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While having a clearly defined written goal is certainly a key to success; it is practically useless unless it is married to a clearly defined written PLAN. You see, the plan is not only an indispensable piece of the "success puzzle," but it is also the magic formula most people are looking for.

The plan is the answer to the most often-asked question about goal setting: "How do I keep the motivation going?" I hear many people say, "I start off with the best of intentions. I set my goals. I even write them down and I'm real excited about them. I start off every single day highly motivated to achieve these goals, but after a few weeks the excitement wears off and I just can't seem to keep it going. What do I do?

The answer is: the written plan. You see, the plan is the link that keeps you excited and motivated about going from where you are to where you want to be (the goal). The plan is nothing more than taking the big goal and breaking it up into smaller, easier to accomplish goals.

When all you have is a goal and no plan, essentially all you've given yourself is a starting point and an end result. When you wake up every morning, the only point you can focus on is the end result. Now even though that end result (goal) may be 5 years away, if that's all you've given yourself to focus on, chances are each day you wake up and you're not there yet, you're going to start to believe you're not making any progress. When you start feeling like that, the next step is, frustration, and the next step after frustration is giving up. Failure can only happen when you give up.

When you have a plan that takes the big goal and breaks it down into smaller steps or checkpoints, you no longer have to focus on the end result. Now you only have to focus on the next step, which can be accomplished easier and quicker. It also allows to see immediate results.

Each time you accomplish one of these smaller steps, you'll feel so good about your progress, it will give you the motivation to keep going and take the next step. Once you start to develop the habit of accomplishment your confidence soars and each step just seems to get easier and easier.

The best part is; you never have to focus on the end result, until you're at the next to last step and then it becomes much easier to accomplish.