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'Tis
the Season . . . to be Thinking About the
New Year!
by
Michele Lando, December 2009
Want to design a joyful 2010?
Here’s
a couple of tips.
After the decorations, celebrations and communion with family and friends, Monday morning will reappear.
My
holiday gift to each of you: a few tips
from the IndiBrand™ Individual
Branding Workshop series.
Even
in this economy. there is much to be grateful
for:
The
future is the present moving forward constantly.
This means that whatever you envision for your
future is being impacted by your choices right
now—this very minute—and
the next, and the next, and the next.
The
future is connected to your present (which
has just this instant become your past).
As you consider what you want 2010 to be
like for you, engage all of your senses. What
do you want it to smell like? Taste like?
Look like? Sound like? And feel like? The
more visceral your imagination of your future,
the more real it becomes and the easier it
is to make choices in this instant and the
next that truly support your goals for your
future!
TIP
1: Consider all areas of your life. They
are each unique and worthy—don’t just
lump them together.
When I am considering
my future I make sure I am specific and engage
each of my senses across multiple areas of
my life. Like good marketing, the more targeted
I am in my focus on each area of my life,
the more impactful my connection to it is!
The more likely I will actually create it,
and the more joy I experience in all areas
of my life as a result. Following are some
of the focus areas for my future. What are
yours?
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Social:
Relationships with family, friends, organizations |
| • |
Spiritual:
Practicing faith, prayer, self-exploration
and development, awareness of others. |
| • |
Romance:
Husband, travel, celebrations |
| • |
Creative:
Writing, music, ideation |
| • |
Health:
Exercise, yoga, quiet time, food prep,
breathing |
| • |
Professional:
Contribution, self-growth, mentoring,
learning |
| • |
Financial:
Abundance, philanthropy, saving, planning,
insurances, spending |
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Play:
Silliness, laughter, light-heartedness,
outings, new experiences |
There is always room for changing one’s vision. Don’t let your fear of commitment or your belief that you cannot control what the future holds, or anything else, get in your way. It’s the distinction between making choices that lead to something that fulfills you or not.
Tip
2:
Write your goals "as if." Be explicit.
Evoke emotion. Your brain doesn’t know
tense – whether it just happened, if it
is happening or if it will happen. So
write your goals as if they have already
happened.
It’s
much easier to walk forward into something
your mind already accepts. A helpful exercise
for this tip:
Author:
Michele Lando, president of Skilset Communications,
Inc., and author of the internationally acclaimed IndiBrand™ Individual
Branding workshop series. To reproduce
any portion of this article, you may write
or phone 626-792-0032.
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The
Future
(excerpted from the IndiBrand™ workshop
series)
Look
into the future: clear your mind and think
about yourself five years from now. Here’s
how to frame your thought:
1. |
Consider
the historical milestones that you’ve
accomplished to date—like a major
career advancement, certain income level,
building your own organization, or entering
new markets. |
| 2. |
Then
think about how long it took you to reach
those milestones. |
| 3. |
Now,
with that context, project five years
into the future. Write down the future
status of your professional life /
lifestyle. Pretend to be looking back
on the past that has yet to happen.
Describe how you got there. Try to
be realistic about the timeframes (given
the context of your real history).
In other words, describe the situation
as if it were actual. Then build backward
to today’s date. |
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Example:
In 2009, I was interested in further
developing my brand. I participated
in a workshop called IndiBrand at Skilset
Communications, then _____________
happened. Following that … |
Following
is an example of something I might write:
It’s
now January 2010, and as I look back on the
holiday season of 2009, I am delighted that
I was able to spend quality time with my husband—shopping,
decorating, feasting, exercising, laughing
and playing—as well as with my mother,
whose health was noticeably better, with energy,
humor and engaging dialogue. Also with my son’s
family and my precious grandson of three, Jax,
who loved his first bike, and who I ran alongside
as he mustered his courage and gained confidence
on his first two-wheeler. I am so pleased with
the Portuguese-themed Christmas dinner we hosted
with Bacalau, natas, Caldo Verde and photos
of Manny’s mom and family, whom we lost
in 2009. I so enjoyed the very special handmade
origami cards we selected for our clients this
year, and that we made sure to connect with
them and remind them how special they are in
our lives. I’m equally delighted that
while I enjoyed all the smells and tastes of
the season, I was moderate and continued exercising
and actually lost one pound.
I
was able to hit the ground running the first
week in January, as I had time to "clean
up" from the holidays, and I did some
pre-planning of client projects and listed
new prospects I wanted to engage with on the
break between Christmas and New Year's. I was
very specific in my Healthcare Executive network
group and asked for particular introductions
to help maintain the momentum we had gained
in 2009 with the Community Benefits Annual
Report and the Living the Brand workshops at
Kaiser Permanente. I was also able to thank
Michael at the December meeting for the introduction
to LHMP and acknowledged his actually setting
up and then attending that meeting, followed
by the development of the client relationship
as a result. The same thank-yous were shared
by me with Ivan, and as a result, I have had
three other members also not only introduce
me, but set up the meetings, attend and steer
them. Once again, we were able to gain three
new client relationships as a result. One was
a speaking engagement about branding, and the
other two involved naming and brand repositioning,
due to a merger.
You
get the idea? Write it as if it’s already
occurred. Imagine the conversation, the reaction,
the emotion, the result—and then it
becomes second nature to make choices that
lead you down this path. In reality, it is
December 8, 2009, as I’m writing this,
and I have not yet experienced Christmas
with my family and friends or attended the
Healthcare meeting. But when I do, I have
a very clear picture of how it’s going
to go!
Delight
in your future today. Write your goals explicitly
today and live your dreams in 2010! Happy
New Year!
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