Ensure
the ownerships
of your domain names
aren’t expiring soon.
Don’t count on
being notified.
I rarely receive
those messages.
I make a note on a calendar
to check the statuses
of my domain names
once a year.
I note the renewal dates
and, if those dates
fall within the year,
I renew those domain names.
Check the status
of your domain names.
Predatory companies
are waiting
to grab them.
Don’t allow them to expire.
When I first moved into
my current house,
I considered planting
an apple tree.
But, when I heard,
it would take
up to 8 years
for a tree
to bear apples,
I decided against it.
I’ve now been in
my house
for well over
8 years.
We could have been
enjoying apples
every summer.
Yes, most significant things
take time.
But we hopefully have
that time.
Start today.
A gardening guru
is recommending ‘amendments’
for the compost bin,
products gardeners can buy
to speed up their compost
and/or increase the nutrient value
of their compost.
Many gardeners start composting
to save money
and to reduce waste.
For the price of those amendments,
they could easily buy
more compost than they need
and save a lot of time
and effort.
They’re spending more money
than they’re saving.
Remember the why
behind everything you’re doing.
When you consider making a change,
ask yourself
if that change serves
that why.
A gardener buddy
was talking about
how he ‘cheats’
when making compost.
Making compost isn’t a competition, dude.
No one is tracking
how you make compost
or how much you make
or how quickly you make it.
Much of building a business
isn’t a competition either.
We sometimes compete
with other businesses
for customers.
Yes. That’s true.
But we don’t compete
with them
in the
who wakes up the earliest
or
who works the longest hours
or
who goes the longest
without seeing loved ones,
etc.
categories.
Ignore the urge
to compete in areas
no one truly cares about.
Go at your own pace.
Find your own happiness.
We’ve had more rain than snow
thus far
this winter.
Rain isn’t as good as snowpack
for spring crops.
There’s no slow melt,
no slow release of moisture.
But the rain is replenishing
the lakes and the groundwater.
And that IS greatly needed.
Rain over winter isn’t great
but it IS good
and that’s good enough
to make a huge difference
Many of us,
myself included,
focus too much
on perfection
–
perfectly completed tasks,
perfect products,
perfect customer service
interactions
and other instances of perfect.
Perfect is often not necessary.
Good is good enough.
Celebrate good.
I’ve talked about the value
of putting small goals
and fun goals
on our list of goals
to complete
in 2024.
Today, complete
one of the small goals.
That will ensure,
on Day 1,
that
2024 is a success
for you.
No matter what else happens,
you’ve completed one of your goals.
You’ll always have that knowledge.
And you will start the new year
on an emotional high.
It will give you
the confidence
and the motivation
you need
to complete the next goal.
Complete a small goal today.
Tonight,
people will ask you
about your New Year’s resolutions.
Some of these people
will be strangers.
Some of these people
won’t be kind people.
Some of these people
secretly or not-so-secretly
will want you to fail.
That’s sh*tty
but that’s reality.
Only share your heartfelt
important-to-you
resolutions or goals
with people you know
will be supportive
and people you know
you can trust.
Do that privately.
Don’t share it
at a party.
At parties
and/or with other people,
share the superficial
or unimportant-to-you goals.
Things like
watching every episode
of Supernatural
or
trying 8 new-to-you types
of cheeses
or
painting your toenails
a different color every week.
Don’t share
your important goals
tonight.
Many of us
are setting goals
for next year.
We’re focusing
on the huge
life or business changing goals.
But we should remember
the little goals also.
The goals that are easily achievable.
Goals like
spending one meal a week
with family or friends
or
going meat-free
for one meal a week
or
learning how
to change a tire.
And remember the fun goals.
Because life SHOULD be fun.
Goals like
telling one bad joke a week
or
learning one TikTok dance
a month
or
having one movie night
a month
with family or friends.
These type of goals
add value to our lives
AND
when we achieve them,
they motivate us
to achieve larger or more serious goals.
Add some fun and small goals
to your list!
A home repair
had to be completed
but it wasn’t urgent.
I considered doing it.
Then I got a bout
of the lazies.
And I told myself,
“Nah. It’ll wait.”
It didn’t wait.
And it was nearly
a costly disaster.
This happens too many times.
I think I should do something.
Then I convince myself
it can wait.
And it ends up
biting me on the a$$,
costing me time
and/or money.
That thing your gut
is telling you to do?
It can’t wait.
Do it now.
Before we start
setting goals
for 2024,
we should take a day or two
and review 2023.
We should look at what worked
and
what didn’t work.
We should ask ourselves questions
like…
What added value to our business?
What was extra but nice to do/have?
What doesn’t add value in any way
and should be stopped?
Which partnerships are working well?
Which partnerships aren’t working ideally
but can be saved?
Which partnerships aren’t working at all
and should be severed?
Where did most of the income come from?
Can that income be increased?
Can our income be diversified
without decreasing that core income?
What mistakes were made?
How did we recover
from those mistakes?
What were the huge successes?
How can we duplicate
those successes?
Etc.
Take some time
and review 2023.
That will increase our odds
of success in 2024.