About the Author: My name is Brandon and I am a 2014 graduate from Texas A&M. I interned with Williams during the summer of 2013 and am now working full time as a Supply Chain Specialist. I grew up in Houston, Texas where I was raised by two loving parents. I enjoy playing sports (tennis in particular), listening to music and reading. A random fact about me: If I were given enough time, I could probably name all of the original 151 Pokemon. Trust me, Pokemon is cool.

Wow, this year is flying by! As I reflect on 2014, I am amazed at how life-changing it was for me. I graduated from college and moved away from most of my friends, did some traveling and moved in with my parents. I started working for Williams, have met tons of new people, and began to dedicate myself to learning, discipline, and self-improvement. How exciting!

However, I can’t help but wonder what the remainder of this year will bring. I believe that it’s important to be present in the moment, but also that there is tremendous value in setting your sights on future goals. What will I be reflecting on a year from now? What is it that I want to accomplish, personally and professionally? What are realistic steps that I can take to accomplish these goals? These are important questions that we all need to be asking ourselves. With life passing us by at a thousand miles per hour, we need structured goals to help balance and steady our lives.

Work goals, family goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, fitness goals, even the most outlandish goals can be accomplished if we break them down into steps and discipline our minds to focus on a desired outcome. The best way I know to approach this is to make daily goals. Every morning, write a few things down that you need/want to do. Then, simply refuse to go to sleep that night until you have checked everything off of your list. I am a procrastinator at heart, but this simple method has revolutionized the way I get things done.  Of course, sometimes daily goals can’t be accomplished due to circumstances outside your control. Don’t lose sleep over it, simply start fresh the next day.

So if you haven’t already, take some time and visualize what it is you want your life to be like a year from now. Think about what kind of person you want to be and what kind of things you want to accomplish. Then start making some goals. And remember, in the words of Dave Ramsey, “A goal is not a goal until you write it down.”