All the best Chris for a Happy New year. Thanks for all the inspirational posts during 08.
Cheers, a
Aj
· 10 months ago
Happy New Year Chris! Thank you for what you do and your daily education I receive from you.
My 3 words for 2009 are Motivation, Communication and Implementation.
2008 was definitely a 'learning' year for me, 2009 will be taking all that I have learned and implementing forward.
Shefaly
· 10 months ago
Chris
Happy New Year and what a great idea this is!
I think more detail needs a post but here are my three words for the year: Fitness, Diversification, Profile.
My post should be up on January 2nd, 2009.
Ben Moreno
· 10 months ago
I guess my 3 words would have to be:
Debt, Family, Buffer
Debt: I am stuck in a bad debt spot right now, but have a plan to get out. Just takes time. At least all of 2009 I am sure.
Family: Spend more time with the family. I don't spend enough quality time with my kids and I am basically going through a slow divorce. I want to focus less on myself and more on them.
Buffer: I lost my job due this recession. I was caught basically with my pants down and no savings. This is going to take the whole year as well. I want to build a nice buffer to counter emergencies. I never want to be in this situation again.
Jenn Fowler
· 10 months ago
It took me a minute to realize that you mean needles as in a gauge . . . how analog of you :)
This is a very interesting approach to goal setting. I'll need to think on it a bit and see if it will work for me.
keyboardcowgirl
· 10 months ago
My 3 words are: Seek - seek people more experienced and knowlegeable and connect with them, online and offline Learn - learn from others, learn several things new each day Share - give back to the community by sharing, however little
LinksMonkey
· 10 months ago
"Gas. Food. Lodging." - Howard Johnson
Allen Taylor
· 10 months ago
Good food for thought. As I read this I thought, "I wonder if those words could be related to other-focused, personal-focused, and organizational-focused umbrellas. When I got to your three words I noticed that two of them are other-focused (equip and needles) and one of them seems to be both personal and organization (armies). You don't have one that is wholly personal; that probably says a lot about your character. At any rate, I'll have to think on this and write my own blog post. Thanks for sharing.
thom singer
· 10 months ago
I talk too much to just have 3 words, but for you I will try:
Love Expand Guide
Staci J. Shelton
· 10 months ago
Chris, what a WONDERFUL way to start the New Year!!!
My Three:
E-X-P-A-N-D My network, knowledge and connections Execute - more doing, less talking and planning Enhance - the lives of EVERYONE I encounter...
My Mantra, Mission and What I hope to help clients do in the days, months and years to come...
I like this idea! My 3 words are: focus, nurture, laugh
Fabio Platero
· 10 months ago
Lead. Create a movement. Focus in Excellence.
Kelli
· 10 months ago
My 3 words:
Control: No, I don't want to control the world, but in 2009, I need to take "control of my emotions, & better control of finances, try not to spend to much! Plus, I need to control my fear and challenge myself to do things I have been afraid to do in the past.
Listen: Speaks for itself, just be a better listener all around for everyone.
Action: Just do it!!! That simple.
Joel Richards
· 10 months ago
design, develop, engage Design-- Think, plan, and come up with a design for living that is sustainable. Good designs are the platform on which to build. Develop -- learn, grow, and implement Engage -- Get out more,. both in the cyber and real world and connect with people.
Deb Ng
· 10 months ago
Mine are build, grow and listen - And I think I will expand on this on my own blog post.
Happy new year and all the best for 2009.
reese
· 10 months ago
Inspiring exercise. Thank you!
Leverage. Assess. Cliff.
leverage opportunities, and my own skill set better, smarter, more efficiently. Stop pushing and working so hard, and move onto leveraging more.
Assess said opportunities, as well as requests, and learn to say no, as well as when to leap.
find the cliffs. jump off them. trust I will fly.
Terri
· 10 months ago
Educate, Inspire and Listen
Educate healthcare providers about Frontotemporal Dementia
Inspire organizations, corporations, and individuals to donate money and resources for research of Frontotemporal Dementia
Listen and provide a ear to those caregivers in need of a friend that understands what they are going through
Jennifer Blair
· 10 months ago
Zen - for the calmness and living in the moment
Xray - to see through (people's defenses to who they really are / want to be) - to intuit the truth of a situation
Cheetah - for the image of strength and power, running in nature
:-)
Thanks. I enjoyed that.
JB
Jon DiPietro
· 10 months ago
This is my EIN (one) theme for 2009:
Execute This one is straight from Guy Kawasaki (i.e. ideas are easy, execution is hard) - less think, more execute.
Identity Establishing an online brand (something I've only just begun) is an interesting and valuable exercise. It's like your "personal business plan." Hmm, sounds like a blog post.
No Many people would frown upon framing a goal from a negative perspective. However, I have to learn to "just say no" more often. Otherwise, people and customers are let down.
Thanks, Chris. As usual, you've managed to serve up important ideas in bite-sized chunks.
Shannon
· 10 months ago
Write - When I write, not only am I sharing my knowledge and experiences with my readers, but it also helps me release things that have been kept inside. I hope my words to inspire others to write (and travel), just as you are doing, Chris.
Teach - This is a big year for me, as an individual. I'm teaching various travel writing workshops in international destinations, organizing gatherings of travel industry peeps, and have taken on more consulting jobs in my field.
Travel - This is a given every year for me with family and with friends, but this year I plan on taking a short walkabout to regroup and reflect on who I am (and get away from my home area where five minutes alone is a gift in itself or someplace that isn't for work reasons). It may sound selfish to some, but as a mother and a wife, I just need that soul recharge, and fortunately my husband and children are understanding of this. I don't do this every year, but gosh dog it, everyone should do this at least once in their life. I'm Mom and I'm a wife, but I am also Me.
Russell Cook
· 10 months ago
Serve Learn Lead
Chris- Thanks for all you do. Happy New Year.
Cindy Hartman
· 10 months ago
You just helped me pull my thoughts together on how I was going to approach my goals...thanks!
BELIEVE - in myself. Without belief and trust in self, there is no moving forward.
RECEIVE - I'm a giver, and too often I don't accept the help others offer me (or Idon't ask for it) and then we both miss out on great opportunties. Not accepting help, skills and gifts from others takes away their chance to be who they want to be.
BE - in the moment. I'm sometimes so wrapped up in what could have/should have been that I forget about the now. And other times I'm so concerned about the future I'm not working on what I can do right this moment to achieve my goals.
Without believing in myself nothing else matters, without receiving from others leaves me on my own, and being in the moment will help me focus and make things happen.
devBear
· 10 months ago
i love this -- but it is going to take a little more time for me to come up with 3 words that really work for me. I love "alignment" -- that's something I have been thinking about a lot already both at work and at home. But the other two? Stay tuned.
Lisa Hickey
· 10 months ago
Funny, when I first saw your word "needles", I thought you were going to make the point that you find the "needles in a haystack" that others can't find -- and then you share them with others. (uh-oh, sorry, I've just accused you of needle-sharing). But that's something you do so well -- seeking out the cool info and insights that others might not be able to find on their own. I'll be back later with my words, want to give them some thought. Thanks so much for this. Lisa
Robyn Slingsby
· 10 months ago
Great post and a much better way of setting goals for the New Year. My buzz words for 2009 are: Time (better use of it), quality (over quantity, in work and in play), and absorb (new information, new skills, new friends, new concepts etc).
Arik Hanson
· 10 months ago
Listen. To my clients, friends, family. Key.
People. Looking forward to meeting many people smarter than me in 09 and learning, sharing and collaborating with them.
Results. At the end of the day, this is what it's all about. Keen focus on outcomes.
Thanks, Chris. You always get me thinking.
Susie Blackmon
· 10 months ago
1. Mentee 2. Retronym 3. Tri-band
mary beth
· 10 months ago
I don't have my three words yet...that will take some thought but I appreciate your always helpful ideas. Thanks and have a wonderful New Year.
Marijean Jaggers
· 10 months ago
Ask. (For help when it's needed). Keep. (Appointments, promises, resolutions.) Connect. (People to one another, people to ideas, to people for growth, learning and friendship.)
SuburbanOblivion
· 10 months ago
2008 was a year of much emotional turmoil for me, so I'm keeping mine simple this year. Live. Laugh. Love.
:)
Daniel Endy
· 10 months ago
Overall - Focus, Grow, ROI Management - Lead, Communicate, Empower Business - Build, Grow, Expand Personal - Believe,, Achieve, Enjoy Clients - Serve, Empower, Value Spiritual - Serve, Appreciate, Honor
Lissa Boles
· 10 months ago
First, my humble thanks to Jenn for clearing up the 'needles' mystery for me. Trixie Chris, and so early on a New Year's morn!
I love this practice, and totally agree with the 'push vs pull' analogy. What a difference, huh? Allowing the pull of personal meaning and the vision of the future it would/could/can create adds real depth and scope to the whole goals/resolutions thing, AND leaves all kinds of room for things n people that simple can't be expected or conceived of yet to join forces and help make the vision real and what meaningful about more than just us.
My three? Well - actually - I have four (always been an over-achiever!):
Ignite Convene Edify Let Loose
Learn English Online
· 10 months ago
Share. Improve. Learn.
Share my knowledge. Improve in many things that I need to. Learn several things (specially cooking).
Kate
· 10 months ago
Strength. Truth. Determination.
Fantastic concept Chris. I really liked this post.
Ken Steinberg
· 10 months ago
Gotta jump in...
Epitaph : Live life so that I have no regrets when its my time to take stock. I'll go out with a smile (self actualization)
Solve : Going to continue to fulfill a lifelong sense of purpose by solving some of the worlds most complex problems. You heard me....I said it here...
Focus: Don't let the world steal my focus. It tries so very hard.
Michelle Evans
· 10 months ago
Love. Help. Persist.
Love people more with actions. Help people by doing for them whatever I can. Persist through my inevitable failures.
...water (as in hauling it to where it's needed)...sun (as in allowing an energy greater than myself to shape the outcomes)...fertilizer (as in manure, because its the best stuff made to facilitate growth; sometimes an analogy hard to translate off the farm, but look around and reconsider where any attitude says "waste" : there's gold in that pile).
David Zinger
· 10 months ago
I love the succinct 3 word focus. Here is my first attempt, I may revise later today but my ACE is:
Authentic. Be who I am. Express who I am. Leverage who I am.
Connect. Work WE not Me.
Engage. Engage fully in whatever I am doing while I am doing it and foster the engagement of others.
Emyr
· 10 months ago
1) Skin
I'm going to learn to be comfortable in my own skin, and be who I'm meant to be. And not let others try to twist and mold me in to what they want me to be. I'm a unqiue being, not a clone. I'm going to learn to accept my self too and learn to allow others in.
2) Cultivate
My Christian faith is important to me, but I've not nurtured it over the last year, so I've stagnated. As well as that, I plan to read a different book every month other than programming manuals.
3) Reality
One of my all time favourite quotes comes from a Star Wars movie, "your focus determines your reality." So I think it's time for a focus shift from the negative, I've done that for too long, and to live in the moment, and learn from past failings, not be burdened with them and let them get me down.
Thanks for sharing yours Chris :)
Emyr (aka @welshboy2008)
Yael Beeri
· 10 months ago
Watch. Chew. Throw. I cannot write here everything these words mean to me and what they relate to. I am also pretty sure the meaning will be altered as the year proceeds. But, most importantly, all three can be performed in, regarded from and/or aimed at different angles and directions. They are all processes and actions. Writing this comment is the first time this year I make use of my 3 words goals.
Dina Santorelli
· 10 months ago
Theorize. Organize. Utilize. :)
Don Wilson
· 10 months ago
Plan - Focus - Action
Figure out what you need to do
Eliminate distractions
Git 'er done
Vicki O'Neill-Ropos
· 10 months ago
Great way to start the new year, Chris. I don't believe in "new year's resolutions" - why delay change and tie it to the mark of a new year? Start when you realize there's a need.
My three 2009 words are what I already incorporate into my DNA:
Learn - is an "always on" concept for me and something in which I find in whatever I do and with whomever I come in contact. It's a powerful word that creates opportunities to teach others.
