Does the sub-title to this edition of Footprints and Monuments sound familiar? It does to me in a very real way. When I was a teenager my dad and I loved to go hunting. We would hunt whatever animal happened to be in season at the time, and anything else that moved. Especially snakes, but that is another story.

On one hunting trip my dad and I were about thirty yards from each other waiting for a particular kind of bird to fly over. I was ready. My gun was loaded. My mind was focused. I was going to "out shoot" my dad on this trip. Well, as I was sitting in my "ready" position I accidentally pulled the gun's trigger. Boom! As my shotgun let off a great blast I realized that my gun was pointing just a few feet from where my dad was sitting. Obviously, I fired before I aimed and almost killed my father in the process.

I see something similar in people's personal and professional lives all the time. Many get themselves ready with advanced education, power thoughts, and influential friends, but they fire before they aim. Aiming is a planning process that takes time and must be done before you can fire your way into a successful life, organization, or relationship.

You may ask, "I know how to get ready, and how to fire, but how do I take aim and then fire?" Or, "Is this just another goal setting exercise?" No, this is actually an exercise in life planning. In order to take aim your must know where you want to go, and what your passion is.

I have listed several questions below that will spark the creative part of your mind and help you establish your aim so that you will be able to achieve the kind of life, organization, and relationships you want.

Life Planning with accurate AIM:

• Where do you want your life, organization, and relationships to be in five, ten, or twenty years? One way to answer this is to draw a picture. This picture will give you purpose, passion, and energy. It will also keep a visual in your mind as to what you are aiming at.

• What standards of excellence, consistent growth, and specific review of progress do you need to set?

• Do you have someone in your life to hold you accountable so you don't fire before you are ready or before you have taken aim?

• A good system is better than a good friend when comes to life planning, therefore, what is on your to-do list today that will help you become more like your picture tomorrow?