I recently had a conversation with a great friend who called me in an effort to inundate me with his list of ALL the things he desires to accomplish in 2012. It was a great conversation but the truth of the matter is that I hung the phone up and found myself perplexed about whether to be excited for him or cry on his behalf out of my concern for him NOT being able to accomplish ALL he is setting out to accomplish. If I am totally honest, the latter resonated with me far more than the former. My fear is that he will be on fire for 60 to 90 days, fall back into the reality that “Life Really Does Happen” and find himself in the same position this time next year. Based upon our history together, my prediction is that he may NOT fulfill everything he is setting out to because he has yet to adopt the philosophy that “Simple Is Better!”
Those who know me well know that I am a huge fan of having goals, objectives, game plans, etc. However, those same people know me also as a huge fan of EXECUTION! My philosophy is “what good is it to have a bunch of fluff and magical plans if you are not going to actually deliver on them?” Friend, don’t TALK about it…BE about it!
Though a controversial figure, Steve Jobs will go down in history as one of the most brilliant leaders to ever walk this planet. There are a number of things that people will remember about him but his incredible discipline to walk the path of simplicity might be the trait that absolutely, positively set him apart (along with the Apple brand) from many others who were in similar positions to revolutionize entire industries as he did. From music, to movies, to wireless communications to computers, Steve Jobs mastered the propensity to say NO to good in order to say YES to great!
My hope and prayer for you is that 2012 will not be a year where you allow an entourage of good things to keep showing up in your life, silently pull you off track and rob you of your capacity to achieve greatness in your personal, family, career, church and community life (for you theses 3 c’s might coincide). Keep in mind that SIMPLE REALLY IS BETTER and as you are developing your “New Year’s Resolution(s),” I recommend you look at the five aforementioned categories and do the following:
1) List 3 Big Ideas for Each. (i.e. Family, Church, etc).
2) Define the Big Idea by Writing a Description and Purpose for Each
3) Set Hard Deadlines and/or Dates of Completion
4) Review Your List Monthly with an Identified Life Partner
5) Have Fun!!! Don’t Create List that Makes You a Slave to It
Best Wishes in 2012 and by the way…don’t forget “Simple Is Better!”