Goal setting and goal achieving has been a prominent factor in my career growth. I have read several autobiographies by Bill Gates, Minister Mentor for Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and several other successful personalities. They have a few things in common; they know what they want and they want it bad enough to ensure that they achieve their goals. Several motivational speakers and career consultants have touched on this area and their methods seemed almost indifferent from one another. Today, I will write about some of the methods of goal setting and goal achieving which have made me the youngest manager in the company and industry. Before that, let me give you an overview..

I joined a local company in Nov 2005 as a Systems Controller. The title seemed very glamorous in a facilities management company but it was really just an administrative position. I dealt with paperwork, servicing scheduling and many ISOs. Whenever required, I will design SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to improve the team's effectiveness and efficiency. I have to work closely with the technicians and throughout the first one and a half year, I continued doing the same thing and while I watched my colleagues getting promoted to supervisors and senior supervisors. That point of time, I really wondered where I was heading. My boss kept telling me that I have been doing a good job but for 1.5 years, I never saw any increase in my salary. It was really a disheartening, demoralizing feeling when all I can do is watch the others reach new heights of their careers while I stayed put.

I have been listening to a few similar motivational audios and read a few books of this genre since 2003s but it never really took off or I was not consistent in my personal follow ups. During that time, I also came across ‘The Secret' from Youtube. From there, I found a connection between the theories of all the books I read and the various goal-achieving audio and video. I decided to test it out.

In May 2007, I prepared a list of items that I want to achieve. I broke them into short term and mid term goals. One of the short term goals to be achieved by the end of the year was to be an Assistant Account Manager for the company. One of my mid-term goals was to obtain a First Class Honours in my university studies. I was taking a part-time degree in Management since October 2005, so I thought having that as one of my goals would be useful. After that, I designed my blueprint or plan to reach that goal. This is what I did-

• 1- I printed out my goals on an A4 size paper and put it on my cupboard door, forcing me to read it every morning before I got my clothes for work.
• 2- I prepared a list of attitude I am expected to have and activities that I am expected to do consistently in order to achieve these goals. This list is also printed out and placed on the same cupboard door.
• 3- I read it every day and tried to adopt a positive working attitude, a bit at a time.

It became part of me over time and I became more pro-active in creating and implementing changes to the team's daily operations. I was able to enjoy better concentration for my studies and have better focus on my work.

On September 2007, I was called up by my Manager and he told me that he will be pulling me out of that job to assist him on other projects. In addition to that, he gave me an increment of SGD250 dollars. Not bad, I thought but I chose to stick by my goals. By the end of October, I was getting restless and I could not sense my goals getting nearer. I decided to look for another job. Somehow, there was a twist of events. My Deputy General Manager called me personally to his office one Friday afternoon and had a word with me. He was planning to promote me to take over one of the company's portfolio. This was it!! I thought. However, my direct Manager insisted that I stayed on his team. This part of my life has taught me another lesson, goals are not easy to achieve. Even if you have got a glimpse of it for a while, if you are not determined enough, you will lose it altogether. I had no choice but to tell my manager that I will leave if he chose to hold me back. Reluctantly, he had to let me go. By 14^th November 2007, I was promoted to an Assistant Account Manager of the company.

I was not convinced that this technique works and at times I thought that my achievements could be just a fluke. On December 2007, I decided to test it out again. I created a similar list. Now, achieving a First Class Honours for my studies became a short term goal and for my mid-term goal, I chose another promotion-To be a full Account Manager. I followed the same practice on a daily basis and here were my results;

1. I achieved a Second Class Honours (Uppers, Grade 1) for my degree course in June 2008.

2. Promoted once more to a full Account Manager in July 2008.

Can you imagine how excited I am? Today, I began to create more challenging goals to bring myself up to another level. My advice to all my friends and to everyone reading this, you may try the same technique. Do not be disheartened if it failed to work. Keep trying to figure out the best formula for yourself. I am neither a master nor an expert on these things and I sometimes need help. I will share with you again on my latest goals and achievements.