Three Things You Should Do This Week

  • December 27, 2004
  • Gary Kaltbaum
Well, it’s that time again.
Time for
me to go over the past year and plan on the next. In case you don’t know,
twice a year, I leave the confines of my home and family to retool. As I have
said before, you don’t have to leave home, but I recommend every one of you to
start taking yourself more seriously.

 

Many years ago, I had no script. I had no goals. I woke up each morning with
no plan. Days passed me by without  a thought. I was running on a treadmill. I
decided if I was going to be a success in life, something was going to have to
change. I was tired of being tired…of myself.

 

I read many books on success…many books of inspiration…many books on how
to make something of one’s self. I read books by Harvey Mackay, Mark
McCormick, Roger Staubach, Dale Carnegie and many others. From them all,
I realized they  had a few common denominators.

 

They taught goal-setting. Knowing what you want is the first key to success.

 

They taught focus. Focus is everything. Knowing what you want is just part
of the puzzle. Keeping your eye on the prize at all times is key to success.

 

They taught planning. Naming the prize is not good enough. You must make a
roadmap to success and follow it.

 

They taught tenacity. You will meet many that tell you that you won’t make
it. There will be many times where you are down because you made a mistake.
It’s those that know that all success stories were littered with mistakes
and sometimes, even disasters. Show me a successful person and I will show
you someone who failed many times.

 

They taught you to bring your “A” game every day. A few years back, I was
privileged to be able to interview Magic Johnson at the TradingMarkets convention
in front of thousands. I felt like Mini Me standing next to him. I asked him
specifically how he was able to bring his best every night when many others
seemed like they were just going through the motions. He simply said that
being the best was instilled into him my his mother many year’s before. He
said  that to be the best, there was going to be no compromise…ever! I
never forgot his words.

They taught you to learn from your mistakes. Use your mistakes, don’t let
your mistakes use you. Making mistakes takes you closer to being right.  

 

 

My year in review.

————————–

 

I will go over my whole year. Business, family, health, wealth, children’s
education, lifestyle, time management, radio, TV and several other things
will be looked over. In other words, I will critique myself  in all areas. I
would spend time on my beloved Mets but they are worthless right now. I am
my own biggest critic. That’s how you improve.

 

Where I am at right now

————————————

 

I will go over every aspect of these areas  and ask myself one simple
question: How can I improve? I then go through an arduous process on how I
can improve. What do I need to do to improve? How do I get there? What do I
need to do to get there?

 

Where do I want to be at the end of the year?

—————————————————————–

 

I write down EXACTLY where I want to be at the end of the year. I then build
what I call my own yellow brick road to get there.

 

Sounds simple. Well, it is. I have learned that most people do not treat
themselves seriously enough. I have learned that too many live with the word
“average.” Average is OK…it is not good enough for me. Since telling you
about these treks I take twice a year, I have received emails from many of
you that are following this roadmap and that it has enabled  you to turn the
corner. For those who have not tried, here is your challenge. Take some time
out  this coming weekend. Try it…test it out. I promise you it will make a
big difference in your life going forward.

 

I will have my year-end review OF MYSELF later this week. I will go over the
good and not so good. So far, the good outweighs the not so good by a wide
margin.

Gary Kaltbaum