by Helena Escalante | Growth, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Resources, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
“Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what is not working.”
— From Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, by Derek Sivers.
The idea of persistence and dogged determination has been ingrained in us from a very young age. While there is enormous merit in being persistent, we have to make sure that said persistence will take us somewhere: sometimes we are just trying to fit a round peg in a square hole.
We do have to try (or see someone trying) to fit the proverbial round peg at least once into the square hole to realize it won’t work. Substitute this for whatever is not working in your business or life. Once you realize that this is not working for you or anyone involved, improve, switch, redesign, reinvent, modify… experiment and iterate again and again until you get it right. As Leadership Guru John C. Maxwell so wisely says: “Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.”
By failing “forward” you know that you will learn something and apply that learning to the next iteration of whatever you are doing. Eventually, like Edison*, you’ll find the formula that works. As Derek aptly says in his book:
“Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what is not working […] Don’t waste years fighting uphill battles against locked doors. Improve or invent until you get a huge response.”
How do you know it’s finally right? Derek says that your clients will tell you: “Wow! Yes! I need this! I’d be happy to pay you to do this!” Or depending on what you’re doing, you may get any other positive expression of love, gratitude and/or desire to acquire.
* The story goes that Thomas Edison, the inventor of the incandescent filament for light bulbs, experimented and failed ten thousand times before finding the one that worked. When asked about it he said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
ACTION:
TODAY: What is a proverbial round peg that you’re dealing with now? Ask WHY 5 times to see what’s the real reason why you’re not moving forward. What is one action that you can take today, (even if it’s just scheduling time in your calendar to deal with this next week) that will move you towards improving what is currently not working?
FUTURE: Grab a journal and take inventory of some—or all—of these areas of your life (the ones that apply to you): physical, intellectual, social, financial, spiritual, marital, parental, emotional, professional, and your hobbies. I’m sure you’re determined to make all of them work, right? (I hope so!) Where are you banging your head against a wall trying to make something work, but it’s just not happening? Write down a few experiments you’d like to try. Write the time/place/date where you will take action, then take action and see if your experiments work to improve the issue. If not, ask WHY 5 times to see what’s the real reason, write it down and try new experiments. Note: the experiments you try can be big, but I suggest breaking them down into small, manageable chunks. It’s easier when the chunks are not earth-shattering, enormously time consuming or eat up a month’s budget: minor tweaks work too.
I’ll share with you a couple of examples of small tweaks that worked for me recently:
- My husband and I, for a while, tried to have a “date night” on Wednesdays… dismal failure. Work and everyday obligations got in the way. The experiment? Switched it to Saturday mornings. The result? It’s just fantastic because we don’t have to worry about work the next day, and we can tackle any pending issues over the rest of the weekend.
- I was going crazy with one of my client’s electronic billing systems. I do some work for this client on and off; so it’s not often enough to remember clearly how to deal with the convoluted system, but often enough to deal with the system to the point of annoyance. Then I read somewhere that it’s worth establishing a system for anything that you do more than TWO times. Eureka! What a concept… eye-opening indeed! The experiment? Create a system. My “system” became a cheat sheet where I detailed the process—step-by-step—that I needed to follow every time. The result? Smooth sailing every time now that I use my client’s system. Voilà! No more frustration.
So now it’s your turn. Try out inventing, experimenting, improving, enhancing… and let me know how it goes!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 5 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Stop waiting and pick yourself
I’ve heard and read this idea many times, and I don’t know where it originated, but I’m so glad it’s been going around because it is so wise and so true!
Sometimes we find ourselves waiting for something: permission, or the right time to come, or to get the right title/designation, or for people to see us differently… or, or, or… who knows. But that is simply a hurdle of our own making on our way to where we want to go.
This reminds me of the description of “The Waiting Place” in Dr. Seuss’ beloved book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!: (click on the book
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That’s not for you!
