Now that the first few weeks of “new year, new me!” memes are behind us, let’s talk reality. For the record, I am all for motivating and inspiring messages and often share some myself. And that also needs to be balanced with a practical approach if any of us is going to accomplish anything in 2019. In the spirit of sharing what I learn from others, I want to give you two things to help anchor you against the winds of new year’s resolutions that often slip away at this point in the year:
1. Two words that are paramount to achieving your goals
2. How to do more by doing less
First up, the two words:
They are not sexy. They will not get your blood pumping. They are not overly inspiring. But they are accurate! The two words? Sustained consistency.
Those two words are more important to your 2019 plans than any quote on FB or Instagram. Those who will win the year will do what is needed, consistently over time. I heard these two words in the fall of 2012 while attending the High Performance Summit in Miami, FL. Darren Hardy hosted the event and those words left a strong impression on me; he’s an inspiring guy with a positive, no-nonsense message. His book “The Compound Effect” really helped guide me over the last six years.
Next, achieving more by doing less (yes, it’s possible!). There is immense power in removing things from your life and sometimes we need to stop and ask ourselves some tough questions. Someone I started following over the last two years is Dorie Clark, author and business professor at Duke University. I consume most of what she creates and it is always high quality with no fluff. Here are a few HBR articles I thought you may enjoy at this point in the year:
• Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012 (and still relevant today)
• Why Email Is So Stressful Even Though It’s Not Actually That Time Consuming
• Track Your Time For 30 Days. What You Learn Might Surprise You
Be great!
Ian
Note: I do not get paid nor have any affiliation with the above authors (I sometimes wonder that myself when people recommend things). I just really like their stuff and wanted to share with you.
