Your North Star

Most people start the new year setting goals conveniently disguised as New Year’s resolutions. However, people who do this are focused on the wrong thing. Before they set their goals or resolutions, it behooves them to first establish a North Star.

 

Just as it is used in nautical terms, your North Star is a fixed point you can use to guide your life and ensure that you are heading in the right direction. It can serve as an unshakeable marker that will guide you through the turbulent waters of your life.

 

With that in mind, before setting your goals it is beneficial to think about and declare your North Star. If you don’t, you are essentially sailing rudderless, aimlessly floating in an ocean of possibility hoping you will reach a destination you desire. Or even worse, you may end up setting goals that are not aligned with your North Star, thus setting a course in the “wrong” direction.

 

My inspiring friend Dan Galperin (www.manpowerproject.com) once asked me a question that serves as a beautiful and fun way to establish your North Star. He asked:

 

What are the 5 impossible goals of a lifetime that would blow your mind?

 

Once you have declared these lifetime goals, they can serve as your North Star and guide your annual goals. Your goals each year should align with, support, and further your North Star – even if by just a few small steps at a time.

Here are the 5 Impossible Lifetime Goals I declared this year as I set my North Star.

1. Plant 10,000 trees.
2. Have $5 million in the bank.
3. Become a Best-selling author.
4. Be in a relationship with a stunningly attractive (inside and out), amazingly sensual, incredibly spiritual woman.
5. Speak in front of 10,000 people.

Rather than struggle with your New Year’s resolutions this year, most of which are broken because they are not inspired by a person’s North Star, why not start 2017 by electrifying your life with a declaration of your North Star!

 

“Most people overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can do in a year.”

– Matthew Kelly (& Bill Gates)

 

When dealing with goals, especially lifetime goals, don’t get overwhelmed by the magnificence you are declaring for yourself. You do not need to accomplish everything by tomorrow. Thinking that way is a sure recipe for frustration, which will likely lead to you giving up.

 

Rather, take your time and design a thoughtful, measured plan taking you from Point A (January) to Point B (December). Break your goals into smaller milestones which you can accomplish over the course of the whole year. By doing so, you will ensure your success and witness exhilarating progress toward your dreams.

 

This is the best way to succeed for the year . . . and your lifetime!

 

READ HOW THIS APPLIES TO YOUR BUSINESS here.

 

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Can You Survive This?

Not too far from where I live there is a small stretch of road – not more than 100 yards long – that I have always thought was incredibly beautiful. On one side of the road there were five or six grand old sycamore trees that stood proudly. They were easily over a hundred years old. Their thick, gnarly trunks reached up and spread their gorgeous limbs over the road, creating a beautiful canopy with their broad leaves.

 

On the other side of the road was a stately old white house, partially hidden behind the trees that lined that side of the street, and sprinkled between the bigger trees were these dainty little trees which in the spring bloomed with brilliant, neon pink flowers. It was truly stunning.

 

A few years ago, the utility companies decided that this beautiful stand of sycamore trees posed a threat to their utility lines and they ruthlessly cut them down. What was once a gorgeous stretch of shaded road was now nothing more than decimated stumps drying in the hot sun. The destruction of the beauty pained my heart.
 

But nature has a way of teaching us all about life and survival. A few weeks ago, I passed by this stretch of road and was amazed to see new shoots growing out of the stumps. I have passed by the trees many times, but this was the first time I noticed new growth. Somehow, after years of hibernation, the trees started to grow again. Even after what appeared to be the end of their life, and being cut down to nothing more than a stump, their determination to live now forced up amazing new growth. It was nothing short of miraculous.
 

As I thought about these trees, I asked myself, “Are my roots deep enough to endure such a devastating blow to my life? Is my foundation in life strong enough to survive the hardships that will surely come my way?”

 

I realized that the deeper our roots are, the better our ability to survive the challenges in life we will surely encounter. The question we must ask is, “Do we have that foundation and is it strong?” Whether that foundation is family, faith, love, hope, or something else, it is important to build a foundation that will help get us through times of uncertainty.

 

Send your roots deep. Take the time to nourish them and make them strong. It is an investment well worth making. Your life may well depend on it one day.

 
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

What great things lie within you that perhaps some setback in life stopped you from achieving? Have you lost touch with the depth of your roots and forgotten who you are at your core? Have you forgotten what you truly desire in your life?

 

Reconnect to your roots and find the passions that drive your life.
 

It is only too fitting that the video below captures one of my passions and a deep root in my life. When I was a young boy, one of my favorite books was “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss. I asked my Mom to read it to me over and over again. The book deeply affected me and captured my love for trees and nature. In many ways, I think I grew up much like the Lorax, protecting and caring for all that is in nature.
 

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