Geoff Steck’s

THANK GOODNESS IT’S MONDAY

TGIM #234

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

It’s New Year’s Resolution time — again. Each year it seems to come around faster and faster, doesn’t it?

It hardly seems that a decade has passed since we were caught up with the calendar flipping over to Y2K and we were all contemplating and planning for a New Age.

Can you recall what you envisioned then?

And how did that work out for you?

Right. As the great sage Yogi Berra opined, “Predicting is difficult — especially about the future.”

As creators of something we dare to call the Best Year Ever Program, Eric and I have some fairly well-tested ideas about the what-to-do and how-to-do-it secrets and strategies for going about the process of constructing future success.

Those many ideas are enough to fill a book — and then some. So they exceed the parameters for this e-blast. But recognizing that most folks have just recently or are about to begin to pencil a List of Resolutions for 2010, I will share some core Best Year Ever thoughts you may find useful.

Here’s one: Your Best Year Ever doesn’t begin on January 1, 2010.

Huh?

It begins RIGHT NOW. It begins every “right now.” It begins every moment you make up your mind to apply yourself unreservedly and creatively to acquiring the skills you’ll need to have success in the future.

You should not wait one moment longer than necessary to take the first step on that journey.

Of course, there’s a catch. There’s always a catch.

Here it is: You need to have a deeply considered and well-conceived idea about where you want that journey to take you. And that doesn’t happen in an instant … or because you feel compelled by the approaching year end/new year to make a List of Resolutions … or without some serious brain sweat, and self understanding, and attitude-tweaking, and skill-building, and course-adjusting.

Here’s one step in the right direction: Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), often referred to as “the prince of philosophers” suggested, “If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.”

Good advice — as far as it goes. Not that we have any pretention to thinking at a Spinoza level but we’d up the ante and expand somewhat on his counsel with this –

TGIM ACTION IDEA: If you want the present and the future to be different from the past, study the past. But don’t get stuck in it. Look for what made the good parts good and the less-than-good parts unsatisfactory and change what needs to be changed.

And while you’re at it: Remember the surprises and expect surprising developments in the days ahead. Y2K computer disasters didn’t happen, did they? But 9-11-2001 did. And those are just two obvious examples.

This week the media will be full of notable highlights from the first decade of the 2000s – many of which were nowhere in sight or mind for most of us at the transition from 1999 to 2000.

TGIM Takeaway: You must lay the groundwork today to prepare for both what you desire and unanticipated surprises yet to come. Life is a series of collisions with a fairly unpredictable future. You must know the direction you expect to be traveling and, as best you can, anticipate and prepare in the present for those future encounters.

Making “New Year” resolutions is not enough. It never has been; never will be. Yes, the practice directs your thinking somewhat. But once a year and offhand “resolving” does not adequately focus on future outcomes.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Resolve today – and every day forward – to create your BEST YEAR EVER based on the decisions and actions you take in the present, based on knowledge acquired in the past, with a clear plan for the future.

And resolve that those decisions and actions will be informed in an ongoing way by, (1) past and present experiences and (2) recognition of what you need to do differently or more skillfully to make them come to pass in a dynamically changing future.

The future belongs to those who earn it. Start preparing now for what is to come … enhancing existing skills and building new ones … continually adjusting what you do along the way to keep your vision current and relevant.

Looking forward to seeing you in the evolving future.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com

P.S. “May the happiest days of your past be the saddest days of your future.” Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1919 — 1990), the highly quotable father of The Peter Principle, suggested that.

P.P.S. You can’t change the past (unless you’re a historian). And even if you think fondly about the past it’s best to keep in mind, as many have observed before, that “the good old days” look better than they were largely because they’re not here. We do feel however that many useful secrets and strategies for creating the future of your dreams can be found in the Best Year Ever Program. You can find out more HERE.

GEOFF STECK leads Alexander Publishing & Marketing, a company he formed in 1986. The core AP&M mission: To create and publish leadership, sales mastery, self-improvement and workplace skill-building resources and tools. The focus: Areas such as business communication, staff support, customer care and frontline management. Geoff also puts his corporate and entrepreneurial experience, independent perspective, and skills as a catalyst to work for other firms (ranging from multinational corporations to more modest operations), not-for-profits, and individuals who have conceived or developed programs or initiatives but are frustrated in getting them implemented.

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