8 ways to prep for 2011

I’m tired of people saying, “here’s how I prep for the year” and other people saying, “that’s not necessary, just do this.” Last time I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see you, I saw me. (And wasn’t pleased, per one of my three words for 2010).

So, instead of THE way to succeed in 2011, here are 8 ways that might help you. And you can list the other 1,547,296,133 ways in the comments.

1. Write three words that you want to use as guiding words for the year.  (How Chris Brogan does three words and my three words for 2010).
2. Write a list of 100 goals you want to do in 2010 (Marc Pitman can send you this exercise.)
3. Write one word for the year.
4. Write a list of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)  (Here’s a SMART goals worksheet)
5. Pick a photo for the year, an image that reminds you of what matters or what direction you are going. A picture of a place you are dreaming or a relationship you want to mend.
6. Describe how you want to be known in five years. Then identify specific actions to learn that will take you toward that reputation.
7. Forget years. We can get paralyzed by thinking about annual goals and all that. So think about the next three hours. What’s one roadblock you can remove in the next three hours?
8. Don’t set goals at all. Leo Babauta talks about finding something you are passionate about and then doing it. (The best goal is no goal).

But here’s the secret of these 8 ways. All of them are choosing to be intentional.

8 ways to make a disciple.

A disciple is a person who chooses to allow the life and teaching of someone to shape his/her own life. There can be an invitation from the teacher or a request from the disciple. (Apprentice is one of our best other words for this, a person working with a master.)

Maybe you want to help other people take your business and replicate it. Maybe you want to help other people understand how to be an entrepreneur like you, like you learned from someone else. Maybe you want to help people understand more about following Jesus.

You can’t do this with everyone in your life. It takes too much time to explain how all the time (See How: the missing piece in training.) However, there are a handful of people that you want to do everything possible to help grow.

Here are 8 simple ways to make a disciple.

1. Invite people who you see have potential, whether they see it or not.

2. Spend lots of time together in a very small group out of the spotlight.

3. Let them see the cracks in your life.

4. Let them know the pain and struggles that comes from being like you.

5. Show them the infrastructure behind the scenes.

6. Trust them with your identity.

7. Trust them with their project.

8. Bless them.

(Actually, there is only one way. Show them your life.)

—

Related posts on making disciples:

How to be like me. or you.

Discipleship is cafe-shaped conversations

Whose opinions should matter to you

Fans and disciples

My ebook on Making disciples

8 ways Jesus helped people learn

a handout for presentation planners

You’ve got a presentation on Wednesday. You have two hours for teaching and discussion and brainstorming and planning. You have a simple subject: social media.

While the room is still empty, you need to think about what you can give the audience.

Some of you are thinking this sounds familiar. It is. I wrote back in October about 8 ways to get invited back. I talked about giving the audience a map, or a kit, or sandwiches or crack.  I was giving us a thinking tool to help us focus on what we want the audience to walk away with.

As I was working today on the project above, I went back to my categories in that post. I decided which metaphor I wanted to give the audience. It helped.

So I decided to turn the October post into a one page PDF you can hang on your bulletin board.

8 ways to get invited back (PDF)

I hope it helps you, too.

8 ways to end the year.

1. Finish one thing on your list.

2. Say “thank you” to two people.

3. Pick three words to give you focus for the next year.

4. Check four books out of the library that you will read in the next four weeks.

5. Take five minutes to write to a friend.

6. Buy or look at or touch six flowers.

7. Exercise in whatever way you can for seven minutes.

8. Spend eight minutes identifying what you did well in the last year: what you are proud of, what did get done, what you wish you could do more of, what conversation turned you around, what post made sense, what way you helped someone.

Minimum cost. Moderate time. Maximum impact.

Oh. And thanks for being part of my year. Your comments and counsel and challenges have helped me grow.

8 questions for deciding what to do.

We’re all making lists. We’re all looking for three words, for next steps. We all know that we just need to start, that the first step is the most important, that finishing matters. We all know all those things. We all know how to find the tools to help.

Here are 8 questions to help you decide where in your life you want to apply those tools.

1. What do I want to finish?
2. What do I want to change?
3. What do I want to maintain? (Sometimes you are actually doing fine about some things).
4. What do I want to refine?
5. What do I want to stop doing?
6. What do I need to do, though wanting has nothing to do with it?
7. What can I finally throw away?
8. What do I want to go back to?

8 ways to look at six months

That’s how much of the year is gone.

Six months. Seems like years. Seems like days.

I decided to give the two of us a way to evaluate these six months. I hope it helps.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee (or something) and sit on the deck and let’s reflect a bit.

—————————————————–

1. I actually know more about these three people than I did 6 months ago.

________                  ________                       ________

1a. And here are three things I know about them.

2. If I add my blogs posts together, I have written this many words that wouldn’t otherwise be written: ______

3. Though I wish I’d done more, I have to admit that I’ve given this much _________ (time, money, stuff) to help other people.

