By Mark Schaefer
I first saw Chris Brogan use this technique a few years ago — distill your annual goals into three focused words. C.C. Chapman explained this process in his nifty book Amazing Things Will Happen
As I had some down time over the holiday, I reflected on where I needed to grow and it did seem to distill into three themes. Here are my words for 2013:
Journey
No, not the rock band (Although I do love “Wheels in the Sky”). What I mean by “Journey” is enjoying the trip as well as the destination. And I literally mean the trip!
I travel a lot for my job and life on the road wears me down — the crowded airports, the delays, the seemingly endless hours of wasted time. It’s stressful being away from my home and family. Travel also disrupts my healthy eating and exercise habits. I dread it.
Yet travel is an unavoidable part of my career path right now. In 2013, I need to make changes to make travel less stressful, more productive, and more enjoyable. Any ideas?
Conversational
I have worked really hard to make the content on this blog great. But the bar is raising every year as the information density on the web explodes. How do I stay relevant and conversational? If I provided excellent content in 2012, how do I really “WOW” my readers in 2013? What would you like to see? How do I create a blog that people adore, posts that are creating conversations all over the web? How do I up my game in writing, public speaking, and teaching to get people talking?
Centered
This is very rewarding business but a really weird business. The more you succeed:
- Your ability to connect, engage, and be helpful declines precipitously. Yet, these are the very traits that made you successful!
- A mantle of “celebrity” is thrust upon you. This is extremely uncomfortable for me, yet unavoidable.
- You are increasingly brought into petty fights and targeted by “haters.”
Once in a while I get caught up in the BS of social media. I get knocked off center by attacks and can be irritable and even short with people who are fakes, spammers, and trolls. I get weary from the unrelenting barrage of strangers who want to “pick my brain.”
These undesirable consequences will undoubtedly intensify as more people consume my blog, books, classes and speeches. I realize that I am a very blessed individual and that I need to handle the negatives with grace, kindness, and patience no matter what is coming at me. That is who I want to be under all circumstances.
I think if I focus on these three words I’ll have a happier and more productive year. What do you think? What are your words for 2013?
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