is out there, you just have to find it. #mademaven 41