I set financial goals every year--I decide how much salary I want to generate and I create a specific plan for how to get there. You may do that too. Goal-setting is something you’ve probably read and heard about a lot.

Something that often is missed in all the business planning and goal-setting conversations is the why of it all. Why do we do any of this? Beyond what it takes to support myself, why do I want to do any more of that?

I am often motivated by a mission or charity I want to support. For example, I can't go on a mission trip with my church (I've got family and work obligations that keep me here), but I can devote some of my salary to sponsoring people who can go and do that mission work. So, I might set a goal of giving $10,000 to sponsor three people on a mission trip and then I'm working toward my financial goals with that motivation behind it. It's important to me to connect what I'm doing at work to whatever cause has spoken to me that year.

Other “why-s” can be experiences you’d like to have. Perhaps you want to travel, or invest in properties. Perhaps you’d love to create a family trust that could provide funds for the college tuition or down payments on homes for your friends and family. Perhaps you want to build a business that’s big enough to hire staff and other agents to work with you, creating income and opportunities for others. Or perhaps you want to build expertise that you can then leverage as a teacher, helping others learn and grow in their careers.

What’s meaningful to you? What dreams do you have for yourself or your family that would be made possible through your work?