It’s that time of year when we’re all looking forward to the forthcoming festivities, but simultaneously beginning to think seriously about what we want to achieve next year.

I’m convinced that everyone has goals; that everyone has objectives.  And I’m also convinced that it is the planning of these goals that truly sets successful people apart from those who are not so successful, or from those who fail to fulfil all their dreams and ambitions.

To be in with a real chance of reaching your goals, you need to have CLEAR goals.  You need to know exactly where you are now, exactly where you’re going, and you have to have a ‘roadmap’ to get there.  It’s all about precision.  It’s all about having a laser-like focus.

The most successful people I have ever met all share the same goal setting characteristics: 1) they have a structured, written goal plan 2) they give themselves a deadline 3) they do something every single day to work towards their ultimate goals and 4) they think big.

The first three of these above points will, of course, take some careful thinking and some time, but it’s the fourth one – the thinking big – that is perhaps the most challenging, but also the most powerful in empowering you to achieve your objectives.

However big your goals are, they can always, and should always, be bigger.  It’s a philosophy lived and breathed by Google’s co-founder Larry Page who in a rare interview said: “I think for me, the key is setting really big goals.  Really, REALLY big goals.”

If you’re going to dream at all, you might as well dream BIG, right?

With this in mind, I’ve made a short video in which I put forward some questions that I hope will help inspire you to think big.  This in turn, I hope, will help you successfully plan your 2014 goals, so that next year really is ‘The Year of Your Life’.

Watch the video here and let me know your thoughts.

Nigel Green deVere Group