Mark Cole: Insure Your Best Year Ever

I want to help you make this year your best year ever. Is that something you’d be interested in?

Here’s the catch: this message may not be for you.

This is for those who are expectant. I’m talking to people who already have a plan and are ready for 2019 to be the above-and-beyond year you’ve been anticipating! If that’s you, I want to help you create an insurance plan for the goals you’ve set this year.

Here are 7 things that will insure you to have a successful 2019:

1. Have a plan.

I don’t believe you can be successful if you don’t have a plan. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? Clarity on what you’re pursuing keeps you focused in the difficult times.

Ask yourself 3 questions to help you develop your plan. In 2019…

1. What areas have to be different?
2. What areas need to be different?
3. What areas do you want to be different?

Spend time answering those three questions. You need to have a plan.

2. Set expectations.

Expectations are critical to success. There have been far too many years of my life when I didn’t know that I had a good year because I had not set expectations to be different.

Define your wins for 2019. If you don’t put some expectations to the plan, you’ll never know if the plan worked. You can’t exceed expectations if there are no expectations.

3. Remove distractions.

What are the low return activities that are impeding your growth? Maybe there are things that you have been doing for years that have turned into distractions.

John Maxwell asks it this way, “What are the downhill habits that are impacting your uphill aspirations?”

You’ll never accomplish your plan and meet your expectations while entertaining distractions.

4. Invite accountability.

State your aspiration out loud! I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Some people are fooled into thinking they can reach their potential alone. But you can’t—you need to put your aspiration out there!

Get an inner circle, women and men that have the ability to give you a greater set of odds to hit your plan—people that can bring something to the table to push you to meet your goals. Partner with significant people that are going in the same direction as you.

5. Set measurement markers.

So many of us fail in our growth plans because we don’t have measurable activity within the plan. A plan without actionable items isn’t a plan—it’s a wish.

You need to place time on your calendar for doing activities that propel your 2019 growth plan. Then, revisit the plan so you can track it as you go.

6. Be the result.

Before you reach the result, be the result. Demonstrating the behaviors of success before you are successful will create a mindset that will propel you toward the success you are pursuing.

So many of us wait for a promotion to make us a leader. Bad idea! Being the vision is as important as seeing the vision.

7. Plan the party!

My good friend Don Yaeger shared an insight with me that I found fascinating.

While interviewing tennis great Serena Williams, she described how she envisions winning the championship before entering a tournament. She described visualizing every moment after the final point: how she will shake her opponent’s hand, how she will wave to the crowd, what she will say at the podium, and so on. Talk about a winning attitude!

Don’t just imagine what success is—imagine how success feels, how you’ll handle it, and what you’ll do when you’ve achieved it. If you have done all of the first 6 steps well, it’s time to plan the party! What will you do for yourself and the people who helped you accomplish your plan for 2019?

Some people dream, some people plan, but it’s only those who take action that reap the benefits. I want you to not only live out your plan, but see incredible results from it in 2019!

If you’ll put these 7 steps into practice, we’ll stand together at the end of the year celebrating our most successful year yet!

John Maxwell Leadership Podcast