RonMcNutt.com - Where goals, strategy and action intersect!

A New Attitude...

Has the recent economic turmoil caused you to lose your passion and maybe even develop a pessimistic attitude toward life and business?  I know, I've felt it and I've heard it from other business owners too.  But, if you woke up this morning on this side of the grass, I would argue that even though recent months and years might not have gone your way, you can begin to regain your zeal and enthusiasm and start building your business again...TODAY!

So, as you ponder your Vision and Goals for 2010, remember: Your Success Is An Inside Job!  Your success always starts with you.  Brian Tracy calls this the Law of Correspondence: "Your outer world corresponds to your inner world."  Zig Ziglar is famous for saying, you must BE before you can DO and you must DO before you can HAVE.  He also tells a story about people wanting heat from the "stove of life" before they put wood into the stove.  Well, it just doesn't work that way.  Just as we must first put wood (fuel) into the stove to burn and create heat, we must first have internal fuel that combusts into outward actions and results.

Keep these thoughts in mind:

• As Earl Nightingale said, "You become what you think about most of the time."  So, if you want to change your life...you must first change your thinking.
• Just as Aristotle first surmised, "For every cause there is an effect."  You must remember that your thoughts are causes and your actions are effects.
• Similarly, it states in the bible, "You will always reap what you sow."  Sow high quality thoughts and get high quality actions.  Additionally, you will always reap more than you sow and you will reap later than you sow.
• Finally, you feel good about yourself to the degree to which you feel in control of your life.  Psychologists call this your "Locus of Control".  If you feel out of control, your self-esteem will be negatively impacted and consequently your performance will be negatively impacted too.  To reverse course, you must take back control of your life...that is, you must recognize that you are responsible for your success or lack of success despite any current circumstances.  Take back control and as a result your self-esteem will go up, which will cause your performance to go up, which will cause your self-esteem to go up and so on and so forth!

Always remember...your outer world is a reflection of your inner world.  TO HAVE MORE, YOU MUST FIRST BE MORE!  Live 2010 with a PASSIONATE ATTITUDE of ABUNDANCE!  It will serve you well.

Start now to TAKE-OFF and SOAR AGAIN in 2010!

Setting Your Goals for 2010 (or a Place to Start)...

GOALS help you focus on the MOST important parts of your business and life. 

That's the premise behind Brian Tracy's book, Focal Point.  Here's a brief excerpt: "This simple story illustrates and summarizes the most important single principle of success, achievement and happiness in life. Your ability to determine where you put the "X" in each part of your life is the critical determinant of everything that you accomplish, or fail to accomplish.  This "X" is your focal point. This is the one thing that you can do, at any given moment, to get the very best result possible for you in that area. Your ability to choose the correct time, place and activity to place your "X" has more of an impact on your life than any other factor."

We all share some common goals: to be healthy and fit, full of energy and free of pain or illness; to enjoy excellent relationships (psychologists estimate that 85% of our happiness is due to the quality of our relationships); to do work we enjoy, do it well and be well paid for it; and to achieve financial independence, meaning not have to worry about money.

In business coaching, we use an exercise called "Diamond Mapping" to help determine a person's satisfaction with these key areas in life (Note: You can also add Spiritual and Personal Growth as categories, although I tend to include these with my health and fitness goals).  It's a simple gut check on a scale of 1-10 to determine our satisfaction in each of these important areas.  First, determine what a "10" means for you and then mark your current position relative to a "10".  For example, in business, a "10" might be a revenue level of $10 Million.  If you are currently at $5 Million in revenue, then you would probably circle a 5.  Do this for each of the areas.

So, what will you do in 2010 to move from where you are today on your diamond map to where you want to be?  Take 30 seconds to answer the following 4 questions.  Often, our gut reaction is just as accurate as if we had spent hours pondering a question.

1. What are your 3 most important business or career goals?
2. What are your 3 most important financial goals?
3. What are your 3 most important family or relationship goals?
4. What are your 3 most important health and fitness goals?

In writing your goals, remember to make them SMART:

S = Specific.  Make your goals as specific as possible.
M = Measurable.  Make your goals measurable so you can tell if you are moving toward your goal or away from it.
A = Aligned with Your Values.  Your goals will be meaningless and temporary unless they are aligned with your values.
R = Realistic.  Set stretch goals, but set goals that are realistically attainable.
T = Time-Bounded.  Always set a deadline for goal accomplishment.

What one action will you take TODAY as a result of reading this?  The longer the period between the decision and the action, the less likely you are to get into action.  Do something every day that moves you toward accomplishing your most important goals!

Take-Off in 2010!

The New Year and decade are here!  I don't know about you, but I'm excited by the potential of the next 365 days and PLAN to capitalize on that potential through EXECUTION.  Sure, recent months have been TURBULENT, but now it's time to TAKE-OFF and SOAR AGAIN!  What great things do you plan to accomplish in 2010?

Brian Tracy often says, "You have the ability, right now, to accomplish more than you ever have before!"  The first step is to plan for that accomplishment by clearly defining (in writing) your goals and schedules that will take you from where you are today, to where you want to be (and plan to be) in the future.

So, in the coming days, weeks and months, I'll be offering some ideas to get your "Flight Plan" filed and your business (career or life) off the ground and soaring to great accomplishments in 2010.

See you soon and Happy New Year!  Ron