Love - everything I do so I can instill passion in others from a professional and personal standpoint.
Lead - by example and provide guidance to people and businesses in an effort to help them grow.
Thanks for all you do, Chris.
Jenn (The Green Parent)
· 10 months ago
Center: Finding it. 2008 was a whirlwind year for me...very exciting but also very scattered. I spent so much time traveling the country and speaking as "the green parent" that I constantly felt like I was doing a poor job at being green and being a parent. In '09 I want to continue to grow my business and platform but keep a stronger focus on the reason I do what I do...so that I can be a better green parent, at home and on the road.
Stars: As in reaching for them. I have some great ideas for '09.
Ears: I want to keep mine open. I have met some wonderful folks over the last few years and I want to take every opportunity to listen to what those folks are saying.
Thandelike
· 10 months ago
thanks for this. i'm a cultural writer/multimedia producer finishing a big book project and a handful of media collaborations with others in 2009. i live abroad, which complicates matters and makes my personal and career challenges more global. mine are:
PROJECT - project myself into my communities, raise awareness for the work I do, foster meaningful connection to others
REALIZE - a combination of 'execute' and 'achieve excellent results', materialize dreams
LIVE - breathe deeply, take chances, do new things i might love and old things i still love, get rid of stuff that slows me down or doesn't reflect who i want to be, embrace my health and opportunities
:
Reed Porter
· 10 months ago
Fit - Must do more to get physically and financially fit. LT goals are to cycle a double century and earn enough from multi-streams to have time to train for it.
Learn - Take the opportunity of my job loss to apprentice myself to folks doing what I want to do - earn a living not tied to any location.
Bold - Robert Frost wrote "Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference." When I come to the forks in life this year, I need to choose the bold and risky path and leave the safe route to others.
Kulamafi
· 10 months ago
Self.Relationships.Capture
anna
· 10 months ago
1. Perspective - offer major emotional output only on those things that merit it. 2. Blessing - live a life that focuses on blessing others - beginning with those closest to me. 3. Ownership - choose to say "yes" only to those things that line up with my purpose and passion (always remembering the need to eat), and then own them.
Sophie
· 10 months ago
Chris, this sounds like a great way of staying focused and choosing where to expend your energy during the year.
I bet this would work fantastically well with Dave Seah's Groundhog Day resolutions principle which gives you a GHD style framework for regularly reviewing your resolution throughout the year: http://davidseah.com/blog/groundhog-day-resolutions/
kim Banks
· 10 months ago
Love this idea!!
Honesty.Compassion.Knowledge
Anne is a Man
· 10 months ago
Walk - stride, not run. Let progress be steady and solid Work - let things work, let work come, let work be done. Talk - Speak up, communicate, relate and get the other talking
iamkhayyam
· 10 months ago
ACCEPT - Accept all that it is. There are no bad things that happen and there are no good things that happen. They are all just experiences, choose the ones that make you feel good and accept the fact that you're the one that gets to choose.
TRANSMUTE - To transmute is to change in form. I always say that I'll never change and I'll grow. So this is about growing from one thing to the other, or the next if you will. A forward movement of acceptance which allows you to recognize that which you want to change ergo allowing it to exist.
THE THREE L's - Just like the three inseparable monkeys that speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil - I have three things that are inseparable and those are to live big, laugh bigger and love the biggest. This here is the recipe to be great. All in moderation and all in balance.
Those are my three choice goals to resonate through my new year.
Blessings and peace be upon you...
Donald Forrester
· 10 months ago
Do. Synthesize. Delegate.
Do things; don't plan to the exclusion of action, every act of learning should also have a tangible creation at the end of it that I can use. Every hobby should have something to show for it (this means no video games, unless I'm making them or something.)
Synthesize efforts; if I'm cooking, I clean at the same time.
Delegate; speaks for itself. But also, I'm not going to shy from paying for things I need done, even if I can do them myself, if it means it gets done better, faster, or I can do something more important.
johntindale
· 10 months ago
I think my top three right now include finalize, focus,and finish because alliteration helps me, and because I am a firm believer in an old saying that goes- "its not how you start, its how you finish." So many people come up with good ideas that start out strong, but so few people actually follow-through and actually finish.
Sharilee
· 10 months ago
Excellent way to focus one's energies going into the new year! I'm thinking:
- Patience: flow and adapt; time is a friend, not an enemy
- Serve: (a) God, (b) clients, (c) community
- Inspire: through knowledge and actions -- at work, at home, at volunteer activities
Jonathan Fields
· 10 months ago
Eliminate - Identify what matters most and eliminate time and energy allocated to activities, experiences and relationships that don't make me come alive.
Undress - Get more comfortable revealing who I am and what I'm about and trust that'll be enough.
Treasure - Spend more time acknowledging, embracing and thanking those who make each day amazing.
Sandra Blacksher
· 10 months ago
Energy Inspire Receive
I appreciate you for sharing with all of us!
Janis Miller
· 10 months ago
Thank you, Chris, this post made me zero in on what is really important to focus on in my business. Although this may change as I have more time to focus these are my first thoughts.
Identity - be me, be the best me, brand it Productivity - be focused and productive - walk the talk. Share - to empower & improve the lives of others
Thanks again, Chris, for a great idea that I will also be using in my personal life and sharing with others. Three words are certainly much easier to identify with and memorize than an unending mission statement. In fact, because it is so focused I find it more energizing and motivating.
The words I picked? Sovereignty, Allegiance, Indulgence.
Ken
Lisa Hickey
· 10 months ago
As interesting as the words themselves are people’s reasons behind the words. Thanks everyone!
Mine: Pepper. Magic. Thinkshare.
Pepper: Make life more interesting for people. Don’t be bland. Be addititive. Be peppy. Do things just for fun.
Magic: I’m always amazed by how, when things are done well, it seems like magic. This year I’d like to create more.
Thinkshare: I always wanted to coin a new word. A reminder to myself that thinking is always important, but does no good whatsoever unless that thinking is shared with others.
Nathan Hangen
· 10 months ago
Provide - Meet the needs of myself, my family, and my customers by providing an excellent service and value.
Sustain - Sustain the momentum I developed in 2008 and push it into overdrive.
Evolve - Refuse to live in the same mold that made my life stagnant in the past. Stay young at heart and continue to evolve physically, spiritually, and mentally.
Steven Diaz
· 10 months ago
My 3 driven words to accomplish my goals in 2009:
1) Connect 2) Practice 3) Enjoy
Great article Chris!
Lisa Rosendahl
· 10 months ago
Be. Brave. Now. And move my needle too.
groovyoldlady
· 10 months ago
My three?
1. Pray 2. Minister 3. Write
Tim
· 10 months ago
Chris,
Great concept in planning your new year's goals with three words. Powerful way to keep them in front of you! My words for the year are;
Inspire
Grow
Build
Thanks for the inspiration and wishing you all the best in 2009!
marshal sandler
· 10 months ago
upward onward now
Juliann Grant
· 10 months ago
My three words for this year are:
Create - because we are all creative beings, and anything that we see around us is evidence of our creation. I have several things in my head that need to be birthed and created, so 2009 is all about bringing some of those ideas to fruition.
Inspire - Because when you create things that are true to ourselves, a natural by-product is inspiration - for others and even ourselves
Serve - We all have our own work to do, whether its serving our families, communities and profession. This year my goal is to use the 2 words listed above to expand the way in which I can be of service to help others get what they want. Then enjoy the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes along with doing good things.
Thanks Chris for a great 2008, I'm looking forward to all there is to learn in 2009!
Monica Surfaro Spigelman
· 10 months ago
Balance. Stewardship. Energy(ize).
Balance: Each of us needs to learn and employ better balance in our lives. If we do (contribute our best to all aspects) the world will be a better place.
Stewardship: We must remember the many dimensions of our responsibility.
Energy(ize) Jump in enthusiastically, always, with positive, creative, quality, and professional spirit.
Lee
· 10 months ago
My three words:
Momentum--keep things moving forward Execution--stop talking and start doing Funnel--find what is meaningful
Heather Kennedy
· 10 months ago
listen. run. circle.
dee
· 10 months ago
My three words are Excellence (strive for it at every opportunity), Health (work on improving it), and Change (pretty self explanatory).
Ria
· 10 months ago
Chris, it seems we were in alignment in the last 12 hours because I wrote a post on the EXACT same thing. My 3 words are FAITH, PASSION and PURPOSE.
Debbie Hemley
· 10 months ago
Write, Revise, Post
Phil Ladden
· 10 months ago
Genuine, Listen, Clarity .... thanks for a fantastic method of beginning a new year.
Dave Pelland
· 10 months ago
Great comments and a neat approach to goals/resolutions. Here goes:
Hustle Engage Share
Good luck to everyone this year!
Lanora @writingtravel
· 10 months ago
Chooseselecting where to focus energy, what not to do; embracing possibility; leaving behind past failures of decision and indecision.
Awarenoticing differences, taking off blinders, creating new vision.
Lovecherishing myself, family, others more actively and unconditionally
brandonacox
· 10 months ago
Focus. Love. Serve.
I want to focus on the future, not the past. I want to love people and show it. I want to serve people in practical ways - ways that require effort and sacrifice.
AngelaConnor
· 10 months ago
RISK LEARN TRY
Tom Swift
· 10 months ago
One-of-a-kind. Extraordinary. Choices.
One-of-a-kind: Favor uniqueness. Break free from sameness often.
Extraordinary: Seek out the extraordinary. Recommend people doing great things.
Choices: Make smart choices. Follow people making smart choices.
Lisa Kelly
· 10 months ago
Chris, Thanks for your blog. I love what you do. Here are my 3: Believe Focus Write I'm lovin' 2009.
Neat idea. I think 3 M's will do it for me this year:
Meaning - help others find meaning in what they do, and ensure that everything we do aligns with our core purpose.
Mapping - better planning. Map out where we want to be by the end of the year and how we plan to get there. Check and realign our navigation regularly along the way.
Mobile - get out of the office more to meet more people face to face. At the same time, learn more about tools that help with communication on the go. (Have made a start on this one already by getting a Twitter account started today - Yes!)
devBear
· 10 months ago
I'm back.
Alignment -- Of my values, my passions, my work and my life Fitness -- Mental and physical fitness to help me pursue the other pieces of my goals Connection -- Building connectivity with others in personal and professional life, particularly with my husband, but also with people in the social media world and other communities
My three words: Inspiration, Communication, Collaboration.
Brian Monahan, Expert in the R
· 10 months ago
Family - with my new daughter family is first and this is something new for me.
Health - in 2009 i look to create sustainable lifestyle changes around nutrition, fitness and work/personal balance
Stage - 2009 is the year I will cut my teeth and get my presenting skills to a level that I can present in any situation. Practice, Practice, Practice.
Kathy Swift
· 10 months ago
Chris, I love the idea of the three words. I actually had been thinking about this for the last few days before I saw this blog posting. I'm relating to your 2006 words -- I've deicded that I need fewer people to TELL me what I need to do and instead need to ask what they can HELP me do. In my career as a veterinarian working with large farms, I believe much of my success is in that I help them identify AND solve problems. (Ever notice how people are great at pointing out what's wrong but don't offer up useful solutions or much less offer to be part of the solution?) I'm also president of a volunteer organization where the membership continues to "dump" stuff on me. (As a side note, that group is much harder to manage than running a business because I can't fire anyone!) Anyway, it was good to hear that someone else has tried this method and apparently has been successful at it. Thanks for the idea!
deepikaur
· 10 months ago
Very nice article, Chris! My three are Participate, Network, and Discover. I will do everything within my power to make 2009 count.
HeatherO
· 10 months ago
My words are speak.write.grow. As I want to grow myself, and help others grow through my speaking and writing. also a 4th = "Settlin" to remind me to NOT settle (as in the song).
Malik
· 10 months ago
Great post! Funny you mention this topic because I had already established two words to focus on. I this that is enough for now. My words are DEFINITION & ENDURANCE. My goal is to focus on developing temple (body) both spiritually and physically on those two words.
Shalom in 2009.
