A Life Plan will make this your most meaningful year yet. You’re going to do great things. Here are three simple things to start the year with focus and intention that I learned from Business Made Simple:
- Create a life plan.
- Write and track your goals.
- Pretend you’ve already lived today.
Given these points, let’s dig deeper into what this means to you.
CREATE A LIFE PLAN
First off, craft a compelling vision of the plan for your life that gets you jumping out of bed in the morning.
I’m 55 years old and it’s rare for me to jump out of bed with excitement. Until I made myself a Hero on a Mission. I’ve used many planner systems over the years- ‘The man with a plan.’ With that said, I’ve never mapped my daily activities into a life plan-never had a life plan. Do you? I knew what was important to me. I’ve considered my passions. As a 19-year Rotarian, I’ve devoted a sizeable chunk of my life to service. Realistically, I wasn’t serving with a long-term vision.
What did I want to do? I don’t mean just my life today-I’m talking the rest of my life. I decided what I wanted people to say when they heard I passed. What if I lived 85 years old? I decided I wanted to live a life of meaning in my remaining 30 years. Who contemplates their life this way? I wrote my obituary and what people said. What legacy will I leave? I want to be someone who inspired others to serve. A Servant Leader. I want to epitomize the Rotary motto ‘Service Above Self.’ That is my aspirational goal. I want to travel the world with my wife-soulmate and help the needy. This requires I grow my business so we can retire too.
Notwithstanding, I had other elements of my life I needed to carry out with my faith, my friends, and my two lovely daughters. Of course, this gave my life meaning. Writing my life plan and mapping to 10, 5, 1-year vision statements gave me purpose. This is what’s meant by creating a life plan. With this intention, try it too.
WRITE AND TRACK YOUR GOALS
Secondly, Set and stay accountable to goals by breaking them into daily tasks which turn into habits. Of course, this is common among daily planners. Although now you want to align your life goals with your planner. Your life plan with 10, 5, 1-year visions should translate into project plans for you to complete over the next year.
I reversed engineered my life plan into a 12-month action plan. In like fashion, that action plan was reversed engineered into daily tasks. I can’t express the excitement of waking up each morning with a purpose. I design my day to do my important tasks aligned with my job, my family, my passions, and my life plan. Imagine a daily plan with a purpose. Knowing my actions are meeting my life’s dreams is exciting. I can say to things that don’t fit my life plan. That’s amazing. With this purpose in mind, I encourage you to write and track your goals, which map into your life plan, too.
PRETEND YOU’VE ALREADY LIVED TODAY
Thirdly, pretend you’re living this day for the second time. What will you change? Ask now, and you can live with intention and more wisdom. When I started do this, my personal relationships improved across the board. While this may be true, let me explain.
Before I start my day, I envision what’s most important to me according to my life plan. I imagine I can make things happen the way I want. What did I want? I want to connect with the people important to me. Yes, it’s that simple. To sum up, not money, meetings, or getting things done. Unfortunately, my parents and siblings are deceased. For this reason, what’s important to me is building deeper relationships with my wife, my daughters, and close friends. So, what does that mean? It means I need to make sure that I start my day reaching out, showing love and appreciation to them. Do you know what happening? My relationships get better. Incredible. I can’t tell you how much a day gets better when your important relationships improve. You want this magic pill. Pretend you’ve already lived today and make it the best.
In summary, these are 3 Simple Things Every Leader Should DO in 2022. As I have said, I completed the Hero on a Mission course from the Business Made Simple framework, and I do it myself. I coach others through the course and watch them change their lives with focus and intention. You can learn more here: https://laurexadvisors.com/hoam
About Alex Johnson
Alex Johnson is a business coach who has spent twenty years helping companies grow their profits in the least amount of time. His experience in the areas of technology, commercial real estate, senior housing, and nonprofits makes him invaluable for many organizations that need help with growing revenue streams or improving other aspects, such as efficiency.
Alex became passionate about helping others turn around flagging businesses after he experienced firsthand what it’s like to start and run small businesses. You can schedule a call and get a consultation to improve your business today.
By taking the Hero on a Mission Course, you’ll create your life plan, write your goals, and pretend you’ve already lived today.
