Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? If not, what are you waiting for?? 2011 is almost here. And like my good friend and colleague Cliff Courtney recently pointed out, resolutions can start RIGHT NOW! What are your goals for 2011? How are you going to reach those goals? If you have no plan, then you should plan to fail.

My last post talked about business goals. It focused on forgetting about anything and anybody that got in the way of achieving success in 2010. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish in the business world, you must have a detailed ‘business plan.’

What about your other goals? Should you make personal resolutions too? If you want to accomplish them, of course you should! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the same logic applies to your personal goals that applies to your business goals: in order to achieve them, you have to have a plan. Lots of people approach their business resolutions like they would any other business project – they put a lot of time and effort into planning how to accomplish them. However, when it comes to personal resolutions, that’s where everything falls to shit. Most people somehow think that they can accomplish these goals without any planning. Wrong!! How many resolutions have you made in the past and forgotten about before January is over? Why? Because you set yourself up for failure by failing to plan.

Jordanism: Build what balances you.

I’m a big believer in balance. Don’t get me wrong: sacrifice is important, especially when you’re fighting to get ahead in the business world. But there is a point of no return. There is a point when a single-minded focus on your business life will cause everything else in your life to suffer. You have to have balance in anything you do in order to achieve unheard of success in everything you do. For me, that means having a life partner that supports and encourages all of my goals and dreams. I’m lucky to have that in my wife, Denise. It also means making time every day to work out, to do some sort of physical activity – that’s when I do some of my best thinking. Figure out what you need in your personal life to balance success in your business life.

Are you setting yourself up for a successful, balanced 2011? Do you have a detailed plan in place for accomplishing each one of your goals? Someone once said that many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits. Don’t let that be you. This year, make the New Year a new start on new habits.

LINKS:
You Sleep When You Die: Resolutions, Part 2: Just Do It
You Sleep When You Die: Resolutions, Part 1: It’s All About Today