No more waiting around. No one but YOU has to choose YOU as a passionate and capable individual to do what you want to do. And no one but YOU has to believe in YOU that YOU can do it. Take the lead in your life. When you change your mindset and start believing that you are indeed capable, this triggers a whole process that enables you to have the confidence you need because you are not waiting for anyone to anoint you as worthy. Furthermore, you’ll be able to find the resources you need and to overcome the obstacles you’ll face without reverting to The Waiting Place.
Please note that I’m NOT saying that by you choosing yourself you’ll magically transform into what you want. No. No. No. You still have to put in the hours and do the work to make it happen. The difference is that you will believe and prove to yourself that you can do it. And every achievement along the way (no matter how small) and every milestone will further reiterate that you can—and you will—reach your goal.
Remember to keep asking yourself: If not you, who? If not now, when? The answer will always lead back to you and now. And I’ll be here cheering for your success!
ACTION:
TODAY: Pick yourself and (re)commit to what you want to do this year. What one thing can you do today (even if it’s just to take 30 seconds to write a plan on the back of a napkin) that will move you towards your goal(s)?
FUTURE: Funny enough, 33 days have passed since the beginning of the year and (counting today) there are 333 days left. So in the spirit of Count Von Count’s Number 3, let’s look at 3 things:
- Take time to reflect on where you have been “waiting.”
- Ask WHY three five times to see what’s got you stuck and determine to pick yourself as the one to get you out of the proverbial waiting mode. What do you need to do to snap out of the waiting funk?
- Once you’re no longer in waiting mode, (re)start or continue where you left off on your goals/rituals for this year.
One last thing: let me know if you’d like to be a part of a Facebook group for accountability and goals. I have heard from a few gurupies who are interested, so we may start small but mighty!
by Helena Escalante | Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Time
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: TGIF*: Reframing the weekend
–From What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend, a short guide included in What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: How to Achieve More at Work and at Home by Laura Vanderkam
One of the many wonderful insights about this book is the idea of reframing the way we look at a weekend: from 6 pm on Friday when we leave work and the weekend “officially” starts to Monday at 6 am when the alarm clock goes off, we have 60 (sixty!) hours. Even if we sleep 24 hours, that leaves us with 36 hours to play, do chores, tackle our to-do list or all or this plus anything else we want to do. Thirty-six hours is almost the same amount of time as a week in a full-time job!
Laura’s point in reframing the weekend this way is the importance of planning: what gets scheduled gets done. Planning and scheduling ahead will result in your devoting the time to the activities that will help you achieve your goals, big or small. This is the best way to ensure that those goals will be met and you will be able to check them off your to-do or you bucket list. From cleaning your sock drawer to training to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, you can do it if you only plan for it.
For those of you that may be groaning now about the idea of planning your leisure time, Laura says: “people have a visceral reaction to the word ‘plan’ that makes them think of things they don’t want to do. I’m suggesting planning things that [they] want to do. […] I don’t want to fill every hour […] but there is a wide gap between planning every minute and planning nothing.”
The key is to do it ahead of time. I’m so guilty of waiting until Saturday morning to start planning, and by then, it’s already Saturday afternoon when the weekend “starts.” With a bit of planning ahead (hint, hint, today is Thursday, the weekend starts tomorrow at 6!) we can make the most out of our time and have a super productive, super fun, or super _______ (fill in the blank) weekend. And yes, you can use the word relaxing in there – it’s part of it if you decide to make it so. The important thing is to plan ahead to use our time wisely, according to our needs and wants.
So let’s not wait any longer to get going! What are you going to do with your 60 hours this weekend? Let me know. Happy planning and happy weekend! 🙂
ACTION:
TODAY: Take 10-15 minutes to plan your weekend from 6 pm on Friday to 6 am on Monday (or whatever schedule works for you around this new way of seeing the weekend). Schedule it in your calendar: you can be as rigid or as flexible with your time, as long as you plan your main activities.
FUTURE: Schedule a recurring time on your calendar for Wednesdays or Thursdays every week to plan for the weekend ahead. Try this out and tweak it to fit your schedule and lifestyle until you find what suits you best. Then set up a calendar reminder in 3 months to email me and let me know how this is going for you!
