He looked at me as if I had just asked him to pull out his thumbnails. The pain on his face was so amusing that I was visibly moved.

"Can't you just acknowledge that maybe I'm right about this?, I asked. " Won't you at least just think about it? All I want you to do is think about is what steps people need to take in order to reach goals. Is that so difficult?"

His answer was marvelous in it's simplicity, because I know he really meant it. "I've never had to do that before."

This was a sales meeting attended by half a dozen experienced salespeople. Some of them had been in the business over ten years. It was supposed to be my job to help get them excited. I was supposed to make them realize that the REFI boom which was filling their hours with new applications was only a temporary solution to a long range challenge. The challenge I proposed was "What will you be doing to earn money after the phone stops ringing, after people stop calling YOU?"

My opening remark received all kinds of responses. From "swimming in the backyard pool" to "playing more golf".

"Well", I acknowledged, "these are all fun filled ideas, but I need you to really direct your thoughts at the future and imagine how it will be. What I want to talk about is also something that you can use even now. What I want to discuss is the idea of setting and achieving goals; real goals; attainable goals. Goals that will help you all the time, not just when the phone stops ringing.

"So, how many of you set daily, weekly or monthly goals? And further, how many of you review those goals, amend them, think about them?"

Silence. Dead air. A void as complete as a sucked out black hole deep in space. Did I hit them with a two-by -four? Pained looks on otherwise blank faces.

"OK, let's start at the beginning. It's really simple. If it wasn't I wouldn't understand it myself. Goal setting is as simple as one-two-three, four-five-six. Goals have a set number of parts, all of which need to be included in the building or the house will fall.

One- Realize. Make real the realization. Make a real goal. Create a goal that you can attain. Make a goal that is so real that you can see it. Make a goal that is so real that you can feel it. Make a goal that is so real that you can feel all the good that comes from attaining it. Realize that attainment will produce an emotion of well being, and that is what we are really after. Reaching a goal produces a feeling only thought about, only imagined. Sure you think a goal is a physical thing, but it really isn't. A goal is the possession of a feeling that you only envisaged.

What emotion do you want to possess? You want the feeling that driving a big car will give you. You want the emotion that living in a ten thousand square foot house will give you. You want the emotion that being able to take a vacation every four weeks gives you.

Emotions are feelings, like happy, sad, anger, frustrated, excited or lonely. You can feel any of these if you chose. You can feel anything you want, if you try hard enough. It takes work. You can't just sit back and let the feelings wash over you. You need to take an action so you can possess them.

Two- Decide that you want it. Whatever it is, decide that it can be yours. Buy it without paying. The paying comes later. Do you know what you want? Do you know what you decided? Can you see it? Is it real? You can only have what is real to you. If it is only a dream, a ghost of a thought, then it will vanish as easily as smoke. Make a firm decision that THIS IS WHAT I WANT. Be sure you know it, not just in your head, but in your gut. Make sure that it is the most real thing you ever created.

Three- Write it down. This will make it more real than if it is just a thought. Writing things down make them appear in the reality portion of the mind. The reality portion allows us to see things as actual things, not just ideas. Writing allows us to think an idea out, become part of our being. In the writing you no longer can say that you just want to be rich, or you want to do a lot of business. Now it is time to write a specific thing, a specific place you want to be. Writing requires a specificity of thought.

Four- Take an action. by thinking and writing, you have coalesced your mind to be an action being. Now you need to make your body do what your mind has decided it wants. The pain in the action is immense, so prepare yourself for it. It is time to realize that all of the change which is necessary for you to be an actor is more than you probably realized.

For all of these things I have written a book which loan officers have found useful for over five years now. If you want a copy which will help you make goals and then follow through on them, fax me a note to 609-652-7937. The next move is yours.

The sales meeting was successful because people thought.