Many people set goals in their minds, thinking that the setting of the goal will somehow make things happen. If goal setting itself got things done, a lot more New Year's resolutions would be fulfilled by December 31st. The reality is that the setting of a goal is only the start of a productivity process. How we set and act upon goals will determine whether they in fact become realities. Think of goal setting as operating on three levels. On the largest, longest-term level, goals should represent our visions, aspiration, and ideals. No one was ever energized by an item on a daily to-do sheet. What motivates us is what inspires us. It's the vision, the ideal, the dream that makes us jump out of bed in the morning. The recent Forbes article is one of the most important things I've written, hands down. It explains precisely how large goals draw upon our reserves and energize us. When we tap into our deepest sources of motivation--our m...