My 3 Words for 2016

In the spirit of New Year Resolutions and a hat tip to Chris Brogan, I’ll share my 3 words for 2016.

Acknowledging that resolutions never seem to be fulfilled by most and I’m just as guilty on follow through on my own, I’ll opt to select 3 Words to focus on in 2016. I did so in 2015 but almost as quickly as the year came in, my website was hacked and down for quite some time. So my efforts shifted…

This forthcoming year is a new canvas and an opportunity for a new start. That said, my 3 words for 2016 are Focus, Funnels, Fun. ( I have a fourth which is really a priority but I’ll include ‘Faith’ within Focus).

Focus

Throwing out another hat-tip here to John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire. John often discusses and suggests the acronym F.O.C.U.S. which stands for follow one course until success. I think this is sound advice to anyone especially those that suffer from the Imposter Syndrome and a bit of ADHD or pseudo-ADHD.

In a world that is interrupted by and has so many bright shiny objects or as John calls them, ‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’, its very easy to become side tracked by opportunities, gadgets, fads, gossip and things that consume our time and energy.

This year I will be realigning my focus in a various aspects of my life which include:

• Family
• Faith
• Fitness
• Finances

These areas are the essence within my 3 words for 2016 but lets touch on them a bit more here.

Family

My family is my why. It comes first and foremost.

I’ve seen a lot of tragedy in the lives of family, friends and acquaintances. As I grow older and watch my kids grow, I am realizing that time on mothership Earth is short. I’ve wasted time and choose to guard the time I have left here as a treasure.

I’ve wasted time working on things that I didn’t enjoy and much of it in a career that ultimately was admirable but not a true passion. Thereafter, I have spent an enormous amount of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do as well as time worrying about what others thought of my work. Some of that time was spent in the imposter syndrome, worrying that my stuff wasn’t good enough.

I let some people down but more importantly, I let myself and my family down by not putting myself out there. No more.

There is a time for work and there is time to reap the rewards for that work and it should rightfully be shared with my family. They deserve it. Funny thing is, they probably don’t care much about my work but rather would prefer to spend more time with me (I can hear their sarcastic responses now). All joking aside, as I think back to my childhood, I’d trade almost anything to have more time with my mother and father. I’m sure my kids would forecast the same.

So, family will get the lion-share of my Focus.

Faith

I grew up and was taught in Catholic Schools. God Bless the Grey Nuns and Jesuits (the original Jedi in my opinion).

A lot has changed over the years and the backstory is loaded with lessons and debatable consequences. But my Faith has come into my Focus again. My relationship with God and my participation in the church and congregation is something I’d like to pursue and practice a bit more this forthcoming year.

I have been a volunteer coach and have come to realize giving to the community is more than just a monetary donation. Its had an impact and its been a pleasure to experience. Don’t get me wrong. It does come with a ton of responsibility and challenges in and of itself but the idea is something that should be considered by more people for a lot of reasons.

Fitness

I’m a Fat Ass!

I’ve been a Fat Ass for quite some time and as the New Year is upon us (at the time of this writing), its fitting (#seewhatIdidthere) to consider, plan and practice exercise on a routine basis.

It really does need to be a priority and part of my focus and thats why I’m listing it here. I’ve failed miserably over the years in losing weight and maintaining a fitness routine. Part of my focus this year is to switch my approach at ‘losing weight’ to losing fat and the recomposition of my body.

I’ve re-read Tim Ferriss’ The 4 Hour Body and am applying a minimum effective dose in order to stimulate a change in the right direction. I have goals and will manage it a bit more effectively through gamification and a scrum method which I will also be applying to other aspects of my focus in business and productivity.

Finances

As the new year rolls in, finances are typically a topic of discussion and worry for many. Its not been in my focus for a number of reasons over the years but now is a main pillar within my focus.

Since being a business owner for the past few years, the income and revenue has been a roller coaster. If I am honest with myself, my business was not ‘in focus’ and clearly had very little direction to it as it was entirely self-financed (aka under-financed).

After spending a considerable amount of time and money on education, training and resources, my business has a foundation to provide value and sustainability for some time to come. That said, there is work to be done and by all accords, finances and my relationship to it will be in focus!

Funnels

Systems. I’ve come to learn that proven systems that are modeled can be tools to get the job done and to achieve goals.

I’ve spent a lot of time learning to implement systems in the last half of 2015 and know that 2016 is my year of the Funnels. I’ve observed a lot of people leverage and implement funnels and systems to automate many of their elements within their businesses with extraordinary results.

If the funnels and systems I establish yield a fraction of the results I’ve seen other’s achieve, I’ll be thrilled! Thats not to say I am looking to lower the bar here. I’m not. But, I know systematizing my content delivery, product creation, marketing and list building should be successful if I model and improve what others are doing.

I’m super excited about this because I know I’ve held back. In part, that is a travesty but the upside is bright indeed. I’ll be announcing some pretty cool projects soon and I can’t wait to do so. And yes there will be some funnels involved, but don’t worry, I promise they’ll be loaded with value.

Fun

Life is way too short not to have Fun!

And if I am honest in my Fun Audit, I can say that I have not experienced a lot of fun in recent years. I’m pretty certain of that. Its not that I haven’t had any fun, but if I think back over the past few years, its been a dismal display on the fun-o-meter.

But if I continue to be honest with myself, I’m to blame for not having fun. I haven’t been present and in the moment enough to experience the fun that was all around me. Instead I was paid too much attention to trivial things that really meant very little in the grand scheme of things.

So, 2016. I plan to have more fun and be more present with the things in my focus. I’m pretty certain that I can have fun with my family. I’m pretty sure if I practice my faith, that the good things and fun will reveal themselves. As I learn and practice to be fit again, I can have fun by having more energy and enjoy being fit once again. And I am confident that with the systems I have in place, my finances should afford me to experience some pretty fun and extraordinary things.

Cheers

So as 2016 is ushered in, I wish you a peaceful, prosperous, healthy and fun year for you and your families. I look forward to connecting with you more and cheering you all on in your pursuits.