A 10-week plan was developed to help disadvantaged adults and college students realize that they can affect their environments if they learn the techniques of setting short-term goals to obtain long-term goals. According to the plan, the student selects a goal (not necessarily an educational goal) that can be reasonably accomplished in 10 weeks. The student develops a succinct goal statement detailing the exact outcomes expected. The next step is to develop a plan. This involves formulating 10 weekly objectives that will result in attainment of the goal. A three-column chart (with the headings "week,""task," and "completion") is constructed to monitor progress toward achieving the goal. Because the point of the planning exercise is to demonstrate to students that they can indeed manage their lives, efforts should be made to reduce the risk of failure by keeping students' goals and plans simple and by selecting goals that are enjoyable to accomplish. (MN)