I’m a big believer in goal setting – that’s why I encourage everyone to make a Life List. On the Personal Branding Blog, Heather Huhman goes into detail about what makes a SMART goal and what makes a HARD goal. It’s probably not what you’re expecting.

SMART goals are about clearly mapping out a plan to achieve them:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Action-oriented
• Realistic
• Time-bound

But HARD goals are not about setting yourself up for failure – they require an intense engagement of your brain and are all about visualizing the path to the goal and using your emotional, visual, survival, and learning systems:

• Heartfelt
• Animated
• Required
• Difficult

Murphy discovered that goal success isn’t determined by daily habits, raw intellect, or writing numbers on a worksheet, and that it actually depends on the engagement of your brain. HARD goals can help you do that.

Read more about SMART goals vs HARD goals and creating SMART goals on the Personal Branding blog.