For Motivation, Start Your Day with Two Goals

Sunrise in Milwaukee, WI

It’s a new year, which means there are 365 days full of possibilities. For motivation, start your day with two goals.

Having goals to approach each new day sets you up for success. If you’re feeling burned out or need motivation, it’s difficult to get your swagger back. These two goals can help. They’ve worked for me and I know they’ll work for you.

Here’s how to start your day – say the following two sentences every morning. It’s a potent way to set intentions for the day. And, the motivation of achieving these goals will give you energy.

Most importantly, making these goals a habit could transform your life.  

1) “Who am I going to help today?”

Make it a goal to help one person every day. Forget the other metrics or quotas you have. Focus on that one person. That’s the only quota you have. 

Don’t worry. There will be one person that needs you and you’ll know who it is by the tone in their voice, their demeanor, or the directness of their email. 

Be the person they need at that moment. You’ll feel good about helping and at the end of the day you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment. In no time you’ll be helping more than one person a day. 

And as a bonus, whatever quotas you’ve been ignoring will be achieved. By helping others, you’ll get what you want. 

2) “What’s going to happen to me today that’s never happened before?”

There’s going to be an interruption or disruption in your day. Build it into your schedule so it doesn’t derail you. 

Take it as an opportunity to learn something new. 

To make the experience more powerful:
     A) Document what you did to fix it.
     B) Share the solution with others. 

By doing this you’ll be viewed as an expert by your peers and as a leader by your bosses. 

Live with these two simple sentences, “Who am I going to help today?” and “What’s going to happen to me today that’s never happened before?”, each day for the next month.

Make them a part of your daily routine. Embody what they mean and let me know how these goals impact you over the next 30 days. 

My Favorite Books of 2020

My Favorite Books from 2020

I'm a life-long learner and I'm always looking to feed my curiosity. For a living I'm a digital marketing manager, so you'll find a few marketing related books on the list, but my interests are vast so there's other topics … [Continue reading]

19 Ideas on Finding Time to Think

19 Ideas on Finding Time to Think

It seems there is never enough time for anything. We have a lot of tasks we need to complete; so many things to do to avoid getting buried by life. But, this leaves little time for contemplation. Plain and simple - there's no time to think. The kind … [Continue reading]

3 Lessons About Safety, Support and Encouragement

empty bird's nest

The other morning I was in my home office when the birds started making a huge racket outside. It went on for 30 seconds before I got up and went to the front door to see what was going on.  I opened the door and saw a baby robin sitting on … [Continue reading]

My Favorite Books of 2019

My favorite books of 2019, showing book covers

I read some truly inspirational and eye-opening books this year. Without further ado, here is this year's list of my favorites books of 2019.    Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke - … [Continue reading]

Paul Simon, Asking for Help, Being an Insider and Showing Your Process

Paul Simon, Asking for Help, Being an Insider and Showing Your Process

I recently saw this video of Paul Simon on the "Dick Cavett Show" performing a partially finished "Still Crazy After All These Years." You can listen to the completed version here.  There's three lessons in this video - it's okay to ask for help, … [Continue reading]

My Favorite Books of 2017

My Favorite Books of 2017

I found myself in the company of some wonderful books in 2017. Some I had previous experience with the authors' work and was interested in reading something new, others were recommendations, one was a gift, while others I discovered on my own. No … [Continue reading]

My Favorite Books of 2016

Favorite Books 2016

Books seem to find their way into my hands at exactly the right time. This year's selections are a perfect example of that. It's also fascinating how one book leads to others and how, after looking back at the books I read in 2016, a theme emerges. … [Continue reading]

My Favorite Books of 2015

My Favorite Books of 2015

Another year has come and gone, but not before I read my way through some inspiring and thought-proving books. Did these books top 2014's list? I don't know, but they're just as awesome. I delved into creativity, a biography, leadership, and … [Continue reading]

4 Rules for Effective Communication

4 Rules for Effective Communication

I recently saw a posting for a Marketing Specialist position at Whole Foods. I clicked through to learn more and was left scratching my head because it wasn't at all what I was expecting. The listing described a job I had back in college - a … [Continue reading]