Ernest's Latest TweetsI’m not going to bore you with the same aged material about goal setting and how important it is to your success or go into detail about a long rumoured Harvard study which found “that the 3% of the population which makes the effort to write down their goals makes over ten times as much as the other 97% combined”. Or was that the Yale study which also didn’t take place.
“Change your life change your future.” – Jim Rohn
What I will talk about is changing your future with a good solid plan for the year ahead. Putting together a set of steps which you can follow to take you to the next level. Without a direction how do you know where you are going? where are you going? maybe you are drifting by with the rest. Time to take control of your future!
“Take control of your raft and steer your way forward, don’t let the current carry you in its own direction.” – Ernest Semerda
Planning the year ahead is the same habit every successful leader / company takes time aside annually to layout the strategic direction for the new year. The aim is to re/focus efforts (both resources and financial), create a road map how to move forward to stay ahead of competition and keep the wheels moving. This IS the biggest study that this system actually works and creates long-lasting results. Planning works. It has worked for companies ranging from 1 to thousands of employees generating up to billions of dollars per year. It has been underneath our noses, you may have even played a role in it, so why shouldnt it work for you. Let’s make it work for you.
The aim is to bring focus to the year ahead. What do you want to do this year in your personal and business life in 2010?
We all want more out of life, yet how many of us are willing to change in order to make a difference. Change requires effort, sacrifice and breaking through the fear barrier. As an unknown proverb once said “fall down 7 times get up 8 times!” in order to succeed. This means moving outside your comfort zone and building new habits. It takes time and rarely yields instant gratification. But I’m sure you have heard this quote before, “all good things come to those that wait”. It’s not wait do nothing, but that gratification comes over time to those who persist, put in effort and energy into change.
“Rome was not built in one day.” John Heywood
Where to start – it’s simple
1. You have 12 months (1 year) to make a difference in your life. Need motivation? I’m sure you can recall an event, a person or something unjust which happened to you in 2009. Get Angry! Feel the Disgust – today is the day you say “enough is enough” and you make a life changing event.
2. Start with a Mind Map. It’s the closest approach to how you mind works when brainstorming. Dont bother with bulleted notations for brainstorming – your mind is not linear in thought. It’s chaos in there. Let’s get it down on paper. Click here if you want to read more about mind maps.
3. Once you have the Mind Map done, pull out “Core Project” areas you want to focus on. Make sure each Core Project area is realistic – challenges should match skills, i.e. the task should be neither too difficult, which would produce stress and anxiety, nor too easy, which would produce boredom. You may call these Core Projects “Goals” if it helps to maintain uniformity with your earlier approach.
4. Expand on each Core Project and write it’s “Milestones”. Each Milestone must have a due date and be very specific without leaving much room for interpretation. For example, writing “I want more money by July 2010″ might yield you an extra 1% raise in your financial position. But if you write “I will have an extra $20,000 by March 2010″ then this is specific and your subconscious mind has something solid to work with. Think of your subconscious mind like a Genie. You have to be very careful what you wish for, because you are damn sure going to get it.
5. Now break down each Milestone into Actionable steps (how & what you plan to do). Let’s use the $20,000 example; ask yourself how do you intend on making that additional $20,000 by the due date. Some actionable steps might be:
- Sell a product online. This may be by creating an iPhone / Android applications or through Affiliate Marketing in a niche market. If you have the skills then you might do this yourself or maybe you need to educate yourself in this area before you can begin or hire someone with the right skill set.
- Meet that sales target at work, work out a deal with your employer that for a sale of x amount by the due date you will get compensated the required money. If you can give value to your employer which is above what they are to pay you there is no reason the employer would refuse. You and they make money. It’s only fair.
- Provide a specialised service (that’s of value to your target market) and set up a subscription service ie. $9.99 for access. This means you will need 2003 subscribers to reach your target figure. What will this service be, how do you intend to make it unique, how will you build your subscribers list and why should they subscribe (give money) to you.
These are just some of the questions you need to be asking yourself and working on their solutions to meet your target.
6. Have fun. You need to enjoy what you are doing. When you are doing something you enjoy and it is realistic you will experience Flow. The pleasurable state that people experience when they are absorbed in an activity that demands their full attention, but such that they feel in control, i.e. able to effectively move towards their target, however far away this still may be.
7. Put your targets where you can see them daily. You want to be reminded constantly to generate “urgency” for completion. You want to make sure that you review the list on a daily basis and have it in sight all the time, say on the bathroom mirror (to see the list each morning), on a whiteboard, to do list etc…
8. Dont forget point 1. This is very important to keep you going (motivated). There is a reason why you must change / make a difference in your life.
“Gambaru” translated from Japanese means “Never give up! Even if there is no chance of winning!”
Feel happy
When you have achieved a goal or set a milestone it will make you feel happy. You want to be happy, right. You want a sense of accomplishment, right. When you get to your golden days you want to be able to tell your kids you made a difference not only in your life but the life of other people you connected along the way, right.
Not enough time in a day – an excuse?
The same old excuse plagues many. If I told you that I can show you how to recover 3 hours daily without sacrificing your work or personal life would you once and for all eliminate this excuse of “not enough time in a day” and get moving on making a massive change in your life? What if I explained how to get another 2 hours on top of the 3. In total around 5 hours per day to focus on your goals. That’s 25 hours extra per working week! No gimmicks, no painful sacrifices (well maybe some pending how you look at them) but in the end you will be more, have more and get more pleasure out of life. I will share these learnings in a February post (if not earlier).
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I hope this post has inspired you to start making a difference in your life today. It’s never too late and now is the best time to start making a difference. What are you waiting for – do it now!!
May the rest of your life be the best part of your life! – José Silva
Ernest
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