What is 'Return On Investment - ROI'

A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investments cost. To calculate ROI, the benefit (or return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment, and the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

The return on investment formula:

In the above formula, "Gain from Investment refers to the proceeds obtained from the sale of the investment of interest. Because ROI is measured as a percentage, it can be easily compared with returns from other investments, allowing one to measure a variety of types of investments against one another.

Return on investment is a very popular metric because of its versatility and simplicity. Essentially, return on investment can be used as a rudimentary gauge of an investments profitability. ROI can be very easy to calculate and to interpret and can apply to a wide variety of kinds of investments. That is, if an investment does not have a positive ROI, or if an investor has other opportunities available with a higher ROI, then these ROI values can instruct him or her as to which investments are preferable to others.

For example, suppose Joe invested $1,000 in Slice Pizza Corp. in 2010 and sold his shares for a total of $1,200 a year later. To calculate the return on his investment, he would divide his profits ($1,200 - $1,000 = $200) by the investment cost ($1,000), for a ROI of $200/$1,000, or 20%.

With this information, he could compare the profitability of his investment in Slice Pizza with that of other investments. Suppose Joe also invested $2,000 in Big-Sale Stores Inc. in 2011 and sold his shares for a total of $2,800 in 2014. The ROI on Joes holdings in Big-Sale would be $800/$2,000, or 40%. Using ROI, Joe can easily compare the profitability of these two investments. Joes 40% ROI from his Big-Sale holdings is twice as large as his 20% ROI from his Slice holdings, so it would appear that his investment in Big-Sale was the wiser move.

Yet, examples like Joe's reveal one of several limitations of using ROI, particularly when comparing investments. While the ROI of Joes second investment was twice that of his first investment, the time between Joes purchase and sale was one year for his first investment and three years for his second. Joes ROI for his first investment was 20% in one year and his ROI for his second investment was 40% over three. If one considers that the duration of Joes second investment was three times as long as that of his first, it becomes apparent that Joe should have questioned his conclusion that his second investment was the more profitable one. When comparing these two investments on an annual basis, Joe needed to adjust the ROI of his multi-year investment accordingly. Since his total ROI was 40%, to obtain his average annual ROI he would need to divide his ROI by the duration of his investment. Since 40% divided by 3 is 13.33%, it appears that his previous conclusion was incorrect. While Joes second investment earned him more profit than did the first, his first investment was actually the more profitable choice since its annual ROI was higher.

Examples like Joes indicate how a cursory comparison of investments using ROI can lead one to make incorrect conclusions about their profitability. Given that ROI does not inherently account for the amount of time during which the investment in question is taking place, this metric can often be used in conjunction with Rate of Return, which necessarily pertains to a specified period of time, unlike ROI. One may also incorporate Net Present Value (NPV), which accounts for differences in the value of money over time due to inflation, for even more precise ROI calculations. The application of NPV when calculating rate of return is often called the Real Rate of Return.

Keep in mind that the means of calculating a return on investment and, therefore, its definition as well, can be modified to suit the situation. it all depends on what one includes as returns and costs. The definition of the term in the broadest sense simply attempts to measure the profitability of an investment and, as such, there is no one "right" calculation.

For example, a marketer may compare two different products by dividing the gross profit that each product has generated by its associated marketing expenses. A financial analyst, however, may compare the same two products using an entirely different ROI calculation, perhaps by dividing the net income of an investment by the total value of all resources that have been employed to make and sell the product. When using ROI to assess real estate investments, one might use the initial purchase price of a property as the Cost of Investment and the ultimate sale price as the Gain from Investment, though this fails to account for all of the intermediary costs, like renovations, property taxes and real estate agent fees.

This flexibility, then, reveals another limitation of using ROI, as ROI calculations can be easily manipulated to suit the user's purposes, and the results can be expressed in many different ways. As such, when using this metric, the savvy investor would do well to make sure he or she understands which inputs are being used. A return on investment ratio alone can paint a picture that looks quite different from what one might call an accurate ROI calculationone incorporating every relevant expense that has gone into the maintenance and development of an investment over the period of time in questionand investors should always be sure to consider the bigger picture.

Recently, certain investors and businesses have taken an interest in the development of a new form of the ROI metric, called "Social Return on Investment,"or SROI. SROI was initially developed in the early 00's and takes into account social impacts of projects and strives to include those affected by these decisions in the planning of allocation of capital and other resources.