Mary
· 10 months ago
I just have one word but it means three different things to me -> Fire. It's a familiar acronym that stands for Financially Independent Retire Early. It also symbolizes keeping the home fires burning - taking care of my relationships. Finally when I see that word I think of metabolism so it's a constant reminder to think of eating quality food and keeping fitness levels high.
Deb Mallett
· 10 months ago
Grace - handle everything with grace and lightness Empower - I know it's an overused word, but it fits what I want to do Authority - work on increasing my authority by learning and practice
Those are what came quickly to mind after reading your blog post. So many other clever ones in the comments though! I could particularly use three words Brian Monahan wrote in his comment - practice, practice, practice. So maybe I'll have six words.
John Moore
· 10 months ago
1. Bridge - reminds me that relationships will take me further to where I want to go. 2. Share - reminds me that the more I share with others, the more reward I'll get back. 3. Innovate - reminds me to use creativity to re-create the things I'd like to be different.
Best - John Moore
johnhaydon
· 10 months ago
Chris,
Brilliant post. It's so easy to forget my goals, because they're so long and hard to remember. Three words, though - I can handle that!
John
Jeff Korhan
· 10 months ago
Innovate....Collaborate....Educate.
Best, Jeff Korhan
Anthony Imperioli
· 10 months ago
I loved this. Fun exercise to start off the new year. My words were Flow, Naked, and Start. Flow - Flow with life. Enjoy the moment. Everything is perfect all the time. Relax and trust yourself. Naked - Get naked at any opportunity. No, no, no, not that. Begin to live openly and honestly, express yourself to the people around and the world. Become naked, emotionally. and finally, Start - start breaking free of comfort, start breaking free of detrimental routines, start living and loving.
Danny Brown
· 10 months ago
It's. Never. Over.
Simple - no matter what you do and who you do it for or with, keep pushing yourself and others to grow. You can never have enough information ammunition, and the day we stop learning is the day we creativity and industriousness dies with it.
Shed - Get rid of what's not working (including weight); store more of the good. Convey - Work at making my writing and communication be more impactful. Strengthen - Improve the foundation that I'm building on (including finances).
It's great how simplifying goals in this way actually makes them even more powerful and definitely more memorable. Great idea! Thanks!
David Badash
· 10 months ago
Wow. Chris, great, Great, GREAT post! And the comments are excellent. Thank you to all - I took a lot of notes and have added many of your thoughts to my planning.
Right now, my three words are: Partner, Create, Believe.
Partner, because I know in order to reach my goals, I cannot (hard as I have tried in the past!) do it all myself. AND because this year my partner and I are beginning our life together. I want to keep the idea of partnership first and foremost in my mind.
Create: This could also be the word "more". I want to create more - create more content, create more ideas, create more believers, leaders, followers, understanding, opportunities, joy.
Believe: Too many ideas have died because I didn't believe in them enough, or in myself enough, or in the ability of others enough to keep them alive and help them flourish.
Happy New Year to you all!
Phil Baumann
· 10 months ago
1. Ready
Phil Baumann
· 10 months ago
2. Aim
Phil Baumann
· 10 months ago
3. Fire
Linda Eskin
· 10 months ago
What a great idea. OK, I'll play:
Plan. Act. Enjoy.
Plan for what I want to experience or accomplish. Act to make it a reality. Enjoy the results.
Strangely, it's the Enjoy part where I've mostly fallen down in the past.
Mark Neff
· 10 months ago
1. Act - Do more, stop talking about change. 2. Harvest - I have planted plenty of seeds, go harvest the ones that are ready. 3. Nurture - Keep nurturing the seeds that have not ripened yet. There are a lot of people that will do more if you help them figure out how.
Thank you as always.
lionelane
· 10 months ago
Great exercise. My three words would be:
Improve - Get better. Introduce - Connect more cool people to each other. Incite - Get my butt moving, incite myself to action. Stop procrastinating. Attack the list with vim and vigor.
Beth Kanter
· 10 months ago
Thank you for the inspiration! I had a goal post in draft for a while, but the conceptual and visual thinking really helped.
I'm off to make a screensaver of the visuals to keep in front of my face for the year
rajivdoshi
· 10 months ago
Thanks for sharing, this inspired me to set three goals for the first time and even wrote a blog post about it. My 3 Goals For 2009: Balance. Learn. Share.
MaryBeth Smith @divamover
· 10 months ago
Attract. Share. Receive.
Go get 'em, everybody! Here's wishing us all the best of everything.
Mike Kirkeberg
· 10 months ago
Contribute. IImprove my writing, find my pace and voice, and provide value wherever I am present on and off line. Grow. Continue to expand what I do, find out what works and what is helpful, and do more of it. Learn. Find and learn from the masters.
Amrita Chandra
· 10 months ago
I love the idea of distilling things down to 3 words, which each have a world of meaning behind them. My three for 2009 are: Explore, Blossom, Love. Will expand on those in my own blog post later this week, thanks for the inspiration.
My three words are the three things I see as the critical drivers of change for the good in 2009. Twitter. iPhoneApps (OK, I cheated on that one), CrowdSourcing. And if I can squeeze in one more, GeoTracking. Details at: http://tinyurl.com/8nozta
elysa
· 10 months ago
This was fun for me, and I really enjoyed reading everyone else's as well. My 3 are Joy, Contribution & Journey. Joy: It’s very important to me to find and create joy both in my own life and those around me. For me joy manifests through creativity, music, cooking, reading, learning and being with my favorite people. I also think that it’s important to find a way to bring joy into otherwise mundane tasks. Life is too short to be grumpy for no reason. Contribution: Contributing as far as a goal for myself is about always working towards something bigger. It’s important to me that I’m contributing to my future and to the lives of others. My purpose in blogging to to contribute to and learn from the blogging community. Contribution is also about the small parts that make up the whole. Taking time out to do household tasks on a daily basis may not seem like much on a small scale but overall it contributes to creating peace and comfort in my home. In 2009 I will be contributing to my health, finances, & education specifically. Journey: “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson. As someone who is results & goal oriented I often have to remind myself that the journey is part of the fun. Celebrating accomplishments as they come instead of always striving to step up the next rung of the ladder.
Lee
· 10 months ago
My three words for 2009 are: Utilize: To utilize as many of my skill sets as I can in my work. Shape: I've planned a program of running and swimming to get me back into shape to run a marathon this year. Connect: The reason why I love working in social media and get such a kick out of helping clients connect to their audiences.
Great exercise! I'm passing this around to my friends. Cheers to all -- Lee
Tre ~
· 10 months ago
My three: a. Honda Shadow 750 b. Harp c. Halogens I know. They're nouns. But the enduring meaning behind them all are the motives or qualities of thought I'm seeking and intending and fully committing myself to demonstrate more of in 2009. Honda Shadow: taught myself how to ride one, change its battery, etc. Felt intimidating as hell intially. Has been a metaphor ever since for diving into the toughies, drowning myself in self instruction and enjoying the results. I'm applying honda shadow meaning for all things tech, esp. learning more about using social media for microfunding/sharing and partnering with like mindeds using social media to help/heal locally/globally.
Harp: I don't play and don't intend to learn. But the tranquil melodic calming tones of a harp remind me to find the beauty within the moment anywhere, everywhere, keep thought focused but remember to breathe and live this beauty day in and day out. Nothing should be so consuming we forget to exude our internal and external beauty or find it in all that surrounds us. (I actually got one of those sound makers and alternate it between harp sounds and the ocean).
3. Halogens. Chemistry labs in middle school were opps to play with fire and experiment. But too much of this causes unnecessary reacting and wastes my energies. I chose halogen (a non metal with 7 electrons) to remind me to really discern what merits / warrants my focus or attention, to not react to the small stuff or even sweat it, and to keep experimenting and trying new things.
Appreciated much your post. Tweeted it, shared on FB and referenced it in my blog for 2009. Happy New Year to you too! :)
Be well,
Jarrod - Warrior Development
· 10 months ago
Japanese - Learn the langauge Give - Blog and write on personal development Happy - Learn to be happier everyday
Darren (Green Change)
· 10 months ago
Mine would be:
clear - clear my mind, clear my backlog, clear my desk, and get clarity of focus
finish - finish what I start, do things one at a time, work towards a defined result
sustainability - live more sustainably, work at a sustainable pace, think long term, plant the seeds today that will fruit far into the future
johnhaydon
· 10 months ago
Chris,
My three words:
"You" - With every person - family, client, friend or stranger, give them my undivided attention - as if they're the only person on the planet.
"Birth" - Approach every challenge, every moment with complete freshness and vigor - a birth completely unfettered by the past.
"Pillar" - Do my very best every day to create value and happiness for others, realizing that I am just one pillar among trillions of meaningful but microscopic pillars in the universe.
John
Ananda Leeke
· 10 months ago
Happy New Year All.
This is a great exercise.
My three words are
Surrender - it reminds me to surrender my ego and need to control the outcome of my services and revenue streams.
Open - it reminds me to be open to new opportunities and experiences with sharing my services and receiving revenue streams from unexpected sources.
Center - it reminds me to keep myself centered with my daily self-care practices of prayer, meditation, yoga, affirmation, physical exercise, and positive thinking and speaking.
Inhale.Practice allowing Joy to rise within me as I breathe in and people and experiences exuding Joy will gravitate toward me. Exhale.Whenever I exhale, Peace and calm spread throughout my body and consciousness and therefore into my environment. Focus. When I focus on those qualities (Joy and Peace) as I inhale and exhale, everything else that I choose to focus upon meet no resistance, life flows.
Catherine Ford
· 10 months ago
My three words are going to be Education, Exploration, and Networking. I plan to concentrate on my doctoral degree (Education), delving into social media as deeply as I can (Exploration), and finding people (both online and offline) who can teach and inspire me or that I can teach or inspire (Networking).
Thanks for the great post!
DC Crowley
· 10 months ago
interesting how you call 'your community' an army. That changes the dynamics quite a bit. I hope you come to Europe some time to do this :)
tozgito
· 10 months ago
thanks for the much needed inspiration. here are my 3 words - center, connect and balance.
ExploreMyBlog
· 10 months ago
Dear Ecairn,
Thanx for providing us such a good post for read, I think it seems very useful for people who are linked with Social Media and Social networking.
I discovered another great blog for Social Media which completely covers Social media and Web2.0.
Chris, I just wrote a post on AR about your post encouraging people to come over here and read and think about their keywords. It really is about the doing and not just the writing and conversation. That aspect is fulfilling however it doesn't pay the bills. My three keyword for the year are: connect, share, build. Thanks for your work.
Jane Shattuck
· 10 months ago
I love this way of looking at the new year and by the number of responses you've had to this post, it's clearly an idea that resonates. Thank you. My three words are Share, Smile, and Slog ... Jane OneLoveBarbados blog
lenwood brown
· 10 months ago
Motivate. Delegate. Confidence.
Motivate. Myself and those around me to work faster, smarter and with purpose. To take pride in the work we do and not to settle for "good enough".
Delegate. Move tasks to the appropriate people instead of diddling them and wasting time. Use freelance experts to complete tasks and free you up to focus on MY work.
Confidence. Be confident with the genius' you surrounded yourself with and stand behind your gut. No second guesses, chances are your gut was right all along.
Holly Dilatush
· 10 months ago
Inspiring idea! I've twittered about it and will post to EnglishCafe about it, and will implement it personally --
I, too, like alliteration, and so have chosen:
Delight Demonstrate Disentangle [I love words; disentangle makes me want to dance -- I need more 'dance' in my life -- movement, joy, hope, exercise, fitness, etc. I also need to disentangle my body from sitting in front of the computer for tooooo long stretches at a time. I need to disentangle myself from the piles and piles and piles of 'to-do' lists -- sometimes with pragmatism, sometimes with determination and demonstrating "ta-dah! I did it!", sometimes by letting them go undone. Demonstrate reminds me of Ghandi's "Be the change you want to see in the world." quote... I love the word delight as an outward verb -- I usually use it in phrases like "I was delighted" -- but what an energizing difference in reminding myself to delight others on a daily basis -- love it! delight, demonstrate, disentangle. 2009, bring it on! Thanks, Chris!
bruce eric anderson
· 10 months ago
Chris: as always, thought-provoking post. Several years ago when I was running our internal communications function, I employed this approach to all the things we were doing to reach Dell employees.
