Establishing Lifelong Goals
Think back to the time you were in college, or if you are presently in college or planning on going to college, think about possible goals. Goals related to your collegiate years involve earning grades, graduating, getting a job, finding a mate, finding an apartment, and earning a certain income level.
If you are age 21 or younger, congratulations! Do you realize that the younger you set goals, the more you increase your chance of achieving short-term and lifetime success? Many people who set goals at any early age have the wonderful experience of not only realizing their goals at still a relatively early age, but moving way beyond them.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States proved to be a champion goal setter. Early in his teens, he focused on becoming the President of the United States. He achieved that goal by age 46. This made him, at that time, the second youngest person elected to this office. Clinton also had a goal to be a two-term president, which was not an easy feat for a Democrat in the fairly conservative America of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Some Conservatives argued that he won re-election by acting, at the time, more conservatively than any Democrat in history. Whether or not this was the case, the point is clear that Bill Clinton achieved two incredibly lofty goals.
After you get out of college and, perhaps, graduate school, it’s understandable that career-oriented goals begin to predominate. Will you get a job? Will it be a good job? Will it be at a decent salary? Will you have to relocate? You’ve probably embarked upon a course of study that prepares you for the line of work you’re seeking. Many people, however, haven’t done this.
The best time to make goals about your career is before you graduate from college. The more time you give yourself to plan broad-based careers or lifetime type goals, the better are your chances of success.
If you start making decisions the day after you graduate about where you want to work and what you want to do, you may find yourself underemployed, underpaid, and undervalued. You may even find yourself unemployed.
Similarly, you want to establish goals in advance of passing other predictable milestones in life. Following your first job, you may find it entirely practical to begin making goals about the following:
The U.S. Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, and other government groups dispensing vital statistics indicate that more than 85% of the U.S. population cannot live without their social security payments and other entitlements as they proceed past 65. Yet, polls show that among those in their 20’s and 30’s, only a small percentage will not have trouble meeting finance challenges when they are older. Something’s got to give. Not everyone can be among the smaller percentage of people who are well-off in old age.
When it comes to saving and benefitting from long-term compound interest, there’s simply no turning back the clock. Investing for 30 or 40 years yields substantially greater sums than investing under shorter time horizons. For now, recognize that today is one of the most opportune times for you to establish goals, particularly financial goals.
If you are age 21 or younger, congratulations! Do you realize that the younger you set goals, the more you increase your chance of achieving short-term and lifetime success? Many people who set goals at any early age have the wonderful experience of not only realizing their goals at still a relatively early age, but moving way beyond them.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States proved to be a champion goal setter. Early in his teens, he focused on becoming the President of the United States. He achieved that goal by age 46. This made him, at that time, the second youngest person elected to this office. Clinton also had a goal to be a two-term president, which was not an easy feat for a Democrat in the fairly conservative America of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Some Conservatives argued that he won re-election by acting, at the time, more conservatively than any Democrat in history. Whether or not this was the case, the point is clear that Bill Clinton achieved two incredibly lofty goals.
After you get out of college and, perhaps, graduate school, it’s understandable that career-oriented goals begin to predominate. Will you get a job? Will it be a good job? Will it be at a decent salary? Will you have to relocate? You’ve probably embarked upon a course of study that prepares you for the line of work you’re seeking. Many people, however, haven’t done this.
The best time to make goals about your career is before you graduate from college. The more time you give yourself to plan broad-based careers or lifetime type goals, the better are your chances of success.
If you start making decisions the day after you graduate about where you want to work and what you want to do, you may find yourself underemployed, underpaid, and undervalued. You may even find yourself unemployed.
Similarly, you want to establish goals in advance of passing other predictable milestones in life. Following your first job, you may find it entirely practical to begin making goals about the following:
- Your next job.
- Relationships or marriage.
- Buying a house.
- Relocating.
- Having children.
- Daycare.
- Going back to school.
- Having a second child.
- Savings.
- Maintaining your relationship.
- Savings for your children’s education.
- Caring for your parents.
- Starting your retirement fund.
- Moving to larger premises.
- Travel and leisure.
- Health.
- Retirement.
- Starting your own venture.
- Dealing with divorce.
- Overcoming chemical dependency.
- Coping with loss.
- Running into career plateaus.
- Having a significant problem with your children.
- Becoming invalid.
The U.S. Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, and other government groups dispensing vital statistics indicate that more than 85% of the U.S. population cannot live without their social security payments and other entitlements as they proceed past 65. Yet, polls show that among those in their 20’s and 30’s, only a small percentage will not have trouble meeting finance challenges when they are older. Something’s got to give. Not everyone can be among the smaller percentage of people who are well-off in old age.
When it comes to saving and benefitting from long-term compound interest, there’s simply no turning back the clock. Investing for 30 or 40 years yields substantially greater sums than investing under shorter time horizons. For now, recognize that today is one of the most opportune times for you to establish goals, particularly financial goals.
