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2019: Pick a Word or Two
My last post looked at selecting a Theme for the New Year as we get ready to start 2019. This post looks at selecting a word to inspire you during this year. So you’re trying to choose a new word for the upcoming year. You want something that captures all of your hopes, dreams, and inspirations for the New Year. If you’re struggling to choose a theme, it can be helpful to think of one word or phrase. Here are three reasons you might want to consider this method: One word or phrase invites simplicity. There’s something about a brand new year that encourages you to become an overachiever. You…
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2019: What Do You Want?
Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely holiday season and rang in the New Year however you wanted to! We didn’t go out on NYE this year but had a quiet time at home. It was good all around! The previous posts at the end of last month focused on your review of your 2018 business year. But that isn’t the only thing you should be reviewing and refocusing this time of year. Often, the steps you take at the beginning of the year can plot your course for the rest of the year. What do you want your year to be? When it comes to choosing a…
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Evaluation Part 3: Create A Better Business Framework
After reading the last two posts on evaluating your business, you’ve spent some time carefully evaluating last year. You’ve reviewed the previous year for valuable lessons, paid attention to signs of trouble, and studied your current business projects to assess their value. Now, it’s time to tackle your New Year planning. This is an exciting phase, and you may be tempted to set the same goals again. You might tell yourself that this time you’ll really do it. Albert Einstein is loosely quoted as saying doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results is a sign of insanity. You need a new plan of attack or you’ll…
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Evaluation Part 2: What Worked and What Didn’t
You’ve carefully delved into the past year and found the positive moments. You celebrated your wins, embraced your favorite projects, and taken a look at what activities made you a nice profit. But now it’s time to step back and discover what didn’t work. During this phase of your New Year evaluation, it’s important to remember that you aren’t judging yourself. What you’re judging are your projects. Just because a project failed that doesn’t make you a failure. What Projects Failed in the Past Year? Did you try something new this year that failed? Maybe you tried Kindle publishing only to sell ten copies of your e-book. Maybe you launched…
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Let’s Evaluate this Past Year: Part 1
Before you move forward with new goals, it’s important to perform an evaluation of the last year. You can gain valuable insights that can help you achieve your goals when you pause to reflect. But you have to approach this evaluation of the past 365 days with a special attitude. Have the Correct Mindset before Your Evaluation This isn’t about making harsh judgments or fixating on failed projects. Don’t use this time to mentally beat yourself up. You won’t gain anything valuable from shaming yourself for past mistakes. Mindset matters. Instead, focus on looking for patterns and trends that impacted your goals. It’s best to handle your evaluation as if you were reviewing a friend’s year.…
