Another Day, Another Dollar, Another Goal

I really enjoy the VW Jetta commercial that I see on tv. Not because of the car, but because of the spirit behind the commercial.

A guy has a goal to buy a car, he figures it will run about 30,000 dollars and sets out to pickup any job possible. He works in a medical center, he picks up a second job cleaning up golf balls, he picks up a 3rd job in a women's defense class, and a fourth job walking dogs. He has a goal and keeps his focus on that goal.

To keep his focus, he places the picture of the goal in his locker, at work and by his side at all times as inspiration to keep going despite the not so fun times he may be having while making that extra money. And in the end he had more than enough money saved to buy two cars.

And all the while, Wynn Stewart sings him through the day:
"Another day another dollar daylight comes I'm on my way
Another day another dollar workin' my whole life away
The boss told me I'd get paid weekly and that's exactly how I'm paid
Another day another dollar workin' my whole life away"

I connected to this commercial because it made me think of my own goals. Sometimes, I carry the physical evidence around with me and sometimes I just try to remind myself that if I get off track I won't reach my goal.

Much like the Fidelity Investment commercial, I need to stick to green line I have set before me and take one step at a time. There will be distractions along the way, but with reminders of what my goal is and the occasional reminder from friends and family, I too can have that feeling of accomplishment.

And if you don't have anyone to remind you, just writing down your goal(s) does help. In a study done on 149 people, they concluded the following:
1. The positive effect of written goals was supported: Those who wrote their goals
accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals.
2. There was support for the role of public commitment: those who sent their
commitments to a friend accomplished significantly more than those who wrote
action commitments or did not write their goals.
3. The positive effect of accountability was supported: those who sent weekly
progress reports to their friend accomplished significantly more than those who
had unwritten goals, wrote their goals, formulated action commitments or sent
those action commitments to a friend.

I have notebook that I have taped pictures of my fat self into and then I write down what I did in the gym for the day. Above the pictures (side and front) is my goal weight and along the way I will take more pictures of myself to inspire me to do more and keep walking that line to get to my goal.

Otherways to keep yourself on track, online:
* Google Calendar - You can email a friend when you update or keep it private
* Joe's Goals - Use the simple single page interface to setup daily goals and track them with just a click. Watch your daily score to gage your success...
*  StickK - A social site designed to "show that people who put stakes - either their money or their reputation - on the table are far more likely to actually achieve a goal they set for themselves."
* GoalMigo - Set. Track. Share your goals
* Blog about it - Get a free account on blogger and start writing daily to keep yourself motivated. For example, Wade lost 100 pounds and blogged about it.

What ways have you found to inspire and keep yourself moving towards your goals?