Never Fear, 2014 Is Almost Here

So 2014 starts tomorrow and I can always really appreciate a clean new slate.

And at least for a while, possibility is everywhere. I say “for a while” because the rest is up to us.

My good friend Al Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” And I’m glad Albert said insanity instead of stupidity because the former can be temporary and/or treatable and I know I’ve definitely displayed a wealth of telltale repetitive signs and symptoms. Seems like the New Year offers up a great opportunity to do something about my, hopefully, temporary insanity.

And I’m always interested in how successful folks see the prospect of the New Year. I just did finish listening to a CD, courtesy of our Practice Advisor Jay Geier, on “How to Make 2014 Your Best Year Ever” (but I didn’t hear a single solitary thing about putting the kabosh on all those Will Ferrell and Michael Bolton commercials that have haunted me during the Holidays.)

But one suggestion was as basic as UCLA’s absence from any Rose Bowl game in recent memory; it was writing down some big goals and sharing them with team members, friends and family, countrymen and countrywomen and whoever else will listen. It’s one thing to think about goals, but writing them down and sharing them equals commitment.

Another bit of advice, new to me, was taking the time to write down and share one’s weaknesses. And I’m wondering if Jay realizes how many football games I need to watch and how many spin classes I’ll be dominating over the next few days (So much to share about my weaknesses and so little time)?

And I think this project is already working because in just one brief paragraph Albert-E woulda noticed a little insanity going on in my planning, time management, and distorted self-image categories.

But I digress.

The magic is in that clean slate and what we do with it. Once a year we all have the opportunity to realize the future is always offering us a chance to be the author of our own life story. And it’s awesome that every year, we’re all reminded at the same time…if we’re just willing to look and listen for the possibility. The CD got me to pick up a mirror, take a good look, and accept the untouched image.

Well, ole Jay Geier is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met and his credo is “You have what you deserve.” And sometimes owning “You have what you deserve” isn’t that much fun at the end of the day…or the end of the year. But on January 1, a blank page gives us one more shot.  And guess what, it’s just not about us; our choice will impact everyone we touch. As a reference, I give you Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (especially after the arrival of Clarence the Angel.)

Like I said, Geier’s a pretty smart guy; he used an Andrew Jackson quote on the CD that hit its mark like a Michael Jordan jumper at the end of regulation. “Never take counsel of your fears.”

And Jordan, as great as we was, never made the shot he didn’t take.

So I have one major enchilada resolution going for 2014. I’m going to make a list of what scares me; I’m going to share it…and then I’m gonna do what I should have been doing all along…but without fear as my co-author.

To quote a beloved mentor from little Mesquite, Texas, “Why not do what you know you ought to do when you know you ought to do it, every time, no debate?”

And why not take the challenge with me?

Have a great Holiday… and a well-written happy 2014!