*For our international gurupies who may not be familiar with the acronym TGIF, it means Thank God It’s Friday!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Habits, Networking, Time
TODAY’S IDEA:
Networking is everywhere.
–From Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships in a Hyper-Connected World by J. Kelly Hoey.
Nowadays, we all have a digital footprint, whether personal, professional or both. Think of it as your brand. Everything you do either confirms and reaffirms or questions and breaks your brand. Why not be intentional about building it every chance you get?
Kelly says that “networking is everywhere.” “Successful networking requires understanding the immense power of regular daily activities to connect with someone else” so as to build a meaning, powerful and mutually beneficial (personal or professional) relationship. This will cement your brand firmly in the other person’s mind.
From your email’s signature line and the voice mail that you leave for someone, to the headline that you use on LinkedIn and your headshot, as well as what you say when you participate on a Twitter chat, don’t let any opportunity escape where you can build a positive brand and a positive networking experience for you and for all involved! For instance, Kelly gives practical advice and focuses on the power of small actions as a way to make them count too (not all networking has to take endless hours), here are some examples of actions taken from the book.
“If you have…
- 45 seconds: take the stairs as a way to lengthen your conversation and get to know a colleague or a client that came to your office.
- 2 minutes: post a LinkedIn update that can lead to new business generation.
- 5 minutes: draft an email and reconnect with a sales prospect.
- 15 minutes: ride the subway or do a video chat with an investor.
- 20 minutes: grab a cup of coffee while you do an informational job interview.
- 60 minutes: write a weekly newsletter and update a social network.”
The book is a gem! It gives very practical advice on how to be intentional when it comes to networking; and on how to do it in a way that does not take away from your work and personal activities, but that, on the contrary, enhances those activities for your success.
ACTION:
TODAY: Set your intention for networking: Want new clients? A new job? Are you seeking a mentor/mentee? Select whatever you want and need to get done with the power of networking over the next 6-12 months (yes, human relationships take time to build…). Then, depending on the amount of time you have today, pick an action from the list of examples above, customize it to your needs and apply it to your intention. There’s no better time than NOW to get started, remember the Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
FUTURE: [I’m assuming that you are already setting time aside to network intentionally and with some frequency and regularity, if you are not, let me know and I’ll help you with some ideas.] The action that I recommend is to focus on creating a daily habit. Depending on how much time you have, schedule a little bit of time to network via small actions. Build the habit over a month or two and assess how much value it adds to your life, I’m sure it’ll be substantial! Imagine: if you touch base with one person per workday, that’s an average of 200-250 people a year whose relationship you’ve started to build, continue to strengthen, or rekindled the friendship or work relationship that existed in the past.
Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
Rule Number 6.
–From The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, by Rozamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
I must preface this post by saying that this book is one of my favorites and I think it should be in the hands of every person in the whole wide world! I cannot recommend it enough. Also, the audio book is a treasure, because it’s filled with beautiful music thanks to Ben Zander, who serves as musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (on the date of publication of this post).
There is no better way to explain today’s idea, Rule Number 6, than to quote this masterful story directly from the book:
«Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury, shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The resident prime minister admonishes him: “Peter,” he says, “kindly remember Rule Number 6,” whereupon Peter is instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws. The politicians return to their conversation, only to be interrupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder is greeted with the words: “Marie, please remember Rule Number 6.” Complete calm descends once more, and she too withdraws with a bow and an apology. When the scene is repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses his colleague: “My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6?” “Very simple,” replies the resident prime minister. “Rule Number 6 is ‘Don’t take yourself so g—damn seriously.'” “Ah,” says his visitor, “that is a fine rule.” After a moment of pondering, he inquires, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules?”
“There aren’t any.”»
Don’t you just LOVE Rule Number 6? I know I do. Whenever I’m all worked up about something, I think of Rule Number 6 and I laugh out loud, even if I’m by myself (thank goodness my dog doesn’t speak, otherwise the stories about me he would tell!).
