About thirteen or so years ago I started a personal tradition that I still follow to this day. I recently shared this tradition with some relatives of mine and after explaining it to them, it sounded like something I could share to you readers of this blog.
I will say that I am not one of those guys who found that things came easy. I believe that I am a work in progress and in order too “progress” I must set some time each year to reevaluate all the things I did right and wrong.
Setting New Years resolutions is by far not a unique concept. Many of us start the New Year by saying that we will stop smoking, eat less, drink less, exercise more and perhaps call home more often to mom.
Around about this time each year I take the time to reflect and think about all the things I have done. I take a few moments to think about all the people I met and all the things I have learned. I take some time to think about business and how things have progressed (if it has progressed at all) and if the decisions I made worked out positively.
I look at all the negatives that had occurred over the past year and why events turned out the way they did. I question my response to these negative events and if I could have handled any situation better then I did.
Finally and most importantly I think about certain people who I found interesting. Typically when I meet interesting people I tend to question them on the types of books they read or the subjects they spend most of their time focusing on.
Around about this time of year I make a list of subjects I would like to be more versed on and begin to prepare my reading list. I typically order a few books in December so I can jump into the New Year and start on the right track.
Most importantly, each year I pick at least one person who impressed me the most. I ask myself what it is about this person that impressed me. Is it the way they handle stress, maintain their relationships, run their business, treat their kids and family, or negotiate business deals?
I ask why they are so well respected and what it is about this person that attracts people to hang on every word they have to say.
Last year I felt a compelling need to focus more of my time on the news. Over the past twelve months I have been reading The Economist, Entrepreneur, Fortune, Wired, Time, Scientific American, a few Website magazines, and Newsweek.
In addition to this I have an RSS reader keeping me up to date on dozens of Blogs and other international news services.
This year I plan to cut my reading back dramatically with many of these magazines and spend that extra free time reading more books related to certain business topics I have been itching to understand.
I met a gentleman in Las Vegas the other week who told me he reads a whole book in one reading session. He shared with me that he started out as a slow reader but because he applied himself to just reading all the time he found that his reading ability improved dramatically.
I met another person who told me for every few business related books he reads he rewards himself with a fun book that is completely off topic.
This is something I fail to do. As I prepare to order some business type books, I will toss in some fun espionage / heist type books into the mix.
Taking the time to reflect and acknowledging that I am a work in progress grants me the flexibility to do just that, progress. As a reader of my blog I could assume you are one of the rare few who long for more information. You are probably seeking to better yourself and your career.
May I make one suggestion to you, take a moment over the next few weeks and try to reflect over everything you did this past year. Pick out one person who you respect the most and pick out one thing you would love to change about yourself. Once you have this in your head, take some more time to sort out how you plan to learn and implement the traits of the person you picked and the habits you wish to change into you life.
Start small this year as this is one of those things that will only continue to build on itself.
