103 Ways to Make 2013 Your Best Year Yet
By Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS
I hope your New Year is off to a great start and that you are as excited as I am to truly create the best year of your life. Two years ago, I wrote an article called “83 Ways to Create Your Best Year Yet.” It was inspired by an author and mentor I admire greatly: Robin Sharma. I received great feedback and comments on that one.
Therefore, I have decided to expand that article and make a “new, improved, and updated” version this year. It now is the “103 Ways to Make 2013 Your Best Year Yet.” I look forward to seeing your posted comments at the end to see which ones most resonate with you. Happy New Year!
1. Be the most positive person you know.
2. Get 1% better everyday.
3. Define your “game-changing” move in 2013. Then get it done!
4. Take more risks.
5. Do something that scares you everyday. It’s OK to be scared!
6. Regardless of your title at work, be a team-builder. Thank you Robin Sharma!
7. Remember that business is about relationships & connections.
8. People need motivation, accountability, and know how. Deliver it to them.
9. Write your eulogy and then live your life backwards.
10. Know your Big 5: the 5 most important things that need to happen by the end of the year to make it feel like it truly has been the best year of your life.
11. Read your Big 5 every morning.
12. Post affirmations on your bathroom mirror.
13. Don’t focus on making money; Focus on creating value.
14. Leaders execute & get results. No excuses.
15. Strive to be ‘World Class’ in all you do.
16. Read The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
17. Train like a pro athlete; Exercise more. No one has EVER regretted a great workout.
18. You can’t out-train a bad diet! Eat higher quality foods.
19. Get a massage one time per week. Or one time per month.
20. Do a cleanse at least one time per year.
21. Attend 1 destination spa vacation per year.
22. Have at least one other “dream” vacation per year.
23. Create your “WLWL” (When Life Works List). What were you doing when life was working best? Thank you Sean Stephenson.
24. Be obsessed with learning.
25. Be impeccable with your words; Don’t complain, gossip, or be negative.
26. Be careful with who you surround yourself with. Just as much as the right people can push you up, the wrong crowd can bring you down.
27. Plan as if you will live forever but live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
28. If you do not have a will, powers of attorney, some disability insurance, and some life insurance (if you are married and have kids), you must get it done. Thank you Tom Dexter.
29. Say ‘please’, ‘thank you’, and ‘I love you’ more.
30. Give someone a massage.
31. Write love-letters like you used to.
32. Call up someone you always wanted to talk to but never thought you could.
33. Call up an old coach or teacher and thank them for positively impacting your life.
34. If you want to resolve a conflict, call them instead of emailing them.
35. Write a hand-written note to a client or customer.
36. When you travel, send letters to your kids on hotel stationary.
37. If you want more, GIVE more.
38. Do or do not, there is no try.
39. “The way you do one thing… is the way you do everything.” Thank you Tom Davin.
40. Journal. What are you thankful for? What are your intentions for the day? Whom do you pray for today? Where were you outstanding today?
41. Clarity precedes genius. You can find clarity in writing and in times of solitude.
42. Track your success.
43. Slow down in order to speed up.
44. Be willing to fail. It’s the price of greatness.
45. Spend at least 10 minutes every AM in quiet time, prayer time, or meditation time.
46. Listen to inspirational music. Create your favorite play list for chilling out as well as working out.
47. Listen to books on tape and podcasts.
48. Read The IMPACT Body Plan! (Haha. I had to get that in there!)
49. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
50. Read Robin Sharma. The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life
51. Read Success Magazine. Then listen to the free audio CD.
52. Watch the Rocky “marathon” (Rocky Anthology (Rocky / Rocky II / Rocky III / Rocky IV / Rocky V)
53. Do what you do best and hire the rest.
54. Never settle for less than you are worth. Remember, you are worth it!
55. Sometimes good is good enough. Don’t let “perfectionism” rob you of getting things done.
56. “Color code your life” says my mentor, Wayne Cotton. Green machine, blue sky, red tape, and mellow yellow. Visit www.nobrowndays.com for more information.
57. Complete a 90 Day Wonder. What have I accomplished in the last 90 days? What are my current challenges? What will I accomplish in the next 90 days?
58. Problems help create beneficial rearrangements.
59. “Fear, frustration, and failure are overcome by faith, focus, forward-motion, and follow-through.” Absolutely brilliant, Wayne Cotton!