Rule Number 6 snaps me immediately out of whatever funk I’m in. It makes me look for another angle to solve a problem or a different way to make things happen. It also helps me make a positive experience out of whatever may be happening at that moment (and that I consider too important and too serious).
Another way in which I’ve come to apply Rule Number 6 is by thinking this: if I may be able to look back in the future and laugh at what I’m going through right now, what prevents me from laughing at it this very moment? How can I make that mindshift now and shorten the time it takes to get to the laughter and the lessons learned? Easier said than done, but a worthwhile exercise every time I’ve tried.
ACTION:
(NOTE: One of our gurupies* had a great idea: to give actions in bite-size pieces; some sort of “Today’s action is….” for those of you that don’t have much time. I think this is brilliant and I’m implementing it right away. Also, for those of you that may want to continue applying the action in the future, I’m also including things you can do if you want to explore a bit more. Let me know how you like this new approach, and of course, I welcome ALL your ideas and suggestions with open arms!)
TODAY: Share the story of Rule Number 6 with your world; I’m sure they’ll love it. Make a point of keeping it in mind throughout the day and seeing the many ways in which you can apply it (or in which it could serve others to apply it!).
FUTURE: Ask your family, friends and colleagues to remind you of Rule Number 6 when you need it. Ask if you can do the same for them. It will eventually become a habit to invoke Rule Number 6 and find new ways of seeing things. You’ll be less stressed and much happier.
Happy RuleNumberSixing! 😀
* Gurupie = blend of guru and groupie = how we fondly refer to the EntreGurus’ community, because we all follow the ideas of the gurus.
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Habits, Planning, Productivity, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
“A good-day’s work”
— From Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Whether you work remotely or not, Remote offers some gold nuggets for all. One of those nuggets is how to measure progress and what’s a good-day’s work based on reasonable expectations.
In today’s working culture, it’s unfortunate that overwork and lack of sleep reign supreme. These two terrors are widespread; at best they are temporary and can be avoided, but at worse, they are carried as badges of honor horror (!). Working constantly can be a menace, because it can lead to serious burnout before you even know it. And this is true especially if you love your work. Why? Because we’re constantly connected and just a device away… thus it is easy to check email one more time, and to respond to that message at 10 pm to get it out of the way. And if you have 1 hour on Saturday morning, it’s easy to use that time to work on a project instead; or if it’s rainy outside, might as well make the most out of it and start working on the presentation for next week…
I’m not denying the importance of sprints once in a while, but over the long run it’s not sustainable and it’s not healthy. As the book says, there are no “hero awards” for overworking, as the work should be seen as a marathon instead. “It’s crucial for everyone to pace themselves.” This quote opened my eyes:
“One way to set up a healthy boundary is to […] think of a good-day’s work. Look at your progress toward the end of the day and ask yourself: ‘have I done a good-day’s work?’ Answering that question is liberating. Often, if the answer is an easy yes, you can stop working, feeling satisfied that something important got accomplished—if not entirely done. And should the answer be no, you can treat it as an off day and explore the 5 WHYs (asking why to a problem five times in a row to find the root cause). It feels good to be productive. If yesterday was a good day’s work, chances are you’ll stay on a roll, and if you can stay on a roll, everything else will probably take care of itself, including not working from the time you get up in the morning until you go to sleep.”
This is such a simple and basic but oh-so-powerful idea, because you are the judge of your progress and you can learn from this process to keep making it better. I am guilty of loving my work and trying to squeeze as much of it as I can in a day. But I have found that I work so much better and I’m so much more productive when I’m well rested and when I also do other personal things that are important for my physical health and emotional wellbeing. We all really need to take our mind off work for a while to rest and renew, and to come back better and stronger.
ACTION
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice in terms of a “good-day’s work,” keep a log (nothing complicated, any calendar will do). You’ll be able to see progress with all the yes answers, and with the 5 WHYs method you will be able to get to the core of why it wasn’t a good day’s work and solve it right away. If that or other problems keep emerging and you see patterns preventing your progress, analyze them so that you can solve them too. Get to the root: What can you learn? What can you change so that you can have more good days?