Our three words were: Candor, transparency and dialogue.
It was through the lens of these three words that looked at everything we were doing. If something didn't hit at least one of those three, it would force us to look at what we were doing more closely.
So now you're causing me to consider applying a similar process to my personal/work life. After a bit of thought, my three words are:
Consistent: I am who I am, whether I'm at work, at home, with my family, friends or executives. I am one person, regardless which of my many hats I'm wearing. This brings a level of transparency to my work. I will be respectful but honest, truthful. Also, this word causes me to consider my life as a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be consistent in every aspect of my life.
Passion: For those who know me well, I would imagine most of them would not consider me not to be an outwardly passionate person. I am even-keeled. I am cool under pressure. I want to be passionate this year. I will be passionate this year.
Extend: there are two meanings of this word that I like. First, "to place at full length." In other words, to "extend" my God-given skills and interests to their fullest. The second (made up of two definitions), "to provide as an offer or grant and to postpone (the payment of a debt) beyond the time originally agreed upon." This aspect of extend goes beyond me. It is related to how I interact with colleagues, friends and family. I will extend patience and courtesy to my colleagues. I will extend love and friendship to my neighbors. I will extend grace and love to my wife and kids.
Thanks, Chris, for prompting a quick 2009 planning session this morning. I wasn't planning on doing this but it was cathartic and fruitful.
Happy New Year All!
bruceericatdell
Christi
· 10 months ago
Thanks for the insight. As has been stated previously, my response would indeed be lengthy and therefore requires it's own blog space. I'll be sure to post a link if I get that far. thanks again.
Rufus
· 10 months ago
Mine are: Walk, Poop, Blog Hey, I'm a dog people. Cut me some slack :-)
Ann Badillo
· 10 months ago
Swim--the current, in projects and revenue Grace--patience and compassion with family and friends Lands--see new lands, 5th decade, open space,new territory, new geos, new eyes
Erin Weed
· 10 months ago
Yesterday I wrote on my blog (http://erinweed.com) about things I learned in '08...today I wanted to figure out my personal vision for '09 and your post landed in my inbox. So thanks Chris, for always writing such great stuff. My 3 words:
1. Replicate (Train speakers to give my Girls Fight Back seminar around the world) 2. Mobilize (Ditch my office and overhead expenses to get lean, mean and mobile) 3. Family (Thinking about having kids...or does that fall under replicate? ha ha)
Carol Shockley
· 10 months ago
Okay, I've done it. I took my list and broke it out into 3 words well really items. I included just a few words to express what these items mean.
1. Rubber Band: I want to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Expand my heart in serving others. Mission/LifeGroup/Women Relationships
2. Paper Clip: Time Mgmt - Write/Share - Finances
3. Target: Daily Silence - Go Green -- Weekly Dates
Marie a/k/a Girl Friday Maine
· 10 months ago
Three words for 2009 Exploration (to explore all that I can accomplish through law of attraction, smart (not hard) work, belief and faith.)
Connection (to connect with others using social media, connect with others using local networking oppotunities, to connect with myself and be true to myself)
Alignment (to align my actions with my desires, to align my virtual assistant services with my clients needs, to align all facets of my being - material, emotional, spirtual).
Great blog post!
Carey
· 10 months ago
Present - be present in the moment with whatever I'm doing and the people I'm with at that time. Purpose - make sure I know why I'm doing things and committing time, attention and resource to them. Positive - appreciate all the tremendous blessings I have, focus on opportunity and remain optimistic, even in the midst of all the uncertainty around us.
Coach Colette
· 10 months ago
Great concept, Chris! I'll be expanding on your challenge on my blog. Here are my words:
1. Deepen – my connections with my family and friends; and with my clients and the people I attract into my network and circle of influence to create a true InStep team 2. Platform – build a visible platform from which to share my knowledge, skills, gifts and abilities; and to promote the knowledge, skills, gifts and abilities of my team 3. Leverage – my power, passions, skills, abilities, gifts, network to build the business and world I desire
Happy New Year!
Karen White
· 10 months ago
Inspire- I want to inspire and be inspired by others Growth- Any year without growth is time wasted. Action - Taking action on well thought out plans
Demian Farnworth
· 10 months ago
Kindness. Exalt. Teach.
Susan
· 10 months ago
Hi Chris, Thank you for making goal setting easier. I chose Educate, Expand & Exhale. I explained my choice at http://womensdish.typepad.com/the_womens_dish/2... with a link back to your post. Wishing you a great 2009!
stargardener
· 10 months ago
My three words?
— do. Act upon the tasks and projects I have planned for ...
— fail. Expecting failure expedites recovery and will get me back to "do."
Mine could be the slogan for a children's museum or any museum for that matter. Thanks for the guidance and motivation. Happy 2009!
Rich Tucker
· 10 months ago
For some odd reason I cannot get 3 words of Vanilla Ice from Ice Ice Baby Out of my head:
Stop. Collaborate. and Listen.
I like the three word goal process for the new year. I am going to use it, becaue it is simple and simple is usaully effective! I just have to get Vanilla Ice out of My head to find my 3 words, although Collaborate and Listen may be 2 of mine.
Rich Tucker
The Restaurant Mentor
· 10 months ago
Great Philosophy! Give me a day and i will post my three words.
Tom At The Home Business Archi
· 10 months ago
My goals for 2009 is to create more interesting content for my readers, keep up with my daily marketing plan and learn more about blogging and social media.
scott
· 10 months ago
I Will Balance My Life With Love!
After weeks of getting my act together I started to slip down a very slippery slope. It took Chris Brogan social media king to get me focused on my goals.
Thanks, Chris, for this excellent question. I have 4 words from 2008 that are still relevant for me in 2009 ... EMBRACE - Embrace the power of NOW ... focus on living every moment, without concern about the past or the future. FEEL - Feel everything that's happening in each moment ... be open to these feelings. ACT - Act now ... seize the moment, seize the day. DEFINE - Define myself by the person that I'm becoming, not who I've been or where I am now.
Amy
· 10 months ago
Experimentation - try something new. Fearlessness - go big. Passion - do it with gusto
Mika Kiviranta
· 10 months ago
Hey Chris!
Words are Learn, Engage and Action.
Learn: Read and learn more from social media/marketing and branding. We all are learners. Right?
Engage: Not just learn but be there also. Blog, comment, tweet or what ever is on the way. Chris, reading you about six months and yet this is my first comment here.
Action: Learned much, but there has to be action! Lurking way too long. Web site is still a static showcase. Must finish that blog design and start finally blogging. Is there any other lurkers around? Challenge for 2009, take action!
Happy New Year
Ellen Naylor
· 10 months ago
Happy New Year Everyone!
Listen to others, what's said/written and what's left unsaid
Learn from other's knowledge sharing in its many forms and from criticism
Expand my horizons, colleagues, reading, social media
Deb New
· 10 months ago
Inspire -- others and myself Trust -- enough said Fun -- have and make lots of it!
Chris, Thanks for the inspiration to simplify and focus!
My 3 words: Breathe, flex, unencumber
Breathe in other perspectives. Breathe more of life into my being though increased social interaction.
Flex my mind and body. Move more, through exersize, travel, and getting out with friends, family, colleagues & associates.
Unencumber my life by throwing off old behaviors and habits that don't work any more. Simplify. Find the light and the lightness.
Susan Kitchens
· 10 months ago
Core. Realize. Connect.
Core: from taking care of my abs and back (intermittent back pain), this is about taking care of myself. Physically. Walking. And also about focusing on those things that are central, versus peripheral. (I like the layered meanings of this approach!)
Realize. To make real. I originally thought "execute" but that's, well, too terminal and gallows-ish. Others on the synonymous short-list: build, enact, implement. This is all the step-by-step work that makes something happen, versus the blue-skying part of creativity to dream up new dreams.
Connect. Communicate with others. Keep in touch. Make a point to get out of my little cave and make connections with others. Make and maintain connections.
Between this post and Christopher Penn's, I spent some time thinking about 2009. My three words/goals are:
Explore - this, to me, is more than "learn" which seems too passive. I'm thinking in terms of not just learning from what comes to me, but also seeking out new ideas and experiences. Connect - not keeping these experiences to myself, but sharing them, discussing them, and connecting with the people around them. Dare - doing something with this new knowledge and experience. making myself uncomfortable by stepping out from behind the screen, desk, door - any barrier - and doing new things. Leaving this comment, strange as it may seem to some more prolific people, is an example of that, since this is like my 10th ever comment on a blog.
I often think it, but I'll say it now: thanks for sharing and encouraging.
Michael Durwin
· 10 months ago
I've been giving 2009 a great deal of thought. This is a year of many changes for me (not to mention everyone else). I got laid off, which leaves the direction of my career open to new possibilities. I'm having my first child, which means a whole new set of responsibilities. 2009 is also a year of financial crisis and a new government. All of this has made me think hard about what I want to do with 2009.
Focus - I get alot of ideas, it can be distracting and disruptive. I plan on writing them all down but choosing a few to focus on. That also means focusing on one thing at a time, be it work or family. Multi-tasking is overrated. Persist - what I've decided to focus on my not immediately come to fruition. I will not let set backs discourage me from following through. Forward - think ahead of the curve, even if it's not practical. This means I need to keep learning too.
mixtmedia
· 10 months ago
LISTEN: inside (gut instincts, passions) & outside (friends, family, clients, contacts, social media discourse) COLLABORATE: create, but better by engaging with others YOGA: be present, calm, focused
Danielle
· 10 months ago
Thanks for this exercise and all the brave people who have shared theirs and helped me shape mine!
Invite - even more peace, joy, love and laughter to my life Assess - the opportunities I'm given and invite more analysis into my decision making Colour - colour inside the lines, outside the lines, without lines; in marker, in crayon, on Twitter, by text message, on my blog, in my new job, for my future. By myself, with others. Seek the colour in people, art, ideas. Meet artists, work around art, be an artist. And finally, stop wearing so much grey.
What a great topic. I spent some time thinking about this one. I was finally able to land on three words that didn't seem to overlap too much. Here's what I got:
Light – I want to make sure that I remain open to new ideas. That I develop new ways to communicate ideas to others and that I can maintain a theme of constant enlightenment throughout the year. I also want to light the path for others to do the same thing. And I want to lighten the burden of as many folks as I can through charitable efforts.
Eliminate – I want to get rid of everything extra in my life. Weight. Clutter. Noise disguising itself as information. Good riddance!
Play – Play with my kids more. Play my guitar. Play golf. Play raquetball. Play along with other people’s practical jokes. Play with my wife. All of these things and more are where the inspiration for great ideas come from. It’s not a mystery, it’s life, and I’m choosing to play my way through every chance I get.
Amy
· 10 months ago
Ever since I read this blog entry, I have been trying to think about my three words for the year 2009. At this time, I have managed to come up with only one. I may even leave it at that because when the word came to me I had to drop everything and start writing about the word and what it meant to me. So here goes.
My word is "active." I will strive to be more active in the following areas of my life:
1. personal finance--I will be active with my money, investments and retirement accounts by creating CD ladders with the emergency money, investing money in peer to peer lending, and maxing out my ROTH IRA. I will also be active in learning more about personal finance through reading PF blogs on the internet, reading PF books from the library and signing up for local PF classes and/or lectures.
2. health--I will be active with my health and the health of the earth. This includes bicycle riding around town for errands instead of driving and actively seeking out local and organic foods to eat. I will actively reduce clutter in my apartment by donating, selling, recycling, or throwing away unwanted items and actively prevent more clutter from coming in by carefully deciding what to spend my money on.
I sure did enjoy this exercise because it made me sit down and think about all the ways in which to be "active" for 2009. Thank you for the blog post and the challenge. Happy New Year everyone!
TeriRN
· 10 months ago
What a challenge! My 3 words are Consistent, Share, Absorb. I blogged about them on my blog site, www.realcaring.blogspot.com. Thanks for your insights and challenges.
