No Matter How Busy You Are
by Jim Rohn
No matter how busy you are, make sure to find some time over the next two weeks to reflect, think, give and plan.
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is the ideal time for this. Try to slow things down. Spend time with the ones you love and care about. Take some time to talk with your spouse and kids about goals and dreams for the next year. Use this as a time to recharge your batteries (and not just by watching TV the entire time), and with excitement, think about a handful of changes or additions you want for your life in the New Year.
I believe you will find the act of reflecting, thinking, dreaming and planning (with your family) to be one of the most important exercises you can do that will positively impact the next 12 months.
And, remember, do not neglect to commit yourself to set this time aside, or you will find that the business of life can and will get in the way.
So, let’s all take a moment to gather up the past year of victories and defeats, growing as well as those times of stagnation, and use it to wipe a clean slate and thoughtfully design the next year the way we truly desire it to be.
Fix on Your Vision, Then Plot Your Course by Bob Proctor
One summer, I had a wedding to attend in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I had a few days to spare, and my wife and I enjoy each other’s company, so I suggested to Linda that we drive instead of flying. She readily agreed and started collecting the maps we’d need for the trip. As we plotted the course, we would be driving from Toronto to Detroit, Detroit to Cincinnati, Cincinnati to Lexington, Lexington to Louisville and then into Gatlinburg.
We were plotting the vision, you see, to get us from Point A to Point B.
When we got in the car to begin the trip, which city was I thinking of? Detroit. I had to get to Detroit first. If I missed Detroit, there’d be a good chance we wouldn’t find our way to the wedding at all.
Detroit was first on my list—that was my GOAL. After Detroit was accomplished, Cincinnati became my goal, and so on, all the way to my final destination: Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
I’ve had people come up and tell me that they’ve given up on their big dreams because they never seemed to get closer, no matter what they envisioned or tried. The error they’re making is that they’re looking for their Gatlinburg, Tennessee, while they’re still sitting in the driveway in Toronto. In many instances, they’re writing their Gatlinburg goal on a Goal Card I’ve given them, or they’re writing it in a journal somewhere. This is all well and good, but if you’re not also plotting your course to get from where you are to where you want to be, if you’re not figuring out the first goal for Detroit, then following that plotline forward in progressive order, you’re going to end up in Montreal instead.
You’ve GOT to plot the course. Figure out what you need to do between here and there and make those your goals. Once you have the course plotted, though, there are three very distinct rules of thumb I want you to remember.
First, just because you’ve plotted the course doesn’t mean you can put your whole plan on autopilot. When pilots reach cruising altitude, they’ll quite often put the plane on autopilot and let years of genius physics and calculus computations steer the plane toward its destination. But even with autopilot, you’ve got to manually get the plane in the air and manually land it. And even with autopilot, you’ve got to keep an eye on your instruments and pay attention to possible curveballs Mother Nature might toss your way.
You cannot rely on autopilot to get you where you want to go. You have to be personally involved and focused on the process.
Second, don’t get so carried away with the details of plotting the action steps within your vision that you don’t ever get out of your driveway. You know what I’m talking about—you see people around you do it all the time. They get so caught up in planning and charting and graphing their future that they never BEGIN it. This is fear in disguise—that’s all it is. Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect. Get the foundational elements in place and get moving.
Third, don’t be so intent on motoring to Detroit that you miss the scenery along the way. You’re on purpose, you’re on your way, enjoy the journey, for heaven’s sake. After all, that’s what you’re doing this for, isn’t it?
Than Write It Down
Journals
Be a collector of good ideas, but don’t trust your memory. The best collecting place for all of the ideas and information that comes your way is your journal.
The reason why I spend so much money for my journals is to press me to find something valuable to put in them.
There are three things to leave behind: your photographs, your library and your personal journals. These things are certainly going to be more valuable to future generations than your furniture!
Don’t use your mind for a filing cabinet. Use your mind to work out problems and find answers; file away good ideas in your journal.
The Kit Factor 