I wish you nothing but good days, and would love to hear from you: how do you measure a good-day’s work?
by Helena Escalante | Celebration
EntreGurus is celebrating 10 days since launching, WOO-HOO!
Thank you for being part of the community during these 10 days, and hope you are enjoying the daily ideas. Congrats to you too for investing the time, heart and mind to create the best version of yourself with the ideas of EntreGurus!
Join the EntreGurus community and let me know what topics or books you’d like me to write more about, I’ll be happy to do so.
Cheers to many more ideas!
Helena
Your Chief Bookworm Officer 🙂
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Habits, Mindset
TODAY’S IDEA:
Four tendencies to respond to expectations.
–From Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
If you’ve been taking action on the past two posts on creating a BHAG and asking the daily question to make sure you are constantly improving, it may come in handy to know that you are likely to fall into one of four tendencies as you respond to the expectations that you are setting.
Gretchen Rubin first introduced “The Fateful Tendencies We Bring Into The World” as a chapter on her great book Better Than Before, where she studied habit making and breaking. In her words:
“How does a person respond to an expectation?” When we try to form a new habit, we set an expectation for ourselves. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand how we respond to expectations. We face two kinds of expectations: outer expectations (meet work deadlines, observe traffic regulations) and inner expectations (stop napping, keep a New Year’s resolution). From my observation, just about everyone falls into one of four distinct groups.
- Upholders respond readily to both outer expectations and inner expectations.
- Questioners question all expectations, and will meet an expectation only if they believe it’s justified.
- Obligers respond readily to outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations they impose on themselves.
- Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike.
[…] Our tendency colors the way we see the world and therefore has enormous consequences for our habits. Of course these are tendencies, but I’ve found to a degree that surprises me, that most people do fall squarely into one camp.”
This is fascinating because, once you know how you’ll respond to the expectations set by your goals, you will know what will trip you and what will make your habits stick.
For example, I am an obliger most of the time (curiously, Gretchen says that most people fall into this category). This means that I will not stop at fulfilling outer expectations (especially about work or commitments that I’ve made to others). But it also means that I have a hard time fulfilling or I am too lenient when it comes to me (promises/commitments to myself, the habits that I want to develop or get rid of). So what to do about this? Am I doomed?
No, thank goodness. The beauty of learning about the four tendencies is you’ll know what to do to support yourself in the weaker areas. Going back to me as an obliger, since I meet outer expectations, the best way for me to fulfill my inner expectations is to turn them into outer ones for accountability. What this means is that, for instance, if I want to exercise steadily, I need to tell a group of people or do it with a group or people. In this particular case, I have a group of friends and we all check in daily on a Facebook group to be accountable for our workouts. The result? Thanks to my group, so far this year (it’s January 28) I have worked out 26 days and missed only two. Prior to the group? It would have likely been the opposite: two workouts and 26 missed days…
ACTION
I highly encourage you to take Gretchen Rubin’s free online quiz to figure out what your tendency is when responding to expectations. Once you know, you can read a bit about your tendency and watch these short videos (upholder, obliger, questioner, rebel) that explain how to manage yourself better to set you up for success. And, of course, you can always get Gretchen’s newest book: The Four Tendencies to learn much more in depth about how you respond to expectations as well as the people that surround you.
Enjoy finding out about yourself. Leave a comment or share with me what your tendency is!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Mindset, Planning
TODAY’S IDEA:
“There is no limit to self improvement. Ask yourself daily, ‘how can I do better?’ and sound answers will appear.”
— From The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D. (Read an excerpt here.)
The old saying “there is always room for improvement” is so true. Especially with ourselves, we’re always trying to fix something, improve something, make something better (…to continue along the lines of the conversation from yesterday’s post on BHAGs.)
