Successful people set goals, and they make certain all their actions and activities contribute to the achievement of their goals. They act in a logical, reasonable, and organised manner to attain the results they have identified as important to them. Successful people increase their productivity through controlling their priorities.

Focusing on All Areas of Life

You are a complex, unique individual. Part of your complexity stems from the fact that you fill many roles in life and possess numerous needs and desires that grow out of your unique potential. Your needs and desires are best fulfilled by using your potential to be as productive as possible in your business pursuits. However, you will be more productive over a long period of time and find greater satisfaction in your accomplishments when you establish priorities in all six areas of life: financial and career, physical and health, family, and home, mental and educational, spiritual, and ethical, and social and cultural.

Enhance your productivity and your enjoyment of life by keeping all areas of your personal and business life in proper perspective and by setting priorities in each one:

• Financial and Career. Exercise the same careful watch over your personal financial affairs as
you demand in your business. Consider the effect of finances on your ultimate career goals
and priorities.

• Physical and Health. Successful people take care of themselves physically; they know a
healthy body supports an active and creative mind and turns stress into a motivating force
for achievement. Set a high priority on eating nutritious meals, exercising, and getting
enough rest to be as productive as possible.

• Family and Home. Make your family and home life more rewarding by redirecting to it some of
the time and energy you save through better organisation at work. Spend quality time to maintain
meaningful relationships with all members of the family and create the home life you desire.

• Mental and Educational. Continue to grow in knowledge of your career field and knowledge
of the world in general. Read something every day that stimulates you to think about
important ideas. Develop positive habits such as meditation and mindfulness that will enhance your mental health.

• Spiritual and Ethical. Give attention to becoming the kind of person you want to be and to
the values you want to demonstrate in your life. Give back to others some of the rewards
and blessings of life that have been yours. Find some cause greater than yourself and
support it with your time, money, and influence.

• Social and Cultural. Your relationships with people make life worthwhile. Develop a broad
circle of friends with whom you have mutual interests. Remember also that the most
successful people know how to get along well with others. In addition, they enrich their own
lives and the lives of others by participating in cultural activities.

You have the right and responsibility to choose goals and set priorities in all areas of your life. No one else knows which goals are most appropriate for you, and no one else should dictate your priorities. The influence of your actions on other people should, of course, be considered when you set goals. But you alone are personally responsible for your life and what you do with it. You lose control over what happens to you if you allow decisions to be made for you by someone else. Make a commitment now to yourself and your future to take charge of your life and to establish priorities that will enrich your life and the lives of those around you.