Go for the gold in 2020!
I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. – Anonymous
Having put 2019 behind us and recuperated with a long winter’s nap we are now faced with a fresh new year. 2020 is a golden opportunity to begin again. We can brush off our failures, learn from our mistakes, and build up higher from our successes. The future is mainly how we see it. The term 20/20 is used by optometrists to describe normal, clear and ‘perfect’ vision in a person. So your primary goal in 2020 is to make your life this year better than it was last year. Everyone faces difficulties in life, but no one ever said life was going to be easy or fair. Living is a process that we all go though and some of us will always be more successful than others. There will always be someone smarter, faster, richer and better-looking than you. That is NO excuse to give up and do nothing. Nothing happens by itself. Success is a process that takes action, time, hard-work, resources, and most of all, determination. The moment you say ‘I can’t’, you are DONE! Many people defeat themselves before they even start due to their negative outlook. You cannot have a positive life with a negative mind.
Define your terms!
Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
- Action : the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.
- Goal : the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.
- Idea : a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action.
- Plan : a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something.
- Process: a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.
- Strategy : a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.
- Vision : the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.– Proverbs 21:5
Clarity of vision begins with the understanding that certain actions have to be undertaken to achieve the desired goal. It is a PROCESS! You must learn to crawl, before you learn to walk. Success takes steps. Overnight success stories are so rare as to be practically myths. ‘Get Rich Quick’ schemes are the pursuit of fools. If being successful were THAT easy, EVERYONE would be wealthy.
Lead by example!
Your actions speak louder than your words. There are countless motivational speakers and coaches on the lecture circuit. The reasons for this are as varied as the number of self-improvement books on the shelf. They are all variations on the same theme, and as the Bible says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” The best type of motivation comes from within. YOU have to want it! YOU have to do it! No one can live your life for you. When YOU decide that ‘enough is enough’ and that ‘something must be done’ is when the process of self-discovery and healing begins. This is YOUR LIFE! I want you to be happy and successful, but I can’t do the work for you. I can give you the tools but you must use them and do the work yourself. It will not be easy, but I assure you, in the end it will be worth it.
In 2019, I took up distance running with the goal of working towards eventually running a full marathon or longer. A marathon is 26.2 miles. My first official run of 2019 was a 5K race (3.1 miles). I trained for two months before I even undertook that initial run. Prior to that first run, I had no idea how I would physically handle the challenge, but I was determined to complete it. Over the course of 2019 I ran a dozen official timed races ranging from 5Ks to half-marathons. As I built up to the longer distances, the shorter distances became cakewalks. I put my fitness plan into action and began the process towards achieving my goal. Along the way, I received great advice and encouragement from peers in the running community who lifted my spirit to greater heights.
I hit 2020 running from the first! On New Year’s Day January 1st, 2020 I ran my first un-official 5K race with another runner in my running pack. It was just the two of us, mono a mono. It was symbolic as Steve Capozello was much faster than I, so I had no expectation of beating him. The result was not the important part, running the race was. Next Sunday Jan 12th 2020 is my first OFFICIAL race of the year, number 2 in the ‘Shiver by the River’ winter running series held in Muhlenberg PA on second Sundays from December through March. In 2020 my plan is to have at least one OFFICIAL race every single month, sometimes running up to four races. I intend to run twice as many races as last year with the goal of running a full marathon in November. Again, had I not started this process of self-improvement I would not be able to attain these milestones that I have been reaching along the way. It was NOT luck. I did the work, and I ran the race. I share this with you not for bragging rights, but as encouragement to demonstrate that it IS POSSIBLE to do. You just have to want it first! As always, I wish you success and happiness!
Instant Coffee Wisdom 