I don’t remember exactly when I decided that I would not force myself to hammer out a list of things I wanted to change on the eve of each New Year. What I do know is that year after year, I would faithfully make my list and promise myself I’d do better this time. And once again promptly proceed to fail in carrying them out. I know that I’m not alone.

Statistically speaking…

In 2007, Richard Wiseman and his team conducted a Quirkology experiment and discovered that while 52% of participants were confident they would achieve their goals, only 12% actually did! Moreover, the study found that men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in setting specific, measurable goals (lose a pound a week, instead of saying “lose weight”), while women were 10% more likely to succeed when they voiced their goals publicly and were supported by their circle of friends.

3 Words

Last year I decided that I really liked Chris Brogan’s approach, which I have now adopted. Chris suggests you choose 3 words to aid you in your goal setting process. He says, “Over the last few years, I’ve practiced something I call “my 3 words,” where I come up with three words that I use as guidance for how I should conduct my efforts in the year to come.” I like that. It seems more real and certainly easier to keep 3 words top of mind each day. I haven’t quite landed on my final word, but I’ll be back in a day or so to report in. In the meantime…how about you? Game to try Chris’ approach? If so, what are the 3 words you will use as your compass throughout 2010?

I’m fond of the quote that says, “Insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting different results.” If you asked, I bet most sane people would agree that it makes no sense to repeatedly follow a process or business tactic that hasn’t worked, hoping that “this time” it will be different. But isn’t insanity exactly what we see manifesting from the boardroom to the stockroom in companies every single day? If the recent economic meltdown should teach us anything, it is that things must change, especially when it comes to our sales approach. Alan Deutschman might say that we either figure out a way to change or we die.

Time for a little housekeeping.

For lots of reasons, these last couple of weeks I have felt stuck, lacked motivation and felt that maybe my creativity well had run dry. Much as I love business development aka selling, I too sometimes want to stick my head in the sand and avoid it all together. Yes, it happens to me. I’m human. So earlier this week, I decided it was time to shake things loose. What did I do? I cleaned my closet. For bonus energy clearing points, I also organized my dresser drawers. As a result, 3 things happened:

1. I felt better. Like discarding old, outdated ideas and approaches to running a business, I felt liberated letting go of clothes and other items that no longer suit me.

2. It gave me a chance to give back. Though those clothes no longer work me, they might for someone else, so it’s off to Goodwill they go.

3. My energy block disappeared. Poof – just like that! I think that when we hang on too long to things that no longer serve us, everything about us can become stagnant.

Cleaning out the closet is really a metaphor for clearing the energetic clutter that leads to dull thinking, mediocre ideas, boredom, lack of motivation, complacency and more. When you stop everything and take the time to clear out the garbage that is bogging you down, amazing things happen. Within 24 hours of completing my clearing project, two new speaking engagements came my way, I had a terrific lunch meeting with a colleague that led to the kick-off of a completely new kind of Mastermind group, and I was asked by a business leader I admire to team with them on a new project. Does it work? Well, duh.

My challenge to you…

Clean out your closet. Now. Your closet can be your office space at work, file cabinets, computer folders, an overhaul of your sales process or your actual clothes closet at home. It doesn’t really matter. The result will be the same. You’ll feel more refreshed, energized and clear headed.

Are you ready? Are you willing to take on the challenge? If you are then there is only 1 rule you must follow. You cannot do anything else until you are finished. Nothing. No email. No meetings. No phones. Nothing else means you cannot do anything else until you complete the exercise. Once you finish…how about sharing your experience here on my blog. I’d love to hear what magical results you achieved.