2014: Happy New You!

Every year, there are resolutions made at the New Year  and resolutions broken by mid-February. But having resolutions/goals without a plan are mere wishes. And making a plan requires commitment to the goals/resolutions by purposefully taking actionable steps to reaching them.

Now many reveal their personal and business plans for the new year all over the Internet, which may be good in a way, because they put everything out there into the universe.

As for me, I prefer to update my business plan about every eighteen months, and keep separate personal and business related lists of items to do. Documentation is key, because everything is moving so fast, it’s important to write it all down.

I’m due to rewrite my plan this year. It’s a big undertaking, but well worth it. I also have a short priority list I suppose one could equate with “resolutions” that I look to, for shorter term goals.

Fast Company offers some thoughtful ideas for resolutions that you can actually keep.

And here are additional, achievable ideas from the Daily Beast

My 2014 “Goal-setting List”

As for me, I prefer to keep most specifics confidential, but here are some general thoughts for personal and business liftoff 2014:
1) update my plan
2) for business, commit to continue my involvement with my accountability partner , my voiceover workout group, and my mastermind group.
3) read more and allow myself to be awe-struck
4) up my productivity by assessing how I spend my time and make sure I keep moving forward.
5) journal more
6) study my craft more with top voice coaches.
7) practice mindfulness, improving well-being and effectiveness.
8) focus on health, fitness and wellness
9) learn something new and challenging
10) plant seeds, tend to the garden and reap the harvest.

And if you haven’t already made your plans for 2014 resolutions, here are some huge nuggets by one of my favorite thought-leaders, the late great Jim Rohn.

Make Your Goals Count in the New Year
by Jim Rohn

I’ve often said the major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get. That is why goals are so powerful – they are part of the fabric that makes up our lives. And goal-setting is where we create our goals.

Goal-setting is powerful, partly because it provides focus. It shapes our dreams. It gives us the ability to hone in on the exact actions we need to perform to achieve everything we desire in life. Goals are GREAT because they cause us to stretch and grow in ways that we never have before. In order to reach our goals we must become better. We must change and grow.

Also, goals provide long-term vision in our lives. We all need lots of powerful, long-range goals to help us get past short-term obstacles. Life is designed in such a way that we look long-term and live short-term. We dream for the future and live in the present. Unfortunately, the present can produce many difficult obstacles. But fortunately, the more powerful our goals (because they are inspiring and believable) the more we will be able to act on them in the short-term and guarantee that they will actually come to pass.

So, let’s take a closer look at the topic of goal-setting and see how we can make it forceful as well as practical. What are the key aspects to learn and remember when studying and writing our goals?

Goals/Goal Setting
“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

***

“Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.”
***

“Learn to help people with more than just their jobs: help them with their lives.”
***

“We all need lots of powerful long-range goals to help us past the short-term obstacles.”
***

“Don’t set your goals too low. If you don’t need much, you won’t become much.”