7 Tips to Your Best Year Ever in 2020

What change do you need to make right now in order for 2020 to be your best year ever? Figure out what that is, make a plan, then take action. That's all it takes to have your best year.

GOAL - PLAN - ACTION

What's your goal? You may have goals in several different areas of your life, but let's focus on just one of those goals right now. State the goal as though you already have it.

My body is fit and fabulous.

Now, time for the plan. What will you do when to make this your truth? You could say, after I eat breakfast, I will walk x miles Monday thru Friday. Or, I will put on my workout clothes as soon as I get home from work each day and head to the gym after drinking a glass of water.

Fit your plan into your daily schedule. Say where you'll do it, then do it. If you miss one time, accept it, but do it again the next time you said you would. Just don't stop. I

NETWORKING

Who do you hang out with? Are your friends successful, thriving, filled with hope, setting and achieving their goals? Or maybe instead they're just getting by, complaining, and making excuses for not achieving more. It matters who you hand out with ... a lot!

Start networking to find a group of people who are achieving the things you want to achieve. As you hang out with achievers, you will achieve more. Plus you'll learn what's working for them, ways to work smarter, not harder, and you'll become a better you.

READING - LISTENING

When you're in the car, waiting for an appointment, any time you aren't actively working your business, you should be listening to podcasts and ebooks. Use that time to feed your brain and your spirit the food needed to thrive. Windshield time is a great time to listen!

Have a book or magazine on the back of your toilet seat. Yes, even there, feed your mind with positive information. Have a book beside you in the living room and on your bedside table. That may just be a Kindle or other e-book reader, which is great. Just keep feeding yourself nourishing information.

BE A GIVER

When you meet someone new, ask them lots of questions to find out what they're working on, what challenges they're facing, and where they're growing next. Your goal is to find some way you can bring value to people you meet. They may need a resource you know about, meet someone you know, or you may just read an article that relates to their work. When you connect others with resources, people, and information, they're excited to stay connected with you.

As you use your knowledge and connections to help others, you'll build a network of people who can help you. When you need something urgently, someone in your database will be happy to be your solution.

DO THE HARD THING FIRST!

The tendency is to do all the little things we don't mind doing first, and then we simply run out of time before we get to that thing we're dreading. For some of us, that's our workout or making those prospecting calls. SO, do those hard things first.

If you hate the gym, go do that before work. It will be so much easier to skip it after work - I'm so tired, I'm late, and on the excuses go. Same thing with prospecting calls. Set an hour to knock those out at 9 am. You'll be relieved to have them done OR you'll be so excited with what you achieved, that it will become an hour you look forward to. Whatever is hard for you, do it first!

FIND AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

We all need someone who we are honest with, and who we will allow to speak into our life. It does not have to be someone working toward the same goal, but, from my personal experience, your spouse is usually not that person. Just someone who is willing to cheer you on and push as needed.

Other than writing down your goal and your plan, this may be the next most important element to achieving your goals. Find your accountability partner. Tell them what your action steps are for achieving your plan, and that you will report to them daily, or whatever interval is appropriate, your completion of your action step. If you miss reporting or doing a step, you should have an agreed upon "consequence" that will then get you back to your action plan.

The consequence should be something you really don't want to do. For example, you might agree to make a financial donation to a charity that you don't approve of. Or you might have to clean the house of your buddy. Just something that you never want to do, much less do over and over again.

BE PERSISTENT TO ACHIEVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER

Don't give up your plan until you achieve your goal. Sometimes we can't see progress for a while, so it's easy to think, this isn't working. Keep your eyes on the prize, and don't give up. It's up to you to make 2020 great!