Towards a Fantastic 2013

How was your 2012? For many, it was the worst year of their lives. For others, it was so so, or somehow okay and for some, it was fantastic. For me, it was the best year of my life. It wasn’t the best due to the absence of setbacks or personal tragedy. I had my share too – I attended the burial of two loved ones in March. Each year has its own quota of sadness and joy. When it comes to achieving my goals, 2012 is it. I achieved most of my goals. I only fumbled a bit in the weight department, where I shed 4kg versus the 18kg planned.

According to Peter Drucker, the best way to predict the future is to create it. You can paint the picture of how you want your 2013 to be. Rather than wait and see how it goes, you can write the script. You can produce the script – a movie, soundtrack, whatever works for you – in your mind. The US Team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics routinely rehearsed the medal award ceremony as part of their practice session.

The coach in a booming voice mimicking the public address system will announce the Team as the winner of the gold medal in gymnastics. Other members of the Team will sing the American National anthem while the Team Lead mounts the makeshift podium to receive the medal. They went through all the motions, took a bow, feel the imaginary medal slip over his neck, receive the bouquet of flowers, acknowledge the cheers from the crowd (played by teammates), and step down majestically. Guess what, during the real competition, each member of that Team did not see the crowd, in their mind, their only audience was their Teammates and the coach at UCLA gymnasium cheering them on.

Mentally, they were practicing, and they executed the moves flawlessly during practice. Needless to say, they won the gold. Everything played out according to the script. The announcement, mounting the podium, just as rehearsed. You can pre-play the future you desire using your imagination. It will not cost you a dime in production costs.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic, currently ranked the World No. 1 by the ATP at age 8 routinely stood in front of the mirror holding up tennis trophies he made, creating the future he desired in his mind. At age 25, he has achieved it and is set to create a record if he wins the Australian Open today, January 27, making it three years in a row. There is a soundtrack that plays in my head any time I step into a hall or an auditorium – ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please make welcome all the way from Nigeria, a world-renowned speaker, entrepreneur, and author of many New York Times bestsellers including Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence, Usiere Uko. I can hear the deafening applause as I make my way to the podium. I created this soundtrack in a hotel room in Warri way back in 2010.

At that time, I hardly had any speaking engagements and my book was not yet published. Now I hear that soundtrack play anytime I am invited to the podium to speak. I hear that soundtrack anytime I watch my book rise in rankings on Amazon. I have a date with that soundtrack and I consciously work towards it. I am not a fan of the limelight – the sound bite is just a goal or milestone on the way to making an impact on a global scale.

What sound are you listening to? What pictures or movies are you seeing? Is it the one on the TV or a film clip from your future? You can choose to connect with your inner being and create a compelling future or keep responding to situations and circumstances, and blame the same when things do not go as you had hoped.

The creation process did not end in the Garden of Eden. It is still ongoing. We are constantly creating something, whether we realize it or not. We can choose to create what we want or create what we don’t want by default. The state of our finances was created by us (through our spending, saving, and investment habits). The state of our health and fitness was created by us (through our eating and exercise habits). The state of our marriage and relationship with our children was created by us (through our communication skills and work-life balance skills).

The state of our environment was created by us (through our standards and what we tolerate etc). The thoughts going on in your mind right now were originated or allowed by you, and you can shut them down in a heartbeat if you choose to. I can go on and on. If you look around as far as your eye can see, everything that has anything to do with you was created by you directly (by action) or indirectly (by inaction). If you decide enough is enough, you can change it.

If you are tired of your current neighborhood, you can move house. If you are tired of being overweight, you can get a coach and go on a diet and exercise regime. You may even turn it into a reality show and make money as you lose weight! If you are tired of your job, you can quit or change jobs. If you are tired of quarreling with your spouse, you can study to improve your communication skills; an improved negotiation skill is an added advantage. If you are tired of life, you need to take time out to find out the reason you were born. Every effect we are experiencing was caused by us. And the clincher – your 2012 was created by you – financial, relationship, turnover, health, you name it.

You may scream hell no!, what about acts of God – personal setbacks, natural disasters, tragedies, etc? Good point. That is one thing we all share as a human family. Things do go wrong. Bad things happen to good people. It is a fact of life. But the issue is, when life knocks you down, do you stay down and grumble, or bounce back up and get on with it?

Is there anything you could have done differently that would have brought a different result? Think about it. The answer is yes. One thing I have come to realize is that the people getting better results than me are not smarter than me nor work harder than me. We all have 24 hours a day and I know that I don’t get enough sleep as it is. So for me, working harder is not the issue – getting smarter is what will get me better results – making better use of my time. Those ahead of me know what I don’t know, have skills I don’t have, use leverage I am yet to acquire and deploy, etc. To get better results, I need to get better at what I am doing and learn how to achieve more with less effort. I need to step up my game.

How do you want your 2013 to be? Having a theme for the year and a bumper sticker to go with it is well and good, but how does that relate to you personally? How do you want your 2013 to end? What picture do you have about when you look back in December in a year soon to become history (January is virtually history)? How do you want to feel? What are your goals for 2013? How will you handle your finances differently this year? How many personal finance books and personal development books do you plan to read this year? How do you want to spend your free time this year? Watch TV or mind your business? How do you plan to spend your commute time this year? If you are to step into the director’s chair and produce a movie of your life this year, how do you want it to end?

Get to work and make it happen. Commit an act that will get you going in the direction you want. Wishing you the best year ever.