Teri
Di Eats the Elephant
· 10 months ago
Food Water Exercise
To Thine Own Self be True....and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
Lynn
· 10 months ago
My 3 words are reestablish, exposure and belief for which I also posted a blog. Posted on http://activerain.com/blogsview/865702/My-3-Goa.... Thank you for taking the time to always share your advice. I am amazed at what you do.
@JoselinMane
· 10 months ago
Focus - Focus on what is important right now. I get involved with many projects and I found sometime I think about the next or last project and sometimes lose focus on the current project. Because I have and love to work on many exciting projects Focus is essential for success.
Consistency - Since I am extremely ambitious one vital key for success is taking action on the fundamentals. If I don't do the small things everyday, I find that things in my life are suddenly out of place and disorganized. It's like when you don't take the time each day to wipe the kitchen cabinets and then one day you look up and see all the grease dust on the cabinets and it just seems like it appeared out of nowhere. And then I have to spend an hour cleaning all the cabinets, when it all could have been prevented with a little consistent maintenance.
Share - Lastly, focus on consistently Sharing all the research and resources I have created to a larger audience. I have spent so much time over the last few years researching and creating documents on the resources that I use online, I want to share these with people, I know that what I have created can enrich peoples lives and will help them be successful. So a major goal for me is to share what I have learned. I have created several simplification guides similar to the SocialMediaKit that I shared last year. I am relaunching my blog JoselinMane.com to have one centralized place for people to come get the information that I will give them, people have given me so much lately and i feel that to keep the giving cycle flowing it is my responsibility to share as much as I can.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Bobby Kircher
· 10 months ago
Develop, Health, Share.
DJ Waldow
· 10 months ago
Chris -
As I said in my tweet (http://idek.net/1H0), thanks for making me THINK. Love it.
My (4) goals for 2009 are BEEP: Breathe. Engage. Energize. Prioritize
Breathe: My battery is always going, always on. Sometimes I need to stop and think. Stop and focus. Stop and breathe. Also, breathe applies to getting into better shape. I'm running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC in April. Need to make sure I take time to train (aka, Breathe). Finally, breathe just means taking time to focus on the stuff that really matters.
Engage: This has a few meanings as well. I want to engage others around me - those in my circle and those I don't even know (yet). Engage also refers to projects. Engage clients. Engage prospects. Engage internal stakeholders. Engage "the community."
Energize: This one is about remaining positive and getting those around me fired up. Life is too short to be boring, to sleep too much, to not be energized. 2009 is about using my energy to get others pumped.
Prioritize: I'm the kind of guy who loves everything. As you know, this makes it hard to focus as the list of things that gets me fired up continues to grow. 2009 will be about focusing on the things that matter the most and/or those I can control.
Again, thanks Chris for providing an opportunity to really think. You rock.
@djwaldow
Lara Kretler
· 10 months ago
Focus, core and balance. I love this idea - so much better than the wordy resolutions/goals I've come up with in years past. Thanks, Chris!
Tabitha Dunn
· 10 months ago
My three words for 2009:
1) Breathe - the year to do what it takes to breathe better
2) Pocket - make more pockets of one-on-one time for those I love
3) Fearless - act as I'm not afraid to fail
Jill Browne
· 10 months ago
Wow, what an approach. I really must give this some thought. Thanks for this post - now I need time to digest it.
Happy New Year.
BTW I think you must have inspired the Eat Pray Love person!
Deirdre Reid
· 10 months ago
Serve -- Find ways to help others (both those I know and those I don't) and help organizations. This always feels good.
Social -- What's life about really? Relationships. So being social in the real world and online. Nurturing friendships both near and far. Expanding my circle.
Stretch -- Grow, extend my comfort zone, take risks, try new things, make changes, and discoveries. Learn learn learn.
Толковые советы! очень полезно, особенно для тех кто ведет свой бизнес! Очень информативно!
Tina Williams
· 10 months ago
Know--Like--Trust
These three words have been part of my life and my business for as long as I can remember but this year I am going to make sure I am actively living my life and conducting my business using the KLT Factor. By example we shall lead.
To your success in 2009 and a huge thanks for being an Exceptional Reflection in my life!
@bestreflections
Karen McCullough
· 10 months ago
Hey Chris, I am new follower- thanks for teaching- 2008 and 2009 are devoted to learning- my words are quality - energy and fun, and I am having fun reading your stuff and blogging!
My friend Karen suggested I take up your challenge and suggest three words, then post to your blog. Here they are:
Proof - Getting results isn't enough. Great results clearly demonstrate my skill, vision, passion and professional relevance. They prove that my success is no fluke, and that it's worth sharing.
Relevance - If what I accomplish isn't incandescent with humanity, how can it be relevant to more than a small circle of friends? And if it isn't relevant enough to move strangers to greater accomplishments, then why go to the trouble of doing it? And if what we do isn't worth doing, aren't we just wasting space?
Hope - However big our dream, nothing is certain; ultimately, all we can say is "We'll see." But making others feel more special, every chance we get, makes it more likely that our dream will come true. Thus, hope is an expression of humanity.
Virginia Bare
· 10 months ago
Courage--to be the truth, come what will, come what may Simplicity--nothing needs to be as complicated as we have made it Flow--it isn't about right and wrong, its about keeping moving and getting out of your own way--you can't change what is--only your reaction to it
Heather Allard
· 10 months ago
Chris, My 3 words for 2009 are:
Focus-on myself/my health, my family, my blog & my ever-growing love of photography
Prosper-after 2 years of forced voluntary simplicity, I'm hoping to prosper from my writing, my blog & maybe even my photography. I've come to love the simple life, I'm just looking to earn a bit to contribute to my family income.
Seek-happiness, joy, love, living in the moment, laughter & fun.
Thanks for stretching my mind & heart. Wishing you love, laughter & prosperity in 2009.
Heather The Mogul Mom
lepflume
· 10 months ago
Обилие интересных статей на вашем сайте меня поражает! Автору - удачи и новых интересных постов!
Ideriniaweela
· 10 months ago
Всегда приятно читать умных людей. Спасибо!
Mick Galuski
· 10 months ago
I've only got my first word so far: Execute
Execute - I settled on this word because of another blog entry from Chris Brogan. It mentioned: instead of striving for perfection strive for execution. Very good advice for me. I think too much and act to little - trying to come up with the perfect solution rather than making incremental progress.
thanks for giving my mind the nudge it needed!
melaniekissell
· 10 months ago
Chris,
I have two sets of three ...
Immediate Massive Action
And ...
Read Chris Brogan!
Have a Magical and Meaningful 2009! ~Melanie
Женя
· 10 months ago
Готова перечитать статью ещё раз. Хороший матерьял и написанно просто! ТО что надо.
Tim Geraghty
· 10 months ago
My 3 words may not be as abstract as most, but I think they'll work for me: Learn. Laser-focus. Laugh.
Alpaca Farmgirl
· 10 months ago
Chris, what did you mean by "farms" as your goal in 2008? As a farmer, I'm dying to find out.
Tannis
· 10 months ago
My three words for 2009...SPARK, SETTLED, SURE. I want to re-ignite the enthusiasm I have always used to get me through life to this point and use it to kick-start others in their own goals. A SPARK is often all it takes to get ideas off the ground; start a fire of activity; inspire and comfort. I am making it my goal for 2009 to be a spark and to sparkle every day for my well being and for the encouragement of others. Being SETTLED has not been easy as I travel so much and often live out of a suitcase but I have come to the realization that I can be settled wherever I am if I am settled with who I am and what I am doing. This is going to take an evaluation of the things I do; where I spend my time and with whom. It will also mean being settled with decisions I have made so I can forgive myself for past mistakes and feel freer to move forward with confidence and less anxiety about the future. Finally, to be SURE will mean I am relying on God for my every need. That He has a greater plan and I am in it. Sure in my abilities and talents. Sure in where I am headed. Sure in my love for others and my ability to trust the love I receive. Sure that my feet are grounded in the knowledge I have gained in the past and my willingness to use those learnings to help me in whatever opportunties and challenges I meet up with in the days to come.
elizabeth!
· 10 months ago
I just found your site today... but this is something I've been doing for a while.
I used to make 10 resolutions, framed in the past tense (i.e. "I have ___."). That was a great idea I got from Mawi Asgedom, who's an author and motivational speaker and friend of mine from my Harvard days.
Now I use just three ideas because I find I can always remember them, and for 2009 they are:
FOCUS SIMPLIFY BE KIND
P.S. In 2008, one of my credos was "EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES" - and I knocked that one out of the park! :)
Marc A. Pitman, FundraisingCoa
· 10 months ago
Strategize | Execute | Enjoy
Grey Leonard
· 9 months ago
Paste Good Rabies
James
· 8 months ago
My three words Time : is money knowledge : is power Health : is wealth
joe07
· 6 months ago
I've been using Dax Moy's MAGIC Hundred and it's great! I've achieved more of my goals in the last 30 days than I did all last year. It's simple, straightforward, easy to read and VERY easy to follow.
I've been using Dax Moy's MAGIC Hundred and it's great! I've achieved more of my goals in the last 30 days than I did all last year. It's simple, straightforward, easy to read and VERY easy to follow.
All Comments
Cheers and Happy New Year.
Back to yours Chris from 2006, Share - A great believer that sharing will bring rewards over and above other ways of using Social Media.
Charity - This year will be a Charity focus year already have some pots boiling to connect charities and Social Media in a non-commercial sense.
I have a lot of goals and I feel totally energized to make them happen!
http://shoedaydreams.blogspot.com/2008/12/2009-...
Luv
Poochie
More
Wine
All the best Chris for a Happy New year. Thanks for all the inspirational posts during 08.
Cheers, a
My 3 words for 2009 are Motivation, Communication and Implementation.
2008 was definitely a 'learning' year for me, 2009 will be taking all that I have learned and implementing forward.
Happy New Year and what a great idea this is!
I think more detail needs a post but here are my three words for the year:
Fitness, Diversification, Profile.
My post should be up on January 2nd, 2009.
Debt, Family, Buffer
Debt: I am stuck in a bad debt spot right now, but have a plan to get out. Just takes time. At least all of 2009 I am sure.
Family: Spend more time with the family. I don't spend enough quality time with my kids and I am basically going through a slow divorce. I want to focus less on myself and more on them.
Buffer: I lost my job due this recession. I was caught basically with my pants down and no savings. This is going to take the whole year as well. I want to build a nice buffer to counter emergencies. I never want to be in this situation again.
This is a very interesting approach to goal setting. I'll need to think on it a bit and see if it will work for me.
Seek - seek people more experienced and knowlegeable and connect with them, online and offline
Learn - learn from others, learn several things new each day
Share - give back to the community by sharing, however little
- Howard Johnson
Love
Expand
Guide
My Three:
E-X-P-A-N-D My network, knowledge and connections
Execute - more doing, less talking and planning
Enhance - the lives of EVERYONE I encounter...
My Mantra, Mission and What I hope to help clients do in the days, months and years to come...
http://www.twitter.com/stacijshelton
Control: No, I don't want to control the world, but in 2009, I need to take "control of my emotions, & better control of finances, try not to spend to much! Plus, I need to control my fear and challenge myself to do things I have been afraid to do in the past.
Listen: Speaks for itself, just be a better listener all around for everyone.
Action: Just do it!!! That simple.
Design-- Think, plan, and come up with a design for living that is sustainable. Good designs are the platform on which to build.
Develop -- learn, grow, and implement
Engage -- Get out more,. both in the cyber and real world and connect with people.
Happy new year and all the best for 2009.
Leverage. Assess. Cliff.
leverage opportunities, and my own skill set better, smarter, more efficiently. Stop pushing and working so hard, and move onto leveraging more.
Assess said opportunities, as well as requests, and learn to say no, as well as when to leap.
find the cliffs. jump off them. trust I will fly.