For a more in-depth look at ROI, see:FYI on ROI: A Guide to Calculating Return on Investment.

Excerpt from:
Return On Investment ROI - investopedia.com

Organically grown foods can beand often are mixed with non-organic ingredients, genetically modified organisms and artificial ingredients despite boasting organic labels. Organic fruits and vegetables can comingle with conventionally raised produce, be exposed to pesticides and other contaminants in shipping, storage and on display at your local supermarket. And sometimes, products labeled organic arent even organic at all, like the recent case of an Oregon man sentenced to more than two years in prison for selling conventionally raised corn as organic.

Beyond the health, environmental and flavor benefits in growing organic food, theres the enticing higher sticker price for farmers, distributors and retailers. Just ask any farmer who made the switch from conventional to certified organic how much more theyre making with premium organic crops. Money certainly tempted Harold Chase, 55, of Eugene, OR who appeared to double his profits by selling more than 4.2 million pounds of non-organic corn as certified organic.

In 2009, Target was accused of falsely advertising soymilk as organic when it was not. The retail giant faced a similar situation just two years earlier when the USDA considered pulling the organic certification from Targets main organic dairy supplierand the nations largestAurora Dairy (supplier for Horizon), for selling non-organic milk marketed as organic for more than four years. Horizon had once been considered a leader in the organic food movement.

How does this happen?

Regulations, especially in livestock conditions, were loosely defined when the National Organic Program was implemented in 2002. While stricter rules exist now for meat, egg and dairy farms claiming to be organic, unresolved issues about ethical treatment still remain a contentious point in defining organic animal products.

The USDA organic labeling system has several levels of organic certification. You may recognize the USDA seal on the front of 100 percent certified organic products. But they also allow the word organic on products that contain only 70 percent organic ingredients. A bag of corn chips, for example, could say something like made with organic corn, but could contain no other organic ingredients (and could also contain genetically modified canola or soybean oil). So make sure you read your labels and ingredient panels on any processed foods.

100 percent certified organic means just that. But the USDA defines organic as meaning at least 95 percent of the product is organic, and therefore can also contain ingredients like natural flavoring which canand often doesinclude MSG (monosodium glutamate), known for severe side effects including headaches and tinnitus. Because MSG naturally occurs in autolyzed yeast extract, it is considered a natural product. So is carrageenan, a seaweed substance known to cause adverse reactions like digestive disturbances. Other products that may or may not be labeled as more than just natural flavors include enzymes, gums and yeasts.

China is a major exporter of organic products from canned tomatoes to milk to dried fruit and tea. But their certifying program varies greatly from our own, and banned toxic pesticides and other chemicals have shown up in organic foods on several occasions. Just recently, Chinese officials announced that they will take extra measures to stop illegal fraudulent activities including misuse of certifications and counterfeit organic products.

Supermarkets are loaded with fruits and vegetables labeled organic. But field-testing to ensure compliance with organic standards is a rarity in the U.S. Organic produce fetches a higher sticker price, so it is highly appealing to both farmers and supermarkets, making us all victims of organic fraud likely at some point or another. Supermarkets that arent certified organic can often co-mingle organic and conventional produce leading to residual pesticide contamination, even though theyre not supposed to share storage or display units. Visiting and supporting a local farmer, either at a farmers market or through a CSA, greatly improves your chances of getting truly organic items.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Resources:

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/organicP.html

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/235740-ore.-man-sent-to-prison-over-organic-corn-scam

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/20/target-accused-of-organic_n_327639.html

http://www.startribune.com/business/11225536.html

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/03/content_15203108.htm

Image: Yogue_style

Jill Ettinger is a Los Angeles-based journalist and editor focused on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, diet preferences, health, and politics. She is the senior editor for sister websites OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com, and works as a research associate and editor with the Cornucopia Institute, the organic industry watchdog group. Jill has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, Reality Sandwich, and Eat Drink Better. http://www.jillettinger.com.

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Is Your Organic Food A Fraud? - Organic Authority

The housing market crash has become a distant memory, and home prices are looking healthy again. But does that mean there are good opportunities for investing in the residential real estate market?

Home values are climbing in most places. According to the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, 92 percent of major metro areas saw gains in prices for existing, single-family homes during thethird quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier.

But while interest rates remain low, the days of quick, easy financing are over, and the tightened credit market can make it tough to secure loans for investment properties. Still, a little creativity and preparation can bring financing within reach of many real estate investors.

