This shows that you are not only ambitious but also motivated and determined. It is a great way to move up in the company. In order to do this properly, you must take the steps in succession and not try to become a president in 1 year. That is unrealistic.

Although John will want to begin working for his long term goal of being company president, he should also begin by setting short term goals that will lead him there.

The first goal can start with moving up one position at work and continue on in this method. That way he can celebrate each promotion and advancement separately rather than focusing only on his inability to make president right away.

From here, John should just follow the step by step methods mentioned in the above sections for exact steps to attaining and setting goals. Just remember that you have to develop an action plan if you are going to succeed.

Four strategies can help you to develop an effective action plan.

* State your goal in very specific terms that you can accept

* Plan backwards from your goal for the best results

* Confront your fears and expectations immediately and progressively

* Put your plan on paper and into action as soon as possible

Your goal

Planning a career move is much like mapping your route for a road trip.

If you don't know where you are going, you can't decide how to get there, but if you do know where you are going, you’ll get there faster.

Goals like “Go back to school” are too general and not specific enough. You have to translate these goals into specific statements such as "Enter a college accounting program by next fall" or "For the next two months, search for work in the computer securities field.” You have to know exactly what you want to do and when to go about it.

Plan Backwards

One of the best ways to move forward is to plan backwards. Start by asking yourself if you can accomplish your goal today. If you can’t why do you think that is? What do you have to do first? Is there something you have to do before that?

Keep thinking backwards like this until you arrive at tasks you could do today. This will help you to attain the goal’s starting point.

For example, if your goal is to take a two-year business administration program, could you start today? No, you have to be accepted to the program first. Could you be accepted today? No, you have to apply first. Could you apply today? No, you have to decide which post-secondary institutions to apply to. Could you decide today? No, you have to do some research first and so on. I could do this all day but you get the point.

Don't worry if your list of things to do becomes several lists.

Deal with your fears and expectations of yourself

Look over your list of things you will have to do to achieve your goal. Do you believe that you can do it? If you have doubts, take some time to think them through first.