I don’t like making New Year’s resolutions.

I resolve to lose weight, pay off debt, exercise more, eat healthy, save money, go to sleep earlier…

The moment you stop, you fail. I prefer success.

So instead of resolutions destined to fail, I like to take a moment to define what success will look like.

Finish the following statement:

This will be a successful year if…

…if I get to be in business next year
…if I book 6 new speaking engagements
…if I publish a new book
…if I average 100 readers per blog post

The difference between doing it this way and resolutions is that you are focusing on the goal, the end result, instead of just the method. If the method you are using does not help you reach your goal or is unsustainable then you can try new methods.

You get to keep working on that goal from any angle you choose.

Like everyone else, I encourage you to write it down. Go get a blank piece of paper and write across the top “This will be a successful year if…” and start filling in the rest.

You can make categories – Personal, Professional, Individual, Family, Financial, Social – if you want. Just be sure to jot something down for each.

Once you have done that, start strategizing the How. Start brainstorming the What. Start piecing together the Who and the Where.

The When is right now. Define your success and you have a better chance of reaching it.

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS For those of you who have already downloaded my free eBook Staff Meetings Everyone Wants to Attend, you recognize that this is the same statement I use when planning those meetings. In fact, it is written right across the top of my Staff Meeting Planner Worksheet. And my clients know I ask the same question of them. How will we define success? How will you?