New Year's Resolutions are a Marketing Tactic to get you to BUY MORE STUFF! Take control of your goals this year and make real change!
When you want to make a change in life or in business, there is no ah-ha moment where a switch goes off and you’re suddenly rich or you lose 20 pounds overnight. The idea of a New Year’s Resolution is an idea that is designed to fail. As a marketing person, I can tell you first hand it is a tactic to get you to buy the latest and great technology gadget or quick weight loss program.
The truth is, this is a very successful tactic because the sell is EASY.
The future is ALWAYS going to be perfect. The pitch-person for the product or program that is shown has already achieved the goals you want… and they did it in THREE EASY STEPS!
Your three easy steps are remarkably different then the steps that the pitch-person made to get there. Let’s be honest for a second; it was not one decision that led you to be where you are today. If that is in a good place, great. If it is a position you would idk to get out of, there is no where to go but UP.
It is also not going to take 3-steps to get back on track either. Just like it wasn’t one decision to led to where you now, it will take equally as many steps to get to your goal.
What all of these New Year’s Resolution marketing tactics don’t show you is the work that goes into losing 20 pounds or growing your income by 50%. It is easy to put it out there, it is just difficult to get to the end.
All is not lost.
1. STEP ONE: How do you get there? First, go ahead and make that goal a reality by writing it down. Put it in a spot where you will see if every day. For me, that is the whiteboard in my office. It is located just next to my window, and immediately to the right of my computer screens.
That is important to me because when I want to go check my fantasy team for the 10th time today, it is a constant reminder that I have bigger fish to fry.
2. STEP TWO: Next to my white board is a 6-month daily calendar. It is big, and I have to manually write it out every few months. This is also super important to me because the second thing that these New Years Resolution marketing people don’t tell you is that most goals are really moving targets. You need to be able to adapt to the curves that life throws your way.
If step one is setting the goal, step two is breaking those goals down into smaller chunks and creating milestones to hit along the way. If you are trying to make more money this year, you have an end amount you want to get to, but it doesn’t come in the form of a single lump sum. Most likely you’re starting from an existing salary or wage. You have to create some momentum each month to be able to build up to the amount you want. Then each time you tally where you’re at, you should be getting incrementally closer to where you want to be.
Where most people fail is when they don’t see results. I am here to tell you, you create your own results. You also have to recalibrate your goals as you go. I was on a Podcast recently and we talked about doing quarterly resolutions. That is why the calendar is right now next to my desk.
3. Step Three: Is to fill-out a calendar of steps and milestones you expect to hit and keep track of them. I do it on a physical calendar, for others, a Google Calendar works well. DO what works for you and in a way that you cannot ignore it. Put it in a spot you are forced to reconcile with every day. If that is your vanity in your bathroom, do that.
At the end of the day, week, month, year, or life, the only one it truly affects is you! You only get one shot at this. People live like they get to live a different life, you don’t. On one hand, you have all of the time in the world, on the other, it can be over in a flash. Make your time count for something!
“If you are boor poor its not your mistake, But if you die poor its your mistake.”
— Bill Gates
I am not saying your goals need to be all about money. Being more fulfilled, having a better life balance is important as well. The goal should always be to control your time.
4. Step Four: Outline how you will reach those milestones. If it is to make more money, you need to have more people to sell to. How do you find those people? Making a list of the logistics you need to follow to reach the goal is step 4. This is where action meets goal setting.
5. Step Five: Do the DO! You have the goal, you have the milestones, you have the timeline, you have the logistics, now you have to execute and follow-through. This is what separates the successful people from the folks that talk about being successful.
You do not have to publicize on Instagram the actions you take, but you have to hold yourself accountable for those goals. How you do that is up to you.
Good luck in 2018!
I will be checking in on a quarterly basis. If you would like to share your goals for 2018, please do so here, or on Facebook.
