January 1, 2019, a day like any other day. Or is it?

Culturally, it represents so much… new beginnings, new dreams, new goals, new resolutions, new adventures… it’s like a reset for your life.

I’ve never been a fan of resolutions. But, when I started following Chris Brogan many years ago, I really liked his yearly reset with “My 3 Words.”  It makes more sense to me for setting intentions for the next 365 days. Choosing three words to shape the year ahead provides a roadmap and can be applied consistently to projects, relationships, business, and adventures.

Last year I chose 3 words. I wasn’t entirely successful in achieving what I intended, but they did provide a Northstar for me.

I’m back at it for 2019 and have been mulling words for the past few days. Slowly, words come into my consciousness and they roll around as I consider their meaning and how they relate to my life as it is in the moment and how I’d like it to evolve in the next twelve months.

As 2019 dawned, I realized I had my words and they make sense for me. One of them, I felt might be too negative. But on reflection, I don’t think it is and it supports the other two words. 

My 3 Words

Without further ado, I present My 3 Words for 2019 and what they mean to me…

EXPAND

As 2018 wound down, Affiliation was making its mark on me. As 2019 winds up, expansion is calling. I have a long-time affiliation with my good friend and colleague Ellen Britt. In August I joined her in a new venture that started me on the road to better health by starting an intermittent fasting practice. Ellen invited me to partner with her in building and hosting an Intermittent Fasting group for Entrepreneurs on Facebook that has grown quickly to nearly 700 active members. We have big plans for expanding the group and we have a secret project we’ll be unveiling in the first quarter of the year. 

I have big plans for expanding my business as well, focusing more on the Marketing Trailblazers Community I launched last year and starting a new side gig… as an independent travel consultant. 

The MT Community is growing and we’ve added new features that are rolling out in 2019. The side gig is just about ready to launch and expands my knowledge (big time!), my desire to travel, and helping others discover the joy of adventure. Stay tuned for details!

I also plan on expanding the number of adventures I have and my first big one of the year is accompanying a group to my favorite country for a trek to Machu Picchu in Peru. 

ELIMINATE

This is the word I was concerned would be too negative. However, I realize it supports EXPAND. Whether it’s my business or my life, there’s plenty I need to eliminate in order to give full attention to the areas I want to expand.

It will only help me to eliminate projects, software, social platforms, and piles of out of date content that no longer serve me and get in the way of creating clarity about new ideas.

I also still have some weight to eliminate and Intermittent Fasting is helping me get there. I lost 27 pounds in 2018 and have about 10 more to go.

FOCUS

Focus supports EXPAND and ELIMINATE. Without it, getting where I want to go will be messy. Focus is also critical in my personal life: with family and helping my aging mother; with my friends who I love dearly and make my life so rich; with my colleagues who I adore; and my clients who I cherish. Focus means keeping my commitments (not getting distracted) and making the people in my life high priority and the rest will fall into place.

Your Turn and What’s Next?

After you’ve claimed your three words, or set your intentions for the year, or identified the goals you want to achieve, what’s next?

What I’m doing, is creating a list of habits I want to develop that supports my direction for the year. I’m mapping out my calendar and identifying when and with whom I want to work. I’m itemizing the action steps required to realize the consolidated program schedule (and the promotion) I want to offer and then getting those steps on the calendar. I anticipate this will help keep me on track a bit better than usual. My first quarter is already shaping up to be incredibly productive and exciting. 😉 

How do you set yourself up for success? What are your rituals or the steps you take? Share in the comments below if you wish. If you need some help developing your plan, I’d be happy to speak with you.

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