What’s your goal? Fame? Travel? Write a best seller? Financial freedom?

Having goals give us something to aim for in life. Think of the analogy of someone being given a bow and arrow, and being told to shoot the arrow….. quite possibly the first question will be, at what or where is the target? If you don’t know where to point the arrow, it could end up anywhere.

If you don’t set a goal, you’ll end up like the arrow – anywhere!

Laurence J Peter (best known to the general public for the formulation of the Peter principle in management) sums up the importance of goal setting perfectly:

A goal is a concrete action, event or outcome that you strive to obtain. Goals enrich our lives, give us energy, create a sense of purpose and give us a ‘road map’ – if you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”

We don’t claim to be experts in this area, but here are a few tips which may help with setting goals, and how investing in property can help you achieve them.

How to set your goal

It really is worth taking the time to think about what truly motivates you and what you want to achieve. Whether it is a short-term goal (like learning a new skill) or a long-term goal (planning for retirement), think about what will make you happy and satisfied once you have achieved it.

Business owners use the SMART acronym when setting goals for their business but they are applicable to your personal life too.

Quite simply, your goal needs to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

Write your goal (or goals) down

Once you’ve worked out your goal, write it down. You don’t have to go as far as creating a picture board or anything fancy, (unless of course you’re creative and want to!) as in fact, according to a Dominican University study, just writing your goal down means you’re more likely to achieve it.

Seeing your thoughts on paper will help keep you focussed and motivated to actually do it.

Work out how you’re going to get there

If your goal is to be an astronaut, we can’t really make a suggestion however, if your goal is to travel more, retire early, pay for the kids education, have financial freedom so you can focus on your passion, this is where investing in property can help you get there.

You only have so many hours in the day to work and having some sort of a passive income, such as the rental return from an investment property, can help you achieve your goals.

Stay focussed

Most importantly, you do need to stay focussed. Think about how you’ll feel when you achieve your goal (or do some reverse psychology, and think about how you’ll feel if you don’t!). You do need to monitor your progress along the way and make changes accordingly, but by keeping focussed on your goal will help make it happen.

We’ve helped lots of people reach their goals through property and we’d like to help you! As one of Newcastle’s longest established real estate offices, we know property, and we’re keen to share our knowledge with you and help you meet your financial goals.

Whether it is from an investment or homeowner’s point of view, we’re always looking at innovative ways to help you get the best from your asset.

If you want to know more about investing in property, get in touch. Simply give us a ring on 02 4956 9777, send us an email to mail@newcastlepropertymanagement.com.au or pop into our Cardiff office for a chat.

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