If youre ready to borrow for a residential investment property, these tips can improve your chances of success.

Since mortgage insurance wont cover investment properties, youll need to put at least 20 percent down to secure traditional financing. If you can put down 25 percent, you may qualify for an even better interest rate, says mortgage broker Todd Huettner, president of Huettner Capital in Denver.

If you dont have the down payment money, you can try toget a second mortgage on the property, but its likely to be an uphill struggle.

Although many factors among them the loan-to-value ratio and the policies of the lender youre dealing with can influence the terms of a loan on an investment property, youll want to check your credit score before attempting a deal.

Below (a score of) 740, it can start to cost you additional money for the same interest rate, Huettner says. Below 740, you will have to pay a fee to have the interest rate stay the same. That can range from one-quarter of a point to 2 points to keep the same rate.

The alternative to paying points if your score is below 740 is to accept a higher interest rate.

In addition, having reserves in the bank to pay all your expenses personal and investment-related for at least six months has become part of the lending equation.

If you have multiple rental properties, (lenders) now want reserves for each property, Huettner says. That way, if you have vacancies, youre not dead.

If your down payment isnt quite as big as it should be or if you have other extenuating circumstances, consider going to a neighborhood bank for financing rather than a large national financial institution.

Theyre going to have a little more flexibility, Huettner says. They also may know the local market better and have more interest in investing locally.

Mortgage brokers are another good option because they have access to a wide range of loan products but do some research before settling on one.

What is their background? Huettner asks. Do they have a college degree? Do they belong to any professional organizations? You have to do a little bit of due diligence.

A request for owner financing used to make sellers suspicious of potential buyers, during the days when almost anyone could qualify for a bank loan. But now, its more acceptablebecause of the tightening of credit.

However, you should have a game plan if you decide to go this route.

You have to say, I would like to do owner financing with this amount of money and these terms,' Huettner says. You have to sell the seller on owner financing, and on you.

If youre looking at a good property with a high chance of profit, consider securing a down payment or renovation money through a home equity line of credit, from credit cards or even via some life insurance policies, says Ben Spofford, an Ohio home remodeler and former real estate investor.

Financing for the actual purchase of the property might be possible through private, personal loans from peer-to-peer lending sites like Prosper and LendingClub, which connect investors with individual lenders.

Just be aware that you may be met with some skepticism, especially if you dont have a long history of successful real estate investments. Some peer-to-peer groups also require that your credit history meet certain criteria.

When youre borrowing from a person as opposed to an entity, that person is generally going to be more conservative and more protective of giving their money to a stranger, Spofford says.

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5 Tips For Financing Investment Property | Bankrate.com

Often, people build stories in their mind which have no basis in the contours of reality. Those which build these images, are building such images which are based on their relatively limited sense of understanding about the particular subject or person. This is a "fill in the blank" reality, which often manifests itself into the hearts and the minds of those who have a "fill in the blank" mindset, not the person with the here said reality.The universe is designed in a way that reflects itself, just like a mirror, showing you exactly who you are to yourself, not who others are. Your largest and most concealed insecurities have their way of presenting themselves to you in a fashion that is relative to your self designed way of communication.This short writing is a reminder that your preconceived notions on a particular subject or person, are a construct of your inner mind and emotional-relational well being and not of others. This is one of the largest fundamental truths in which you must have large insight to carefully watch who and what you massacre with your personal thoughts.Having a keen sense of control on this subject will lead you to enlightenment in many platforms of life. Will Barnes, The Expansion of The Soul

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Quotes About Personal Development (1420 quotes)

Wellbeing and Peer Assistance

Get valuable information about stress management and other wellness issues. We have resources for individual veterinarians, as well as state and allied veterinary medical associations.

Get advice to optimize your job search from Dr. Patricia Wohlferth-Bethke, director of the Veterinary Career Center and assistant director of Membership & Field Services for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). From outlining best practices for rsum writing, to highlighting common mistakes job-seekers make during interviews, Dr. Pat has the advice you need to ratchet your job search up a notch.

The start of your new career as a veterinarian can be filled with anxiety, and you might find yourself with questions that never arose in your schooling. This video series, created by some of our young AVMA member veterinarians, answers the questions you might be too afraid to ask your boss or colleagues.

Looking to build your leadership skills? Our toolkit can help you build the skills needed to be a leader in your workplace, in society, and in organized veterinary medicine.

