Turn Your Dreams in to Your Goals
by Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach
On February 9, 1996 I was fired for personal reasons from an executive position with a large sales organization
within the multifamily industry. For some, this day would be considered the day a large door was slammed shut.
Instead, I will always remember this date as the day 1000 windows were opened! On this day in 1996 my wife and I
climbed a small hilltop near our home in Southern California¦and we planned our future for many hours. Using
the principles of mind mapping, we created our written plan as we envisioned a new life for ourselves and for our
family:
1. Spend more time together as a family.
2. Live in a world-class ski resort. [And this is our 14th year living in Park City, Utah¦at the base of three
world-class ski resorts.]
3. Travel/vacation every month, during the months when we couldn’t ski.
4. Never travel for business.
5. Build a coaching business/service, with property management clients and with vendors to the multifamily
industry.
6. Live in a new country each year, for four to six months, once our three children are all in college. Our oldest
son is attending Wharton/UPenn as a junior, our daughter is a freshman at UPenn¦and they are both loving
their time in Philadelphia. Our youngest is in 11th grade, is 6’9″ and has big dreams about playing basketball
in college.
As a result of planning our future in 1996, we have accomplished the first five goals listed above. As for our sixth
goal, we have traveled to the Austria, Canada [four times], Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France [twice],
Germany, Greece, Ireland [twice], Italy [three times], Mexico, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and
the United Kingdom [three times] as part of our ongoing scouting/research trips. Each trip is an opportunity to meet
wonderful new people [and our clients!], share a meal, and experience their culture–as we continue the process of
deciding which cities/countries we want to live in for extended periods of time. Yes—we are truly blessed as a
family and each day is a celebration of these gifts.
But this article is not about our goals/dreams¦it’s about yours! Listed below are the questions I would like you to
consider about your goals/dreams as a property management professional:
1. Are you clear what your goals/dreams are? How will you know when you get there?
2. Do you have a written plan for your goals/dreams? Can you E-mail them to me, within five
minutes of reading this article? Do your goals/dreams have a date of
completion/achievement?
3. Do you have written goals/dreams both professionally and personally? Do you read/review
your goals/dreams daily?
4. Have you shared your professional goals/dreams with your property management team?
Have you seen/read theirs?
5. Have you shared your personal goals/dreams with your family? How do your goals/dreams
align with those of your family?
6. What action steps have you taken this day/week/month to move you closer to your
goals/dreams?
7. What is your genius work? {Send an E-mail to [email protected] requesting article
#37} Are you honoring these principles on a daily basis?
8. What kind of learning/education investments are you making in yourself, so you can do
something that will tap your talents, passions and values?
9. What will you be earning, five and ten years from today?
10. If you could live/work/play anywhere in the world, where would this be?
11. What kind of personal/professional legacy do you want others to remember you for?
12. Do you have a Personal Board of Directors and/or a coach to help you reach your
goals/dreams? {Send an E-mail to [email protected] requesting article #14}
13. If you only had 30 days to live, what would you want to do that you have never made the time
for?
Tip From The Coach: Remember, success is not a matter of luck, an accident of birth or a reward of chance. Success
is a matter of decision, commitment, planning, preparation and execution. Success doesn’t come to you; you go to
it!
Want to learn more about how to build written goals/dreams or to hear what others are doing around the country?
Send an E-mail to [email protected] and The Coach will E-mail you a free PowerHour invitation.
During this call we will discuss how to implement the steps in this article.
Ernest F. Oriente, a business coach since 1995 [28,500 hours], a property management industry professional
since 1988–the author of SmartMatch Alliances–and the founder of PowerHour…[ www.powerhour.com and
www.powerhourseo.com and www.pirmg.com ], has a passion for coaching his clients on executive leadership,
hiring and motivating property management SuperStars, traditional and Internet SEO/SEM marketing, competitive
sales strategies, and high leverage alliances for property management teams and their leaders. . To subscribe to
his free property management newsletter go to: www.powerhour.com. PowerHour® is based in Olympic-town,
Park City, Utah, at 435-615-8486, by E-mail [email protected] or visit their website: www.powerhour.com.