- A. Smith Blog - Leadership in Life
These last few weeks of 2015 are crucial for planning your content marketing for 2016. December is typically a slow month for marketers, excluding those in retail, of course. This slower than usual time is the perfect opportunity to start planning for the new year.
Here are three simple tips you can use to make an effective marketing plan for 2016:
[Read more…] about Finish the Year Strong by Planning for 2016
As the New Year is now upon us, what goals do you have for this new time of opportunity? What are your passions? What inspires you? How can you do things differently this year than the year before? Let’s take a look at a couple of ideas that could help you accomplish your goals that maybe you have not tried yet.
1. Make deadlines for yourself.
Do you want to finish writing that novel you have been working on for months? Maybe start and finish a new painting by February? How about making that photo journal for a loved one before his or her birthday? Let’s face it – sometimes we all need a little motivation to get things done. This is where making a deadline comes into play.
If you are like me, if I have ample amounts of time to complete something, with no guideline for when it needs to be done, I will wait a while to do that task. I have learned over time not to procrastinate too much anymore, but sometimes it just happens. So my suggestion for a new goal this year, is to make a deadline for when it has to be accomplished or when a certain phase of it needs to be accomplished. Don’t overwork yourself and forget to eat, breathe, or spend time with family and friends. Simply set a date or a number of dates in which you want that task to be finished by.
For me, one of my goals is to travel to Europe this September. I plan on having my ticket purchased by the end of February. Once I do that, it’s smooth sailing from there.
“I am one of those people who thrive on deadlines, nothing brings on inspiration more readily than desperation.” – Harry Shearer
What goal are you going to make a deadline for this year?
2. Start a blog.
Before you get overwhelmed with how daunting a task this may appear, think about it for a moment. Writing down your ideas, sharing them with others and getting their input can lead to boosting your creativity. I know that since I started blogging this year, my creativity has been stretched beyond what I could have ever imagined. I will be honest here – having to write weekly about creativity stretched me creatively. Sounds a little funny, right? But, it is so true. I have done almost as much research on creativity as I ever did for one topic in college.
Starting a blog may be just that push you need to broaden your horizons and try something exciting or adventurous! In this article titled, “Nurturing Creativity”, one of the competencies that Robert Epstein, PhD, expresses is that one must obtain broadening. He says, “Some describe creative individuals as endlessly curious. But, their creativity goes beyond mere curiosity as they push themselves to read, explore, and experience things outside of their expertise, training, or even comfort zone.”
With that being said, would starting a blog be outside of your expertise or comfort zone? If so, that may be just the push you need to help you reach your goals and passions in life. Your new blog could be a creative outlet to release your ideas, spark new interests, or get motivated through others about your goals. When we put pen to paper, or fingers to keys on the computer, our idea then becomes real – it comes alive – it now exists not only in our minds, but in reality.
“Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.” – Napoleon Hill
[box]This is from my weekly newsletter that I sent out Sunday. In case you missed it, here are four important things we can all think about going into 2014. Sorry to the subscribers of asmithblog.com that you have to see this post for a second time, but the more often we expose ourselves to the importance of living better lives, the better our chances are for success.[/box]
This is the time of year that everyone just begins thinking about next year, so that makes it the perfect time to give you some reminders on how to make this next year even better than 2013. Maybe you had the best year of your life and you are wondering how you could possibly make it better. Or, maybe you have come up on the end of your worst year ever and are counting down the days for it to be over, so you can mentally start a new chapter. Whatever the case may be, you can alter just four things in your life and make the results infinitely better. Are you ready to find out what you can do to make 2014 great?
Here are the four ways you can make 2014 better than 2013:
1. Put mentors into place.
After receiving the question of, “How do I find a mentor?” almost everyday from my readers and others, I am finally writing materials on exactly what different mentoring relationships look like.
If you need a place to start until the, I will give you the following advice… Be accountable. Live your life like an open book. Share things that are going well and share things that aren’t. This allows for help in all areas and allows you to move upward and onward.
Look for an eBook out in early 2014 on this topic.
2. Find your “sweet spot”.
It isn’t enough to just “do”. You need to find your strengths and begin to actually enjoy what you do. Stop making your goal to just bring home a paycheck and begin making your goal to make a huge impact in the life of others. Stop making your goal “something” and make your goal all about impacting the lives of those around you.
3. Write out your biggest goals for 2014.
Why is goal setting important?
It is a very rare occasion that people stumble upon success. It almost always takes determination, discipline, planning and hard work. If you read my eBook on discipline, then you know I am a big fan of writing things down and being very intentional with the results of your life. Let that tool help you make a bigger impact in 2014 and begin constructing a plan to make a bigger impact than you have ever dreamed of.
4. Strive for excellence paired with balance.
I am making 2014 the year of excellence in all areas, especially my family. I am starting today with a renewed focus on the most important people in my life, no matter what the cost. I believe the responsibility placed on all of us has a lot to do with how our families are affected through us. If we realize the huge responsibility we have, we will begin to take this huge responsibility more seriously.