60. Remember the 10,000 hour rule. It often takes about 10,000 hours or 10 years to be recognized as an “expert.”
61. Success takes time. Be patient, but continually invest in yourself.
62. Focus on the PROCESS… not the product.
63. Work more ON your business, not more IN your business.
64. Your big ideas typically come when you are sitting on a beach or skiing in the mountains.
65. Hire only “A” rate players; otherwise you will have an organization made up of average people creating a mediocre business.
66. Cut the bottom 10% of your players.
67. Everyone in an organization should be considered a “leader.”
68. Always believe in your dreams, even when they don’t seem possible or other people doubt you.
69. Focus, focus, focus!
70. “Water people everyday”—lift people up instead of tearing people down.
71. One quick “No” is better than 10 “maybe’s” or “I don’t know’s.” Thank you Randy Hetrick, founder and creator of the TRX…and friend for life.
72. Win the day!
73. Remember what Walt Disney said, “Everything speaks!”
74. Be more spontaneous.
75. Develop a hobby.
76. The bigger the dream, the more important the team. Thank you Kevin Plank, founder and CEO, Under Armour.
77. Run your own race; Be authentic and original.
78. Speak more, write more, read more.
79. Turn OFF your TV!
80. Eliminate excuses.
81. Organize your time more effectively.
82. “Eat that Frog” says Brian Tracy. Do the things that you don’t like to do but need to do, early in your day.
83. Be part of a Mastermind Group. It will accelerate your results, positively affect your mindset, allow you to work “ON” your business, and provide you fertile soil in which to grow. www.ToddDurkin.com for more information.
84. Volunteer 4 hours a month to a service organization or non-profit that speaks to you.
85. Shift to the Apple MAC for video work and pay the $100 annual fee for unlimited lessons at any apple store.
86. If you are dining out, make a reservation at a different ethnic theme restaurant once a month. By the end of the year, you will have had 12 international cuisines and a better appreciation for food and culture.
87. Spend 2, focused hours in any museum… you will learn something new.
88. Find a way to become more active in your church of choice… it will help you get to know people you worship there with you better.
89. Pick an exercise monitoring tool and start using it for yourself and your clients: HR monitor, BodyBug, etc.
90. Save all your spare change in 3 green holders; 1 in your car, 1 in your office, 1 at your home. Cash it in on December 10th each year and use for the holidays.
91. Plan one spontaneous outing on a weekend for your spouse or significant other.
92. Read Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
93. Read The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure
94. Write out a bucket list with 50 things on it that you want to do before you die. And be sure to check off at least one thing each year.
95. What can you remove from your schedule or stop doing that is currently robbing you of your time and energy?
96. “GET YOUR MIND RIGHT!”
97. Do more of what you love to do and what makes your soul sing.
98. Action is like gas in the car. Without it, you will not go. READY…FIRE…and then AIM!
99. Write down your “BHAG” for 2013. That is your “BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS, GOAL.” And then do it!
100. Define a theme for your year and LIVE IT every day.
101. 525,600 minutes in 2013. What are you going to do with them? Make sure you make the most of each of them.
102. Be humble…be hungry.
103. Create IMPACT everyday.
104. Live by the mantra, “AND THEN SOME.” Always do more than is expected. I had to get the “extra point” in there.
BAM! I hope at least 5-10 of these really SPEAK to you and inspire you to create your best year. Feel free to share which ones you like best, below in the comments section.
Much love. Happy New Year!!!
Todd
Todd Durkin is an internationally-recognized performance trainer, speaker, and author. He was recently recognized as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness in 2012.” You can follow him on Twitter @ToddDurkin, FB LIKE page at ToddDurkinFQ10, or sign up for his newsletter at www.ToddDurkin.com.
Welcome to Todddurkin.com, where you’ll find everything you need to achieve your coaching, speaking, fitness, and wellness goals. Todd Durkin is a world-renowned trainer, coach, and motivational speaker, committed to helping you unleash your inner champion. From his bestselling books and online courses, to his high-energy live events and personal coaching services, Todd Durkin offers a wealth of resources to help you transform your body, mind, and spirit. Discover his innovative training techniques, nutrition plans, and powerful mindset strategies, and get ready to take your performance to the next level. Explore Todddurkin.com today and start your journey to a better you.
