Good morning MDRT!

When we first joined this career, I believe many of us were taught about the importance of starting the year well by setting business-related goals.

We were taught to think of what BUSINESS related goals we wanted to achieve - did we want to hit MDRT, COT or TOT? And then we would plan out how we were going to achieve it. At the end of the year, we would see if we had hit our business goals or not. If we did, congratulations, if we did not, we try again next year!

Goal-setting was also pretty much like this for me for many years. It became more like I was just going through the motion and soon, I just felt something was lacking.

Several years ago, I decided to change the way I do my yearly goal setting. Since then, it has COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED how I conduct my life as well as my business. This simple exercise has made me a much happier and more successful individual.

Would you like me to share with you how I do my personal goal-setting every year? Here goes!!

I have coined this as Laura’s Whole Person Action Plan. And yes, as you might have guessed, I incorporate the Whole Person Concept into my goal-setting.

I believe many of us have heard about this Concept introduced by Dr Adler at the 1961 Annual Meeting! It emphasizes achieving balance across seven crucial aspects of our lives: Relationships, Health, Education, Career, Service, Financial, and Spiritual.

At the start of every year,  I sit down and pull out Laura’s Whole Person Action Plan: It consists of a table with seven areas of my life, each awaiting a meaningful goal to be added.

It is no longer just about setting career-related goals but I get to think of goals in all 7 areas of my life that I want to grow in. For instance, in the area of relationships, my goal last year was to have deeper conversations with my kids. Why? Because I want to build a strong and open communication channel with them from young, so that they would be comfortable to share about anything they feel like with me even as they grow.

Understanding our “why" behind our goals will keep us motivated and committed to achieving it.

As the saying goes: “A Goal without an action plan is a daydream”.

For every goal, we need to have a clear ACTION plan. It's about breaking down our aspirations into tangible steps that we can take consistently.

Another example would be in the area of Education. Last year, I wanted to confidently engage my target market - the high-net-worth individuals.

So, I thought of an action plan to help me stay updated on investments and current affairs. I intentionally read more widely on business related topics and also took up a High Net Worth course to equip myself to better relate to them.

We know that goal-setting is a journey which requires consistent accountability. That's why I conduct quarterly reviews to assess where I am and even give myself a score, to celebrate the small wins, and to RECALIBRATE my goals if necessary.

The last example I would like to share is in the area of Service towards the community, it was during my half year review that I realised I had not yet done anything about my action plan – which was to get my family involved in 2 charity related activities.

After my review, I decided to work on my action plan and I am glad to say that I achieved my goal by end of the year!

I started to involve both my children in communicating with our 3 sponsored children under World Vision - a global humanitarian organisation that provides short-term and long-term assistance to children and families living in poverty. Through the regular letters we write to each other, our children get to see how our monthly sponsorships have been impacting the lives of these three children and their families in simple yet meaningful ways.

For my second charity related project, I arranged for us to spend a few hours as a family to deliver meals door to door to needy families.

As you can imagine, the impact this Whole Person Action Plan has had on my life has been amazing. Not only have I been able to achieve more in all areas of my life, I've also found greater joy and fulfilment as an individual. Goal-setting is no longer just about hitting my sales figures.

So, I encourage you, fellow MDRT members - embrace the Whole Person Concept and incorporate it into your yearly goal-setting. You will see how this simple exercise can bring remarkable rewards to you and your family!

Goal-setting will never the same for you again!

Thank you MDRT!

Transcript

Goal setting will never be the same again

Author(s):

Laura Xue-Fen Hoi, ChFC, AEPP