When discussing our careers, we often only focus on big picture things and achieving huge goals. It's important to focus on the small wins we experience daily and weekly, too. After all, big goals are made up of small steps.

I listened intently during our last Rebel Elite Community meeting as one our members spoke about her upcoming athlete summit.  She excitedly told the group that she had some amazing speakers and that the event was gaining more and more traction.  I left the call invigorated and struggled to fall asleep that night.  There is something contagious about the energy of someone pursuing their dreams.  

Another Rebel posted in the group that she had finalized the name of her future business and designed the logo.  My smile was immediate upon seeing the name and logo and that feeling of excitement is still present as I write about it.

We all know that it is important to have people surrounding you who are there for you when times are tough, but sometimes we overlook the need to have people ready to celebrate with us when times are great.  In The Leader You Want To Be, Amy Jen Su calls this the “victory lap.”  Who is excited for...

As 2019 comes to a close, everyone starts looking to 2020. What will I accomplish?  What do I want to change? What will make 2020 the best year yet?

Along with everyone else, I’ve been asking myself these questions.  But, I think they are somewhat premature. I think it is important to look back before we look forward. It is in the reflection that we can gain insight into why some goals survive the year and why some are forgotten or remain out of reach.

What did I accomplish in 2019?  What did I expect/want to accomplish?  What did I want to change? Did I actually change it?  What were the wins of 2019 and also what were the struggles?

As I reflect on 2019, here are my wins and struggles:

Wins:

Paid off my student loans a month before my goals

Practiced speaking 2 hours per week (on average)

Kept my apartment “company ready” in terms of neatness

Struggles:

Keeping my car clean

Being 5K ready all year

Sending 2 letters or...

Right before report cards were due to go out, one of my high school patients told me an elaborate scheme of how he was going to make sure his parents didn’t find out his grades. I doubt his plan worked, but it gave me a good laugh all the same.

He needed to figure out his parents’ email password to intercept the email that grades were up and then he needed to figure out his parents’ password to the school site. Once he had those, he could delete the email and block the ability of logging on the view the report card. He could get to the password by entering the name of his Mom’s first pet and also the street she grew up on. He’d then change the password and the security questions making it impossible for them to access the site. Wow.....that's an elaborate plan!

I haven’t gotten a chance to ask if it worked, but I admire his creative problem solving.

I don’t miss getting report cards, but in a weird way I kind of do. They gave me an...

For 2019 I am not using written goals like I used to.

Yep, I said it. For 2019 I am not using written goals like I used to, and I think it is going to be my best and most productive year ever! Prior to 2018, I would write goals and fail at or abandon many of them. Sure I would achieve some, but there were many I would forget about or fail to achieve.

I was on sabbatical in the spring of 2018.  I had been warned that the time on sabbatical would fly by so I started the year with a half-day retreat to plan my year and set my goals.  I started each day scheduling my most important goals and making sure that I was strategic with my time. I finished sabbatical with a lot of good habits and while many followed me into the fall semester, I became less intentional with scheduling my daily goals. As a result, some of my goals lost traction or were difficult to fit into my day.

As I prepare for 2019, I realize that the key to success is not simply writing goals, but scheduling...