In my industry I work with some of the best and brightest minds in the world. Martial artist tend to not be single tracked but are usually people from many different walks including PhD’s, Major CEO’s, professional athletes, authors, and businessmen; just to name a few. In fact, I have found that most martial artist work extremely hard to be number one in anything they set their minds to and the best part of all is that they usually accomplish their task.

But the real question is what sets them apart from anyone else? Well other than determination and confidence, martial artist are masters of setting goals for themselves. Goal setting is in many ways a lost art. My instructor used to always say that anything was possible if you set the right kinds of goals, and who better should know this than the man who caught 130mph arrow blindfolded on Ripley’s. The best part of Goal setting is that it can be taught to anyone at any age. I dedicate my life to teaching children the art of success at my school here in town. We find value in helping individuals reach their fullest potential if they are willing to work for it. Because, success will follow those who are willing to sacrifice comforts and their insecurities in order to accomplish greater things. Like the path to becoming a black belt it is not always easy but it is worth the reward.

Here are three basic tips on setting goals. First, start at the end, what is it that you want to achieve. Next, once you have discovered that goal start breaking it down into smaller tangible goals. For example, if you want to hike a mountain why don’t you start by walking around your neighborhood for two weeks before the mountain. Finally, never make goals that can’t be accomplished always have them be measureable. The common example I hear people use is, I want to be strong, but that doesn’t tell us anything, stronger then what or who? A quantifiable goal might be, I want to be able to do 50 pushups without stopping.

Remember, that when we aren’t happy with our lives it’s because something is out of control, but with the proper goal setting you can bring everything back into balance.  Set the goals then work hard to accomplish them and that is the art of success.