A Few Quick Thoughts on How to Make Your 2018 Great

“Forget mistakes, forget failures, forget everything, except what you’re going to do now and do it. Today is your lucky day.” – Will Durant

In the next coming weeks you'll see gyms packed to the brim, resolutions obsessively pursued, and maybe even a decline in Netflix binges. Okay, maybe not the last one.

With each new year comes a new beginning and an opportunity to shake off a dozen months that may or may not have gone as well as we would have liked.

But not long after the ball drops you will see those bold declarations thwarted and quickly forgotten.

Why?

I think there are two main reasons:

1. We try to do too much at once

2. Our resolutions are not driven by a sustainable "Why"

So what we can do about it?

Part of our success in life hinges on our ability to take on less, NOT more. Warren Buffett is famously known for turning down 99 % of the opportunities that come his way. Bill Gates credits his massive success to one quality: Focus

We can reverse engineer our thinking and subsequently our ability to achieve more by taking on less. By doing so we steadily develop our capacity to do those few things REALLY well rather than dabbling in mediocrity.

It's also important to ease into those few projects we do decide to take on. If we want to lose 20 lbs we can't expect to jettison that extra weight moments after our new gym membership has been processed. Start slow and gradually build your way up. 

Two things happen as a result:

-- you begin to develop consistency

-- your confidence grows

Second, we have to know why we're doing what we're doing. Why are you training for that marathon? Yes, it's admirable, impressive even, but is it what YOU want to do?

If you don't have some type of stake in the mission at hand then its nearly impossible to sustain the momentum needed to see it through.

By tapping into your "why," you'll have the capacity to endure those times when you want to give in. 

Make it About Something Bigger than Yourself

Often a very effective foundation for staying on the path is looking outside ourselves. When we raise necessity and understand others are depending on us to see a project through there's very little, if anything that can stop us. 

Happy New Year and thank you all for the remarkable support in 2017! 
Wishing you all ENORMOUS happiness and success in 2018.

Much Love,

Nick Maccarone

How to Build a Habit

It's already January 6th, which means New Year's resolutions have already been broken and old habits have been renewed. If there's anything I've learned when it comes to incorporating a new and productive habit into my daily routine it's to start slow.

If your goal is to train for a marathon don't start off training for 3-hours day, especially if you've never worked out before. Instead, start small and gradually build up. With consistency your confidence will grow and the discipline will slowly become cemented and integrated into your other habits. By the 40th day you'll feel "off" if you don't do it.

One of the most common questions I'm asked by friends and colleagues is how to develop the discipline of writing each day. My suggestion is to write each day for 5- 10 minutes. If it helps, pick a specified block of time and location where you write with no distractions, no exceptions. 

Once you've gotten the hang of it, slowly build the amount of time you work for. You can go from 5 to 10 to 15 to 30 and eventually an hour or so a day. The facility with which you'll be able to do it may even surprise you. 

Start small and whatever you do be consistent. And of course, be patient with yourself.