This was originally published on my newsletter which you can subscribe to here.
How was the first half of your year?
182 days have gone by since January 1st.
182 days that you will never get back and never see again. While that may be far from an inspirational thought, it should be an eye opener. Time flies.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
But while those days are gone forever, you need to recognize that you have 182 more to make this year awesome. That’s 182 days or 463 hours (depending when you read this) to do something great. You have time to do something that scares you, you have time to do what you keep putting off and you have time to chase your dream.
If you’re like most people, on January 1st, 2013 you gave deep thought as it related to what you wanted to accomplish this year. You gave deep thought as it related to what your goals were and what you hoped to accomplish. Some of you may have even went far enough to create a list of new years resolutions.
You see, on January 1st, we often go through a wishing-phase. We wish and hope that we go through with the idea’s we come up with and goals we put in front of ourselves. We hope that we can get a raise before the end of the year. We hope that we can get afford a new car by the end of the year. We hope that we can get into a serious relationship before the end of the year. We hope. We wish. We dream.
We need to do.
When you do things. Things happen. Vague, I know but it’s one of the biggest realizations that I’ve had over the last 25 years. You get out of life what you put into it. If you’re hoping to find a partner, do things that would attract a partner: Travel. Do new things. Go to the gym. Be the person that this person would want to be with. If you’re hoping to be an entrepreneur, start with a side hustle until it becomes a main hustle. Find an idea. Launch it. Sell things.
And don’t make excuses. A lot of people say that life is short but in reality, that’s not true. Life is the longest thing any of us will ever experience. EVER. In one day, today for example, you have an opportunity to do something that will help you grow and get closer to your goals. What could you do? I’m glad you asked:
- Identify someone who you admire and look up to. Send them an email saying you appreciate them. Ask for nothing.
- Call a former employee, employer or colleague just to check in and see how things are.
- Find something that is of interest to your friends or industry and write 800 words about it. Publish it to a blog or note on Facebook.
- Find a book specific to your industry and read the first three chapters.
- Go to the gym for 60 minutes. Do cardio and lift weights. Strong is the new skinny.
- Look at your finances and put them in an excel document. Yes, even that credit card.
- Send a non-profit an email expressing volunteer intent and $25 for a donation.
- Find a Wikipedia article about a topic that you’re an expert in. Edit it. Fix it. Help it.
- Spend time with someone who you care about. Block off 4 hours for nothing but fun and laughs.
Do one of these things and you’ve done more than most people have in the first 182 days.
Small actions completed on a regular basis are what lead to accomplishments. Macklemore created hundreds of songs. Basquiat painted hundreds of canvases. Seth Godin wrote hundreds of blog posts. Mark Zuckerberg wrote thousands of lines of code. Find something that will help you level up and do it constantly.
Whether it’s reading, writing, loving or running – do it on a regular basis. As you build a habit these actions that were once just ideas will slowly change your life for the better. Stop wishing. Start doing.
Get out there and make this the best half yet.
I’d love to hear what you have planned for the next 182 days. New projects, new goals, etc… Let me know in the comments!
(Photo credit: robandstephanielevy from Flickr)