Educate healthcare providers about Frontotemporal Dementia
Inspire organizations, corporations, and individuals to donate money and resources for research of Frontotemporal Dementia
Listen and provide a ear to those caregivers in need of a friend that understands what they are going through
Xray - to see through (people's defenses to who they really are / want to be)
- to intuit the truth of a situation
Cheetah - for the image of strength and power, running in nature
:-)
Thanks. I enjoyed that.
JB
Execute This one is straight from Guy Kawasaki (i.e. ideas are easy, execution is hard) - less think, more execute.
Identity Establishing an online brand (something I've only just begun) is an interesting and valuable exercise. It's like your "personal business plan." Hmm, sounds like a blog post.
No Many people would frown upon framing a goal from a negative perspective. However, I have to learn to "just say no" more often. Otherwise, people and customers are let down.
Thanks, Chris. As usual, you've managed to serve up important ideas in bite-sized chunks.
Teach - This is a big year for me, as an individual. I'm teaching various travel writing workshops in international destinations, organizing gatherings of travel industry peeps, and have taken on more consulting jobs in my field.
Travel - This is a given every year for me with family and with friends, but this year I plan on taking a short walkabout to regroup and reflect on who I am (and get away from my home area where five minutes alone is a gift in itself or someplace that isn't for work reasons). It may sound selfish to some, but as a mother and a wife, I just need that soul recharge, and fortunately my husband and children are understanding of this. I don't do this every year, but gosh dog it, everyone should do this at least once in their life. I'm Mom and I'm a wife, but I am also Me.
Learn
Lead
Chris-
Thanks for all you do. Happy New Year.
BELIEVE - in myself. Without belief and trust in self, there is no moving forward.
RECEIVE - I'm a giver, and too often I don't accept the help others offer me (or Idon't ask for it) and then we both miss out on great opportunties. Not accepting help, skills and gifts from others takes away their chance to be who they want to be.
BE - in the moment. I'm sometimes so wrapped up in what could have/should have been that I forget about the now. And other times I'm so concerned about the future I'm not working on what I can do right this moment to achieve my goals.
Without believing in myself nothing else matters, without receiving from others leaves me on my own, and being in the moment will help me focus and make things happen.
I'll be back later with my words, want to give them some thought. Thanks so much for this.
Lisa
People. Looking forward to meeting many people smarter than me in 09 and learning, sharing and collaborating with them.
Results. At the end of the day, this is what it's all about. Keen focus on outcomes.
Thanks, Chris. You always get me thinking.
2. Retronym
3. Tri-band
Keep. (Appointments, promises, resolutions.)
Connect. (People to one another, people to ideas, to people for growth, learning and friendship.)
Live. Laugh. Love.
:)
Management - Lead, Communicate, Empower
Business - Build, Grow, Expand
Personal - Believe,, Achieve, Enjoy
Clients - Serve, Empower, Value
Spiritual - Serve, Appreciate, Honor
I love this practice, and totally agree with the 'push vs pull' analogy. What a difference, huh? Allowing the pull of personal meaning and the vision of the future it would/could/can create adds real depth and scope to the whole goals/resolutions thing, AND leaves all kinds of room for things n people that simple can't be expected or conceived of yet to join forces and help make the vision real and what meaningful about more than just us.
My three? Well - actually - I have four (always been an over-achiever!):
Ignite Convene Edify Let Loose
Share my knowledge.
Improve in many things that I need to.
Learn several things (specially cooking).
Fantastic concept Chris. I really liked this post.
Epitaph : Live life so that I have no regrets when its my time to take stock. I'll go out with a smile (self actualization)
Solve : Going to continue to fulfill a lifelong sense of purpose by solving some of the worlds most complex problems. You heard me....I said it here...
Focus: Don't let the world steal my focus. It tries so very hard.
Love people more with actions.
Help people by doing for them whatever I can.
Persist through my inevitable failures.
These come from my resolutions post here: http://imseekingbalance.com/2008/12/30/new-year...
Authentic. Be who I am. Express who I am. Leverage who I am.
Connect. Work WE not Me.
Engage. Engage fully in whatever I am doing while I am doing it and foster the engagement of others.
I'm going to learn to be comfortable in my own skin, and be who I'm meant to be. And not let others try to twist and mold me in to what they want me to be. I'm a unqiue being, not a clone. I'm going to learn to accept my self too and learn to allow others in.
2) Cultivate
My Christian faith is important to me, but I've not nurtured it over the last year, so I've stagnated. As well as that, I plan to read a different book every month other than programming manuals.
3) Reality
One of my all time favourite quotes comes from a Star Wars movie, "your focus determines your reality." So I think it's time for a focus shift from the negative, I've done that for too long, and to live in the moment, and learn from past failings, not be burdened with them and let them get me down.
Thanks for sharing yours Chris :)
Emyr (aka @welshboy2008)
I cannot write here everything these words mean to me and what they relate to. I am also pretty sure the meaning will be altered as the year proceeds. But, most importantly, all three can be performed in, regarded from and/or aimed at different angles and directions. They are all processes and actions.
Writing this comment is the first time this year I make use of my 3 words goals.
:)
Figure out what you need to do
Eliminate distractions
Git 'er done
My three 2009 words are what I already incorporate into my DNA:
Learn - is an "always on" concept for me and something in which I find in whatever I do and with whomever I come in contact. It's a powerful word that creates opportunities to teach others.
Love - everything I do so I can instill passion in others from a professional and personal standpoint.
Lead - by example and provide guidance to people and businesses in an effort to help them grow.
Thanks for all you do, Chris.
Stars: As in reaching for them. I have some great ideas for '09.
Ears: I want to keep mine open. I have met some wonderful folks over the last few years and I want to take every opportunity to listen to what those folks are saying.
PROJECT - project myself into my communities, raise awareness for the work I do, foster meaningful connection to others
REALIZE - a combination of 'execute' and 'achieve excellent results', materialize dreams
LIVE - breathe deeply, take chances, do new things i might love and old things i still love, get rid of stuff that slows me down or doesn't reflect who i want to be, embrace my health and opportunities
:
Learn - Take the opportunity of my job loss to apprentice myself to folks doing what I want to do - earn a living not tied to any location.
Bold - Robert Frost wrote "Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference." When I come to the forks in life this year, I need to choose the bold and risky path and leave the safe route to others.
2. Blessing - live a life that focuses on blessing others - beginning with those closest to me.
3. Ownership - choose to say "yes" only to those things that line up with my purpose and passion (always remembering the need to eat), and then own them.
I bet this would work fantastically well with Dave Seah's Groundhog Day resolutions principle which gives you a GHD style framework for regularly reviewing your resolution throughout the year:
http://davidseah.com/blog/groundhog-day-resolutions/
Honesty.Compassion.Knowledge
Work - let things work, let work come, let work be done.
Talk - Speak up, communicate, relate and get the other talking
TRANSMUTE - To transmute is to change in form. I always say that I'll never change and I'll grow. So this is about growing from one thing to the other, or the next if you will. A forward movement of acceptance which allows you to recognize that which you want to change ergo allowing it to exist.
THE THREE L's - Just like the three inseparable monkeys that speak no evil, hear no evil and see no evil - I have three things that are inseparable and those are to live big, laugh bigger and love the biggest. This here is the recipe to be great. All in moderation and all in balance.
Those are my three choice goals to resonate through my new year.
Blessings and peace be upon you...
Synthesize.
Delegate.
Do things; don't plan to the exclusion of action, every act of learning should also have a tangible creation at the end of it that I can use. Every hobby should have something to show for it (this means no video games, unless I'm making them or something.)
Synthesize efforts; if I'm cooking, I clean at the same time.
Delegate; speaks for itself. But also, I'm not going to shy from paying for things I need done, even if I can do them myself, if it means it gets done better, faster, or I can do something more important.
- Patience: flow and adapt; time is a friend, not an enemy
- Serve: (a) God, (b) clients, (c) community
- Inspire: through knowledge and actions -- at work, at home, at volunteer activities
Undress - Get more comfortable revealing who I am and what I'm about and trust that'll be enough.
Treasure - Spend more time acknowledging, embracing and thanking those who make each day amazing.
Inspire
Receive
I appreciate you for sharing with all of us!
Identity - be me, be the best me, brand it
Productivity - be focused and productive - walk the talk.
Share - to empower & improve the lives of others
Thanks again, Chris, for a great idea that I will also be using in my personal life and sharing with others. Three words are certainly much easier to identify with and memorize than an unending mission statement. In fact, because it is so focused I find it more energizing and motivating.
Live joyfully with gratitude! ~Janis
http://www.soulhuntre.com/2009/01/01/3-words/
The words I picked? Sovereignty, Allegiance, Indulgence.
Ken
Mine: Pepper. Magic. Thinkshare.
Pepper: Make life more interesting for people. Don’t be bland. Be addititive. Be peppy. Do things just for fun.
Magic: I’m always amazed by how, when things are done well, it seems like magic. This year I’d like to create more.
Thinkshare: I always wanted to coin a new word. A reminder to myself that thinking is always important, but does no good whatsoever unless that thinking is shared with others.
Sustain - Sustain the momentum I developed in 2008 and push it into overdrive.
Evolve - Refuse to live in the same mold that made my life stagnant in the past. Stay young at heart and continue to evolve physically, spiritually, and mentally.
1) Connect
2) Practice
3) Enjoy
Great article Chris!
1. Pray
2. Minister
3. Write
Great concept in planning your new year's goals with three words. Powerful way to keep them in front of you! My words for the year are;
Inspire
Grow
Build
Thanks for the inspiration and wishing you all the best in 2009!
Create - because we are all creative beings, and anything that we see around us is evidence of our creation. I have several things in my head that need to be birthed and created, so 2009 is all about bringing some of those ideas to fruition.
Inspire - Because when you create things that are true to ourselves, a natural by-product is inspiration - for others and even ourselves
Serve - We all have our own work to do, whether its serving our families, communities and profession. This year my goal is to use the 2 words listed above to expand the way in which I can be of service to help others get what they want. Then enjoy the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes along with doing good things.
Thanks Chris for a great 2008, I'm looking forward to all there is to learn in 2009!
Balance: Each of us needs to learn and employ better balance in our lives. If we do (contribute our best to all aspects) the world will be a better place.
Stewardship: We must remember the many dimensions of our responsibility.
Energy(ize) Jump in enthusiastically, always, with positive, creative, quality, and professional spirit.
Momentum--keep things moving forward
Execution--stop talking and start doing
Funnel--find what is meaningful
Hustle
Engage
Share
Good luck to everyone this year!
Aware noticing differences, taking off blinders, creating new vision.
Love cherishing myself, family, others more actively and unconditionally
I want to focus on the future, not the past. I want to love people and show it. I want to serve people in practical ways - ways that require effort and sacrifice.
LEARN
TRY
One-of-a-kind: Favor uniqueness. Break free from sameness often.
Extraordinary: Seek out the extraordinary. Recommend people doing great things.
Choices: Make smart choices. Follow people making smart choices.
Here are my 3:
Believe
Focus
Write
I'm lovin' 2009.
Great post...
Here are my three words:
1. Change.
2. Story.
3. Funny.
Great start to 2009.
I'll expand on these over on my blog...
Watch Nick Vujicic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sa8DyaYapw
Meaning - help others find meaning in what they do, and ensure that everything we do aligns with our core purpose.
Mapping - better planning. Map out where we want to be by the end of the year and how we plan to get there. Check and realign our navigation regularly along the way.
Mobile - get out of the office more to meet more people face to face. At the same time, learn more about tools that help with communication on the go. (Have made a start on this one already by getting a Twitter account started today - Yes!)
Alignment -- Of my values, my passions, my work and my life
Fitness -- Mental and physical fitness to help me pursue the other pieces of my goals
Connection -- Building connectivity with others in personal and professional life, particularly with my husband, but also with people in the social media world and other communities
I explain it all here.
My three words: Inspiration, Communication, Collaboration.
Health - in 2009 i look to create sustainable lifestyle changes around nutrition, fitness and work/personal balance
Stage - 2009 is the year I will cut my teeth and get my presenting skills to a level that I can present in any situation. Practice, Practice, Practice.
My three are Participate, Network, and Discover. I will do everything within my power to make 2009 count.
also a 4th = "Settlin" to remind me to NOT settle (as in the song).
