As you read this, I will be on my way to Atlanta, Georgia and the annual Christian Booksellers Convention, where I will premier my seventh book, Beyond Purpose: Keys to Unlocking a Life of Productivity and Fulfillment. It is a 52-lesson guide to a more creative and productive life and I am pleased with the outcome. You can find out how to order a copy at the end of this Memo.
This week I feel like updating you on some things going on in my life, with the hope that these things will spur you to set some goals and set about achieving them.
WRITING
I have a goal to earn more revenue from writing so that I can spend more time writing. I regularly visualize myself in a major bookstore somewhere, sitting behind a table, busily autographing my books for eager, paying customers lined up around the store. Any time I am writing, I keep that image before me and it encourages me to write. Today and tomorrow I will have a book signing hour for bookstore owners from around the world. I already see long lines forming to get my latest book at that event.
I had a toy typewriter when I was a child, and I used to spend hours typing out articles and chapters from magazines and books. My goal as a 10-year-old was to have a pile of papers next to that typewriter that was the size of a manuscript. I didn't write anything original then, but I knew I wanted to write something that had substance to it. Today, I am doing just that.
SCHOOL
I have always enjoyed school and was a good student. I graduated in the top ten percent of my university class, went on to graduate school for economics and then earned a doctorate in pastoral ministries in 1995. I have decided it's time to go back to school, so in August I will start a doctorate in ministry program at the Reformed Theological Presbyterian Seminary here in Pittsburgh.
It is a two-year cohort program, which means I will be with the same classmates (my cohorts) throughout the program. Then I will have a ministry project to do and will hopefully finish in not much longer than the two years the classes will take to complete. Right now I am in the midst of the 18 books I have to read for the start of classes on August 6. I guess when I graduate, you will have to call me Doctor-Doctor.
My goal is to enroll for something every year that will add to my effectiveness. Last year, I attended the training at The Pacific Institute, and that changed my life in so many ways. This doctoral program will fulfill my training goal for the next two years and help direct my reading program to relevant and helpful material.
GOALS
My book and school are the direct result of goals I have set for myself. No one forces me to set or achieve those goals. They are things I want and choose to do. There may be more income for me from those goals, but that is incidental to why I set them. I want to be the best that I can be at what I do and writing and study help make that possible. I have other goals that I won't mention here, but I hope you get the picture.
So what are your goals? Do you have any? Can you set some more? If you don't have any, why don't you? What are afraid of? To help you understand the goal-setting process even more, I have attached an excerpt below from my first book, Life is a Gold Mine: Can You Dig It? Take some time this week to read this article, examine the goals you have and set some goals you would like to achieve. Then get busy visualizing and actualizing how you will accomplish those goals. Who knows, one day you may be sitting at that table with me and we may be signing some books together. That would be great, wouldn't it? While you're dreaming and planning, I hope you have a great week! I know I will!
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The cost of my new book is $15 US. If you order in July, I'll pay the domestic shipping or give you a $3 US credit toward international shipping. You can use PayPal to pay for your book. Just use my email address, [email protected], and they will notify me when your payment is in my account. Just include your address with the payment and we'll get your book(s) out to you right away.
If you can't use PayPal, then send me an email and we'll work something out, but order today.
Speaking of money and payments, every now and then I like to remind you that I live by faith. I send out thousands of Memos and weekly Bible studies free of charge and I enjoy doing it. If you have been blessed by my purpose message or work, however, would you consider a contribution at this time. You can go to my website and donate using PayPal, or you can send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA, 15221 USA. Just think of your donation that will help make my schooling possible. Thank you for considering my request.
Download goals article: Personal Goals.doc
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