With the New Year just two weeks behind us, are you still thinking about the year to come and what you want to accomplish? Are you thinking big?  A year is a long time and you are capable of so much.  Why not “go for it” this year?  If you did, what would “it” be for you?  Just about everyone I speak to has been touched by the economic turmoil of the last quarter.   A natural response is to hunker down, conserve, reduce expectations, make do with less.  Getting more fiscally thoughtful is sensible but it is never healthy to set our sights lower, to expect less of ourselves, to hope and dream smaller.  The only cause and effect relationship between the economy and the human spirit is the one we create; it is not a naturally occurring or inevitable relationship.

In my work with individual and with groups, I see again and again how much capability people have to get the things that are important to them.  My clients surprise and delight me (and themselves) with their ability to dispel the obstacles they have created for themselves and to overcome the obstacles that really do exist outside of them. Once they can see past the obstacles, they can see the way forward and then they make rapid progress toward their goals and they have fun doing it.

How do people achieve big goals?  They commit to their dream;  they set goals that have value;  they bravely confront obstacles and embrace enablers; they develop an informed strategy; and then they execute relentlessly.  I taught a very successful seminar last year called Uber Planning which is based on these five concepts:  Commitment, Value Proposition, Reconnaissance, Strategy and Execution. 

The steps help to organize thinking around achieving a big goal but the devil is in the details.  How do know when your vision is the right vision and not just a fantasy?  How do you find the tangible value in your goals and get others excited about it too?  How do you get past your own preconceptions and fears and blind spots so you can really see the obstacles and opportunities?  This is where it gets hard, and this is where even the most well-intentioned goal seekers often “hit the wall” and give up.  

There are two things that can help you on your journey to your big goal:  1) guidance (who would climb Mt. Everest without a guide?) and 2) support (who would climb Mt Everest all alone?).  I propose that we work together to create the conditions for success.  I will guide you and all of us can provide each other with encouragement, insights, and suggestions.  Together I know we will all surprise ourselves with what we accomplish in these trying times!  Fifty weeks to go!!!!!