It's a well known fact of human perception that we see what we're looking for – and hear what we expect or want to hear.

Whatever your mind focuses on, that's what your senses are primed to pick out of the barrage of stimuli thrown at you by the world you live in. It looks like things are coming to you – because your awareness is reaching out to them!

That's the power of focusing on specific goals: it brings luck and coincidence and opportunity to us. As various scientists and sportspeople have found, it's amazing how much 'luckier' you get when you start to plan and exercise discipline...

And that's the power of focusing on positive goals, because we attract what we think about – good and bad. If we focus on what we lack, we won't see anything else. If we focus on problems, things will only start to look worse.

If your family is the most important thing in your life, your goals for financial success or personal fulfillment will need to include them – or your heart won't really be in it. Or you'll pay too high a price for your success… Or think about business. If your integrity is important to you, what goals are you setting that might lead you where you won't want to go – or wouldn't respect yourself for going?