Your life is comprised of seven areas, family, spiritual, financial, personal, career, physical, and mental. When all of these areas are balanced and working in harmony, you will be happier and achieve more. On the contrary, if some areas in your life are successful but others are lacking, you will achieve limited success. For example, if you achieve financial success but don’t take time to develop your family life, you will be successful financially but will not be happy because you are not achieving success in other areas that are equally important. Each area works together with the other to create a well-balanced lifestyle that Zig Ziglar calls significance. You can be successful where you are, doing what you are currently doing but when you have success in all seven areas of your life there is a higher place to be…significance.
To achieve the balance needed to achieve significance you must first know where you are. To find out where you are follow these steps;
Analyze each of the seven areas and determine which are more successful.
Give each area a rating of one to ten. One is lowest and ten is highest
Draw a circle in the middle and seven lines equal in length extending from the circle, at the end of each line write one of the seven steps and on each line draw ten tick marks
Chart the ratings for each area on the corresponding line. Example: If your rating for “family” is a 4 then chart it at the fourth tick mark on the line labeled family.
Once all of the lines have a rating, connect the ratings with a single line. (If your life is equally balanced the line that you draw will be a circle, if it is not, it will have flat spots.)
Review which areas are not balanced. The goal is to bring the lower areas out to a higher rating and balance the circle
Each unbalanced area is where you need to achieve more. Think about what you want to do or what you need to do in order to achieve more success in this area and write it down. (Write as many as possible for each area that needs improvement.)
Qualify each of those items to ensure that it is good, right and just for everyone involved. If it is then proceed to the next step. The item just became a goal.
Write down all the reasons you want to achieve this goal. If it keeps you up at night and gets you up in the morning then it is a good reason.
Write down as many obstacles that may occur and find resolutions to them.
Identify who you will need to help you or what you need to do yourself to be qualified to obtain this goal.
Write down the steps that you need to take to begin. Don’t worry if this is not perfect because it is going to change.
The most important step is to START
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Zig Ziglar