You Don ’ t Follow Your Dreams ...
You Aggressively Chase Them Down With Relentless Pursuit
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Here we are : another year rapidly coming to a close and a fresh one about to begin . Depending on when you read this , maybe yours has already begun . Pop quiz : What notable goals did you accomplish this past year ? Not what you did , but what progress did you make ? What significant goals did you achieve ? What assets were developed or obtained ?
I ’ m sure you were busy , but that ’ s not what I ’ m talking about . Did you implement things to make your business more sustainable , strong , and efficient ? What new products and services did you launch ? What new marketing oil wells are now locked in place , pumping , and producing for you daily ? What key metrics did you improve ? Did you build and develop your team , or was it one step forward , two steps back ?
Here ’ s a bigger question : Did you even set goals for this year ? If not , it ’ s never too late . Stop reading right now and grab a pen and a piece of paper . Write ’ em down . Make a list . Oh , is that so simplistic and stupid you won ’ t do it ?
Too many people live their lives on autopilot . You wake up about the same time every day , then click into your routine . You shower , drink coffee , and check email , maybe in reverse order . You show up to work and react to whatever is in your inbox . You have no plan for the day , no goals , and no productivity measurements . Rinse and repeat . That day repeats itself for 10 , 20 , or even 30 years until you look in the mirror one day and realize you ’ re old but still not accomplished .
My question for you is simple : What are you going to do about that ? Right now . This minute . Are you going to wait for inspiration ? For a checklist ? For tomorrow morning or next week when you have less to do ? Be careful in this decision . What you do right now reveals a lot about who you are and why you are where you are today , good or bad .
A big reason many people don ’ t make New Year ’ s resolutions is because they ’ ve given up . Far too often , they ’ ve “ cried uncle ” to themselves and failed to follow through . At some sad point , they stop trying , just like the sad story of the elephant chained to the ground , held only by a small wooden stake . When it was young and very small , the trainers tied one of its legs to a strong stake in the ground . Struggle as it may , it couldn ’ t break the chain , and it eventually gave up trying to break free . Now that it ’ s grown 10 times its original size , the elephant could easily pull the stake out of the ground , but it doesn ’ t because it “ knows ” trying to break free is futile . It ’ s accepted its fate .
Henry David Thoreau wrote , “ Most men live lives of quiet desperation .” I ’ ve thought a lot about that quote . I don ’ t think it means they necessarily have bad lives . In many ways , they live very well — a nice home , food to eat , healthy kids , and an income to sustain them . I believe this desperation comes from your conscience , a voice deep down that you choose to ignore that whispers , “ You could be more and do more , but you don ’ t .”
Founder and CEO , Technology Marketing Toolkit , Inc .
Many choose to eat , drink , smoke , or otherwise drown out that voice by distracting it , ignoring it , or stuffing it way down . You can try to escape it , but like a low-grade fever , it ’ s still there , making you feel miserable . The price you pay for such escape and ease is an ever-growing , living hell .
Might I suggest that this year , you “ wake up ” and take a hard , serious look at your own mortality and how many years you ’ ve got left . Figure out what ’ s not working for you and fix it . You don ’ t need a grandiose , flamboyant attempt to go all-out , but rather , a daily , inch-by-inch , step-bysmall-step , incremental improvement plan . What can you do today to be 1 % better than you were yesterday ? Maybe you eat one healthy meal or take a 10-minute walk if that ’ s all you can manage . Maybe you send one prospecting email this week or take 30 minutes to work on your marketing . It ’ s a start . Perhaps that 30 minutes will eventually turn into one hour , then two , and then perhaps a whole day . Such change builds on itself and gives you a critical key to success : momentum . n
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