the only secret to success

in the last 2 months or so i lost 15-20 of the 60 pounds i need to lose ..so i have 40 pound left to shed ..

so far though it was coupled with increase in lean muscle mass and long term changes in the way i eat .

but when i got back to the states the only thing my family sees is the belly from the 40 pounds i have left to shed..

which has been the problem with my family all my life .. no notice of progress .. just the problem .


it is like my finances.. i have no debt right now no fixxed expenses .. and a few thousand dollars in the bank.. but even though that is better than i have been in about 6 years when added to the improvments in my health and mental well being ...

again my family doesn't recognize these things ...

i tend not to want to deal with my family much anymore ...

I think this is part of the SMART guidelines for goal setting. 'M' being for 'Measurable'.

Great looks like averyone here is measuring. The reason people do not succeed is the lack of motivation, thus confidence . and when you don't have self-confidence you can't do much in any area of your life

Right on!!

You can't really win without measuring, without keeping track of everything.

It is a must that you know everything that is going on when you are working towards a goal.

Great topic and tips!

I wish you the best!

Cheers!

The real secret to success is TAKING ACTION.

Measuring is a form of TAKING ACTION. :-P

To be honest, I'm still working on a complete "system" of productivity. Don't get me wrong, I do get the important things done, but I still haven't settled into a systematic way of mapping out, managing and measuring everything from the big picture to the nitty gritty day-to-day stuff.

However, I do have my short and long term goals broken down into chunks/milestones, my monthly must outcomes, weekly must outcomes and daily must outcomes.

Probably the most important thing I do to measure my progress in achieving a goal is my weekly review (taken from GTD). It really helps to take an hour or so and go over the past week to see what I hit or missed, to see where I am as far as achieving my various goals, to see what I can do better next week and to plan the next week accordingly.

The only secret to success: passion + diligence + confidence

Yes measurement is a key to achieve your goals but your title is misleading.

This is not a secret and not the only thing which is important.

For example, measurement is useless if you don't take action.

Cheers,

C.G.

Believe it or not, it's the IDEA...PLAN...ACTION it's as simple as that!

I think measurement and goal tracking are common sense tools. No real secrets there.

If it's being talked about on the internet, chances are it's not a secret.

Congrats on the progress, though.

The bottom line is, anything you want to achieve takes knowledge and hard work. There is no way around it unless you catch a lucky break! Just put yourself on the path and do what's necessary to accomplish your goals. Always check your progress to be sure things are working out for you.

I think this pretty much sums it up.

Good thread. Makes you wonder how much more you could accomplish if you just keep your ultimate goal mindset 24/7/365.

first we need to have a goal, infact goals ( weekly, monthly or half yearly) - I feel having a goal by itself is a issue with many. If you have a goal then measuring that makes sense. I tend to digress and not measure the progress when my goal isn't solid.

Once we have a SMART goal, then measurement is all ... like they say

" You don't value what you don't measure"

It is also underlying principle of six sigma, true to all spheres of life - health, career, relationships or contentment

Measurement certainly is important, and it can keep you on track for your goals. But if you don't take ACTION? Well you can measure all you like, but you can't just sit around and measure the same thing every day. I do agree, however, that once you TAKE action, you need to get out there and measure it. Keeps you moving in the right direction!

Measuring is important to improve. However, many people problem is that they don't start at all, or don't continue. In this case self-discipline, productivity and motivation are the secrets.

Great thought. Totally agreed it is very important to improve at anything

If you don't know where you "ARE" then how will you know how far you have come and where you are along the journey to your goal?
Simply put: You can't!

I disagree.

I've used to do the entire quantified life thing. Measured a lot of stuff from hours worked, income, health metrics, even personal stuff.

And it sucks all joy out of life. Why?

Two reasons.

1. It must be measured in an completely objective manner. Traffic may work. Other parts of life not.

2. There is a story behind the numbers. Metrics alone can't say it.

A few months of my life I was obsessed with this. In the end, I let it go.

This is when it comes to life in general. When it comes to business, yes, metrics based decisions are relatively efficient.

Tangible evidence is measurement! If you can measure and gauge your progress, you can tell if your project is worth the investment!

Keep working hard and never give up... Everyone else will notice the results even before you do! Keeping your debt at zero is another great accomplishment! Most people have some debt. Keep working and you will be set!

What I love about measuring our progress – the feedback. It answers the question, “Am I doing it.” Which means I will get the results I want.

Sheldon Adelson(sp), a multi-billionaire sums up the secret to success as this "do things the way other people don't do them....CHANGE THE STATUS QUO"

You have to start with a dream before you ever turn it into a goal. These are the steps I use in setting and achieving goals.
1. Determine what it is you want to achieve. Whether it is earning more money, losing weight, gaining weight, running longer, opening a business, taking a vacation, doesn't really matter; this is your dream. Write this down.
2. Make it very specific. If it's more money you want to earn write down how much and in present tense. For example, I earn $100,000 annually by Jan 1st, 2015.
3. Make a suitable action plan. Meaning, write down all the necessary actions you would have to take in order to make this physically possible.
4. Place these action plans in the correct order.
5. Having all the action plans, you can now determine how long you believe it will take you to complete this goal - make it challenging, but not too unrealistic. If you earn $50,000 annually, chances are you won't earn 1 million in the next year, you will see that you aren't getting any closer and probably quit.
6. Set a date for each action plan accordingly.

And VIOLA, you are now much closer to your goal and if you follow out your plan, will definitely reach your goal.

7. Most importantly, stay consistent, DO NOT QUIT, and work each day towards your goal.

Hope I helped you out on how to set and achieve goals.

Fly high with your success,

Roy Cohen

I think one of the biggest secrets to "success" is not giving up. If you take a drop of water and drip it on a rock continuously, after a while it's going to drill down on the rock. Same thing with most issues, focus and persist in it, and you'll succeed 9/10.

That is a important part to achieving success but this is the REAL secret to success....

This is a new view on what it takes to be successful and it makes a lot of sense. The best way to do this would be to set yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals and then track your results.

Measurement/tracking is perhaps THE greatest "secret to success" ... on a cost-adjusted basis. If you evaluate each method based on time, energy, and money input into using the method ... and compare that to the outcomes as a result ... you'll find that tracking has massive positive consequences on your life ... for an extremely low investment of your time, energy and money.

When you compare any given set of "secrets of success," you'll be hard-pressed to find one that offers a higher ratio of desired outcomes to costs.

Making this the most important one to focus on and master first. After all, if you can get the same result in 1/10th the time and for 1/50th the effort ... why muck around with the other options?