January 4th arrives in 2 hours (for me, anyways) and I was thinking: what are YOU doing to do it up in 2008? I really want to know, not only because I have some massive plans for this year but also because I always feel refreshed and ambitious come the start of a new year. It’s kind of like washing your plate (and scraping off all of that stuck-on crud the dishwasher always leaves behind)- January 1st comes around and suddenly I have 365 days to make it big, to make it happen.
Now, it sounds cheesy, but I’m a firm believer that cheese is great for the body and even better for the soul. Last year around this time I told myself that I was going to make it happen, that I was going to be big, and that I was going to do it up on the internet.
Guess what happened?
Without bragging, I earned high $XX,XXX on the internet in my spare-time, bringing my income for the year well over $XXX,XXX. I swore to myself that it was going to happen, and it happened. I worked, I fought, and I struggled, and I made it work. This year, as 2008 comes around, I plan on fighting and working twice as hard as I did last year. Funny thing I’ve noticed… the harder I work, the luckier I seem to get (thanks Jon for that one).
But it’s true, and that’s what really strikes me. How HARD are you willing to work? How MUCH are you willing to work? And, most importantly, how much is it all WORTH to you?
So let’s hear it: what are YOU doing for 2008?
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Here’s my goals for 2008…
http://traderbubs.com/2007/12/26/2008-personal-goals/
Ahh great goals (especially the meeting women part). I used to find it hard to relate to/talk to women, but as soon as I realized that they were/are as clueless as I am it made it much easier.
Losing some weight helped too
Congratulations on your successes!
For 2008, I’m vowing to at least “1.0″ all of the project ideas I’ve had sitting waiting around for the “right time.” The blogs, the articles, the web services — because once they’re up, they’re a whole lot easier to improve upon than when they sit in my mind.
I’m an efficiency consultant who helps companies design organizational systems that FREE, not restrict, them. Currently most of my business comes from offline word-of-mouth and I’d like to work more with individual entrepreneurs through the Internet in 2008.
I already work many hours, and I generally love what I do. I’m trying right now to focus on increasing my energy level. Twitter has been great for this, providing me a water-cooler environment from my home office — I’m also working out more and holding myself more publicly accountable. When I have a project, I’m now announcing it and putting up links before it’s ready — it’s amazing how much more I get done in the same amount of time when I’m in a race against the clock!
That’s excellent! It’s a great feeling working all day doing what you love- when you’re finished work, so to speak, you aren’t tired or “ready to unwind”. I liken it to doing something you enjoy all day, such as going to the beach or reading a good book.
I enjoy both going to the beach and reading a good book, but I also enjoy what I do for a living. To me, it isn’t work so much as it’s doing something I enjoy that also happens to pay me.
That’s a great thought. We shouldn’t have to wait for our luck to get better before we strive harder. We create our own luck! In a way, we have had similar experiences. I managed to earn good income last year from hard Internet work and this year, it looks like my perseverance paid off. In more ways than money. A lot of new opportunities are being offered to me and I’m going to make the most out of them!
congrats on making 6 figures. internet marketing just takes a lot of elbow grease to make some money. glad it paid off big time for you.
Greetings:
I hope the following from my last newsletter, The Career Accelerator (c) will contribute to this discussion. Subscriptions to my free semi-monthly newsletter are available at http://www.commonsenseatwork.com>
The majority of us made New Year’s Resolutions, but most of us will fall short in keeping them.
“Good resolutions are a pleasant crop to sow,” a wise man has declared. “The seeds spring up so readily, and the blossoms open so soon with such a brave show. But when the time for flowers has passed, what as to the fruit?”
It’s also been said, “He that resolves upon any great and good end has, by that very resolution, scaled the chief barrier to it. He will find such resolution…like the star to the wise men of old, ever guiding him nearer and nearer to perfection.”
Career Advice: No doubt about it, we’ll be better off in 2008–emotionally and materially–if we make resolutions and achieve them.
Today Is The Day To Start
There are 10 actions you can take to turn your resolutions into achievements on your career path by the end of 2008.
1. Take a hard look of what happened to your resolutions in 2007. Learn from your accomplishments and failures.
2. Make certain your career goals for 2008 are realistic and attainable. They should be a real stretch, but reachable with your best efforts. It’s fine, for example, to resolve to win a big promotion, but it’s not realistic to expect to make it all the way to the top in one leap.
3. Lay out a plan and work it. Quantify each career goal. Make sure each resolution includes actions to be taken with deadlines, as well as practical ways to measure progress at least once each month.
4. Put unrelenting pressure on yourself to make progress toward your goals every day. Accept no excuses for failing to meet deadlines.
5. Treat your resolutions as binding contracts. Put them in writing. Post your resolutions in a prominent place so they will be seen every day. (The bathroom mirror is a good place.) Share your resolves with other persons you respect.
6. Take credit for progress. Enjoy your accomplishmentson your way to career success.
7. Don’t be discouraged by the sheer size of the challenge. Think of each resolution as a series of small, manageable tasks to be accomplished one by one.
8. Have a low tolerance for diversions. Permit them only if they are advancements toward achievements that are more important than the original goals.
9. Start now, this day. Don’t let the time slip by until it’s too late and another year has gone by – lost forever – without measurable progress toward your career goals.
10. Remember. Nothing provides greater career rewards in terms of material benefits and peace of mind than having a set of goals and feeling at the end of each day that you have made your best efforts, according to a plan, to reach them.
Heed These Wise Words
Take seriously this career advice from Marie Edgeworth: “There is no moment like the present. The man who will not execute his resolutions when they are fresh upon him can have no hope from them afterwards; they will be dissipated, lost and perish in the hurry and scurry of the world, or sunk in the sloth of indolence.â€