This Facebook group, open onlyto AVMA members who have graduated in the past five years, lets recent grads connect with each other to provide advice and support with issues faced during the transition from veterinary student to working veterinarian. We also host an online expert ona differenttopic (such as veterinary economics, wellness, leadership, and more)almost every month.

Let us help you develop your skills as a leader and organizer within the veterinary profession.

This one-year program helps develop leadership and problem-solving skills related to organized veterinary medicine. Open exclusively to AVMA members who have graduated from veterinary school within the last 15 years.

Find out more about career options that exist for veterinarians, including current jobs, and learn how to assess what kind of careers are a good fit for you. Learn how to translate what you do into other career settings, and also how to market those skills.

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Personal Development - American Veterinary Medical Association

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Sales Training Websites - SelfGrowth.com

KMC Georgia Classes

Kadampa Meditation Center Georgia offers many kinds of ongoing classes, class series and one-time events throughout Georgia and Alabama, suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators. Everyone is welcome. The format of each class varies depending on the topic. But in general ourteachers

Most classes run for an hour and a half. There is no physical exercise or special clothing involved. Come dressed however is comfortable for you. You do not need to be a Buddhist to attend and to derive great benefit. They are perfectly suitable for individuals of all faiths.

The meditation practices we apply are very time-honored and authentic.Here is a video of a Kadampa Teacher explaining the many benefits of meditation. To get a feel for the practice itself, you can also view general guidanceon how to meditatehere.

Easy! KMC Georgia offers three levels of classes

If you are new to Kadampa Buddhism or Buddhism in general, then

Here are a few other things you may want to look at to get to know us better

If you would like more information, please dont hesitate at (678) 453-6753 or at info@meditationingeorgia.org.Were very nice! We look forward to seeing you soon.

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Classes - Kadampa Meditation Center Georgia

Jerry Fodor died last week at the age of 82 here are obituaries from theNYT and Daily Nous. I think he had three qualities that make a good philosopher. He really wanted the truth (not everyone is that bothered about it); he was up for a fight about it (in argumentative terms); and he had the gift of expressing his ideas clearly. Georges Rey, in the Daily Nous piece, professes surprise over Fodors unaccountable habit of choosing simple everyday examples rather than prestigious but obscure academic ones: but even Rey shows his appreciation of a vivid comparison by quoting Dennetts lively simile of Fodor as trampoline.

Good writing in philosophy is not just a presentational matter, I think; to express yourself clearly and memorably you have to have ideas that are clear and cogent in the first place; a confused or laborious exposition raises the suspicion that youre not really that sure what youre talking about yourself.

Not that well-expressed ideas are always true ones, and in fact I dont think Fodorism, stimulating as it is, is ever likely to be accepted as correct. The bold hypothesis of a language of thought, sometimes called mentalese, in which all our thinking is done, never really looked attractive to most. Personally it strikes me as an unnecessary deferral; something in the brain has to explain language, and saying its another language just puts the job off. In fairness, empirical evidence might show that things are like that, though I dont see it happening at present. Fodor himself linked the idea with a belief in a comprehensive inborn conceptual apparatus; we never learn new concepts, just activate ones that were already there. The idea of inborn understanding has a respectable pedigree, but if Plato couldnt sell it, Fodor was probably never going to pull it off either.

As I say, these are largely empirical matters and someone fresh to the discussion might wonder why discussion was ever thought to be an adequate method; arent these issues for science? Or at least, shouldnt the armchair guys shut up for a bit until the neurologists can give them a few more pointers? You might well think the same about Fodors other celebrated book, The Modularity of Mind. Isnt a day with a scanner going to tell you more about that than a month of psychological argumentation?

But the truth is that research cant proceed in a vacuum; without hypotheses to invalidate or a framework of concepts to test and apply, it becomes mere data collection. The concepts and perspectives that Fodor supplied are as stimulating as ever and re-reading his books will still challenge and sharpen anyones thinking.

Perhaps my favourite was his riposte to Stephen Pinker,The Mind Doesnt Work That Way. So Ive been down into the cobwebbed cellars of Conscious Entities and retrieved one of the lost posts, one I wrote in 2005, which describes it. (I used to put red lines in things in those days for reasons that now elude me).

