Want to achieve a goal? Set a date.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.

~ George Bernard Shaw

Relying upon the old stories you tell yourself as the reasons why you are not able to get what you want may give you some comfort but it will never get you to where you want to go. While it may be difficult, at first, to give up those stories, it is entirely possible and people do it every day.

One very powerful way is to set a target date for achieving your goal. Companies, for example, know that sales goals are what often drive committed salespeople. They set their target numbers each month and the salespeople go about working toward that goal. How people achieve their goals by the target date is part mystery but also part common sense. Personally, I like the mystery because it means something larger than me is out there working on my behalf whenever I become crystal clear in my goals and set a target date to achieve goals. I don't need to understand it, I just need to accept it.

I can’t explain the ethereal forces behind this process but only know that the more I focus on achieving a specific goal within a specified timeframe, things begin to happen to move me in that direction. It happens every time without fail.

At first, the things that happen, the doors that open, seem to be nothing more than coincidences; and, perhaps, they are but there is a synchronicity to these events whenever my goals are aligned with my real purpose. Quite suddenly, the things I focus upon enlarge and offer opportunities to help me reach my goals. It is not without hard work, mind you, but, somehow, it doesn’t feel like hard work.

What happens on the common sense side is that once a goal is established and a target date set, you begin making decisions that steer you toward those goals. Often, when goals are fuzzy or you don’t have a hard timeframe to accomplish, poor time management occurs or you may pursue something that makes you feel like Sisyphus, of Greek mythology, eternally pushing a boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down and have to start all over.

So, the formula is pretty simple by starting with the end (goal) in mind:

1. Become really clear on what you want to achieve. If looking for that right career, state it, in writing. Writing it down is very important. But, make sure it is something you really want to do. Don’t worry that it may seem out of reach or is in an industry in which you don't have experience. The forces at work in the universe don’t care about any of that and will produce opportunities and deliver information to you for achieving that goal.

2. Set an “achieve by” date. This gives structure and a sense of urgency to reaching that goal so that, again, the universe aligns what you need to deliver by that date.

Do these two things consistently and your life will change.

The shotgun approach may hit a few ducks but it won’t land you the best career

OK, so you’re firmly entrenched in a work transition and might even be considering the fact that you will never, ever have another job. So, you take another stab at the job hunt, pull out the 20-gauge, and begin shooting at any job that moves. Interestingly, you might actually hit something and, if the stars and planets align, it could be even be your dream spot. More likely, however, is that you’ll be blasting your résumé off into thin air without so much as even nicking an employer. This is when your critic appears and begins telling you the reason you haven’t bagged anything is, quite simply, because you’re a lousy shot.

Don’t listen yourself!

Great careers don’t just happen by … well, happenstance. Great careers are crafted, molded, and designed. First and foremost, however, they require planning. And lots of it. If you find you’re not making the headway you want in finding the right spot for your unique talents, you will want to check out the The Five O'Clock Club.

Established in 1883, The Five O'Clock Club offers job seekers the tools they really need to source and land the job they want. But understand that landing your best-fit career requires, first and foremost, aiming at the right opportunities before pulling the trigger.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Job or Career: Before You Can Get Either, You Have to Know the Difference

There’s a job crisis going on alright but, for many, not for the reasons you may think.

No doubt there are fewer jobs today and if you are looking for a “job”, you could certainly run into roadblocks. Yes, it is frustrating to spend hours writing cover letters, revamping your resume, and sending it all to recruiters and companies, often receiving little more than a cursory acknowledgment via email. I do believe this is happening and empathize.

I then read Stephen Viscusi’s online article (posted on The Ladders), Why You're Still Unemployed One Year Later and a Q & A on LinkedIn for the question: Are Recruiters still getting 100s of resumes for job openings? Viscusi’s article is an in-your-face dose of reality about why he believes someone may be unemployed for an extended period while the people posting to LinkedIn’s Q & A offer a different take.

Viscusi’s view: If you’re unemployed it is because your attitude stinks.

General consensus from LinkedIn’s Q & A: Many people are applying for jobs for which the HR person or recruiter has deemed you wholly unqualified to perform.

Though, for the latter, and as a contributor to LinkedIn’s Q & A, Jonathan Lome, from Human Capital Management - ACA Talent put it quite succinctly:

I have definitely seen an increase in people applying for open positions, and I have also noticed more and more people applying to positions who completely lack the skills sets the position requires. I think that these days, people are not necessarily looking for a career (although many claim they are), instead they are looking simply for a job to pay the bills, so they apply to whatever they see open.

Pay attention to Jonathan, people, because he hit the nail on the head when stating that many people are looking for a job instead of a career; which may also explain Viscusi’s argument that after a long time looking for a job instead of career your attitude can begin to rot when you can’t find a “job”. The problem, however, is that “a job” and “a career” are frequently considered the same thing. They aren’t. But, if you don’t know the difference, how do you go about finding either one?

Well, for starters, get educated on the differences. Are you looking for something, as Jonathan wrote, just to “pay the bills”, or do you want to become part of an organization where your interests, skills, and talents are exactly what are needed by very specific employers? (Note: No matter how brilliant you may be in one arena, this does not mean you can automatically perform any arena.) This is where understanding a key difference between a job and a career can really help: For a job, you can learn the skills, on-the-job, to perform the work. Depending on the complexity of the job, it may take you days or weeks before you learn enough to make an impact on the company. For a career, it is years of prior learning and honing your skills that will make a near-immediate impact on the hiring company. (For beginning careerists, of course, you often have to take a lot of 'jobs' before your work-life shapes up as a career.)

The second and, perhaps, most difficult thing to get past in finding your right work-life, be it job or career, is trusting that you can get exactly what you want; even in this economy. But you need laser-like focus to achieve this. You must shut-down the internal chatter that tells you all the reasons why you can’t get what you want and trust, simply trust, that what you put your attention on will grow. Don’t believe me? Well, consider the more you fret about not finding the right work, the more you don’t find it. This principle also works in the reverse, in a positive way.

What do you have to lose?