Goal Assessment Activity (2-4 hrs)
The purpose of this activity is to assess your goals using the S.M.A.R.T.E.R method and to systematically develop an action plan for achieving those goals. It is highly recommended this activity be done in pencil if not completed in digital form.
The first step is to convert your Passion Statement into a Wealth Building Strategy. We do this by placing a net worth target and an accomplishment date on the front end of your Passion Statement. For example, if your Passion Statement is “I am passionate about improving the health of individuals”. Your Wealth Building Strategy might become “I will earn a net worth of $10 Million dollars in 20 years by improving the health of individuals.”
You Wealth Building Strategy will become the first goal listed in the in the upper left-hand corner of the Goal Assessment page. Assess your goal using each of the questions in the columns to the right. This activity will take quite a bit of thinking. Let’s go through it with our example.
Specific – Yes. This goal is specific. $10 Million dollars is a specific net worth target.
Measurable – Yes. This goal is measurable in dollars and time.
Actionable – Yes. We can list 3 actions:
- Obtain a medical degree from Vanderbilt University in 5 years.
- Open a private general practitioner practice in Chicago in 7 years.
- Examine a minimum of 3,000 patients per year (6 hrs/day x 2 patients per hour x 250 D/Yr )
Relevant – By definition, it is relevant to our passion because it builds on our passion statement.
Time Bound – Yes. The timeframe for completion of the goal is 20 years.
Evaluate – Based on the 20-year term, an annual or semi-annual review of targets is recommended.
Reward – Given the long-term nature of this goal, reward might be retirement to the beach or taking on a personal legacy project such as a mission, writing a book, or starting a charitable foundation.
The next step in the Goal Assessment process is to take each of the action items from the Wealth Building Strategy goal and write them as goals number 2-4. Review each of these goals for consistency with the S.M.A.R.T.E.R method. After completing this step, you should have nine more action items, which are getting more and more concrete, simple, and achievable in shorter time frames.
You guessed it, the nine action items from step two become goals number 5-13. By this time, you should have the hang of pushing yourself to be specific and creative in developing your action items. After this level your 27 new action items should be very achievable soon. If you are having trouble coming up with this many action items, then your original Wealth Building Strategy goal may be too small. If you feel like the round of 27 action items still has more layers of activity to go, then feel free to continue developing additional layers, but realize that you may need to go back and adjust timeframes or add resources to help you.
There is also no rule that says you can’t develop five action items for each level. This process is simply designed to make you think through the practical application of your goals to an overall action plan to achieve them. Feel free to go back through the goals, modifying them as needed to get the scope right.
Don’t worry if you don’t know everything about all the steps to achieve your goals or the exact time it will take. Add in action items and time for learning the skills you need or conducting additional research. This process is specifically designed to make you realize where you need additional study and to identify gaps that haven’t been thought through yet.