1. Book Update - Its almost here!  I am anticipating a full e-book release in my next newsletter, so keep an eye out for how you can download it in about a month.  This will be free to all my newsletter subscribers.  As I mentioned, I'll also be providing an audio book format that can be purchased for a nominal cost.  

2. Would you like to be posted as a coaching/personal growth resource on my links page?  If so, my new link exchange feature allows you to easily request a link here.

NEW ARTICLES AND PODCASTS

Here's the latest articles posted on i-grow.net. Enjoy these free coaching, personal growth and development resources - and please provide your comments on the blog!

• How to Choose a Life Coach Training Program
• Growing a Blog Business – October 4, 2008
• Book Review – The Book of Secrets
• Book Review – How to Overcome Fear
• Striving But Never Arriving – Creating Long Term Goals
• i-grow.net: The Conscious Growth of Prosperity and Balance
• Transcending Duality

Are you approaching your short term goals with the same model as your long term goals?  Long term goals tend to have a quality about them which give us a sense of a constant striving but never arriving.  Indeed long term goals can seem more arduous and unfulfilling than short term goals becuase the results are not immediate.  Building a business, accruing wealth, designing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and developing lasting relationships are things that typically take years or more to achieve.  Often over this time frame our goals shift (if not change completely), they get lost in the day to day actions, and they lose the power that are associated with setting shorter term goals.

Ask yourself if you are consciously designing short term and long term goals in a matter which best guarantees their success.  

The most effective model for designing short term goals (on the range of 0-6 months) that I've come across is the SMART model.  Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and on a Timeline.  Read my article on SMART goals if you are interested in developing empowering short term goals that will carry you through to success.  But I've learned the hard way that if you'd like to accomplish your long term goals - and do so with a sense of ease, that the SMART format falls short with many regards.  Particularly the shortfalls lie in the emphasis it places on the goal itself without considering the whole person.  For example, having a goal of completing a Masters program while working full time may take 4 years.  If your sole focus is on completing that program, your are missing out on the balance which will sustain you through to successfully completing that goal.  You will be striving for a goal that is years away and if and when you arrive, you may be so exhausted that the completion of the goal will not feel like an arrival, but rather a relief.  Sound familiar?  This does not represent arriving at your goal.

If you are interested in learning about empowering strategies for setting long term goals (6 months and beyond), read my full article Striving But Never Arriving - Creating Long Term Goals.  You'll find that with this comprehensive approach, you'll never be driained, frustrated or overwhelmed with a goal again.  

As always, I'd love to hear your comments on this blog post and hear what you've done in the past to see yourself through successful completion of long term goals.

Be Well

Written by
Doug Nau; MBA, Certified Life Coach
www.coachforwellness.com, www.i-grow.net
Professional Life/Wellness Coach & Consultant