Christmas will soon be with us…and I hope that any seasonal promotions in progress are going well.
After Christmas, of course, the New Year of 2019 will soon be with us.
You may already be planning for the year ahead…
…or you might intend to use the quiet days between Christmas and New Year…even into early January…to plan and prepare for marketing success in the year ahead.
Whatever the situation, here are some pieces you might find thought-provoking and useful in making those plans.
First up…
…I’ve said this many times before but probably one of the highest payoff actions in business will be to map out a marketing calendar for the whole year ahead.
It’s pretty straightforward to map out a basic calendar for each month (January – New Year, February – Valentine’s etc).
On general success principles…
…a timeless post from John Carlton…
…“The Rest Of Your Freakin’ Life (again)”.
Exec summary…
“…there are dozens of newer goal-setting guides on the shelves. But they’re all based on the same formula:
1. Decide what you want.
2. Write it down, and be specific.
3. Read the list often, imaging as you read that you have already achieved each goal.”
Suggest you read the whole thing BEFORE 15 January 2019.
There is no great “secret” that will magically bring you success. Sure there are some shortcuts and ways to make things a little easier.
But in essence it’s down to what Tony Robbins describes as “The Ultimate Success Formula”…
1. Decide what you want
2. Take massive action
3. Get feedback and review your results. If necessary, make changes.
4. Continue until goal is achieved.
Especially note point #2…
A-C-T-I-O-N!!!
No clever acronym or “secret system”…just DO SOMETHING!
Dan Kennedy goes so far as to call it “The Ultimate Success Secret” in a short book with that title. He ponders…
“Is it possible that there is one single, super-powerful secret of success of far greater importance than all others?”
Simply taking action seems to have all sorts of positive consequences. Even if you don’t succeed straight away, you get important feedback and often your action will attract attention and opportunity.
While we all like new things and new ideas, if you’re not careful it’s all too easy to fall for the “Shiny object syndrome”, the new program or strategy that will magically fix everything (fast, easily and cheaply – of course!).
Instead, why not dust off a success-oriented program that you might not have looked at for a while (if ever) and go through it? It won’t cost you anything more and who know what might happen?
And while financial and business success is a worthy goal, personally I like to keep this quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson in mind too…
“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.”
In the meantime, I wish you every success in both your personal and business life in the coming year of 2019!