Shalom in 2009.
It's a familiar acronym that stands for Financially Independent Retire Early. It also symbolizes keeping the home fires burning - taking care of my relationships. Finally when I see that word I think of metabolism so it's a constant reminder to think of eating quality food and keeping fitness levels high.
Empower - I know it's an overused word, but it fits what I want to do
Authority - work on increasing my authority by learning and practice
Those are what came quickly to mind after reading your blog post. So many other clever ones in the comments though! I could particularly use three words Brian Monahan wrote in his comment - practice, practice, practice. So maybe I'll have six words.
2. Share - reminds me that the more I share with others, the more reward I'll get back.
3. Innovate - reminds me to use creativity to re-create the things I'd like to be different.
Best - John Moore
Brilliant post. It's so easy to forget my goals, because they're so long and hard to remember. Three words, though - I can handle that!
John
Best, Jeff Korhan
My words were Flow, Naked, and Start.
Flow - Flow with life. Enjoy the moment. Everything is perfect all the time. Relax and trust yourself.
Naked - Get naked at any opportunity. No, no, no, not that. Begin to live openly and honestly, express yourself to the people around and the world. Become naked, emotionally.
and finally,
Start - start breaking free of comfort, start breaking free of detrimental routines, start living and loving.
Simple - no matter what you do and who you do it for or with, keep pushing yourself and others to grow. You can never have enough information ammunition, and the day we stop learning is the day we creativity and industriousness dies with it.
Clean
Compassionate
http://tinyurl.com/9nqupv
2. Share
3. Gutter
http://kemmeyer.typepad.com/less_clutter_noise/...
Learn
Lead
Shed - Get rid of what's not working (including weight); store more of the good.
Convey - Work at making my writing and communication be more impactful.
Strengthen - Improve the foundation that I'm building on (including finances).
It's great how simplifying goals in this way actually makes them even more powerful and definitely more memorable. Great idea! Thanks!
Right now, my three words are:
Partner, Create, Believe.
Partner, because I know in order to reach my goals, I cannot (hard as I have tried in the past!) do it all myself. AND because this year my partner and I are beginning our life together. I want to keep the idea of partnership first and foremost in my mind.
Create: This could also be the word "more". I want to create more - create more content, create more ideas, create more believers, leaders, followers, understanding, opportunities, joy.
Believe: Too many ideas have died because I didn't believe in them enough, or in myself enough, or in the ability of others enough to keep them alive and help them flourish.
Happy New Year to you all!
Plan. Act. Enjoy.
Plan for what I want to experience or accomplish.
Act to make it a reality.
Enjoy the results.
Strangely, it's the Enjoy part where I've mostly fallen down in the past.
2. Harvest - I have planted plenty of seeds, go harvest the ones that are ready.
3. Nurture - Keep nurturing the seeds that have not ripened yet. There are a lot of people that will do more if you help them figure out how.
Thank you as always.
Improve - Get better.
Introduce - Connect more cool people to each other.
Incite - Get my butt moving, incite myself to action. Stop procrastinating. Attack the list with vim and vigor.
My words are: Streamline, Weaving, Einstein
Here's the post
http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/01/my-g...
I'm off to make a screensaver of the visuals to keep in front of my face for the year
Go get 'em, everybody! Here's wishing us all the best of everything.
Grow. Continue to expand what I do, find out what works and what is helpful, and do more of it.
Learn. Find and learn from the masters.
Get busy living or get busy dying
My 3 are Joy, Contribution & Journey.
Joy: It’s very important to me to find and create joy both in my own life and those around me. For me joy manifests through creativity, music, cooking, reading, learning and being with my favorite people. I also think that it’s important to find a way to bring joy into otherwise mundane tasks. Life is too short to be grumpy for no reason.
Contribution: Contributing as far as a goal for myself is about always working towards something bigger. It’s important to me that I’m contributing to my future and to the lives of others. My purpose in blogging to to contribute to and learn from the blogging community. Contribution is also about the small parts that make up the whole. Taking time out to do household tasks on a daily basis may not seem like much on a small scale but overall it contributes to creating peace and comfort in my home. In 2009 I will be contributing to my health, finances, & education specifically.
Journey: “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson. As someone who is results & goal oriented I often have to remind myself that the journey is part of the fun. Celebrating accomplishments as they come instead of always striving to step up the next rung of the ladder.
Utilize: To utilize as many of my skill sets as I can in my work.
Shape: I've planned a program of running and swimming to get me back into shape to run a marathon this year.
Connect: The reason why I love working in social media and get such a kick out of helping clients connect to their audiences.
Great exercise! I'm passing this around to my friends. Cheers to all -- Lee
a. Honda Shadow 750
b. Harp
c. Halogens
I know. They're nouns. But the enduring meaning behind them all are the motives or qualities of thought I'm seeking and intending and fully committing myself to demonstrate more of in 2009.
Honda Shadow: taught myself how to ride one, change its battery, etc. Felt intimidating as hell intially. Has been a metaphor ever since for diving into the toughies, drowning myself in self instruction and enjoying the results. I'm applying honda shadow meaning for all things tech, esp. learning more about using social media for microfunding/sharing and partnering with like mindeds using social media to help/heal locally/globally.
Harp: I don't play and don't intend to learn. But the tranquil melodic calming tones of a harp remind me to find the beauty within the moment anywhere, everywhere, keep thought focused but remember to breathe and live this beauty day in and day out. Nothing should be so consuming we forget to exude our internal and external beauty or find it in all that surrounds us. (I actually got one of those sound makers and alternate it between harp sounds and the ocean).
3. Halogens. Chemistry labs in middle school were opps to play with fire and experiment. But too much of this causes unnecessary reacting and wastes my energies. I chose halogen (a non metal with 7 electrons) to remind me to really discern what merits / warrants my focus or attention, to not react to the small stuff or even sweat it, and to keep experimenting and trying new things.
Appreciated much your post. Tweeted it, shared on FB and referenced it in my blog for 2009.
Happy New Year to you too! :)
Be well,
Give - Blog and write on personal development
Happy - Learn to be happier everyday
clear - clear my mind, clear my backlog, clear my desk, and get clarity of focus
finish - finish what I start, do things one at a time, work towards a defined result
sustainability - live more sustainably, work at a sustainable pace, think long term, plant the seeds today that will fruit far into the future
My three words:
"You" - With every person - family, client, friend or stranger, give them my undivided attention - as if they're the only person on the planet.
"Birth" - Approach every challenge, every moment with complete freshness and vigor - a birth completely unfettered by the past.
"Pillar" - Do my very best every day to create value and happiness for others, realizing that I am just one pillar among trillions of meaningful but microscopic pillars in the universe.
John
This is a great exercise.
My three words are
Surrender - it reminds me to surrender my ego and need to control the outcome of my services and revenue streams.
Open - it reminds me to be open to new opportunities and experiences with sharing my services and receiving revenue streams from unexpected sources.
Center - it reminds me to keep myself centered with my daily self-care practices of prayer, meditation, yoga, affirmation, physical exercise, and positive thinking and speaking.
Write
Learn
Thank
Efficiency
(Personal) Brand
Nice post for thought, Chris. Here are my goals for 2009: http://blog.keithparnell.com/index.php/2009/01/...
3 words, one thought, a mantra for perseverance:-))
Setting Intention with Expansion and Integrity
Run- run a marathon, do, act, finish
Practice- discipline, follow through
http://www.damienriley.com/resolution-acronym-f...
Exhale.Whenever I exhale, Peace and calm spread throughout my body and consciousness and therefore into my environment.
Focus. When I focus on those qualities (Joy and Peace) as I inhale and exhale, everything else that I choose to focus upon meet no resistance, life flows.
Thanks for the great post!
Thanx for providing us such a good post for read, I think it seems very useful for people who are linked with Social Media and Social networking.
I discovered another great blog for Social Media which completely covers Social media and Web2.0.
http://www.ExploreMyBlog.Com
Explore the Blog and you will feel that some one write accurate and perfect about Social media blogs.
1- Planning
2- Work
3- Implement
OneLoveBarbados blog
Motivate.
Myself and those around me to work faster, smarter and with purpose. To take pride in the work we do and not to settle for "good enough".
Delegate.
Move tasks to the appropriate people instead of diddling them and wasting time. Use freelance experts to complete tasks and free you up to focus on MY work.
Confidence.
Be confident with the genius' you surrounded yourself with and stand behind your gut. No second guesses, chances are your gut was right all along.
I, too, like alliteration, and so have chosen:
Delight
Demonstrate
Disentangle [I love words; disentangle makes me want to dance -- I need more 'dance' in my life -- movement, joy, hope, exercise, fitness, etc. I also need to disentangle my body from sitting in front of the computer for tooooo long stretches at a time. I need to disentangle myself from the piles and piles and piles of 'to-do' lists -- sometimes with pragmatism, sometimes with determination and demonstrating "ta-dah! I did it!", sometimes by letting them go undone.
Demonstrate reminds me of Ghandi's "Be the change you want to see in the world." quote...
I love the word delight as an outward verb -- I usually use it in phrases like "I was delighted" -- but what an energizing difference in reminding myself to delight others on a daily basis -- love it!
delight, demonstrate, disentangle. 2009, bring it on!
Thanks, Chris!
Our three words were: Candor, transparency and dialogue.
It was through the lens of these three words that looked at everything we were doing. If something didn't hit at least one of those three, it would force us to look at what we were doing more closely.
So now you're causing me to consider applying a similar process to my personal/work life. After a bit of thought, my three words are:
Consistent: I am who I am, whether I'm at work, at home, with my family, friends or executives. I am one person, regardless which of my many hats I'm wearing. This brings a level of transparency to my work. I will be respectful but honest, truthful. Also, this word causes me to consider my life as a marathon, not a sprint. I need to be consistent in every aspect of my life.
Passion: For those who know me well, I would imagine most of them would not consider me not to be an outwardly passionate person. I am even-keeled. I am cool under pressure. I want to be passionate this year. I will be passionate this year.
Extend: there are two meanings of this word that I like. First, "to place at full length." In other words, to "extend" my God-given skills and interests to their fullest. The second (made up of two definitions), "to provide as an offer or grant and to postpone (the payment of a debt) beyond the time originally agreed upon." This aspect of extend goes beyond me. It is related to how I interact with colleagues, friends and family. I will extend patience and courtesy to my colleagues. I will extend love and friendship to my neighbors. I will extend grace and love to my wife and kids.
Thanks, Chris, for prompting a quick 2009 planning session this morning. I wasn't planning on doing this but it was cathartic and fruitful.
Happy New Year All!
bruceericatdell
Walk, Poop, Blog
Hey, I'm a dog people. Cut me some slack :-)
Grace--patience and compassion with family and friends
Lands--see new lands, 5th decade, open space,new territory, new geos, new eyes
1. Replicate (Train speakers to give my Girls Fight Back seminar around the world)
2. Mobilize (Ditch my office and overhead expenses to get lean, mean and mobile)
3. Family (Thinking about having kids...or does that fall under replicate? ha ha)
1. Rubber Band: I want to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Expand my heart in serving others. Mission/LifeGroup/Women Relationships
2. Paper Clip: Time Mgmt - Write/Share - Finances
3. Target: Daily Silence - Go Green -- Weekly Dates
Exploration (to explore all that I can accomplish through law of attraction, smart (not hard) work, belief and faith.)
Connection (to connect with others using social media, connect with others using local networking oppotunities, to connect with myself and be true to myself)
Alignment (to align my actions with my desires, to align my virtual assistant services with my clients needs, to align all facets of my being - material, emotional, spirtual).
Great blog post!
Purpose - make sure I know why I'm doing things and committing time, attention and resource to them.
Positive - appreciate all the tremendous blessings I have, focus on opportunity and remain optimistic, even in the midst of all the uncertainty around us.
1. Deepen – my connections with my family and friends; and with my clients and the people I attract into my network and circle of influence to create a true InStep team
2. Platform – build a visible platform from which to share my knowledge, skills, gifts and abilities; and to promote the knowledge, skills, gifts and abilities of my team
3. Leverage – my power, passions, skills, abilities, gifts, network to build the business and world I desire
Happy New Year!
