Definitely set SMART goals - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-tagged - much like your example “Produce two ebooks about social media in 2008 to make $5,000.”
Have a productive and successful New Year!
Gregory Pittman
· 1 year ago
Chris,
I'm glad to see StrengthsFinder listed in your post. I actually haven't taken the 2.0 assessment yet, although I have the book. I have taken the earlier assessment and not only did it give me insight into how I work, it gave me insight into how others around me work. Great suggestion!
Marina @ Sufficient Thrust
· 1 year ago
In The Ultimate Guide to New Year's Resolutions (at my blog), I emphasize planning ahead for goals. 2007 was my best year ever because I finally developed an organizational system that propelled, not hindered, me. I wake up each day and take a step closer to my Big Goals, and even more importantly, I thoroughly enjoy the process each day. (My definition of happiness is having the power to change what you are unhappy with.)
My 2008 resolutions center around expanding my blogging audience by providing useful, relevant content and expanding my efficiency consulting as a result. I have an action card each day that has at least one or two Next Actions that contribute to these goals. With the right foundation, it's almost harder NOT to succeed...
Pat Graham-Block
· 1 year ago
Chris,
You have hit on the 2 important missing pieces that keep people "stuck".
Not knowing what to DO! (Or doing stuff that they are only doing because they think they "should" or for some other limiting reason.)
And not having the confidence in themselves to do, be and have whatever they want in life.
Thanks for your perspective and reminder to stay true to ourselves. (That may not be what you said and it was the message I took away from what you said.) :-)
Pat
thom singer
· 1 year ago
The most important point is to keep your goals visible. My friend Chad prints his goals and has them laminated. He then keeps a copy at his desk, in his car and in the shower. Yes, the guy actually tapes his goals to the wall of his shower.
By keeping them visible it makes the tough choices easy. If you always know what you want you cannot get distracted or tempted by bad choices.
Out of sight is out of mind, so you need to constantly remind yourself of your target in order to get there. Like a plane flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu....if you just take off and go west...there is a lot of blue sea below you. You MIGHT hit Hawaii...or you MIGHT crash into the ocean. Having a clear goal and knowing what it looks like will assist you in a safe landing.
LaDonna Coy
· 1 year ago
Chris,
So interesting to see Strengths Finder 2.0 on your reading list. I picked it up a few months back and right before the holidays took the assessment. I am now looking forward with renewed energy to 2008, in large part, because of what I am learning about my own strengths from this little but powerful book.
I discovered my own top five strengths are --Positivity, Futuristic, Input, Empathy, Achiever -- I'm already finding it fun and interesting to work with these strengths! It feels good to set goals for the new year without focusing on which flaw I'm going to try to overcome this time around!
Thanks for talking about your experiences and offering insights on how best to set some positive intentions and actions for the coming year. Happy New Year and may 2008 be your most successful year yet!
communicatrix
· 1 year ago
I love these resources and ideas! Thank you, Chris et al, for sharing. The past few years, I've been using Your Best Year Yet (Ginny Ditzler), a values-based goal setting system, to map out my upcoming year.
It works beautifully at translating my desires into actionable (big) steps. But it's become glaringly obvious that with my advanced case of Shiny Object Syndrome, methodical plotting out--i.e., working the little steps--is a key component of making goals a reality.
This year, since several key goals have to do with building my audience, I'm going to use my marketing coach's Marketing/Planning calendar to keep myself on track and accountable day-to-day.
I think 2008 might also be the year I start that MasterMind group. Anyone here done that successfully?
James Clark
· 1 year ago
Chris,
Yes, I understand that one must love themselves first, but for all of those leading companies spare everyone the pain of putting together large plans.
I love the one-page strategic plan from Vern Harnish, author, Rockefeller Habits.
I've used it for a number of different companies and always found it well received. Plus, the one page is about all I can personally handle.
Mark
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the book recommendations. It would appear that I have some reading to do. And, thanks for the nod at justonemorebook.com.
Off to do some reading...
Jeunelle Foster
· 1 year ago
I too have made a few New Year's resolutions for this year. I hope to see them fulfilled and will make every attempt to see it come to fruition. It's not easy but it can be done with some determination, a solid plan, focus and keeping your eye on the prize. I plan to do all of the above. I never thought I would turn out to be a blogger but it happened and I am gladly making the most of it. My eyes are open to every possible opportunity and ways to write about them. Thank you Chris for those helpful tips and recommendations.
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
Wow! Lots of really great folks are sharing their perspectives and ideas here. Thanks for that.
It's funny because I can't deny a lick of it. Some of them are tricky to work with. "Woo," for instance, means that I tell people things that I feel from the bottom of my heart, and that they tend to think I'm just being a goof or don't mean it. It makes me work harder in communicating more clearly.
