2013 Resolution

LOST:  

One whole year. Last seen yesterday.

Contains uncertainty, lazyness and no achievement.

Could you place an ad like that on January 1st 2013?

Be ashamed!! Be very ashamed.
2012 is the year the world ended.

2012 is the year the Mayans said it was going to be 'game over'.

Errm...

Actually:

2012 is nearly ended.

2012 is nearly over.

BUT...it had nothing to do with Myans/ Shmayans

It's New Years Day soon. What are you doing about it?

Plan ahead!
You don't need the end of the world being averted to realise that you are standing on the starting line of a whole new opportunity.

Do you wake up and say 'I can't wait to be mediocre today!'. I could tell you to get a life but why don't you just change the one you have?

Is watching TV tonight going to earn you money? Get you new clients? Expand your business? NO! So...Turn off the tube and get out your Notebook/ Planner!

If you are sitting there thinking 'Wow, a whole year ahead of me'? I guarantee you will soon be saying 'Where the hell did that year go?' And you will say that sooner than you think!

Hold on...ARE you sitting there thinking 'Wow, a whole year ahead of me'?  Have you ever had a deja vu feeling?  Didn't you say that LAST year?

What are you doing today? Watching TV? Reading the paper? Sleeping? Get off your ass and make a to do list and put a deadline in there!

2013 can be the best year ever if you make it so!

Go and do it. I am!

"Those who merely hope that conditions will change, their luck turn, or the person in front of or above them will either retire or die, merely see instead the success of those who grasp the opportunity of the present.  If you waste the valuable time of today, awaiting the promise of tomorrow, you will inevitably, always, be second the the person who, yesterday, prepared for today!" Dave Moore

NOW is the Time

There are some phrases that really annoy me.  In fact, hearing them makes me feel physically sick. 

It's the twee, care bear, politically correct, caring and sharing phraseology.

"Sing like nobody can hear you" YUCK!

"Dance like no one is watching" PUKE!

"Love like you've never been hurt" AAARGH!

One that gets trotted out more often than others, especially in self help seminars, and usually by people who are getting over some traumatic experience is the old adage...

"Today is the First day of the Rest of my Life"

Huh!  I have news for you pal.  EVERY day is the first day of the rest of your life!  Go figure!

If you want to enjoy life.  If you want to live life to the full.  If you want to grab opportunity and squeeze it with both hands then do what I do.  Think different!

Here's one for you, far better than 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life'....

What if....

WHAT IF TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF YOUR LIFE?

What would you do then?  I guarantee something.  You would do a lot more than you would if you thought you had the whole of your life stretching out in front of you!

You would be doing stuff, clearing up challenges and issues that had been hanging around, speaking to people....everything.

If this was the first day of the rest of your life you would be saying "do that tomorrow" and "schedule that for next week" and "I'll get around to that, it's not urgent!"

I subscribe to this way of thought...

"I will live this day as if it were the last day of my life. 

And what will I do with the last precious day of my existence?  First of all, I will seal it in a bottle so that not a single drop of it seeps into the sand.  I will not waste a single moment of this day, complaining about my past miseries, past defeats, or past torments, since doesn't good come out of adversity?

Can fallen grains of sand make their way back into the sand glass?  Can the sun rise where it sets and set where it rises?  Can I erase my past mistakes?  Or correct them?  Can I heal yesterdays wounds and become healthy again?  Can I be younger than I was yesterday?  Can I retract the hurtful words that wer uttered, the blows that that were received and given, the suffering that was inflicted and suffered?

No!

Yesterday is dead and buried forever and I will never think of it again.

Nor can I live on what might be.  I cannot live on what might happen.  I cannot live on maybe, perhaps, or hope.  We can not forsee the future.

The future is uncertain.  It does not exist.  What exists is today, right now, this moment.

I will live THIS day as if it were the last day of my life!"

What Happened?

So, how is your year going?

What happened to those New Year Resolutions?

New Year's Resolutions are a great way to set your intent for a positive, fulfilling year of growth and accomplishment. But, on the other hand, when the year ends, if you haven't completely fulfilled your resolutions, it can be frustrating.