Here it is

(30 January 2005)

Jerry Fodors 2001 book The Mind Doesnt Work That Way makes a cogent and witty deflationary case. In some ways, its the best summary of the current state of affairs Ive read; which means, alas, that it is almost entirely negative. Fodors constant position is that the Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) is the only remotely plausible theory we have and remotely plausible theories are better than no theories at all. But although he continues to emphasise that this is a reason for investigating the representational system which CTM implies, he now feels the times, and the bouncy optimism of Steven Pinker and Henry Plotkin in particular, call for a little Eeyoreish accentuation of the negative. Sure, CTM is the best theory we have, but that doesnt mean its actually much good. Surely no-one ought to think its the complete explanation of all cognitive processes least of all the mysteries of consciousness! It isnt just computation that has been over-estimated, either there are also limits to how far you can go with modularism too though again, its a view with which Fodor himself is particularly associated.

The starting point for both Fodor and those he parts company with, is the idea that logical deduction probably gets done by the brain in essentially the same way as it is done on paper by a logician or in electronic digits by a computer, namely by the formal manipulation of syntactically structured representations, or to put it slightly less polysyllabically, by moving symbols around according to rules. Its fairly plausible that this is true at least for some cognitive processes, but there is a wide scope for argument about whether this ability is the latest and most superficial abstract achievement of the brain, or something that plays an essential role in the engine room of thought.

Dont you think, to digress for a moment, that formal logic is consistently over-rated in these discussions? It enjoys tremendous intellectual prestige: associated for centuries with the near-holy name of Aristotle, its reputation as the ultimate crystallisation of rationality has been renewed in modern times by its close association with computers yet its powers are actually feeble. Arithmetic is invoked regularly in everyday life, but no-one ever resorted to syllogisms or predicate calculus to help them make practical decisions. I think the truth is that logic is only one example of a much wider reasoning capacity which stems from our ability to recognise a variety of continuities and identities in the world, including causal ones.

Up to a point, Fodor might go along with this. The problem with formal logical operations, he says, is that they are concerned exclusively with local properties: if youve got the logical formula, you dont need to look elsewhere to determine its validity (in fact, you mustnt). But thats not the way much of cognition works: frequently the context is indispensable to judgements about beliefs. He quotes the example of judgements about simplicity: the same thought which complicates one theory simplifies another and you therefore cant decide whether hypothesis A is a complicating factor without considering facts external to the hypothesis: in fact, the wider global context. We need the faculty of global or abductive reasoning to get us out of the problem, but thats exactly what formal logic doesnt supply. Were back, in another form, with the problem of relevance, or in practical terms, the old demon of the frame problem; how can a computer (or how do human beings) consider just the relevant facts without considering all the irrelevant ones first if only to determine their relevance?

One strategy for dealing with this problem (other than ignoring it) is to hope that we can leave logic to do what logic does best, and supplement it with appropriate heuristic approaches: instead of deducing the answer well use efficient methods of searching around for it. The snag, says Fodor, is that you need to apply the appropriate heuristic approach, and deciding which it is requires the same grasp of relevance, the same abduction, which we were lacking in the first place.

Another promising-looking strategy would be a connectionist, neural network approach. After all, our problem comes from the need to reason globally, holistically if you like, and that is is often said to be a characteristic virtue of neural networks. But Fodors contempt for connectionism knows few bounds; networks, he says, cant even deliver the classical logic that we had to begin with. In a network the properties of a node are determined entirely by its position within the network: it follows that nodes cannot retain symbolic identity and be recombined in different patterns, a basic requirement of the symbols in formal logic. Classical logic may not be able to answer the global question, but connectionism, in Fodors eyes, doesnt get as far as being able to ask it.

It looks to me as if one avenue of escape is left open here: it seems to be Fodors assumption that only single nodes of a network are available to do symbolic duty, but might it not be the case that particular patterns of connection and activation could play that role? You cant, by definition, have the same node in two different places: but you could have the same pattern realised in two different parts of a network. However, I think there might be other reasons to doubt whether connectionism is the answer. Perhaps, specifically, networks are just too holistic: we need to be able to bring in contextual factors to solve our problems, but only the right ones. Treating everything as relevant is just as bad as not recognising contextual factors at all.

