In his book Business By Referral, Dr. Misner discusses the importance of knowing what is important to the people in your network. He developed the GAINS Profile as way to help facilitate conversation that was productive for network members to get to know each other.

The G in GAINS stands for Goals. One of the ways that network members can help each other is by understanding what each are trying to accomplish, in this way we can take an active role in helping our fellow networkers accomplish their Goals.

Do you know what the Goals are for the members of your Network? Do you know what is important for them to accomplish this year? If you learn that, you will learn ways that you can give to your network, helping them do the things that are important to them.

These do not need to be limited to professional Goals they can be personal goals also. One of my Goals this year was to lose enough weight to go down another dress size and maintain that.   A member of my network is a marathon trainer and encouraged me to get involved with his marathon group. Assuring me that he would support me throughout the process and it would help me reach my goal. Indeed it did, with his support, education and persistence I met my goal and I have a desire to help Cecil accomplish his Goals.

Take the time, ask your network members how you can help them reach their goals. When we help each other we all achieve more.

Have you taken a look at the goals you set for your business?  More precisely have you reviewed your referral goals?

Most people don’t set goals, at least not in writing. I would encourage you to take this time to write down what you expect to achieve for the second half of the year. 

For those of you who did take the time to set your goals at the beginning of the year, now is a time to take a hard look at those goals and ask yourself, based on your current activities;

1.  Are you on track to achieve those goals?
2.  Were they realistic referral goals?
3.  Have you identified and developed your Referral Partners?
4.  Have you shared your goals with your Referral Partners?
5.  Do you need more help?
6.  Who can help you & when will you ask them?

For most of us, staying on task and focused on our goals requires a little extra help.  If you are behind ask for help, find an accountability partner, get a referral coach, and get your Referral Partners trained so you can help each other.

The most successful people in the world have written Goals, everyone else has resolutions, hopes, and dreams.

The New Year is almost here.  A time for a fresh start, for new opportunities, and time to reflect on what we have accomplished in the last year.  It is time to set new Goals for the coming year, time to draw the road map for business and our goals operate as sign post along the way.  Without them, we are just rambling along.

It is important to set goals in every aspect of our lives, Personal, Professional, Spiritual, and Physical.  Most entrepreneurs get so caught up in their day to day businesses that they forget about their personal, spiritual and physical goals, and that leads to a lack of harmony in their lives.

As entrepreneurs it is important that we look at all aspects of our lives and set goals with the intention of having harmony in our lives.  Everything is often out of balance for entrepreneurs but we can create harmony so that the personal, spiritual, physical and professional goals begin to have flow between them.

Spiritual – a goal as simple as taking 15 minutes daily to reflect, to go inward, to rejuvenate the soul will make a difference in your day to day life.  A friend of mine set a goal to  go to church regularly and become more active in the church.  Unfortunately she has gotten so caught up in the DOING of church that it has become just more work to do in her already hectic life.  She still is not nurturing her spirit because she is distracted with the doing.

Physical – setting goals for our physical well-being is important for entrepreneur.  If we are not in good health, we cannot perform at the top of our game when running our business.  Don’t just set a weight loss goal, set health goals.  Plan a physical, find out where you are at with your health.  Set a goal to take time out daily to do some physical exercise, even if it is only walking for 30 minutes a day.  When your health suffers your business suffers, and unlike big companies who have employees to replace the one who is off sick, most entrepreneurs do not have someone to cover for them while they take sick time.

Personal - Look at your family life, have you been neglecting it?  We often do that when we are busy working on our businesses.  Set a few goals around family time, vacation time, or dating time.  I cannot tell you how many entrepreneurs I speak to who virtually have no personal life.   I promise that when you are 70, 80, 90, you are not going to look back on your life and wish that you had spent more time at work.  Take time out honor your personal life.

Professional - What is there to say about your professional goals?  It is the one area that entrepreneurs often have goals.  They may not be written down, there may be no plan and they are often not measured or reviewed, but everyone says they have them.  A professional goal not written down and without a plan behind it, is little more than a dream.

It may be wise to set fewer professional goals and spend more time digging deep into them, make them SMART and ask yourself why?  Why is this goal important, what will it do for my life and the lives of others?  How will it affect the others Goals I have set in my life and how can I make it flow with the rest of my life.

You are one person, your goals should be for your life as a whole, they should flow with each other.  Your spiritual life affects your personal life, which affects your physical life that affects your professional life.  Each goal should support the other to create a healthy well-rounded life.

As the year draws to a close, take time to reflect on the past year was our life well rounded?  If not make, it your mission to set goals that will create a well-rounded, rich life for yourself and others.

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