Today was a landmark day for me in microstock. I received my 50th and 51st downloads of the month only 27 days into March, which allowed me to achieve my goal of 50 downloads in 1 month much sooner than expected.

In this final blog on Goal Setting, I now want to talk about what to do after you achieve your goals.

Achievement should be enjoyed. Rather than jump straight into another goal setting, I feel it is better to give yourself time to relax and reflect. Think about the significance of the achievement, and how it will benefit you tomorrow as well as today. In this case of reaching a download level at Dreamstime, I have added passive income which will continue for years.

What did you learn during this process? Is there anything you wish you could change,...

As promised in Part 1, I am tracking my progress toward achieving 50 downloads in 1 month at Dreamstime by 7/31/2008.

The first two months of my challenge have been successful. In January I set a personal record with 28 downloads, more than double my average. This came on the strength of 91 new accepted uploads. February was even better, as I received 35 downloads after adding 20 additional images. For the first time since I started this personal challenge, it is now apparent that I will achieve my goal. I only need to continue striving forward. Now I want to help you achieve your goals.

Be SMART

Strongly consider using the SMART concept of goal setting. The concept stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

A specific goal spells out exactly what it ...

I have used goal setting in various aspects of my life with tremendous success. Two decades ago, I accomplished the seemingly impossible task of writing my own computer role playing game. I literally broke down every programming task I needed to achieve by day, and I stuck to a schedule for over 2 months. The result was a very proud moment when people began downloading my game and telling me how much they enjoyed it.

I have used goal setting in finance, career, weight training, you name it. It works, if you do it right! It is time I set goals for my Dreamstime portfolio, and challenge myself to achieve them publicly.

Here are the basic rules for goal setting, which you can apply to any facet of your life or work: