I have always been fascinated by mazes. Perhaps it was the interest in the mythological minotaur and labyrinth that started it for me – I'm not sure. I haven't much time for mazes these days, but when I started thinking about where I wanted my company to be next year or five years from now my mind kept coming back to mazes. I started thinking about that mouse that runs from the beginning of the maze all the way to the center where the cheese waits. He can smell it and nothing is going to get in his way.

Have you ever done a child's maze backwards? It's an enlightening experience. Really. Head down to your local fast food restaurant and order a kids meal to get the bag or box. There's almost always a maze on it. Or you could go to your local Chili's restaurant and ask for a couple. While you're at it you might want to stick around for lunch too. I recommend the fajitas.

Thanks to Russell Sasamori's excellent maze generator I have created two similar mazes (Maze 1 and Maze 2) for you to try an experiment. Take a stopwatch and time how long it takes to get from the mouse to the cheese on either of the mazes. Not too long? Good. They're simple mazes. Now take the other maze and time how long it takes to do it backwards: go from the cheese to the mouse. Which way was easier for you? I've noticed over the years that doing a maze backwards is much easier for me personally, which brings up my first rule of goal setting.

Start with the End in Mind.

What's your cheese? I've found that answering this question is often the hardest part of reaching a goal. Ethereal goals like "I want to be richer than Bill Gates" are unlikely to be fulfilled, not only because he's got an incredible head start on you, but because it isn't very clearly defined. In fact, goals that include dollar amounts aren't usually very clear because there are too many factors involved – too many demands on your diñero.

Try to find something realistic that you think you can accomplish. Take baby steps at first until you get better at it. Are you an independent software developer? Do you have shareware for sale? Why not? $20 a month in shareware is $20 you can squirrel away to pay for future software development.

How will you reach your goal?

Behind every great accomplishment is a litany of smaller achievements that have built to a logical culmination. During the Dot-Com era companies could start out very large on just an idea, but in today's market it's a lot more difficult and VC funding isn't really all it's cracked up to be. Starting small gives you lots of opportunities to grow and allows you to retain control as well.

Write it down!

What steps do you need to take to get there? Be specific so that you will know when you are making progress. Do something to advance your agenda every day. Create a roadmap and follow it. Think of your goal as a mountain you will really enjoy climbing, but only as long as you keep moving. If you're not moving forward you my be sliding backward.

Record your progress.

If you keep a record of your accomplishments it will serve to bolster your resolve during the challenging times. Even small things can make a difference. Tell a friend or a business associate. Generate excitement! If someone else knows what you're doing they can help to keep you moving by simply asking how things are going from time to time.

Set a deadline.

Former head of the IRS, Howard Stevens, once said, "a deadline is a great motivator." You may not be one of those people that work well under pressure, but chances are good that if you set a date for your milestones you will be more motivated to finish those key pieces of your project.

Don't be afraid to let the journey change the goal.

People change. Priorities change. Goals change. It's a fact so be willing to adapt. If you find that what you originally wanted no longer suits you then change it! Don't keep going down the same road just because that's the road on which you started. If you find it difficult to make a change just realize that's just the normal fear of change that most of us experience. But change is good.

There's a great story about change that I'd like to share. A small test was set up for a mouse whereby three parallel tunnels branched off of a main tunnel. A piece of cheese was placed at the end of the third tunnel and the mouse was placed in the main tunnel. He could smell the cheese and immediately went down the first tunnel. Finding no cheese he proceeded to go down the second tunnel. Finding no cheese there either he advanced to the third tunnel where he was rewarded for his diligence. This experiment was repeated several times and by the fourth time the mouse would skip the first two tunnels and head straight for the third tunnel.

Then the cheese was placed in the second tunnel instead. When the mouse was released he headed straight for the third tunnel. He was obviously confused when there was no cheese, so he went back to the beginning of the main tunnel, turned around and ran down to the third tunnel again. Still finding no cheese he went back to the beginning again and then once more to the third tunnel. Then the mouse went back to the beginning and began searching each tunnel in order again until he found the cheese.

Why do I tell this story? I've been told that this illustrates one of the major differences between mice and humans: we will go down the third tunnel forever. Don't. Be creative. Don't keep running down the same tunnel if the cheese isn't there.

Be persistent.

There's a wonderful quote that is attributed to Winston Churchill. On October 29, 1941, he visited Harrow School to speak to the students where he supposedly stood up and said "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." Then he sat down. While this isn't actually accurate*, it's a great quote nonetheless. Quitters only succeed in quitting.

Don't wait!

Do you have a goal for your company? Is it realistic? Have you written it down? Take that roadmap and tack it up on your wall where you can see it every day. Read the steps you need to take that day, every day. Do it now, and the longest part of the road to success will be behind you.