Be that as it may, Fodor still has one further strategy to consider, of course modularity. Instead of trying to develop an all-purpose cognitive machine which can deal with anything the world might throw at it, we might set up restricted modules which only deal with restricted domains. The module only gets fed certain kinds of thing to reason about: contextual issues become manageable because the context is restricted to the small domain, which can be exhaustively searched if necessary. Fodor, as he says, is an advocate of modules for certain cognitive purposes, but not massive modularity, the idea that all, or nearly all, mental functions can be constructed out of modules. For one thing, what mechanism can you use to decide what a given module should be fed with? For some sensory functions, it may be relatively easy: you can just hard-wire various inputs from the eyes to your initial visual processing module; but for higher-level cognition something has to decide whether a given input representation is one of the right kind of inputs for module M1 or M2. Such a function cannot itself operate within a restricted domain (unless it too has an earlier function deciding what to feed to it, in which case an infinite regress looms); it has to deal with the global array of possible inputs: but in that case, as before, classical logic will not avail and once again we need the abductive reasoning which we havent got.

In short, By all the signs, the cognitive mind is up to its ghostly ears in abduction. And we do not know how abduction works.

Im afraid that seems to be true.

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Conscious Entities

Success comes when opportunity meets preparation. Zig Ziglar

So what are your goals?

Maybe you want to lose weight and get healthier?Or start a business?Or become a musician?Or perhaps write a book?

Whatever your goals may be, we know that having goals is an important part of our lives.

Goals give us direction.Goals give us a sense of clarity and purpose.Goals give us energy as we actively work towards them.Goals enable us to move forward in living our best lives (to the best of our abilities, which, in my opinion, is the most important goal of all).

So why is it that so few of us tend to stay true to our goals, and actively work towards them (let alone, achieve them)?

First and foremost, its important that you set the right kind of goals for yourself. You must truly get to know yourself, and set goals according to that truth.

Not your friends, teachers, medias, or anyone elses idea of what your life should be like (even though some may be just looking out for us, and have our best interest in mind, its important that we know ourselves).

Really when I look back on it,I wouldnt change a thing.

I mean,It was so important for me to lose everything,Because I found out,What the most important thing is,Is to be true to yourself.

And,Ultimately,Thats whats gotten me to this place. Ellen DeGeneres, Ellen Degeneres Tulane Commencement Speech 2009Tweet

Of course, as Ive experienced, this is often easier said than done. It can be challenging to block out all the noise sometimes.

So, here are three simple steps you can use to get to know yourself better and become more self-aware. These are the sames steps Ive followed myself (and continue to follow) to gain more clarity in my life.

As you can tell, the key is dedicating time to reflect on your experiences by asking yourself questions.

Whens the last time you had a conversation with yourself?

[SIDE NOTE: I also spoke to inspiring entrepreneur (and friend) Chris Taylor about how we can start living our ideal lives. You can watch the interview here to get some more insights on how you can start living a life true to you.]

Im convinced that the only thing that kept me going,Was that I loved what I did.

Youve got to find what you love.And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life,

And the only way to be truly satisfiedIs to do what you believe is great work.

And the only way to do great work,Is to love what you do. Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford Commencement AddressTweet

Once you have a better sense of self, and are setting goals that are true to you, how can you actually achieve them?

Enter the inspirational Zig Ziglar.

A World War II veteran, and man of deep faith, Zig Ziglar is often known as a leader in sales training. Before becoming a motivational speaker and trainer, he was consistently at the top in sales in the organizations he worked with.

Hes inspired millions of people around the world with his lessons on success. One of the most crucial being the importance of having goals.

In fact, hes helped millions of people not only set, but also achieve, their goals, through what is often referred to as The Zig Ziglar Goal Setting Formula (or The Formula for short).

Its the same formula he used to lose over 30 pounds when he weighed well over 200 pounds.

I want to talk a little bit about goals,On the line of how do you lose thirty-seven pounds and write a book.

Im just gonna kind of give you that as an example.

For twenty-four years of my adult life,By choice,I weighed well over two hundred pounds.

I say by choice,Because you see,I have never accidentally eaten anything.

I mean its always been deliberate.

And when I choose to eat too much today,I have chosen to weigh too much tomorrow.

You can choose to set goals,And realize your potential.

Or you can choose not to set them. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 1Tweet

Its the same formula he used to become a best-selling author.

For ten or fifteen yearsI was going to write a book.

You know anybody whos gonna do just a whole lot of things folks?I was going to write a book.

But it wasnt until I got busy,Writing the book,And writing the plans first,Before the book ever materialized. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 1Tweet

And its the same formula he shares in his three-part goal setting video series (watch below).

