For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the last week of the year is one of the darkest. New Year's Day follows quickly on the heels of the winter solstice. In fact, the sun sets at about 4:25 here in the Chicago area in the week between Christmas and December 31st. It's easy to want to crawl under the covers and just wait for spring. That's especially true in a year like the one we've just had. Most of us didn't realize that 2021 would be a long, drawn-out extension of 2020. At the same time, though, I'm reminded of the traditional Taoist yin/yang symbol. There's a small dot of white in the largest part of the black side - … [Read more...]
Create Massive Leverage with the Last Week of 2020: 19 Experts Show You How to Master 2021 Now
How do you use the last week of the year to be more productive, when the rest of the year has been anything but normal? This is the 5th-annual installment in a series where I look at how we can more effectively use the last week of the year. In normal times, that last week is a chance to do things a little differently. To take stock and make big plans. But when coming to the end of a year like 2020, how can you put a bow on it and move to the next? There are a lot of adjectives that have been floating around for the times we're in (I've adopted "wack" or "wack-a-doo" as my go-to choices). But no matter what you call it, individually … [Read more...]
This Is Why You Need Two Approaches to Personal Growth
There are basically two ways that personal growth happens: gradually or suddenly. I've been in a few debates over the years about whether it's really just one or the other (ironically, on both sides). Do you evolve so slowly you don't notice the changes, or does growth come as a "Eureka!" moment and all of a sudden you're a new person? Here's a life lesson I've learned, though. If someone gives you an either/or choice, it's most likely a little of both. So the real trick to consistent growth? Use both gradual and sudden change. Growth Comes in Many Flavors I've written about the power of gradual, incremental change before. … [Read more...]
Create Massive Leverage with the Last Week of 2019: 17 Experts Show You How to Master 2020 Now
One of the things I love about the internet is that you can answer any random question you have with just a few keystrokes. And this year I wanted to learn what Yule was...as in the Yule log and Yuletide and all of the other references that pop up in Christmas songs. It turns out that it was a 12-day festival that started right after the winter solstice in German and Nordic countries when they were still pagan. A lot of their celebrations morphed into our current holiday traditions. Twelve days of celebrating with some food, music, and liquid cheer makes a lot of sense when it's cold and dark all of the time. (Here in Chicago, the … [Read more...]
Why You Need to Focus on January 7th: Learning How to Make Personal Growth Stick
Do you set New Year's Resolutions? I've found that they've become a bit of a punching bag. In a very unscientific survey of those around me, most people seem to have given up on setting resolutions. Most people pay lip service to working on their goals, but they rarely make concrete plans. Instead, they express vague desires to improve in the new year. Resolutions get dismissed as a waste of time. Why start when you're just going to give up on them? I get it. We've set resolutions and goals before. And we've disappointed ourselves by giving up or not following through. So why put ourselves in a position to fail … [Read more...]
Create Massive Leverage with the Last Week of 2017: 12 Experts Show You How to Master 2018 Now
Early in my career, I had a mentor that shared one of the secrets of happiness as a business owner: "When you're working, work. When you're not working, don't work." That might sound obvious, but the week between the holidays is an easy opportunity to not live by that credo. It can be challenging to approach the last week of December the same way you approach the rest of the year, but that doesn't mean it has to be wasted. I collected ideas from some of the top experts out there on how you can use this week to skyrocket your 2018, even before it happens. Escape the Black Hole between Christmas and New Year's It can be tempting to … [Read more...]