Kick Ass In 2009 – Six Resolutions That Really Mean Something

Start the new year out right with these six resolutions to help you achieve your goals in 2009.

With the start of a new year upon us, it is a good time to take stock of what you have accomplished in 2008, and then start thinking about what you want to accomplish and how you plan to do it in the coming year.

Here are six New Year Resolutions to help:

1. Resolve to define the things you want to accomplish in 2009 – Most people never define what they want in life, and that may be why so many people are miserable. They don’t know what they want in life and end up directionless.

Avoid this by taking the time think about what you really want to accomplish in the next 12 months. After you have developed a list of desired goals, discuss these with your family. Ask your spouse to think about what he/she wants to accomplish in the coming year. Then develop mutual goals that can be measured, and discuss ways you can reach those goals as a family team working together.

Be sure to put your goals in writing. Seeing the goals in print will help you understand your general desires and wants, and that can help you refine your goals as you work toward them.

2. Resolve to develop and pursue a ‘template of success’ strategy to reach your goals – Defining goals is an important first step. The next step is to formulate and then pursue a strategy that gives you a realistic chance of reaching your goals.

The best way to do this is to find a ‘model of success’. Find others that have accomplished what you wish to accomplish, and look closely at how they did it. Develop a template of success based on what has worked for others.

Your templage of success strategy should list the steps needed to reach specific goals, include a methodology and time-table to accomplish each goal, and a way to check your progress during the year.

Creating a strategy to reach your goals will help you understand that in most cases, goals are achieved via small but continuous steps in the right direction.

3. Resolve to be ready to adapt to changing conditions – One thing we all learned last year is that life is full of unexpected surprises – some pleasant and some unpleasant. In many cases, these ’surprises’ can have a dramatic impact on the strategy you may have laid out to reach your goals.

Understand that change is constant and that success almost always requires you to be flexible and adaptable.

Go into the year expecting the unexpected, with a willingness to change strategies, to learn new skills, and to adapt to a changing environment when necessary.

4. Resolve to think about the long term – As you develop skills, projects, and goals for the coming year, think about how these will help you out over the long haul. Your career as a professional will probably span many years, even decades, and the skills you pick up with each new client project add to your ability to continue to prosper in this business. Review the skills you are lacking, and resolve to improve those skills…especially marketing…the ability to sell yourself is the most valuable asset that you can ever have.

5. Resolve to specialize in something and make yourself unique – Those people who are specialists in something — a skill, a trade, a method, a tool — almost always have more opportunities before them than people without special skills. Find a skill that you would like to specialize in, and then learn to use that skill to create products and opportunities for yourself.

6. Resolve to understand life is for living – Life is not about the pursuit of money and possessions. Life is about quality time spent with family and loved ones. Life is about being and staying healthy. Life is about helping others. Life is about being in control of how you spend your time.

Don’t let the pursuit of money or possessions cause you to lose your family, your health, or your personal freedom. You can always figure out a way to make money if you’re entreprenurial, but you can’t always figure out ways to regain lost relationships, good health, or personal freedom.

Related posts:

1. Does Your Law Firm Marketing Plan Actually Kick Some Ass?
2. We’re Becoming a Stupider Society – It’s Not Your Imagination
3. Twitter Is For Dummies. The “Non-Dummy Guide to Networking”
4. The Sales Funnel Matrix and Law Firm Marketing Plans