If you want to take a vacation, you get a map, plot a course, get in the car (or plane) and travel towards your destination. But its true that people plan their vacations better than their lives. Instead many people know where they want to go, but they don’t figure out the fastest way to get there. Some don’t even get into the proverbial car. But when it comes to achieving any goal, getting a map, plotting a course and taking action are required. Even in working at home.

Working at home is straight forward, but people who do not take the time to set a course for success end up losing money, their dream, and continuing to work their regular jobs. But people who set the right course reach their goal get there more surely and much faster. To set a course for success you need to:

1) Study and research. Its true that knowledge is power. Knowledge will save you money from scams and schemes. It will point out actions you need to take. And it will teach you all you need to know to become what you want to be.

2) Choose. Research is important, but too many people get stuck in what is called analysis paralysis. At some point you need to use the information you have learned and make a choice of the best work-at-home option and strategies to make it to fruition.

3) Plan. Failing to plan, is planning to fail. A plan is a map that gives you the most direct route to success. Sure you can wing it, but why would you if you can reach your goal sooner with a plan?

4) Implementation. You may have the best map to get you to your destination, but you won’t get their if you don’t get in the car, start the motor and push on the accelerator. The same is true in working at home. You can have a fabulous plan, but if you don’t do the work, you won’t reach your goal.

You will have opportunities as the month goes on to learn, choose, plan and implement actions to reach your goal. At this point, I want you to understand that there is a process to working at home.

You’ve resolved to work at home in 2012. Congratulations! But if making a goal was enough, many more people would be happily working at home. Earning a living from a home office isn’t rocket science. It’s not hard and doesn’t require super-human strength. It’s simple, but not always easy. It takes time, research, planning, work and more work, belief, persistence, work and more work, commitment, faith, work and more work… You get the point. Reaching Work-At-Home Success requires much of the same effort as reaching any goal whether it’s to lose weight, quit smoking or learn a new language. You won’t search online today and work-at-home tomorrow.

The first step to work-at-home success is becoming clear about what you want. That doesn’t mean you need to know exactly what you plan to do at home, but you need to know what you want from working at home. Few people grow up with a goal to work at home. Instead, working at home is a means to another end. Maybe you’re a mom who wants to be home with the kids. Maybe you’ve been laid off and want control over your career destiny. Maybe you’ve always struggled working for someone else and want to be your own boss. Maybe you want a career that allows you the freedom and flexibility to work where and when you want whether its in Italy, Hawaii or Timbuktu. These are your goals and working at home is simply the vehicle that can help you achieve it.

This distinction is important because your goal (i.e. staying home with kids) is also the fuel that will keep you motivated when things don’t go as planned. In working at home, as in life, stuff happens. Most people don’t succeed at working at home because they give up when the going gets hard. But if your goal is something you REALLY want, it will keep you working through frustration, disappointment and failures that are a part of working at home.

I know it sounds like I’m starting off on a negative tone by saying achieving work-at-home success will be hard, but I’m hear to tell you the truth. Anyone that says for a few bucks and an hour a day you can be rich is selling you a scam. That’s not to say that working at home isn’t fun or fulfilling, because it is. But part of the thrill is that it’s a roller coaster ride of ups, downs and twists and turns. To stay on the ride, you need a big goal.

So, what do you want that working at home will provide? Write it down. Take a picture of it. Keep it at your desk and foremost in your mind, especially during the trying the times.