Goals are key to success

Your editor's note, "I Love My Job" (January/February 2007) hit the nail on the head. A little more than two years ago I was watching one of the morning shows on television. Jack Canfield, co-creator of "Chicken Soup for the Soul," was on that morning to talk about his new book, "The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be" (Collins, 2005). At age 58, I felt like I should already know all that, but I was curious. I hadn't accomplished all that I wanted, I had burned out several times, and I was at one of those points in life where you wonder, "Is this all there is?"

I purchased the book and heard a presentation that same year at the Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association on this topic. This started a journey that will never end for me.

Life has a way of happening. So many folks just let it happen. If you take an active role in your life and your own career and write down your goals, deadlines, and alternatives, you can make it happen. If you haven't read this book, consider it required reading—for you and your whole team. Then use it as a study guide for those otherwise boring staff meetings!

James R. Jorgensen, DVM

Owner, Heritage Plaza Animal Hospital

Midwest City, Okla.