I would be remiss if I didn’t do the obligatory New Year motivational post. Here are some of S. Anthony Iannarino  thoughts on how to start a new year off right. According to Iannarino, all you have to do is make three lists.

Keep

The first list that you make is a list of things that you need to continue doing in order to reach your goals.

We all spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to improve and what we want to change. But much of what we do is working for us, and it’s important to take the time to make sure that you continue to do the important things that produce important outcomes.

I’ll focus on sales here, but you can use this exercise for anything. If you are a diligent and dedicated prospector, you surely want to keep doing the work that produces opportunities (this prevents a lot of other problems). If you nurture the relationships you need and create value in front of claiming any, it’s worth making sure your future plan includes that activity.

Whatever it is that’s working for you, acknowledge it. Then make sure you keep doing it.

Start Doing

Your second list is an easy list to write. You know all of the things that you want to do, and it’s likely that you know all the things that you need to do to produce better results. Chance are, you’ve known what many of these things are because you’ve being mean to get around to doing them for a long time. Now you have to capture these outcomes and commit to them.

It’s easy to make a massive list, but you really need to make certain that this list is meaningful and that the time you invest in these tasks and activities gets you the right outcomes.

Maybe you need to start prospecting or nurturing your dream clients. Or maybe you need to build your business acumen so that you can be more valuable to your clients and your company. You might need to start following your sales process, or start getting some coaching.

You know what you need to do. Make the list, get committed, and start taking action.

Stop Doing

I have written about the To-Don’t list here in the past. This is an important list, and it’s certain that there are things that you do that move you away from your goals and away from healthy outcomes.

This is universal. You know the behaviors that prevent you from succeeding. You know the actions that produce poor outcomes.

Maybe you need to stop spending time on activities that aren’t really sales. Maybe you make excuses or believe that you aren’t responsible for your poor results. You might to stop waiting for opportunities to come to you or you might need to stop taking yourself out of your deals. Maybe you need to stop waiting.

Each of us is the greatest obstacle to our future success, and we have the ability to make the changes necessary to get out of our own way. Get out of your way and stop doing the things that prevent you from succeeding and reaching your goals.

The exercise is simple. Like anything else, it’s the execution that’s a bit more challenging.

Questions

What do you need to keep doing in order to reach your goals?

What are you going to start doing?

What do you need to stop doing and why?

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