Life coaches, gurus and spiritual leaders often exhort their students to “simplify,” but this basic piece of advice is often misunderstood. To simplify one’s life doesn’t mean you have to do without. It doesn’t mean you have to give up your automobile and other modern conveniences, give up your lofty goals, or abandon your dream of building a successful business. On the contrary, you can achieve remarkable success and happiness in your life, achieve your goals, and even generate wealth, by keeping this basic piece of advice in mind.

Let’s not confuse simplicity with having no goals. A life in which you simply have no goals, with no purpose or direction, doesn’t make you happy—but a life in which you achieve your goals simply, certainly will. Let’s talk about how we can achieve your goal and get results by using simple solutions.

In the 14th century, an Englishman named William of Occam came up with a wonderful piece of wisdom, which is now known as “Occam’s Razor”. Loosely translated, it says, “The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.” When you list your goals for the next year, three years, or five years, you’ll stare at that list for a while and wonder what to do next. In fact, a list of goals by itself won’t get you very far. Create a goal setting template that includes details about each goal, and a strategy for goal achievement. Coming up with that strategy is the hard part—and it may involve getting input from a circle of trusted friends and advisors, doing some research, and seeing how other people have achieved the same result. More often than not, there will be more than one way to get there and achieve the life of your dreams. Read the rest of this entry »