Growth- Any year without growth is time wasted.
Action - Taking action on well thought out plans
Thank you for making goal setting easier. I chose Educate, Expand & Exhale. I explained my choice at http://womensdish.typepad.com/the_womens_dish/2... with a link back to your post. Wishing you a great 2009!
— do. Act upon the tasks and projects I have planned for ...
— fail. Expecting failure expedites recovery and will get me back to "do."
— read. Resource knowledge facilitates action (and recovery).
Fewer.
Buzzwords.
http://agitationist.com/101-web-business-cliche...
Mine could be the slogan for a children's museum or any museum for that matter. Thanks for the guidance and motivation. Happy 2009!
Stop. Collaborate. and Listen.
I like the three word goal process for the new year. I am going to use it, becaue it is simple and simple is usaully effective! I just have to get Vanilla Ice out of My head to find my 3 words, although Collaborate and Listen may be 2 of mine.
Rich Tucker
After weeks of getting my act together I started to slip down a very slippery slope. It took Chris Brogan social media king to get me focused on my goals.
http://nipsad.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/getting-...
I have 4 words from 2008 that are still relevant for me in 2009 ...
EMBRACE - Embrace the power of NOW ... focus on living every moment, without concern about the past or the future.
FEEL - Feel everything that's happening in each moment ... be open to these feelings.
ACT - Act now ... seize the moment, seize the day.
DEFINE - Define myself by the person that I'm becoming, not who I've been or where I am now.
Fearlessness - go big.
Passion - do it with gusto
Words are Learn, Engage and Action.
Learn: Read and learn more from social media/marketing and branding. We all are learners. Right?
Engage: Not just learn but be there also. Blog, comment, tweet or what ever is on the way. Chris, reading you about six months and yet this is my first comment here.
Action: Learned much, but there has to be action! Lurking way too long. Web site is still a static showcase. Must finish that blog design and start finally blogging. Is there any other lurkers around? Challenge for 2009, take action!
Happy New Year
Listen to others, what's said/written and what's left unsaid
Learn from other's knowledge sharing in its many forms and from criticism
Expand my horizons, colleagues, reading, social media
Trust -- enough said
Fun -- have and make lots of it!
Here's to an amazing 2009!
First of all, Happy New Year to everybody!
My three words: Do It Now!
Best Wishes,
Shinil.
@shinils on Twitter - http://twitter.com/shinils
Thanks for the inspiration to simplify and focus!
My 3 words: Breathe, flex, unencumber
Breathe in other perspectives. Breathe more of life into my being though increased social interaction.
Flex my mind and body. Move more, through exersize, travel, and getting out with friends, family, colleagues & associates.
Unencumber my life by throwing off old behaviors and habits that don't work any more. Simplify. Find the light and the lightness.
Realize.
Connect.
Core: from taking care of my abs and back (intermittent back pain), this is about taking care of myself. Physically. Walking. And also about focusing on those things that are central, versus peripheral. (I like the layered meanings of this approach!)
Realize. To make real. I originally thought "execute" but that's, well, too terminal and gallows-ish. Others on the synonymous short-list: build, enact, implement. This is all the step-by-step work that makes something happen, versus the blue-skying part of creativity to dream up new dreams.
Connect. Communicate with others. Keep in touch. Make a point to get out of my little cave and make connections with others. Make and maintain connections.
Explore - this, to me, is more than "learn" which seems too passive. I'm thinking in terms of not just learning from what comes to me, but also seeking out new ideas and experiences.
Connect - not keeping these experiences to myself, but sharing them, discussing them, and connecting with the people around them.
Dare - doing something with this new knowledge and experience. making myself uncomfortable by stepping out from behind the screen, desk, door - any barrier - and doing new things. Leaving this comment, strange as it may seem to some more prolific people, is an example of that, since this is like my 10th ever comment on a blog.
I often think it, but I'll say it now: thanks for sharing and encouraging.
Focus - I get alot of ideas, it can be distracting and disruptive. I plan on writing them all down but choosing a few to focus on. That also means focusing on one thing at a time, be it work or family. Multi-tasking is overrated.
Persist - what I've decided to focus on my not immediately come to fruition. I will not let set backs discourage me from following through.
Forward - think ahead of the curve, even if it's not practical. This means I need to keep learning too.
COLLABORATE: create, but better by engaging with others
YOGA: be present, calm, focused
Invite - even more peace, joy, love and laughter to my life
Assess - the opportunities I'm given and invite more analysis into my decision making
Colour - colour inside the lines, outside the lines, without lines; in marker, in crayon, on Twitter, by text message, on my blog, in my new job, for my future. By myself, with others. Seek the colour in people, art, ideas. Meet artists, work around art, be an artist. And finally, stop wearing so much grey.
Gratitude
Evolve
Prosperity
1. Generative
2. Affirmative
3. Transformative
See http://tr.im/3words for an explanation. Thanks for the idea, Chris!
Matthew Gilbert
@doctorious
doctorious.org
Light – I want to make sure that I remain open to new ideas. That I develop new ways to communicate ideas to others and that I can maintain a theme of constant enlightenment throughout the year. I also want to light the path for others to do the same thing. And I want to lighten the burden of as many folks as I can through charitable efforts.
Eliminate – I want to get rid of everything extra in my life. Weight. Clutter. Noise disguising itself as information. Good riddance!
Play – Play with my kids more. Play my guitar. Play golf. Play raquetball. Play along with other people’s practical jokes. Play with my wife. All of these things and more are where the inspiration for great ideas come from. It’s not a mystery, it’s life, and I’m choosing to play my way through every chance I get.
My word is "active." I will strive to be more active in the following areas of my life:
1. personal finance--I will be active with my money, investments and retirement accounts by creating CD ladders with the emergency money, investing money in peer to peer lending, and maxing out my ROTH IRA. I will also be active in learning more about personal finance through reading PF blogs on the internet, reading PF books from the library and signing up for local PF classes and/or lectures.
2. health--I will be active with my health and the health of the earth. This includes bicycle riding around town for errands instead of driving and actively seeking out local and organic foods to eat. I will actively reduce clutter in my apartment by donating, selling, recycling, or throwing away unwanted items and actively prevent more clutter from coming in by carefully deciding what to spend my money on.
I sure did enjoy this exercise because it made me sit down and think about all the ways in which to be "active" for 2009. Thank you for the blog post and the challenge. Happy New Year everyone!
Teri
Water
Exercise
To Thine Own Self be True....and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
Consistency - Since I am extremely ambitious one vital key for success is taking action on the fundamentals. If I don't do the small things everyday, I find that things in my life are suddenly out of place and disorganized. It's like when you don't take the time each day to wipe the kitchen cabinets and then one day you look up and see all the grease dust on the cabinets and it just seems like it appeared out of nowhere. And then I have to spend an hour cleaning all the cabinets, when it all could have been prevented with a little consistent maintenance.
Share - Lastly, focus on consistently Sharing all the research and resources I have created to a larger audience. I have spent so much time over the last few years researching and creating documents on the resources that I use online, I want to share these with people, I know that what I have created can enrich peoples lives and will help them be successful. So a major goal for me is to share what I have learned. I have created several simplification guides similar to the SocialMediaKit that I shared last year. I am relaunching my blog JoselinMane.com to have one centralized place for people to come get the information that I will give them, people have given me so much lately and i feel that to keep the giving cycle flowing it is my responsibility to share as much as I can.
Thanks for the inspiration.
As I said in my tweet (http://idek.net/1H0), thanks for making me THINK. Love it.
My (4) goals for 2009 are BEEP: Breathe. Engage. Energize. Prioritize
Breathe: My battery is always going, always on. Sometimes I need to stop and think. Stop and focus. Stop and breathe. Also, breathe applies to getting into better shape. I'm running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC in April. Need to make sure I take time to train (aka, Breathe). Finally, breathe just means taking time to focus on the stuff that really matters.
Engage: This has a few meanings as well. I want to engage others around me - those in my circle and those I don't even know (yet). Engage also refers to projects. Engage clients. Engage prospects. Engage internal stakeholders. Engage "the community."
Energize: This one is about remaining positive and getting those around me fired up. Life is too short to be boring, to sleep too much, to not be energized. 2009 is about using my energy to get others pumped.
Prioritize: I'm the kind of guy who loves everything. As you know, this makes it hard to focus as the list of things that gets me fired up continues to grow. 2009 will be about focusing on the things that matter the most and/or those I can control.
Again, thanks Chris for providing an opportunity to really think. You rock.
@djwaldow
I love this idea - so much better than the wordy resolutions/goals I've come up with in years past. Thanks, Chris!
1) Breathe - the year to do what it takes to breathe better
2) Pocket - make more pockets of one-on-one time for those I love
3) Fearless - act as I'm not afraid to fail
Happy New Year.
BTW I think you must have inspired the Eat Pray Love person!
Social -- What's life about really? Relationships. So being social in the real world and online. Nurturing friendships both near and far. Expanding my circle.
Stretch -- Grow, extend my comfort zone, take risks, try new things, make changes, and discoveries. Learn learn learn.
Thanks for all you do!
Kevin :)
These three words have been part of my life and my business for as long as I can remember but this year I am going to make sure I am actively living my life and conducting my business using the KLT Factor. By example we shall lead.
To your success in 2009 and a huge thanks for being an Exceptional Reflection in my life!
@bestreflections
http://www.karenmccullough.com/component/option...
Proof - Getting results isn't enough. Great results clearly demonstrate my skill, vision, passion and professional relevance. They prove that my success is no fluke, and that it's worth sharing.
Relevance - If what I accomplish isn't incandescent with humanity, how can it be relevant to more than a small circle of friends? And if it isn't relevant enough to move strangers to greater accomplishments, then why go to the trouble of doing it? And if what we do isn't worth doing, aren't we just wasting space?
Hope - However big our dream, nothing is certain; ultimately, all we can say is "We'll see." But making others feel more special, every chance we get, makes it more likely that our dream will come true. Thus, hope is an expression of humanity.
Simplicity--nothing needs to be as complicated as we have made it
Flow--it isn't about right and wrong, its about keeping moving and getting out of your own way--you can't change what is--only your reaction to it
My 3 words for 2009 are:
Focus-on myself/my health, my family, my blog & my ever-growing love of photography
Prosper-after 2 years of forced voluntary simplicity, I'm hoping to prosper from my writing, my blog & maybe even my photography. I've come to love the simple life, I'm just looking to earn a bit to contribute to my family income.
Seek-happiness, joy, love, living in the moment, laughter & fun.
Thanks for stretching my mind & heart. Wishing you love, laughter & prosperity in 2009.
Heather
The Mogul Mom
Execute - I settled on this word because of another blog entry from Chris Brogan. It mentioned: instead of striving for perfection strive for execution. Very good advice for me. I think too much and act to little - trying to come up with the perfect solution rather than making incremental progress.
thanks for giving my mind the nudge it needed!
I have two sets of three ...
Immediate
Massive
Action
And ...
Read
Chris
Brogan!
Have a Magical and Meaningful 2009!
~Melanie
Learn. Laser-focus. Laugh.
I used to make 10 resolutions, framed in the past tense (i.e. "I have ___."). That was a great idea I got from Mawi Asgedom, who's an author and motivational speaker and friend of mine from my Harvard days.
Now I use just three ideas because I find I can always remember them, and for 2009 they are:
FOCUS
SIMPLIFY
BE KIND
P.S. In 2008, one of my credos was "EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES" - and I knocked that one out of the park! :)
Good
Rabies
Time : is money
knowledge : is power
Health : is wealth
I've achieved more of my goals in the last 30 days than
I did all last year. It's simple, straightforward, easy
to read and VERY easy to follow.
You should check it out at www.themagichundred.com"
I've achieved more of my goals in the last 30 days than
I did all last year. It's simple, straightforward, easy
to read and VERY easy to follow.
You should check it out at www.themagichundred.com"
Leverage - Partner Smart
Cashflow - Hey! Gotta feed.