Approaching The New Year

There are only a couple days left in 2012 and then 2013 will be upon us.  I know what you all are thinking: where did the year go?  It seems like just yesterday we were sitting here looking forward to 2012.  Each new year brings upon hopes and dreams.  Sadly, for many, it is usually followed up by the same old routine.

Change

Change is something that few embrace.  Instead, they seek to avoid it as much as possible while maintaining the stats quo.  Most of you already know that nothing great was ever achieved by adhering to the status quo.  This is true whether we are referring to great companies, countries, or lives.  And that is the key message I want to deliver: for you to attain a greatness in your life, you must not only embrace change but seek it out. 

Life is full of changes.  People live and then they die.  In business, companies begin, thrive, deteriorate, and eventually go bankrupt.  Individuals are hired and then fired (or retire) only to be replaced by someone else.  Nature, which is the basic essence of everything, is in perpetual motion.  Everything is moving all the time.  Your life is not differernt.

Therefore, one of your primary objectives for 2013 is to become a change expert.  The time to start is right now.  Remember, it was only a few short 365 days that you were sitting there looking upon 2012 as "your year".  And, I will promise you, it will be no time before we are looking back upon 2013 while planning for 2014.  We all know that time flies.  You literally do not have time to wait.  Begin changing what you can at this very moment.

Focus On What Is Important

One of the best changes you can make is to focus upon that which is important to you.  I found that most people spend the majority of their time chasing after things which ultimately means little to them.  Instead of focusing on what is really important, they allocate their hours to what they think is important.  There is a big difference.  Understanding this and changing your behavior is paramount to lifelong success.

This point is exemplified by those who go through a "mid life" crisis.  Here is a person who spend a couple of decades pursuing those things that he or she thought were going to bring happiness.  The crisis is brought upon by the fact that much was actually achieved yet the person was still unfulfilled.  This is what happens when one spends time focusing upon that which really is not important.  Sure, having the nice house and car might deliver a degree of satisfaction.  However, most find that it really means little to them in the larger picture.  It is at this point that one realizes the need to change.  Too bad so many years were spent chasing after the wrong thing.

So, how does one go about determining exactly what is important?  One of the best ways is to picture yourself on your death bed (I know pretty morbid but bear with me) looking back over your life.  Or, another way is to imagine that you are diagnosed with an incurable disease and given only a year or two to live.  When you put yourself in these states, you then can consider what is important.  There is a saying that says never did a man, when on his deathbed, wish he spent more time at the office.  Work is a big part of our lives.  However, it is not the only part nor even the most important.  It is a means to an end.  For you to be fulfilled, you need to concentrate you attention on the end and not the means.

Both

One other change I want you to make immediately is to focus your attention of both.  I realize that life is about choices and there are often sacrifices that need to be made along the way.  Nevertheless, most people are conditioned to think in terms of either/or.  This is not how successful people operate.  Rather than consider one of the two choices, they look for ways to have both.  For example, how can I make more money and create more time freedom for myself?  Many will tell you that you can have one or the other but that is not exactly accurate.  It is possible to have both if you structure your life properly.

This approach is extremely helpful in that it starts to develop your creativity.  Making decisions is important and a good muscle to develop.  However, one's thinking can get lazy when constantly opting between two choices.  Those who develop their ingenuity begin to see ways of how to have both choices as opposed to just one. 

Another thing that it does is that you attention is focused upon the limitless possibilities that exist in this world.  Too many of us become conditioned to believe that we have to exist within this cocoon that society presents to us.  Our minds quickly become our captors by adhering to the ideas of others.  Of course, the ones who taught us these principles were the sames ones who subscribed to them.  How many of us had parents or teachers who believed in both?  The truth is most people we meet believe they continually have to make trade offs.  This simply is not true.

Consider these:

-working and having fun
-earning money while gaining more free time
-losing weight yet enjoying food
-build wealth while not being miserly
-eating healthy and eating inexpensively

Look at these examples and think of ways to accomplish these ends.  Most will look at them as trade offs.  Part of your new plan for 2013 is to consider everything in terms of both.  This shift in mindset alone will net you much greater results than you can ever imagine.

Let us now begin to make 2013 the best year ever.
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