Setting and achieving a goal is as simple as placing an online order. If you perform each step in the order process, you can be certain that the thing you want is on its way.

Suppose I've set a goal to sell 20 widgets during the month of November. I'll compare the online bookstore (where I recently purchased an antique copy of "As a Man Thinketh") to Life's Distribution System.

1. Decide What You Want.

Just as I can't expect the bookstore to send me a book before submitting my request, neither should you expect clients who will support a vague sales goal. Pick the dollar figure you want to reach so that life can deliver the right clients.

2. Put it in Writing.

Before I could place the order for the book, I had to find the right order page for that book. However, before I could find the right order page, I had to type the right key terms into the search bar. Wouldn't it have been absurd if I had entered "not Catcher in the Rye, not anything written by Poe..." in my search for "As a Man Thinketh"? Even if the search feature was smart enough to exclude all of that, how long would it take me to get to the book I want? Precision saves time. Write what you want, and be as precise as you can.

Don't talk about "getting out of debt" when you really mean that you want "financial freedom." We must choose our search terms carefully so that we can be taken to the right order page of life. You're not looking for the "debt" order page, so quit using that term!

Vague orders bring vague results, and so we never see the connection between our requests and what shows up. Too often we're placing careless orders unknowingly and then wonder why life doesn't go the way we want it to go.

Now, commit to the thing you want by putting it in writing. It's like entering it into an imaginary search box. It's the fastest way to get to the right order page. Write it in present tense as though it has already happened.

So, maybe your written statement will say, "November 30th, 2008: I have now sold 20 widgets." Getting it in writing takes you to Life's "order page"... but you're not done yet. Neither the book nor the clients are on their way until you've completed the entire order process.

3. Add to Cart.

In my book buying experience, after entering "As a Man Thinketh" in the search tool, it took me to a long list of different books. Some were brand new reprints; some were from the 1980's. I spent some time narrowing them down, until I found the one that I wanted, which was more than 100 years old. Then, after identifying my specific choice, I clicked "Add to Cart." This is a logical step; after all, I can't expect the store to ship the book until I have told them precisely which one I want.

This step is comparable to adding detail to your goal statement. You need to spend time creating a more detailed description of the thing you desire. Instead of "November 30th, 2008: I have now sold 20 widgets," you write, "November 30th, 2008: I am so happy and grateful now that I have sold 20 widgets. I am astounded at how easily the clients came into my life. I am grateful that I was able to provide them something of great value that will help them accomplish their objectives for a price that was fair. We are establishing a positive relationship and expect to do more business together in the future."

Do this step, and you have just added your desired thing to the big Cart in the Sky.

4. Enter Your Shipping Address.

After the book was in my shopping cart, I had to tell the store where to send it. This step assigns the book I want to the location where I am. It brings together two key pieces of information into one virtual place. Without this step, the bookstore cannot send me the book because they have no address for the package.

Goal setting is no different. Just as the book and my address had to merge into one database, the thing you want needs to be merged with your personal information, too. Notice that during this step, it isn't the actual book that came together with my actual house; it is simply a representation of the book that came together with a representation of my house.

The same needs to happen with a representation of the thing you want, and a representation of you. How? Picture it done in your mind. See yourself signing those final contracts. With the power of disciplined thoughts, you merge the thing you want, with the person you are. Your mind is the virtual database where it all must come together before the order is filled.

5. Receive Confirmation.

After I filled in my shipping address, it asked for my credit card info. This is where I "pay the price" for the thing I want.

In setting a sales goal, to "pay the price" traditionally refers to "pounding the pavement," "making the phone calls," "pulling late nights," "skipping lunches," etc.

But that's wrong. At least, it's wrong if you really want to prosper.

The last thing required before you receive the order confirmation is to allow yourself to experience the feelings you expect to feel when the goal is reached. It isn't easy to do, but you need to take your visualization exercise just one step further. Here's an example:

You're signing those final contracts, and shaking the customer's hands, and having the warm exchange of good will. Then you feel the elation well up inside your chest, and you escort them out of the room and close the door after they leave, and feel the cool, metal doorknob in your hand, and hear the heavy wooden door click shut. And you walk to your desk and sit down with a big, huge grin on your face, and tip back for a moment, then reach for the phone to call your spouse, and you hear the dial tones, and then you hear he/she answering, "Hello?" And with tears in your eyes, you tell him/her, "I did it! It was a miracle, but I did it! Let's go out for dinner tonight!" And your spouse screams on the other line and can hardly speak, and the kids are chattering in the background, "What? What's going on??"

That's your price. That's it. (Don't watch yourself doing it; BE yourself doing it. Don't be an outsider looking in; be in it where all you see of yourself is your arms on your armrests and your lap in front of you, and your feet way down there.)

If you spend some time generating those kinds of images in your mind and feel the exhilaration of success, you've done it. You've paid the price. And, as those feelings swell inside of you and as tears really well up in your eyes, that is your confirmation. Printing that receipt is optional by describing your assurance in this moment on paper, so you can look at it later as a hedge against doubt.

Trust Life to keep its promise, and go about your business in peace. No need for frantic rushing around, pushing, forcing; you've already paid the price. Go about your business with a calm assurance that it is already a done deal.

The right clients are on their way and will connect with you naturally as you go about your day-to-day activities. Spend time with your family. Enjoy a little recreation. Be at peace. In the right time, you'll have a thought to call so-n-so or follow up with someone else. Simply follow the thought. Do what it dictates. This is the final step:

6. Expect it to Come, and Open the Door.

After I made the payment, and I received my confirmation, the book was on its way. I needed only to expect it, watch for it, refrain from canceling it, and answer the door when it arrived.

As for your goal to sell 20 widgets, if you've gone through the entire order process and received confirmation, expect it, watch for it, refrain from canceling it with unbelief, and when opportunity knocks (because it will), simply answer the door. By faith it comes to you; by action you receive it.