December 2017 newsletter: You WILL accomplish your goals in 2018!

“What are your plans?” This question comes up in many different situations. At this time of year you probably find yourself asking people what their plans are for the holidays, and you might even ask them what their goals are for next year. Making plans and setting goals are top priorities for success-minded people. As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

We are all guilty at times of just going through the motions of everyday life instead of thinking about the path we’re on. However, just imagine how much better your life could be if you had a plan to make a change and then made it happen. Without a plan, your thoughts are just thoughts. I believe that having a plan and a clear vision of what you expect from yourself is a prelude to reality. By taking small steps every day, you can reach your goals.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln

If I were your success coach, I would ask you to make a list of changes you want to see in your life in 2018. Your list doesn’t have to be filled with monumental, hard-to-achieve goals. We all need small victories once in a while to keep us on track and moving forward, so it’s important to include some easy goals along with the harder ones.

Here are some examples of what you might be planning to achieve next year, followed by action items that can help you reach your goal.

Plan: Get more sales in 2018.

Actions: Create a daily schedule that has specific time allotments to make more calls to prospects, send emails, and visit clients. Eliminate unproductive activities from your days. Become more regimented to finish your daily objectives. Write down your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals and post your goals in a place where you will see them every day so you can make sure you’re still on track.

“A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.” — Brian Tracy

Plan: Feel better about yourself in 2018.

Actions: Keep in mind that YOU have the ability to identify areas of your personal life that will make you more productive and help you feel better. If you smoke, then create a plan to quit. If you are overweight, then eat less, start an exercise program, and surround yourself with people who make fitness a priority. If you’re not motivated to get in shape, then find ways to get excited about being alive so you can become more grateful for what you have instead of wishing for things you don’t have.

Plan: Recognize what you did and didn’t do right in 2017.

Actions: Don’t let your past mistakes define your future. However, to avoid making the same mistakes again, you need to ask yourself a few questions. What was your biggest mistake in 2017, and what did you do (or NOT do) that made it happen? Have you taken the necessary steps to make sure the same thing won’t happen again? In addition to looking at what went wrong in 2017, be sure to recognize what went right in 2017. What was your biggest victory? How did you make it happen? Was it your work ethic? Your positive attitude? Did it happen because you quit spending time with the wrong people? Take whatever it was that helped you and use it as a foundation to continue your success journey in 2018.

Plan: Use visuals as reminders.

Actions: As Napoleon Hill wrote in his book Think and Grow Rich, “If you can conceive it and believe it, then you can achieve it.” I believe strongly in visual motivation. I can’t begin to tell you how many times in my career I have turned everything off, eliminated any noise, and closed my eyes for five minutes a day to just imagine and visualize where I wanted my career to be in one year, two years, and five years. Another equally good way to do this is to have visual reminders of what your goals are constantly in your face, usually on Post-it® notes. The best places for these notes are on your bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, the wall by your desk, or anywhere you will see these notes throughout the day. Visual reminders will keep you accountable for making progress toward accomplishing your goals.

The only person who can prevent you from making 2018 your best year yet is YOU. As you have read in my past newsletters, I believe we are in control of our own destiny. We decide how successful we are going to be, we decide who we will spend the most time with, and we decide what or who will help make our life better. We decide whether to let negative people in our life or to be around more positive people.

Make a decision today that 2018 will be a great year for you. Say it out loud, look in the mirror and command yourself to make your goals become a reality. Believe you can do it! Your thoughts can become your reality if you believe it will happen!

Here’s another suggestion: include me in your journey as your success coach!

“A good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a LIFE.”

All of us can benefit from help at times, and some of us do better with guidance from an experienced coach. As your success coach, I will help you! I will customize a coaching/mentoring plan that will work perfectly for you. It is imperative that you believe in yourself, but both of us believing in you will turbocharge your progress.

You WILL accomplish your goals in 2018 if YOU decide to make a plan and stick to it.

If not now, then when? And if not you, then who?

I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Great Success in 2018 !