Drawing on his personal experiences, as well as entertaining and insightful anecdotes about getting cooked in the squat (my personal favorite), a war-torn Japan and the processionary caterpillar, Ziglar makes one thing clear:

Having goals is important.But equally important is knowing how to achieve them.

Heres each part of the goal setting video series, followed by a few of my favorite Zig Ziglar quotes from each part (browse all 31 quotes here).

Zig Ziglar Setting Goals 1 of 3

Now if you choose not to set them,Youve got to understandThat the consequences are not going to be good down the road.

For twenty-four yearsI was going to lose that weight.

As a matter of fact,In twenty-four yearsI lost several thousand pounds of weight.

How many of you already knowExactly what Im talking about?

But it wasnt until I

1) Wrote it down,2) Put a date on it,3) Listed the obstacles I had to overcome,4) Identified the people, the groups, the organizations I needed to work with,5) Spelled out a plan of action,6) Set that time limit in there,7) And identified all of the benefits to me

It was only when I did that,That the goal became a reality,And I lost the weight. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 1Tweet

Give me a stock clerk,With a goal,And Ill give you a man,Wholl make history.

But give me a man,Without a goal,And Ill give you, a stock clerk. J.C. Penney, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 1Tweet

Now thats the formulaThat I have just given you pure and simple.

Now if I were to ask youWhat 3 x 3 was,There isnt a person here,Who could not instantly answer it.

But if I were to ask youWhat is 5,128 x 2,165,Odds are enormous,That very few of you could pop out the answer that quickly.

But if I were to say to you,Get your pencil and paper out, figure it out,Then all of you could figure it out.

Why?You know the formula.

Now you see,If you know the formula,It really doesnt make any difference,Ladies and gentlemen,What the goal really is. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 1Tweet

Zig Ziglar Setting Goals 2 of 3

The rule is simple:You do it now.

You.Do it.Now. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 2Tweet

As wed say down home folks,

You can put this in your pipe and smoke it folks,Cause its the truth.

The people who wait

For Aunt Matilda to move out,Or John to get on the day shift,Or the new midles to come out,Or the new mayor to come in,Or for the new advertising campaign to get started.

The people who wait

On the new Senator in Washington,Or until inflation slows,Or the rate of interest comes down.

The people who wait,

For changes to take place out there,Before they do the changing in here,

Are flat gonna end up,Getting cooked in the squat. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 2Tweet

Zig Ziglar Setting Goals 3 of 3

You see,The basic of problem is not lack of time,It is lack of direction.

We all have exactly the same amount of timeWhether were a millionaireOr a pauper.

All of us have twenty-four hours,Every single day. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 3Tweet

The truth is,Ladies and gentlemen,

We must have goalsIf were going to do anything.

Goals do a lot of things.

For example,They enable you to chase the blues away.

Ive never known anybody,Who was truly depressed,Who had specific,And long-range,Goals.

And what goals do,Is they create activity.

And you see activity,As you work towards reaching them,Creates the very excitement,Which you need in order to accomplish,Or reach,Your objectives. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 3Tweet

Several years ago,They did an experiment with a number of college students.

And in this particular experiment,They let them go to sleep,And they hooked these brain machines up to them.

With these brain machines,They could determine precisely,Within a matter of seconds,When the student went to sleep.

Then they could tell,When that student,Started to dream.

And as the student would start to dream,They would awaken him or her.

And then theyd let them go back to sleep.

And that is no problem,But when they started to dream,They would awaken them again.

And with those brain wave machines,They can tell exactly when they start to dream.

At the end of one night of this kind of treatment,Many of the students were nervous and fidgety.

At the end of two nights of this kind of treatment,Where they had a reasonable amount of sleep,But no dreaming,

They became very irritable,And very short,And very crossed.

At the end of just three nightsOf a reasonable amount of sleep,But no dreaming,They could tell that some of them,Were headed for some psychological difficulties.

And so what they did,Was they aborted the experiment.

Now about twenty-four hours later,Most of the students were back to normal.

Within a week,All of them had returned 100%.

But the experiment proved something very conclusively,And thats this:

When youre asleep,Ladies and gentlemen,You need your dreams.

Im here to tell you that when youre wide awake,You also need your dreams. Zig Ziglar, Zig Ziglar: Setting Goals Part 3Tweet

Go here to see the original:
31 Zig Ziglar Quotes That Will Help You Set & Achieve Your ...

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