Planning a business isn’t saying, “I’m going to open a restaurant and get rich.”
That’s not a business plan and a life plan is not, “I’m gonna be really happy next year.” That doesn’t cut it… You’ve got to start getting specific, and start nailing stuff down.
In the episode below, John and Kevin dig into John’s infamous “January 15th Letter” to help you get crystal clear about what you really want, why you want it, and what it’s going to take to make it happen over the course of this fresh, clean new year.
SHOW 18 INDEX
01:00 Time off and the significance of cementing good memories
02:50 The difference between “Goal Setting” and “Life Planning”.
04:00 The Rest Of Your Freakin’ Life – Redux (Ask. Seek. Knock.)
06:45 When John met Jay
10:30 Kevin’s journey to Chicago on a hunch
18:54 John’s “January 15th Letter” To Yourself
19:30 The Fallacy Of New Year Resolutions
19:53 Turning Angst Into A Sense Of Adventure
20:23 Picking A Date Is Crucial, But Not The Actual Date Itself
21:25 Intentional gooal setting as “Pull Motivation”
22:14 Goals Can Be Sketchy… “Most of the goals you set and achieve when you’re starting out may not be what you actually want”
22:50 Resolutions Are “Push Motivation”… Don’t always work for people.
23:45 Overcome your natural, innate resistance by pulling yourself towards your goals instead
24:21 How To Write Your Jan. 15th Letter
25:00 Write To Yourself One Year Ahead Of Now
25:45 Excerpt From John’s Letter To Himself
27:00 Why it’s okay for your goals to be mega ambitious to downright greedy…
27:17 Whether or not you meet the goal is not the critical factor – the forward motion and momentum is what matters
31:45 Deconstructing John’s List To Himself
40:55 Your letter is you writing to your unconscious
42:05 Kevin’s 2015 Letter = “CONTROL”
49:45 Become The Person Who Reaches These Goals
51:00 Your goals are a combination of who you are, who you want to be, what it’s going to take to get there and who that guy is that achieves this.
My biggest takeaways:
Figure it out. The answer is out there… Go find it!
Some times it’s better to use your time to actually get the thing done, even though you’ll make mistakes (that’s how you learn), then just using your time for trying to find a method, shortcut, etc., to get the thing done (this usually ends up with me not getting the thing done. 🙂
Thanks Guys, for the wonder podcast!
Hey Marcin,
Yeah man, I’m with you. Too much pondering fuels resistance. Seems the better I develop a “yes” or “no” criteria the better I am at taking action on projects.
Thanks for your note.
Kevin
Interesting to hear your take on goal-setting fellas. It’s one of those topics that’s so seasonal it kinda gets lost amongst the noise and cliches associated with new year.
And you’re right, there’s no need for your goal-setting to have to take place at the same time as – or fit into the same timeframe as – everyone else’s.
I’d read the original post a few years back but it was good to hear an example year broken down like this. (And encouraging to hear that John “winged it” through his first ten years in biz! There’s hope for us all, haha!)
Fantastic podcast , copious notes made, A life saver in an ocean of mediocrity.
Thank you John and Kevin!!
hey guys,
such a fantastic podcast. thank you both very much.
push or pull – what a difference it makes. pushing for your goals ain’t fun – i find it downright frustrating because there is always this discontentment about what one currently has.
the “want” is always biggger then the “have”…
getting pulled towards them feels so much more enjoyable. it works with the potential one can just fall in love with. that’s how it feels to me and the mind aspires to something.
as well to ask better questions is key: who do i have to become to execute these goals that i am aspiring to? opened up my world…
guys bring these podcast coming – they are such an inspiration. 🙂