Tuesday, January 05, 2010

What Matters Now

Seth Godin, one of the greatest marketing experts in the world, asked a group of people, all of whom consistently generate thought-provoking ideas, to provide a page on what they're thinking about as the new year rolls in. He's turned that into a pdf called What Matters Now.

Feel free to download it--and share it. It's a wake up/shake up call for anyone who never wants to go through a year like the last one again. Remember, if it ain't broke...break it!

Monday, January 04, 2010

Resolutions Are Just Goals With Party Hats On

Experts say that 75% of people who make New Year's resolutions break them by the end of the first week. WHY? Those same experts say it's because most resolutions aren't specific enough. I say it's because most resolutions made in the afterglow of New Year's celebrations are just goals with party hats on them. Meaning they have no meaning behind them.

Do you set goals and achieve them? Regularly? If you do you're in the minority. Most people don't even try and those that do often find the same big goals festering on their list for a long time without ever being accomplished.

How is it that successful people seem to be able to set and achieve big goals routinely? What do the 1% do differently? Here's a clue. Do you have a "to-do" list? Do you have any problems with getting the items on that list accomplished? Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but they all get done, right?

Now think about the way your mind views a goal (or a New Year's resolution) versus a "to-do" item. The big difference is confidence - no matter what the "to-do" item is, you know it has to get done and you can figure out how to do it, even if it means that you have to get help. So you mentally make a plan and start work. And it gets done.

You can have stuff on your "to-do" list that you don't have all the information you need to accomplish. Getting the information just becomes part of the task. This is exactly how successful people deal with goals. Instead of seeing them as overwhelming "pie-in-the-sky" visions, they simply become an item on the "to-do" list. They make a plan and get to work, because they believe they can get it done. And they generally do.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Why Ask Why?

Everyone needs to ask “Why?” more often...for instance:
  • Why do they make bald guys choose a hair color on their driver's licenses?
  • Why is the guy who invests all your money called a broker?
  • Why is that when you're driving around looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
  • Why do people ask for the time and point to their wrist but when they ask where the bathroom is, they...(wait for it)...don't point to their bottoms?

Just a few mind-blowing questions to start out the New Year...:-)

Friday, January 01, 2010

Don't you DARE make any New Year's Resolutions...

...until you figure out "What's your WHY?"

WHY is that resolution so important?
WHY do you want to lose weight or stop smoking or learn a new language?
WHY would you set an insignificant short-term goal when you could be creating a significant legacy?
WHY is it that we spend so much energy acquiring and holding on to replaceable things when our careers, our relationships, our lives should be focused on the irreplaceable?!?

If you want to create long-term success, you need to create a vision that's bigger than this month or even this year—look at the big picture and decide what changes in your daily routines will bring significance to your life!