This usually happens because New Year's resolutions are often too vague, and don't include practical steps that lead to a clearly defined goal.

So today, by all means, look at your usual big-picture resolutions. But, in addition, I'm going to suggest you make some sub-resolutions.  Especially if you New Year Resolutions haven't...how shall we say...kicked in yet ;-)

Each of these sub-resolutions is designed to give you a long-term benefit (some of them even for a lifetime) with a minimum amount of time and effort. In fact, each of these sub-resolutions can be completed in anything from a few minutes to, at the very most, a few hours. And they're all either free or very cheap .For most of you, many of these items fall into the category of things you've "been meaning to do." Since chances are that you have already accomplished at least a few of the items on the list below, there's no reason why you can't take half a day this week and get at least six more of the items below done.

So, in the interest of the betterment of your future, the management of your life, and the fresh start of a new year that hasn't happened yet, here are

THINGS YOU CAN DO IN ONE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

1. Register your full name as a web domain if you haven't yet. You never know when you're going to want your personal website. If www.[yourname].com is already taken, don't worry - there are alternatives. For example, who owns jamesjoyce.com? Answer: A bar in Dublin beat the author's estate to it. But there are always other options, like hyphenating the name and getting james-joyce.net or james-joyce.org (check those sites now if you'd like), or choosing less common TLDs (or end letters) like .ws or .me.

For more information, homestead.com is a great site to register and design your own website.

2. Call your mobile phone provider. Ask if you can get a better calling plan based on your usage. This way you can afford to do the next item on this list.

3. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Choose a topic that you don't know about - be it politics, fashion, culture, or technology- and sign up for the best periodical covering that topic. Rather than choosing the most popular magazine, select one that offers the most in-depth and interesting coverage, like Wired for technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental Floss for culture. Yes, you could read it all online, but it's great to have a physical magazine to read when you're on the subway or on an aeroplane or waiting in line somewhere.

4. Get a passport if you don't have one. If yours has expired, get it renewed now. You never know when that great travel opportunity is going to occur, and you don't want to get stuck at home while your friends are at some great concert at the Acropolis in Greece.

5. Back it up. Most people don't take the time to do this, and regret it later. So copy your entire hard drive onto an external drive or USB stick immediately; if possible, download a program like Acronis True Image that will simplify the restoring process and regularly make backups (or for Mac owners, start using Time Machine or SuperDuper). Also backup your mobile phone, PDA, and any other personal-information-storing device.

6. While you're at it, make photocopies of your credit cards, passport, drivers license, birth certificate, and other important papers. If you keep a journal or anything similarly irreplaceable, photocopy that. Keep these in a safe deposit box, parent's house, locked file cabinet, or any other secure location, preferably outside your own house. They'll be invaluable in the event of theft, loss, fire, or any other unplanned incident.

7. Look through your refrigerator and cabinets. Read the labels on the food. Stop buying anything high in saturated fats, trans fats,cholesterol, and sodium. And start shopping healthier today.

8. Get business cards. Don't have a business? It doesn't matter. Sites like vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though there's a shipping fee of under £6). Never hurts to look professional

9. Learn how you work: I'm often asked what books I found the most useful for learning Sales, NLP and Business. I will be posting my recommendations soon.

10. This is not for everyone, but some of you--and you know who you are--definitely need to do this: Throw out all your socks. Every last one. Now go buy new pairs that actually match and don't have holes in them. You'll feel like a new man. Remember, get black socks. White socks are for athletic activities only. I don't want to catch any of you guys here wearing white socks in the boardroom!

