Since I subscribe to the philosophy of “Intention,” my 2010 Predictions Article will be geared to Setting Some Goals and Making Them Happen. Here are three ways to do just that:
Follow a Role Model, who’s also a Friend
Find a Buddy — or Seven
Figure out Answers to the list of Questions below
1) My friend Sandy is a great role model
Decided to try Zumba and loved it!
Decided to try Yoga and loved it!
Provided excellent office support to boss.
2010 Goals:
Increase my arm strength.
Keep my weight under the decade mark.
Let my nails grow enough and be healthy enough that I can treat myself to a manicure.
And continue providing the kind of administrative support that makes going to work fun and productive for the entire staff.
[You go Girl!]
2) Collaborate with Network Connections – both online and off
- Last night was just one of many examples: I went to a holiday party and met three fellow [gal-fellow] Baby Boomers whom I will be meeting with in the next few weeks to see how we can use our own personal strengths to help one another.
- That particular holiday party was the result of my membership in one of the three networking groups I have joined this year. No list about Succeeding in Anything is complete without continuous Networking. Here’s a previous article with suggestions on getting the most out of networking.
- Online, I continue to meet Savvy People who genuinely love to help one another, and here’s a list of some of those people, whom you may also want to connect and collaborate with:
3) Here are questions we need to be asking ourselves:
A – What do I want to finish?
B – What do I want to change?
C – What do I want to refine?
D – What do I want to maintain?
E – What do I want to stop doing?
F – What do I want to go back to?
G – What can I throw away?
H – What have I learned in 2009 that will empower me in 2010?
I – What do I NEED to do?
What are your answers? What will 2010 look like for you? What’s your intention?
Because I know the power of conversation, I’m suggesting that readers add their responses to any of the questions above. I’ll be doing just that. And, then, we can all collaborate on each other’s success in 2010 and beyond.
[FURTHER READING: Here are website entrepreneur James Hartje’s answers to the nine questions]
Everyone needs some one they can look up to.
I CHOSE NOT TO HAVE A ROLE MODEL FOR A LONG TIME AND FOUND I COULD NOT LOOK UP TO MYSELF I NEEDED SOMEONE WHO WAS GOING IN THE DIRECTION I WAS GOING.
My father was not really a part of my life because of certain issues so I felt that i knew it all and was all alone in a world that has no mercy.
So i fell behind in life as time moved pass me like my car was broken down on the highway. Anyway I started to believe in people again and started to find people that i can believe in and started to find my passion for life again. So what I am saying is that i have to follow the footprints . . . and make my own, but I needed to know how.
Lots of luck Donald. I hope this semester allows and supports your quest for answers and a direction.
🙂
Shari
I want to throw away lost time. Times you just stare at the computer in another world thinking of something that does not have any meaning to what you are doing. Lost time.
I want to expand the network, create videos and webinars. But most of all I want to scream efficiency. Make each moment count as we are not gaining any more time but are getting busier. Each relationship I build I want to know what they really do and who they really are and how they can impact my current circle. We are in a shift from what can this new person do for me to what can they do for my entire circle/network.
Great stuff.
Man . . . if I could Throw Away lost time, I’d be able to (1) post a blog article every day, (2) get out of the house earlier when I needed to get somewhere, and (3) not mind doing things like cleaning the house. I might even be able to practice my saxophone and watercolor more!
You’ve given me an idea, Suzanne. I’m going to write a blog post using some of the replies to this article, SO anyone else reading, PLEASE add your answers to the Nine Goal-setting questions in the article.
Here’s hoping that (a) You and I can impact each other’s networks in positive ways AND (b) that each of us continues to build our support for everyone we come into contact with.
Shari
PS My computer “glitch” doesn’t seem to challenge me on my AOL interface. Now that is a Switch!
I wish my goals were as organized as yours!
You have a lot of great questions and even your own answers – In general I always try to move forward everyday – trying to improve overal treating every thing as a moving target that can always be better!
But there is one question on your list that made me think twice… What can I throw away? Oh… where do I start ;(
Hi Shalom,
Thanks for checking in.
🙂
I do believe organization is hugely important EVEN IF one can’t always get everything squeezed into a time frame. Moving FORWARD every day is one great goal; that alone can keep us motivated.
Re: What to throw away? HMMM. I’m on vacation at the moment, so the first thing to throw away when I get home will probably be all the brochures and stuff I usually file away and will never need. Now how does that apply to “Real Life”? It must mean that I have to be more deliberate about what I keep and why AND THEN throw away half of that. :-))
Great Post Shari and awesome questions. I think the 1st day of the year it’s a good one to think about what we want for the next 365 days.
A – What do I want to finish? I want to finish and launch the two startups I started developing in 09
B – What do I want to change? I want to change my eating habits, my sleeping habits and the way people shop (related to business).
C – What do I want to refine? I want to refine my skills as a programmer and as coder and my relationships with the awesome people I’ve met online.
D – What do I want to maintain? I want to maintain the eagerness for learning more I had in 09.
E – What do I want to stop doing? I want to stop drinking drinks with lots of sugar.
F – What do I want to go back to? I want to back to having fun as a child. Too often I feel that I don’t have enough fun doing what I do.
G – What can I throw away? I can throw away all those old papers and stuff I’m keeping just in case. My life has already changed and I was keeping them as a thing to remember the career path I had before. Now I feel secure enough to let them go and pursue what I’ve chosen.
