What will the New Year Bring?

So, it is a new year, and in alot of ways today is no different from yesterday and all the yesterdays before it. There is nothing real about all the hoopla that surrounds the changing of one digit on our calendars. And yet…. it is powerful, Barak Obama showed us all how powerful the idea of change can be, so in this year of so much promised change, I have to wonder… what will it bring for me?

I can tell you what I want. A more meaningful life, a life that makes a difference in the lives of others no matter how small. I want deeper more intimate relationships with my God, my friends and my family. I want to be fit, I want to remain healthy. I want a nice balance of alone time and not alone time. I want my financial life to become strong and something that I no longer worry or feel guilty about. I think these are things that all of us want. How do we get there though?

I was reading Seth Godin’s blog the other day and he was talking about Outliers. In Outliers the Malcolm Gladwell makes that case that superstars put in 10,000 hours of effort to get where they are. Seth argues that what they are really doing is pushing past the point where others give up… maybe it is 10,000 hours, maybe it is 20,000 hours maybe it is 5,000 hours but all things being equal the superstars are the ones that don’t give up. Luck, social status, education, and opportunities all make that nice little formula alot more messy than that, but it is part of the path to success. Outwork all your competitors.

What does this have to do with the New Year and living the life I want? Persistence; getting what I want means not giving up on it. Being clear about what I want and putting my efforts there. I work alot, but am I working toward what it is that I want? I don’t this so. I think I am avoiding failing at getting what I want by working on things that I know don’t matter that much to me. I need to focus, and I need to work on those things that matter most to me.

I am not making resolutions. Everything I want, is not new. I have been working on these things for years. I need to keep on keeping on and believe that I can make these things happen. So what are my goals?