11. Buy a suit. (Or a dress if you're a woman.) But don't just get any suit or dress. Get one that's slightly closer to the size you want to be this year, whether it be a little bigger or a little smaller than your current measurements. Try it on every Saturday morning as a reminder to yourself to get in shape this year; until, one day, it fits perfectly, and you wear it out and feel like a million pounds

12. Decide to actually become a millionaire.

Resolutions

Happy New Year
New Year's Resolutions are a great way to set your intent for a positive, fulfilling year of growth and accomplishment. But, on the other hand, when the year ends, if you haven't completely fulfilled your resolutions, it can be frustrating.
This usually happens because New Year's resolutions are often too vague, and don't include practical steps that lead to a clearly defined goal.
So today, by all means, make your usual big-picture resolutions. But, in addition, I'm going to suggest you make some sub-resolutions.
Each of these sub-resolutions is designed to give you a long-term benefit (some of them even for a lifetime) with a minimum amount of time and effort. In fact, each of these sub-resolutions can be completed in anything from a few minutes to, at the very most, a few hours. And they're all either free or very cheap .For most of you, many of these items fall into the category of things you've "been meaning to do." Since chances are that you have already accomplished at least a few of the items on the list below, there's no reason why you can't take half a day this week and get at least six more of the items below done.
So, in the interest of the betterment of your future, the management of your life, and the fresh start of a new year, here are
THINGS YOU CAN DO IN ONE DAY TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
1. Register your full name as a web domain if you haven't yet. You never know when you're going to want your personal website. If www.[yourname].com is already taken, don't worry - there are alternatives. For example, who owns jamesjoyce.com? Answer: A bar in Dublin beat the author's estate to it. But there are always other options, like hyphenating the name and getting james-joyce.net or james-joyce.org (check those sites now if you'd like), or choosing less common TLDs (or end letters) like .ws or .me.
For more information, homestead.com is a great site to register and design your own website.
2. Call your mobile phone provider. Ask if you can get a better calling plan based on your usage. This way you can afford to do the next item on this list.
3. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Choose a topic that you don't know about - be it politics, fashion, culture, or technology- and sign up for the best periodical covering that topic. Rather than choosing the most popular magazine, select one that offers the most in-depth and interesting coverage, like Wired for technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental Floss for culture. Yes, you could read it all online, but it's great to have a physical magazine to read when you're on the subway or on an aeroplane or waiting in line somewhere.
4. Get a passport if you don't have one. If yours has expired, get it renewed now. You never know when that great travel opportunity is going to occur, and you don't want to get stuck at home while your friends are at some great concert at the Acropolis in Greece.
5. Back it up. Most people don't take the time to do this, and regret it later. So copy your entire hard drive onto an external drive or USB stick immediately; if possible, download a program like Acronis True Image that will simplify the restoring process and regularly make backups (or for Mac owners, start using Time Machine or SuperDuper). Also backup your mobile phone, PDA, and any other personal-information-storing device.
6. While you're at it, make photocopies of your credit cards, passport, drivers license, birth certificate, and other important papers. If you keep a journal or anything similarly irreplaceable, photocopy that. Keep these in a safe deposit box, parent's house, locked file cabinet, or any other secure location, preferably outside your own house. They'll be invaluable in the event of theft, loss, fire, or any other unplanned incident.
7. Look through your refrigerator and cabinets. Read the labels on the food. Stop buying anything high in saturated fats, trans fats,cholesterol, and sodium. And start shopping healthier today.
8. Get business cards. Don't have a business? It doesn't matter. Sites like vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though there's a shipping fee of under £6). Never hurts to look professional
9. Learn how you work: I'm often asked what books I found the most useful for learning Sales, NLP and Business. I will be posting my recommendations next.
10. This is not for everyone, but some of you--and you know who you are--definitely need to do this: Throw out all your socks. Every last one. Now go buy new pairs that actually match and don't have holes in them. You'll feel like a new man. Remember, get black socks. White socks are for athletic activities only. I don't want to catch any of you guys here wearing white socks in the boardroom!
11. Buy a suit. (Or a dress if you're a woman.) But don't just get any suit or dress. Get one that's slightly closer to the size you want to be this year, whether it be a little bigger or a little smaller than your current measurements. Try it on every Saturday morning as a reminder to yourself to get in shape this year; until, one day, it fits perfectly, and you wear it out and feel like a million pounds
12. Decide to actually become a millionaire.