After setting your goals, one of the most important things to do is to put them in writing. Because writing has incredible power. Plan to do something you have the talent and the strength to do. Pin that plan somewhere you can easily see during the day. At the bottom, write motivating sentences like “I will succeed in this, God willing. The other name for miracle is hard work.” This written document, trust me, will serve you well.

The Magic Power of Writing

A young university student who wants to be successful and happy visits a professor who has written books on the subject. He asks whether the professor can teach him the ways to become successful and happy. The professor says he can help, and offers this advice:

“If you focus on a goal, your attention locks onto that goal and you reach the outcome. If you spend your life without setting goals, your life will be filled with indecision and trouble.

Because then everything will become a way to pass time and distract yourself. Plus, you won’t find the endurance to face various challenges. Without a goal, the potential you have means nothing. For example, a river without a dam: the water flows away uselessly. If you want to be the master of your life, make a list of your goals. Put them on paper. You can even draw them on paper.”

The young man listens and replies: “Professor, what you say is nice, but writing down my goals serves no purpose. I’ve been thinking about these dreams for years.”

Despite the professor’s insistence, the young man refuses to write his goals down.

“Okay,” says the professor, and takes him into the next room.

The moment the student walks in, the door slams shut behind him. Running and shouting sounds come from the back of the room. Screams and yells overlap. At first, the student can’t make sense of it and doesn’t take it seriously. But once he hears an announcement “This building will explode in one minute,” he starts to panic. At that moment he sees a message projected in front of him:

“This building will explode in one minute.”

The student is now thoroughly alarmed and heads for the door. But the door is locked. He starts shouting and kicking it. On the screen, the countdown has started. “59, 58, 57, …”

The student is in full panic. The door won’t open, so he runs to the window — but the windows have iron bars. Meanwhile the seconds go “30, 29, 28, …” He goes back to the door, pounds on it with all his strength and shouts at the top of his lungs. Time is running out. “10, 9, 8, …” At that moment the door opens and the writer walks in.

“What happened, son, what’s this panic?”

“Let’s get out of here immediately! This place is about to explode!” shouts the student.

The professor, calmly: “No, there’s no such thing — where did you get that from?”

Bewildered, the student points to the message on the computer screen.

“But it said so right there.”

“Did it?” says the professor. “So writing is that important. Then come, let’s start writing our goals down.”