We labor over writing the goals, create Vision Boards, and start the year bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (like children on Christmas morning when they see a tree loaded with presents).

And yet within a week, maybe two or three, reality sets in. We're the same people we were before midnight on January 1st and, likely have the same habits. . .good and bad.

So how do we create results and not simply resolutions?

The answer is simple. . .treat the New Year as you would any large project and break it down into manageable pieces.

Let's see what that looks like:

1. Choose one of your annual goals and break it down into 4 quarterly (90 day) goals.

2. Take the first quarter (January - March) and break that down into monthly goals -- what do you need to achieve each MONTH to reach your first quarterly (March 31st) goal?

3. Take the first month (January) and break that down into weekly goals -- what do you need to achieve each WEEK to reach your monthly (January 31st) goal?

4. Take the first week (January 4 - 10) and break that down into daily ACTIONS -- what should you do each day which will allow you to reach your weekly (January 10th) goal?

5. And what needs to happen for you to get your daily actions DONE? Do you limit your email/Twitter/IM time? Do you tell your best friend you have work to do? Do you get up an hour earlier or work an hour later? Do you invest in a mentor who can save you hours of learning time? Figure out what you need to do. . .and then do it!

Simple, right?

It is until you take a look at ALL your New Year's Goals and realize you'd have to work 15 hours a day and be on a treadmill eating carrot sticks while chatting with your friends and family the remaining 9 hours in order to reach every goal you set.

The above exercise does two things for you:

1. It gives you the power to create real results. . .in a way which keep you focused and allows you to see progress throughout the year and

2. It forces you to "get real" about how much you can achieve and where you may want to pull in outside resources to speed up your learning curve, outsource work, etc.

So, what's next?

You have a choice.

You can take this ezine and move it to your "I'll get to it later" folder, you can delete it, or you can use it to change your 2009 forever.

Making It Real: My Request To You

My request to you is that you pick one of your goals for 2009 and use the exercise above to ensure it's doable, a stretch for you, but still attainable. And go through this process until all your goals are mapped out.

Once you've mapped out your goals and the actions needed to get there (this method also forces you to look at your goals at least monthly), you can "ask" any opportunity or offer which comes your way whether it will support you in reaching your goals or serve as a distraction and make your decision based on your immediate, intuitive answer.

Just imagine, no more laboring over decisions. . .they either do or do not support your goals. How freeing is that?!?