Happy New Year! Let’s start 2013 with intent!

It’s common practice when you are trying to motivate people around a new initiative or big purpose to give it a theme. It solidifies the vision and gives focus to the action plan. So, let’s take this thinking to a personal level. Today is the beginning of 2013 and I think a personal theme is in order! What would you like to consider? Here are a few ideas…

1. Insights… How would you like to find great insights on a regular basis? Action: Focus on finding them. Look for 3 insights a day. This will force you to look at every situation from a slightly different perspective. Ask compelling questions to draw out possible nuggets. Read… The One Conversational Tool That Will Make You Better At Absolutely Everything, by Shane Snow, a contributor to Fast Company.

2. Learner… How would you like to know 100 times more about a subject next year at this time? Action: Pick an area you would like to master like… the business end of your law practice. Find a business focused reading list and read one a month or two if you are an avid reader. Take a look at Social Media Today’s 13 Must-Read Books to Kick Start Your 2013 or National Federation of Independent Business’s  8 Best Small Business Books Published in 2012.

3. Serenity… How would you like to have more peace and serenity in your life? Action: Every hour on the hour stop for 10 seconds and close your eyes, take a deep breath and go to that place in your mind that is calm. I can just hear you… “I can’t stop every hour!” Oh yes you can. For 10 seconds no one will even notice you are gone. If you are in a meeting, on the phone, in court or in the middle of a heated argument with your kids, those 10 seconds will center you and you will have more focus and serenity to address the issues at hand.

This will take commitment, focus and a plan. Share your big theme with others, give it a meaningful tagline and you will keep it alive until it becomes a habit. The kind of habit that doesn’t require lots of thought or effort to exercise. So in that spirit I would like to share my theme for 2013 with you.

Creation… I want to do more of what I love doing and that is create. It is one of my strengths and I am happiest when in the flow of creating. My Action: I will create a new product (book, seminar, speech, etc.) every single week. 52 weeks of ideas created and put into action. I suspect that some will be good, some not much and others super stars. I have already been keeping a list and each week I will flesh out another idea. My tagline is simply… 52 Weeks. I chose that because the number is motivation to me and I can just imagine how practicing the art of creation every single week would be amazing. I will make time to think, doodle and quite frankly… just have fun. I will go to places that will fuel and inspire me. I don’t intend that the products will be completed in a week but they will certainly get started, the idea will be fleshed out and evaluated.

If you have any challenges you would like to see me tackle, I would love to hear them. I promise to keep you posted. Stay tuned! I would love to hear what your big theme is!