I find it ironic that I am writing a blog about my New Year’s Resolutions almost a week late…that about sums it up. It’s true, New Year’s Resolutions are an opportunity for you to start fresh…..truth is I hate them. I don’t really see the point to them at all. I think there lies the reason why so many are clan destined to fail if we need to wait a full year to commit to make improvements in our lives. I mean you are either committed and serious about it or not. Right?

I work at a small online marketing and development agency in Southern Utah. I have the opportunity to work with some very talented people, but I would like to expand on two individuals in this post (both happen to be co-owners in the business).

The first, a retired NFL player and a great guy. When most people meet him they are either distracted by his size or his accomplishments, but over the past year I have been able to peek in and learn from the mindset and activities of someone who makes it into this elite club of athletes. He is a very focused individual. Although he might appear to be almost “military” in his methods, he is actually a pretty funny and fun person. I could conclude that it was his ability to focus and have “the end objective in mind” that carried him into the NFL.

The second is a very good friend and I have been fortunate enough to call this person a friend for 16 or 17 years now. He has been in the online world since just about the dawn of the internet. He personally knows a number of the original internet movers and shakers and needless to say he has done very well for himself. He also had the same focus and drive, including the “thinking from the end” type perspective. I remember in the earlier years I would call just to catch up and he would always respond the same way when ever I asked “Whats going on?”….his reply was always “Getting shit done, what about you”.

A lot of people talk the talk, but the reality is that knowing where you are going and what it is going to take to get there is a fundamental. It’s easy to understand that work ethics and competitiveness were fundamental elements also to their successes, but it is important to note there are some critical traits which I attribute equally to their success.

• Taking care of business
• Understanding and playing to your strengths
• Working to build your weaknesses
• Working with an objective in mind

We all work with our own motives. We sometime work just to get through another day, but it is the hope of a better future, of being a better person that makes all this bearable.  At the end of it all I hope to be able to look back and enjoyed the ride as much as the process.  I read an article about the top regrets that people have when they die. You can find it here. I realize this whole things is a means to the end, but at the end of it all I hope it does not consume my life with the things that I value the most- my family.

So in the spirit of the “New Years Resolution” thing here are my only two:

Self Evaluation and Improvement
Time Management “Plan your work – Work your plan”
When we react to events that unfold in our day, rather than plan them out, we are usually left with a growing list of to-dos. This is a large contributor to stress and anxiety in our daily lives.  We must consciously select where we want to be in our lives and the steps we are going to take to get there. Otherwise fate will choose for you.

This is the largest contributor of stress in my life. I really am hell bent on getting this one mastered. I would like to revisit this post in a few weeks, months or whatever and be able to comment on this and in clear conscious that I have made some major improvements…I want to focus more on “Getting shit done”. Not just putting out those little fires that consume my resource, but hold no real value to move me forward.

Health “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease” -Buddha
To be honest this is one of the areas I have neglected for most of my life. I am more aware now of the consequences of these decisions. Knowing still does not make it any easier, but I have identified that often times it is my reacting to my work load that has consumed my personal time.

Danny Dover (anther person whom I admire and respect) mentioned on his Life Listed website some time back a letter to his former self. It was pretty powerful and honestly has been a source of inspiration to me.

All that being said, we will just have to wait and see what this year has to hold.