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I have a new idea for a game. It's called King of the Beach. The playing board is a replica of a beach. The ocean is on one side of the board while a beach of sand is on the other. Both areas are marked by squares for movement from one position to the next. Depending on where you land, you may be attacked by a shark, find coins, or be asked to leave the beach. The rules are pretty simple. You just roll the dice to determine how many spaces you move. What is the goal of the game? Well now, that makes all the difference, doesn't it? Imagine playing a game and not knowing the goal. What's the point? In this article, we'll discuss how life is kind of like a game, and why you have to have goals before you can win.

Everyone has goals. Planning on waking up at a certain time in the morning? That's a goal. Driving to work? Goal. Are you taking a vacation this year? There's another one for you. The problem is that most people only have repetitive and rather trivial goals.

Where do you see yourself in one, five or 10 years? Have you thought about it? More importantly, have you planned for it? Unless you set meaningful goals for your life, you'll probably never achieve what most people consider success. Did you know that 20 percent of the salespeople make 80 percent of the money? Greatness is not achieved by chance. You must accept total responsibility for your life. Once you do that, there are no limits on what you can be, do, or have.

Write down your goals. Write down your goals right now (write now). Procrastination breeds failure. Take the time to think about where you want to go with your life. This is not rocket science, and you don't have to write 30 pages. In just a few sentences, define clearly and concisely what you want to do and who you wish to be. Writing requires action, and that is the first step. Be realistic, but don't shortchange yourself. Becoming successful doesn't just happen. You must prepare for it and take action in order to achieve it. You can't move around on the board until you roll the dice.

What do you wish to accomplish with your life? What kind of person do you want to be? Over the next 30 days, I ask you to truly examine your life and write down your goals for success.

Make plans to achieve your goals. Napoleon Hill said, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Deciding what you want to do with your life is half the battle, but winning the battle requires a plan of action. Now that you have determined your goals, what steps will you take to achieve them? It's time to write again. Make a list of all of the steps necessary to reach your goals, and then prioritize those steps. Remember, successful people fail far more often than unsuccessful people. Learn from your mistakes, make adjustments, and move forward. When Thomas Edison was seeking to invent the electric light bulb, he didn't get it right the first time. It took him approximately 10,000 experiments to invent the perfect set-up for the electric light bulb. You may have to take detours on the road to success, but your destination is there waiting for you.

Work on your plans every single day. You usually become what you think about most of the time, so it's important to review your goals every day. Your goals should excite you and give you direction for how you spend your time. To use your time wisely, you must maintain a clear perspective on which tasks provide you with the highest payoff. "What is the most valuable use of my time, right now?" You are the only person who can answer that question. Your goals help you answer it correctly.

This article is not intended to provide an exhaustive study of everything you need to know about setting and achieving goals. I encourage you to invest your time in researching the subject further. The Internet is a wonderful source for additional study. I highly recommend the writings of Brian Tracy. His book "Goals! How to Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible" provided much of the information for this article, and I have gained valuable insight from reading his material. I am not asking you to do something I haven't done. I make use of these skills every day. I can honestly say that the use of goals has changed and enhanced my life. I firmly believe it will change yours, too.

Being successful in life and business is like playing a game. It's fun, and it's challenging; but, you can never win the game unless you know the goal.

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