3 Strategies for a Life-Changing Year

The new year is upon is. It’s warming up in the bullpen and it will soon be throwing heat from the mound.
In that regard, here are 3 strategies to employ that will make next year the best it can be.
1. Make a quality decision that you are going to invest in improving your life, business, and/or ministry.
A quality decision is a decision that you will stick to come hell or Hiawatha.
Investing in improving your life, business, and ministry would include attending training events, taking courses, and investing in other educational opportunities.
A life-principle I’ve learned – admittedly later than I wish – is that if you’re unwilling to invest in transformative learning opportunities, everything in your life will remain the same. That goes for your ministry, your financial situation, your business, your relationships, etc.
For years, I embraced the philosophy of “I can’t afford that.” But I discovered, eventually thankfully, that I couldn’t afford NOT to invest in learning how to improve my life, my financial situation, and my ministry.
So today, I regard training, seminars, and courses as necessary investments that I can’t afford to let pass.
2. Set six to twelve goals that you want to see come to pass next year.
The Bible encourages planning in harmony with seeking the Lord’s will. For example,

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

~ Psalm 20:4

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

~ Proverbs 3:6

“The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.”

~Proverbs 12:5

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

~Proverbs 15:22

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

~ Proverbs 16:3

“Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.”

~ Proverbs 20:18

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”

~ Proverbs 21:5

Goal setting is a critical part of planning. Here are several things I’ve learned about how to effectively set goals:

1) Write each goal down and mark the date next to each goal when you want to see it come to pass.

2) Make each goal highly specific.

3) Review the goals each month in the Lord’s presence, asking Him to bring them to pass.

Every December, I write out my goals for the upcoming year.
Examples off the top of my head (these aren’t my personal goals, just some samples to give you an idea of how to write them out):

I will read 5 books from cover to cover by July 1st.

I will lose 10 lbs by March 1st.

I will give away $1,000 extra (from what I gave this past year) to those in need by December 31st.

Etc.

3. Do something you’ve never done before.
Yes, leave your comfort zone. Stretch yourself. It’s the only path to growth.
A few examples:
If you’re in ministry, consider attending MinistryMind next year.
If you’re an author, consider attending Scribe next year.
FOR A DEEP DIVE into my goal-setting process and all my productivity hacks, check out my PROLIFIC course.