The Magic of Starting Today
It’s amazing how we think that January 1st is some magical day where everything can change within the blink of an eye. We anxiously await the countdown to a new year thinking that THIS year is going to be the time when we create those better habits, or do the things we’ve always wanted to do, or put a spark back in a relationship, or find that new love.
For our businesses we think that THIS is the year we implement that new thing, or get more organized, or do things in a better way that will make a bigger difference to our bottom line.
But why do we wait till January 1st? Why do we think there’s some magic in the turning over to a new year?
Why can’t it just be Tuesday, or next Wednesday, or even today?
There are many “experts” on success, “experts” in time management, and “expert” health gurus that say how we spend that first week of the new year sets the tone for the year ahead.
Well… I certainly hope that’s not true! I spent the first week of 2024 lying in bed with a fever and the flu, hearing chirping birds in the house and sleeping hours upon hours. I got absolutely nothing done. I watched more TV than I think I ever have in a five day period. (Or even a five week period.)
If your 2024 hasn’t already started out with a new contract in hand, or a love spark that shines into the night, or a new found commitment to a health regimen you are already consistently doing as a force of habit… it’s OK. You don’t have to wait till January 2025 and try again.
This crazy fictional, society driven pressure that we put on ourselves at the beginning of every year can’t be good. Instead we should have a consistent amount of pressure that doesn’t exceed our ability to deal with as a part of our every day, every week, and every month of every year.
Pressure that is applied accordingly and correctly is not a bad thing. It doesn’t increase stress and anxiety if done well. It simply provides us a sense of urgency, a sense of purpose, and of direction. The hard part is figuring out how much is too much pressure on ourselves, and how much is not enough.
If we put no pressure on ourselves, we may tend to not live up to our full potential or not seek out the next thing that makes the biggest difference. We may settle for something less.
But if we put too much pressure on ourselves, we may burnout, get frustrated, treat others poorly, and have a fall that we can’t recover from.
So how do you determine where the right amount of pressure is for you?
In order to do that you first have to determine where you’re going, and how you are planning to get there.
As a business consultant I am amazed every day at how many business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can’t answer simple questions like: What is the mission of your company? What is your vision of where you want to be? What are your core values?
(We talked about that a lot in 2023 and there’s several blogs and even videos you can watch on those subjects, and in February we’ll even be doing a SOS workshop on how to determine that for you and your business.)
These questions should also be simple to answer: Who is your target market? What problem do you solve and why is that important? Why you and your business? What is your primary marketing strategy?
These are basic business plan concepts.
No business will strive or be successful without understanding these basic truths.
Yet so many struggle to find those answers.
Now is the time. Doesn’t matter that it’s not the first… doesn’t really even matter that it’s January… it is today. It’s time to make sure that you can answer all of those questions and put into motion a plan to make things happen… starting now!
How do I suggest you do that?
Look at your calendar and find a day or two (preferably connected) that you can spend with yourself. No phone, no computer, no distractions.
Define and answer those questions that I asked above.
Really look at the last two years at what has gone right and what has gone wrong.
Think about what you need to stop doing.
Think about what you need to start doing.
Think about what you need to continue to do.
Sounds easy …but it’s not. (Unless you have done the work before, then it is a good review and scorecard measurement for yourself. Which is also incredibly valuable.)
You may find that some of the things you enjoy need to be tweaked or changed or eliminated.
You will probably find some things that you’ve been avoiding or procrastinating need to now be moved up in importance. Then you need to find the right amount of pressure to put on yourself to get those things into motion.
You may find that you, or your team, are not consistently showing the mission, vision, and core values of the business. You need to correct that by infusing behaviors into the everyday actions of the business.
You may find that you have too many marketing strategies, and that you need to condense to put more effort into only one or possibly two.
You may find that you have not enough marketing strategies and have put too much faith in one. It may be time to diversify into a few others.
You may find that in order to grow you need to outsource, hire someone or a VA, or delegate duties.
You may find it is time to invest in a system or create a process/procedure to streamline and be more productive.
You may find it is time to invest in something or someone.
I have absolutely no idea what all you will find. Not everyone will find the same things during their reflection. But, without a shadow of a doubt I can tell you that you’ll find something.
This is not easy to do and if you’ve never done it before you may need some guidance. Seek it out. Turn to a friend or a fellow NBG member and get some help, talk through some things.
Once you’ve identified some things: bring your thoughts and ideas to a HUDDLE or your Strategic Collaborative and ask some questions, ask for advice, ask for some brainstorming ideas. That’s what Membership is for …to help each other Build and Grow our businesses.
If you need more help then consider hiring a business consultant, or do a Breakthrough session with me, I love to do this sort of work with our Members. Maybe even look into joining GROW.
At the very least plan to come to the SOS session in February and work through creating your own personal one page business plan and Scorecard for your business so that you can keep track of where you were, where you are, and where you’re going.
Success in isolation is hard. Success within a community of people helping you to bear the burden of the pressure is a much better way to move towards the success that you desire.
Lean into the NBG resources:
And the new SOS (Strategic Optimization Sessions)
It begins with you, it begins today. Make the commitment to yourself and your business. Show up, follow up, and do the work!
Interesting timing and thoughts. I had very similar thoughts as we ushered in the new year this year. I felt the pressure to have our full marketing plan and mission and vision all laid out perfectly by January 1. I wanted that so badly — but it was not happening. We were having the important conversations and had been having them for what felt like months (maybe years… who knows) but the finalizations were not there and weren’t going to be there by the dreaded January 1. So. I let it go. I let go of the feeling that life had to be all in order and set for the first of the year. And oddly… our year started just fine. It started with a bang of business and our first 10 days were busier and more successful in “closed business” than probably the entire month before. And why? Becuase while we hadn’t closed on all the answers, our mindset had shifted to what we wanted to happen (not on January 1) but for the rest of our business lives!! There is no magic in a day — the magic can happen like you said — on any day of the week and any month of the year! Thanks for writing such a great new year article!! Excited for the SOS coming up in a few weeks!
YES! Love your insights – thanks for sharing