So yes, thanks for sharing yours, LaDonna, and thank you to everyone for your comments and additional resources.
KareAnderson
· 1 year ago
More than Strengths Finder I'd read Now, Discover Your Strengths (more in one place)
.... plus, The Gift of Fear, The Dance of Anger, Smart Choices, Paradox of Choice and Learned Optimism ... and the book coming ut in2008 (yetto be named) by Paul Elman and the Dalai Lama another Brogan fan, Kare, MovingFromMeToWe.com
Aruni Gunasegaram
· 1 year ago
Chris - well said. I just posted about my 2008 goals and tried hard to make most of them as achievable as possible. The books sound great and one of my big issues is not having time to read a lot of books. The one about addressing your self critic actually will help me with one of my goals about drastically reducing negative self talk. I will check it out!
Aruni
servantofchaos
· 1 year ago
Great post, thanks Chris. Gives me plenty to think about over the next few days ... and still time to read some books.
Tom Beaton
· 1 year ago
Great advice on setting goals. I look forward to when you review them!
All Comments
Have a productive and successful New Year!
I'm glad to see StrengthsFinder listed in your post. I actually haven't taken the 2.0 assessment yet, although I have the book. I have taken the earlier assessment and not only did it give me insight into how I work, it gave me insight into how others around me work. Great suggestion!
My 2008 resolutions center around expanding my blogging audience by providing useful, relevant content and expanding my efficiency consulting as a result. I have an action card each day that has at least one or two Next Actions that contribute to these goals. With the right foundation, it's almost harder NOT to succeed...
You have hit on the 2 important missing pieces that keep people "stuck".
Not knowing what to DO! (Or doing stuff that they are only doing because they think they "should" or for some other limiting reason.)
And not having the confidence in themselves to do, be and have whatever they want in life.
Thanks for your perspective and reminder to stay true to ourselves. (That may not be what you said and it was the message I took away from what you said.) :-)
Pat
By keeping them visible it makes the tough choices easy. If you always know what you want you cannot get distracted or tempted by bad choices.
Out of sight is out of mind, so you need to constantly remind yourself of your target in order to get there. Like a plane flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu....if you just take off and go west...there is a lot of blue sea below you. You MIGHT hit Hawaii...or you MIGHT crash into the ocean. Having a clear goal and knowing what it looks like will assist you in a safe landing.
So interesting to see Strengths Finder 2.0 on your reading list. I picked it up a few months back and right before the holidays took the assessment. I am now looking forward with renewed energy to 2008, in large part, because of what I am learning about my own strengths from this little but powerful book.
I discovered my own top five strengths are --Positivity, Futuristic, Input, Empathy, Achiever -- I'm already finding it fun and interesting to work with these strengths! It feels good to set goals for the new year without focusing on which flaw I'm going to try to overcome this time around!
Thanks for talking about your experiences and offering insights on how best to set some positive intentions and actions for the coming year. Happy New Year and may 2008 be your most successful year yet!
It works beautifully at translating my desires into actionable (big) steps. But it's become glaringly obvious that with my advanced case of Shiny Object Syndrome, methodical plotting out--i.e., working the little steps--is a key component of making goals a reality.
This year, since several key goals have to do with building my audience, I'm going to use my marketing coach's Marketing/Planning calendar to keep myself on track and accountable day-to-day.
I think 2008 might also be the year I start that MasterMind group. Anyone here done that successfully?
Yes, I understand that one must love themselves first, but for all of those leading companies spare everyone the pain of putting together large plans.
I love the one-page strategic plan from Vern Harnish, author, Rockefeller Habits.
http://www.gazelles.com/strategic_planning_mana...
I've used it for a number of different companies and always found it well received. Plus, the one page is about all I can personally handle.
Off to do some reading...
It's not easy but it can be done with some determination, a solid plan, focus and keeping
your eye on the prize. I plan to do all of the above. I never thought I would turn out to be a blogger but it happened and I am gladly making the most of it. My eyes are open to every possible opportunity and ways to write about them.
Thank you Chris for those helpful tips and recommendations.
My 5 strengths, according to the test were:
Communication, Futuristic, Woo, Ideation, Activator.
It's funny because I can't deny a lick of it. Some of them are tricky to work with. "Woo," for instance, means that I tell people things that I feel from the bottom of my heart, and that they tend to think I'm just being a goof or don't mean it. It makes me work harder in communicating more clearly.
So yes, thanks for sharing yours, LaDonna, and thank you to everyone for your comments and additional resources.
.... plus, The Gift of Fear, The Dance of Anger, Smart Choices, Paradox of Choice and Learned Optimism
... and the book coming ut in2008 (yetto be named) by Paul Elman and the Dalai Lama
another Brogan fan, Kare, MovingFromMeToWe.com
Aruni
Best of luck for 2008!