Tweet

A Minute A Day…

Written by: Laura Posey

Article Overview: It’s that time of year again - time to set our goals. For some reason we all think that January is the time to start fresh, to once and for all be the things we want to be and achieve all the things we want to have. We make our New Year’s resolutions, we promise to do things better, to turn over a new leaf. The winter air carries countless promises of losing weight, making money and being better friends/parents/spouses. It all sounds so good. So why are we so bad at making it happen? Let’s face it- by the end of January most of us have already abandoned our goals as mere pipe dreams and we shrug them off with a mental note to do better next year.

A Minute A Day…

It’s that time of year again - time to set our goals. For some reason we all think that January is the time to start fresh, to once and for all be the things we want to be and achieve all the things we want to have. We make our New Year’s resolutions, we promise to do things better, to turn over a new leaf. The winter air carries countless promises of losing weight, making money and being better friends/parents/spouses. It all sounds so good. So why are we so bad at making it happen? Let’s face it- by the end of January most of us have already abandoned our goals as mere pipe dreams and we shrug them off with a mental note to do better next year.

Folks, it’s about goals, nothing more, and nothing less. I’m not here to tell you about how to set your goals, though, because there are tons of people and books to tell you how to do that and that’s not the hard part. I’m here to tell you how to achieve your goals and that’s a whole different ballgame.

The first thing to do is look back at last year and analyze your behavior. What went right? What goals did you hit? What things did you do to make them happen? How can you do them again this year? Now, what went wrong? What goals did you miss? Why did you miss them? Why did you really miss them? There are only two possible answers to that question.

One answer is that other people or situations caused you to miss your goals. If the reason you missed your goals has anything to do with the economy, your product, the market, your company or anything like that you are on your way to missing your goals again this year. Come the end of January, you’ll be right back where you were last year.

If on the other hand you answered something like, “I didn’t do the things I needed to achieve my goals” you are well on the way to hitting this year’s numbers.

Your goals are achieved by you and no one else. It is your reactions to other events and people that determine whether you get where you want to go. Only when you realize that you and you alone control your destiny will you begin to achieve the greatness you are capable of.

The key to making your goals not just wishes but reality lies in the power and intricacies of your mind. We are amazing creatures and each of us is capable of great things. Our difficulty lies in learning to harness the power of our minds to change our behaviors to get the things we want in life. Because most of us don’t fully understand the way we learn and change, we are doomed to setting new goals each January and achieving the same old thing each December.

Our results change only when our behaviors change. You’ve heard the old definition of insanity; doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If we don’t act differently, we won’t make more money or lose weight or whatever else it is we want to do. In order to change our behavior, though, we can’t just read a book or go to a seminar or do anything just one time. We have to do these things repeatedly in order to build new habits and to make long term-changes. So often we want change to be quick and easy and efficient. We want to go to an all-day training session or read an entire book and change our entire lives overnight. It simply doesn’t work like that. That’s like saying you want to lose 10 pounds so you’re going to the gym for 8 hours. The human mind doesn’t change any differently than the human body. We simply don’t change in large chunks, we change in small increments.

Instead of trying to change yourself overnight, I’d like to suggest that you change only one minute a day. Just change one minute of your life today. Tomorrow, change an additional minute and continue on through the rest of the year. By this time next year, over 6 hours of your day will be different. That’s right- 6 hours of every day will be better than it is now. You’ll be doing the things you need to do to achieve your goals. If you work an 8 hour day, you will have improved 75% of your whole work life. Now that’s progress! And this time next year you’ll be looking back at the amazing progress you’ve made and you’ll be excited, instead of apprehensive, about next year’s goals. Now, wouldn’t that be a great holiday present to yourself?

Related Articles
  Just A Minute
  Something Better for Executives
  Leadership: A Way of Thinking, Not a Position
  The Five Minute Easter Egg Miracle
  How the One to Three Speaking Ratio Can Dramatically Increase Sales

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Do Articles For Businesswomen need to be written differently - One of the best books ever written to illustrate this point beautifully, half the book is written in a story style and then the same thing is written again in more of a text book style. The book is The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen. Quite different and I am sure that each half appeals to different people in different ways. MichelleJ
Marketing vs Web Optimizers vs Usability - Hi BigJim22, I must be honest - I haven't really read a lot of Seth's articles on web site strategies. What I have found though is that there always seems to be a three way conflict between marketing ideas, SEO strategies and usability issues when doing web development. The secret is to balance between the ideal situation for each of these. Since a website needs to be found, visited and acted upon we need a strong combination of marketing, SEO and usability to be successful. It's something we struggle with constantly at Last Minute Training and I'm sad to say - we still haven't found the right combination.
Book: The 1-Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealt - Book:The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth Robert G. Allen (co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul) 2002 Jacket: Is it possible to make a million dollars in only one minute? The answer just might surprise you. [This book] is an entirely new approach, a life changing "millionaire system" that will teach you how to: 1. Create wealth even when you have little or nothing to start with 2. Use the power of leverage to build wealth rapidly 3. Overcome fears so you can take reasonable risks Use "one minute" habits to build wealth over the long term ...Here are two books in one, fiction and non-fiction, designed to address two kinds of learning so you can fully integrate these life-changing lessons. On the right-hand side pages you will find the fictional story of a woman who has to make a million dollars in ninety days or lose her two children forever. The left-hand pages give the practical, step-by-step non-fiction strategies and techniques that actually work in the real world.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Leader's Success Secret: Celebration

Are You Fulfilled

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.