Thing #1-I know this habit is very powerful- SET A GOAL

Now that I have listened to the 7 1/2 habits for life long learning, the one that strikes me as the most powerful is SET A GOAL. Once we have a goal in mind, we can work toward it, keep our eyes on it, even use it in the tough times to remind us of where we intend to go. Expect to get there. Expect to get there. Did I mention that we should expect to get there? Expect to succeed. That positive mind trait DOES work. It worked for me many times in my other career.

When I retired from the entertainment industry at age 50, secure in my future and ready to "play" the rest of my life, that was the goal I had in mind. I neglected to set another goal past that. I got there and then, after a few months of golf and fixing things around the house, I thought "What next? This really can't be all I'm meant to do in this life."

I set a goal of returning to teaching. Immediately, I found a job teaching at an elementary school. As I worked on that, I thought "This is not a goal. This is repeating what I have already accomplished many years ago when I began teaching from 1972 to 1980 when I went into the entertainment business!" So, I set a new goal.. more graduate school. I had earned a MS degree in 1974. As I went into grad school to work on an Ed.S. degree, one of the profs asked me if I would be interested in earning a doctorate.

PAY ATTENTION NOW - I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU ON THIS IMPORTANT POINT: I said to the prof "I'm 50 years old. It would take me 5 years to finish a doctorate and I'm teaching full time now, plus working part time at a local church, leading the orchestra."

HE SAID - "How old will you be in 5 years if you DON'T try?" --- think about that...

I had no reply to counteract that comment. So, 5 years later, I was awarded my Ed.D. diploma. I set the goal if getting a full time job at a small University in Tennessee. I reached that in 2008. My next goal: To reach full tenure, publish an important piece of educational research, and earn full professorship by the time I'm 65. This will take some hard, hard work. Most say I can't do it because of university restrictions. I say "I have a goal." period. If I don't get there in some pre-set time, I'm still going to climb the mountain. A climber wouldn't get within a few hundred feet of the top and say "I'm out of time to climb, so I'm quitting here."

What is your goal? Choose it carefully, but CHOOSE IT. Then - climb.

Welcome 3040 Students

Hi gang!
This is my blog created for our class. Like yours, I went through the setup process and chose this template. Good luck on your 23 things.

I may choose to add more comments and blog stories as we go through this quick summer course.