H – What have I learned in 2009 that will empower me in 2010? I’ve learned how to think and execute. I’ve learned that following your passion is the ONLY way to go. And that learning more everyday is the essence of a human being.
I – What do I NEED to do? I NEED to work hard, spend time with my family and friends and relax in order to get the best out of me.
Jorge, AWESOME answers! and really good thoughts/tips for all of us.
I WANT to comment on all of your answers, but the one that stands out most in my mind is What you want to Maintain: “the eagerness for learning more [you] had in 09.”
Amen. As I’ve stated on a few occasions, this year has provided me with unexpected joys tied to my study of social media. Every day compares with the feeling I’d have waking up to the decision: “Which toy should I play with first.”
Lots of luck finishing and launching your two startups. My friend Zahid Lilani and I have a start up of our own in the works. Keep us informed of your progress.
Shari
By the way, I see a MASSIVE improvement in the visual layout of this post!! Who else sees it??? Good job Shari. 🙂
D and H contradict themselves in a way, so just to clarify what I mean, I want to keep my study time low but regular, so that over a period of time I get more study done than if I find a bunch of good books and spend all week reading them. Even though DOING makes you learn faster than studying, you still need to study to understand how things work, but when you’re studying the same thing over and over, it’s absolutely pointless and time-wasting.
Ooo I love answering questions about myself. 🙂 It’s like reading a guide on how I should live my life. Being the visual person I am, I need to see my goals in front of me to be able to follow them. So here it goes:
A: I want to finish http://www.localendar.com.au, which I hope will make me a wealthy man!
B: I want to change my direction in life, from that of a poor Dad to that of a rich Dad. (Robert Kyosaki terminology)
C: I want to refine my productivity skills, and allow myself to be able to focus 100% on the task at hand and finish it as quick as possible to free up time for other tasks or important things in life.
D: I want to maintain my knowledge gathering, and read more books and listen to more audio books this year than ever before.
E: I want to stop wasting time.
F: I don’t want to go back to anything! lol, I don’t want to go backwards in life! I make sure I improve on every aspect of my life as time goes by. There is no point in my life before now that I was better at something than I am now. (except sport..)
G: I want to throw away this cold I caught yesterday.. Damn colds. I can’t really answer this question appropriately because I regularly throw away things I don’t need. I guess I would like to throw away my procrastination habit.
H: The best thing I learned in 2009 was that DOING is a far superior way to learn than STUDYING. Stop studying more, start doing more. You’ll learn ten times quicker by doing something and learning as you go than by reading a hundred books about something and not even starting on it. (diets especially..)
I: I need to get stuck into the highest priority task I’ve given myself right now, and that is programming a web crawler, and although I have no idea where to start, I know that if I force myself to start building it, I’ll figure it out as I go.
James, WOW, love the fact that you have answered ALL the questions. You really do go All Out in everything you do — definitely a sign of someone who’s going to succeed at Everything he sets his mind to.
🙂
Question E: What do you want to stop doing? STOP WASTING TIME is something we all need to think about, but, you know, sometimes that “experimenting” while seeking answers may seem like wasting time, when actually, it’s necessary work. SO don’t be too hard on yourself!
Hmmm, so WHAT DO I WANT TO STOP DOING?
The first thing that comes to my mind is to STOP telling myself that I am going to start practicing my saxophone again and DO IT! I should probably stop watching “Law & Order” reruns, but I probably won’t. I think I will stop worrying about small matters that may sap my energy or keep me awake at night. That is actually a Tall Order for me. Thanks for helping me think that question through.
🙂
Shari
Shari, I love your answer.
If we truly give in to our passion for making the world a better place and helping one another in genuine ways — and building that passion into our business/careers — we discover deep fulfillment in our work.
Also gratefully, other people see our genuine hearts and come to believe in us and what we do.
Result: we grow an audience of fans.
The larger our audience grows, the more our business/careers can grow.
It’s a win for those we’re helping/serving, a win for us, and a win for more authentic & fulfilling work in the world!
Shari, an honor to be named here in this post! Looking forward to collaborating with you more in 2010. Here’s my answer to one of your questions:
Question: “What do I want to go back to?”
Answer: earlier in 2009 an idea came to me that has shown itself to be workable time and again. It’s an idea that all of us who use social networking websites can apply in order to move our business/career forward, whether we’re just starting out or already quite experienced. The idea is this:
Be findable
Be valuable
Be memorable
This is what I’ll be going back to in 2010: continuously applying that idea when I use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to Be Found by even more kindred spirits (like you, Shari!), to Be Valuable to my ideal audience (ideal prospective clients & ideal prospective partners), and to Be Memorable so that when my ideal audience needs services I can offer, I’ll naturaly come to mind.
It’s a Big Idea and there’s quite a lot behind it. I’ll be expanding on this idea during my teleseminar (a New Years Gift to my audience) on January 1st: http://georgekao.com/social
Thanks again, Shari, and looking forward to what can be a *great* year ahead!
Thanks, George . . . for being there and with knowledge and support.
I’m thinking about your answer to WHAT DO I WANT TO GO BACK TO?
i.e., to be Findable, Valuable, and Memorable.
Extremely noteworthy goals to continue to strive towards, particularly to be valuable.
What do I, personally, want to go back to?
The first thing that comes to mind is the passion and sense of right-ness in what we are doing, i.e., Changing the world for the better by helping one another in very real, genuine ways. When you come down to it, there’s quite a bit of similarity in our answers.