The main thing, according to some experts, is not to be overwhelmed by the amount of things we want to improve on ourselves. For that, it is recommended to start with one thing, say a good habit that you want to create or a bad habit that you want to get rid of, and work on it until it’s ingrained or no longer existing. Then move on to the next thing in your progression toward your goal, and so on. That way you will be taking baby steps and making steady progress toward fulfilling your big, hairy, audacious goals.
The key, I believe, is patience and perseverance. If you’re anything like me, you want everything done or accomplished by yesterday, which means today everything is in place and perfectly put together. It’s taken me much heartache to learn that you cannot rush processes at a personal level, and I’m learning (sloooooowly…) to see the beauty in the journey, not the destination.
So keep the end in mind always (your BHAG) to know where you are going, but make sure you give yourself the time and effort that your goal needs to succeed. Ask yourself daily “how can I do better?” and you will discover that your mind will show you the many ways in which you can do so. And enjoy YOUR journey!
ACTION
Put to the test the many ways in which your mind tells you to do something differently/better and find out which ones work best for you. There is no shame in testing and trying out new things or habits. Adopt what works, discard what doesn’t, and always keep doing this: you will see daily improvements and if you keep a log or journal, you’ll be able to assess your progress.
Remember to be inspired by others but not to compare yourself to them. The only person you can compare yourself to is YOU. Are you better today than yesterday? Than a month ago? Than a year ago? Than 5 or 10 years ago? If the answer is yes, keep going and keep growing. If the answer is no, besides asking the 5 WHYs, give more thought to “how can I do better” and give it your all. You always get out of it as much as you put into it.
I’m thinking of starting a Facebook group for accountability on our goals and to create a community of like-minded, professional and growth-oriented people. Is this something that you’d be interested in? Please let me know! (Thanks a lot if you have already responded.)
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Leadership, Planning, Tools
TODAY’S IDEA:
Have Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals to keep you going and stimulate your progress.
— From Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins (read or listen to a sample).
Today is the last Friday in January, which means it is National Big Wig Day ™. This is a celebration of “the potential inside of all of us” and the opportunity to lead by example, as any bigwig would do! We are the bigwigs in our lives and today is a reminder that “regardless of title, we can make a difference and improve the lives of others.”
Bigwigs usually have “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals” or what Jim Collins has coined as BHAGs (pronounced “bee-hags”) in his excellent book. Yet this does not have to be a concept exclusive to the most important and powerful persons/companies in the world. We can learn from them and use BHAGs too, because they are “a particularly powerful mechanism to stimulate progress… There is a difference between merely having a goal and becoming committed to a huge, daunting challenge—like a big mountain to climb.”
A BHAG must be “clear and compelling. […] It has a clear finish line, so [you know] when [you] have achieved the goal. […] A BHAG engages people—it reaches out and grabs them in the gut. It is tangible, energizing, highly focused. People ‘get it’ right away; it takes little or no explanation. […]
The essential point of a BHAG is better captured in such questions as: “Does it stimulate forward progress? Does it create momentum? Does it get [you] going? Does it get [your] juices flowing? Do [you] find it stimulating, exciting, adventurous? Are [you] willing to throw [your] creative talents and human energy into it?”
Whether you are going strong with your new year’s resolutions (woo-hoo!) or they have fizzled out (oops!), it’s time to set a BHAG so that, as February rolls around, you don’t lose your momentum. Remember to stretch yourself and shoot for the stars with your BHAG (whatever your stars are) so that you can either arrive at your stars or land very closely in that direction. Keep in mind this great quote by Michelangelo: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
ACTION
Based on your new year’s resolutions rituals, goals, or intentions, pick one or two BHAGs (I suggest one personal and one professional) to get you through the rest of the year. Figure out how you will break each one down into manageable pieces month by month. Take some time during the weekend to do this and let’s get started next week on February 1st, deal?
I have my BHAG ready, will you join me with yours? I’m thinking of starting a Facebook group for accountability on our goals and to create a community of like-minded, professional and growth-oriented people. Is this something that you’d be interested in? Please let me know!
I’m cheering for your success!!
P.S. Just for fun, here’s the story behind the term bigwig. (I can’t get over the thought of scaffolding!)
