My Simple Plan for a Super Year

Every year I make a plan--a life plan where I dream about what I'd like to be true of my life by the end of this year. And I always change the plan as the year goes on, because I learn new things and thanks to life's surprises. The plan isn't final, it just gets the ball rolling in the right direction. And then I set up some habits (with reminders) and put key action items on my calendar that will move me toward my goals.

I've done something like this for years. I've even coached others through this process for years. Some years I've used very thorough, multi-layered methods--spending lots of hours defining lots of areas of my life differently. I learned a lot in the process and if you've never done that, I highly recommend it.

But this year I'm taking a simple path. Whether you're an old hand at life planning or brand new, maybe hearing what I'm doing for 2015 will help get your year started a little smarter.

I'm asking two questions about myself:

1. Who do I want to be? (What character qualities/heart conditions do I want to be true of me?)

2. What do I want to accomplish? (What special projects, financial goals, company targets, etc do I want to see happen?)

And I'm thinking about these questions in two time frames:

1. For both questions above, what is the answer when I think 5 years down the road? (I do this first, to push myself to really dream and go for what I really want, not merely what I think I can manage to accomplish in the short-term.)

2. If that's true (my five year dreams), then what can I do in the next 90 days to step closer toward my list of dreams? (This is where the habits and action steps emerge.)

I've been thinking about and praying through these questions for a few weeks, steadily adding ideas and making those ideas more specific and measurable. And so far I think 2015 could be the best year of my life yet.

Who do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish?