Setting goals cannot be emphasized enough. It is vitally important when you are building a home-based business that you are consistent in setting and meeting goals for your business. In addition, those goals need to be realistic.

Realistic does not imply that your goals have to be stale and mediocre. There is a fine line between establishing realistic goals and having low expectations, and that fine line becomes a slippery slope for some people.

For example, saying you want to make a six-figure salary per year in your home business is a totally acceptable goal. In fact, it is the ultimate goal for many people.

However, saying you want to make those six-figures in your first three months of business is not a realistic goal. Setting such lofty and unrealistic goals is like positioning yourself to fail. Failure makes it harder for you to get started again, and because of that one unrealistic goal, you might give up on your dream of financial prosperity forever.

It is obvious that you should take some quality time to think about your goals and understand just how much work it will take to acquire them. Allow yourself a reasonable timeframe to reach your goals, as well. A six-figure residual income in two years is a good example. It is achievable, and it is within a reasonable frame of time.

The difference between setting realistic goals and having low expectations is that when you set realistic goals, you're still reaching out of your comfort zone and shooting for more out of life. Low expectations simply translate into you not believing in yourself or your home business opportunity enough to erase all doubt that you can attain financial peace through a diligent work effort.

If you say you would like to acquire $30,000 a year with the help of your home-based business, that is a good goal to begin with. But, if that's your ultimate goal, that can be equivalent to saying that you are not worth that much or able to make any more than that, and if that is your belief, it is truly heartbreaking.

It is completely okay to aspire to great things in your life as long as you do not fall into the trap of wishing to receive them overnight.

Push yourself to meet goals you never thought you could reach, have high expectations for yourself but be realistic about the hard work and effort it will take to get you across the finish line.

Realistic goals beat low expectations every day of the week, so aim for the moon...and even if you miss, you will still land among the stars!