Well my friends, it’s that time of the year again. As we get ready to embark on another year, I’d like to share with you the process I go through to ensure I set myself up for success, and crush my goals! I’m not talking just about setting goals, and I’m definitely not talking about “new years resolutions” (which completely suck in my opinion).
I think most people understand the importance of goals, but few people approach this important task with the level of thought and attention I think it deserves. After all, how can you have what you want out of life and business if you don’t know ‘Why’ you want it? How can you stack the deck in you favor so that by this time next year, you’re feeling accomplished, successful, happy and fulfilled?
This post is aimed at helping you CRUSH 2017 (and my hope is that this process will help make it your best year ever!)
The following 9-step outline will walk you through my systematic approach to document my vision, my ‘why’, set the goals I will accomplish in the new year, as well as an action plan to help guild me along the way 🙂
(Quick Tip: Did you notice what I said there? I said “…set the goals I will accomplish”. You always want to state your goals as if you already achieved them)
1. Year-End Reflect & Review:
- Take out a legal pad of paper (you’ll use this a lot), and write down everything you accomplished this year. I often find that I accumulated many more ‘wins’ than I thought, and this process will help you begin to appreciate the progress you made (even though you may not feel like it).
- Now take some time to think about the challenges you encountered along the way. Write them down, but most importantly, write down what you learned as a result.
2. Focus on your ‘Wins’
Look at your list of accomplishments and focus on the positive. Don’t worry about the goals you didn’t accomplish, but look at where you were, and all the progress you made throughout the year. It’s always more productive to focus your attention on the gap between where you were, and where you are now, opposed to focusing on what you weren’t able to accomplish!
3. Express Gratitude
Write down everything you are grateful for…don’t let your hand stop, just let it flow! It’s amazing what expressing gratitude does in our lives, so make sure you adopt this practice on a daily basis!
4. “Cut the Fat”
Make a list of the things you don’t like doing, and/or don’t add value to your life/business, and decide if you can: Delegate it? Outsource It? Automate It? Or completely remove it from your list?!
5. Write out your ‘January Letter’ (Vision): I got this from my friend Sean Terry, and it’s a great exercise. Mentally fast forward to Dec. 31st of the following year, and ask yourself what would have had to happen in that year for you to feel happy / successful / accomplished / etc.? Then write yourself a letter as if that year just finished and you accomplished everything you wanted to accomplish.
TIP: Make sure that you embed emotion into this exercise. Imagine what it would feel like after you’ve crushed your goals…
6. Create Emotionally Driven (SMART) Goals, and most importantly document your ‘WHY’
Document exactly what you want to accomplish in the coming year, and ‘WHY’. I like to focus on 1-3 goals max, and for the following categories:
- Family
- Spiritual
- Health
- Business
- Personal
S.M.A.R.T Goals are: Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Based
(Each goal should have a quick sentence or paragraph on ‘WHY’ you want this goal. Remember to write them down as if you already accomplished them!)
7. Reverse Engineer Your Goals
– Break them down into quarterly goals
– Then break those down into monthly goals
– Then break those down into weekly goals
– and finally daily goals
8. Set Your Calendar
Start with the most important thing first (ex. if Family, schedule all vacations, family time-off, etc…), then move on to the second most important thing (ex. Business goals). Everyone will be different, so you have to be self-aware. What’s most important to you?
9. Recharge Your Batteries
Take some time off to do what you love. Think about what energizes you, and do that! You can’t imagine how beneficial this is for you, your family, and your business 🙂
That’s it my friend. I’ve come up with this throughout the years, and I hope you find it valuable. You are getting ready to do big things in 2017. People are relying on you, so follow through and make it happen!
Oh, and one last parting thought…
It’s not always about the destination, but the journey. Make sure you enjoy the ride. It won’t always be smooth, in fact, I can almost guarantee it will be bumpy along the way, but it’s all part of the process in making you the best version of yourself!
I got you covered on the podcast with some great content to help you and your business.
If you want to take things to the next level, schedule a strategy session here.