4. Though it isn’t as much as I think it should be, I have talked to God _____________ times  and I stopped to listen _____________ times.

5. I’ve read about ____ (#)  topics.  ___% of them had nothing to do with my job.

6. I have told _______ and _______ how much I care about them _______ times a ________ (day/week/year).

7.  Six months ago I didn’t know how to __________ and now I do.

8.  Though the list keeps growing, I have to admit that I’ve crossed at least ______ items off my to do list every _____ (day/week/month).

Bonus: Go back and write the numbers and phrases and people that you want to be able to list on December 30.

8 ways to write this particular afternoon.

1. Sometimes it is okay to not write.

2. Sometimes it is okay to leave yourself out. (Just tell the story, not how you got there and why it matters so much to you.)

3. Sometimes you need to feel more before you write more. (Just put the draft away. Maybe readers need the mulled version rather than the immediate reaction.)

4. Sometimes it is okay to live parts of life unreported.

5. Brevity, though not obligatory, helps.

6. Sometimes it is easier to write the next post than the current post. (So start both and finish the second one.)

7. Sometimes your heart needs space to catch up with your life. Pay attention.

8. Sometimes you just need to start the tea. (That activity can jar your thinking)

8 ways reading a book together helps you learn

I meet monthly with a group of guys. We talk, we pray, we make decisions, we read a book. More accurately, we spend 30 minutes with one person leading the discussion of a chapter of a book. We’ve been reading the same book for more than 14 months. We finished it this week.

Because I was leading the discussion this week, I asked whether the book had made any difference for these guys in their own lives. I asked whether it had made any difference in our organizational life.

I mean, we spend more than a year reading and discussion this one book. If it didn’t make any difference, why did we do it?

Here are things that they said.

1. All reading the same book at the same time gave a common experience. It built unity.
2. The slow discussion which dug deeply into our lives let three new people catch up on the depth of lives of the people in the group. Three out of 10 of us were new this year.
3. The book gave room for conversations outside the group. A couple of people had talked to other people about what they were reading.
4. Reading slowly forced everyone to take time reading, important for different learning styles. A couple guys said that this is the kind of book they would skim in couple hours and move on.  By working slowly, the book worked on them.
5. Our format, which had everyone take a chapter (and some of us more than one) allowed everyone to teach/lead. I say allowed, I probably mean forced. However, we all were able to lead and benefited greatly from hearing each other’s voices.
6. In a related point, this shared leadership showed everyone that they could. Some of us are teachers, most are not. But everyone learned that they can teach.
7. The gradual nature of the book allowed the theme (sabbath) to work its way into our hearts by sheer repetition. Long-term change takes long-term exposure.
8. Some change is not quickly identifiable, but we know that it is happening.

It took for ever. It may have changed forever.

remembering three words 8 ways

Some of us created lists of three words at the beginning of the year. But how do you remember them? Because it’s Tuesday and February, I figured we could all use a reminder about reminding ourselves.  (See Chris Brogan’s post on three words for 2009 for background.)

1. Create a wordle (wordle.net) of the three words and other words that matter to you. If you type the three words multiple times, they show up bigger. If I were good, I’d provide a wordle tutorial, but I’m not that good. (Besides, there is this issue of focus that I’m working on).

2. Let other people know your three words. They can help you find material or ideas or accountability. For example, I have a guy in Texas feeding me ideas and asking how I’m doing. (Thanks, Tim).

3. Explore your three words regularly. I’m doing it here at the Levite Chronicles. In fact, if you look back through my posts this year, you will find regular links to focus and to deliberate practice. Singing is my own problem and I’m not writing about it.

4.  Find opportunities to talk about your words in other settings. For example, I had the opportunity to do some training. I had my choice of topic. Of course I picked deliberate practice. The more we become our own experts on our own words, the more likely we are to do what we wanted to do.

5. Be willing to change your words. So your three words for the year become your three words for six weeks and then two of them change. Big deal. You are adjusting.

6. Write summaries of your progress. Whether in your blog or in a journal or using a Sharpie on your bathroom mirror, let yourself know that you are working on this list. You’ll be more likely to trust yourself in the future if you are holding yourself accountable to yourself for encouragement as well as criticism.

7. Lighten up.

8. On your calendar for April 22, write “three words review.” That way, after Easter, after spring break, around the equinox, you’ll have a reminder to think through what you are doing.

So, do you remember your three words?

8 ways to make Thursday better.

1. Put down the mouse. Pick up the keyboard.

2. You don’t get replies if you don’t ask or say something.

3. Gratitude takes actually noticing someone else.

4. Out of all the possible things to do, you have to actually pick one and do it.

5. Humans can get used to lots of things. That isn’t exactly positive.

6. Cynics have feelings, too.

7. The chorus isn’t the lead, but all of them are on stage.

8. Okay. Can we try that again? I think I see what I can do to help you this time.