The future isn’t always predictable. When people set goals, they usually based them on past performance. But that’s better than having goals at all. Goals set directions. We only need to be flexible and open to possibilities. I will sit down and set goals in a couple of days. I generate as many ideas as I can think of, then I prune.
This post will be a work in progress. I will refer to this every month and every quarter of 2021. I brainstormed ideas in the parking area while waiting for my wife. I am going to share with you how I did it.
My 3 Words
Every year, I choose three words that serve as guides for the year. These words do not replace my core values. These words are functional and strategic values.
I listed many words:
entrepreneurship, empathy, resilience, gratitude, innovation, breathe, hedgehog, focus, courage, bayanihan, initiative, productive, minimalist, leading, growth, bounce forward, thrive, fascination, excitement, charity, wealth, creativity, mastery, excellence, greatness, humility, influence…
I can list more.
But I felt good with three words: empathy, resilience, and bayanihan. I will tell you why.
Empathy.
We live in a world where empathy is so scarce. People not only judge you by the color of your skin but based on who they support. I want to help people. I can only do that if I will seek to understand, stand on their shows. I need to bring to practice empathy in conversations.
I want to pay more attention to empathy at this time because the world needs it most. I want to show malasakit, a more profound sense of empathy when dealing with people.
Resilience
In 2020, I talked about bouncing forward. I know what it meant, in principle. I tried to be of help to most people. I did not expect that our fight against Covid-19 will be very long. And I have no more energy to a point dirty finger to the president (I never did, though I felt at times that it is justified).
There will be more crises to come. That’s part of who we are as Filipinos. I want to understand the science of resilience deeply so I can pass my knowledge on to others. I know that good governance, not only resiliency, is the solution to the many crises we experience. But until we elect good leaders, we need to be resilient.
Bayanihan
Bayanihan is very much alive today in the Philippines. Filipinos went beyond the romanticized “house-transferring” definition. We see Filipinos, known and unknown, who decided to become mga bayani, heroes among us.
My work allows me to help people: I equip leaders, and I inspire the uninspired.
And I can do more by encouraging people to practice bayanihan by being a leader too. As I have said, crises are part of our lives. Bayanihan is a participative leadership. Maybe, by kindling the spirit of bayanihan, we can make our people participate more in governance.
My three words will help me define how I will play big this year.
Things to Avoid
I also thought of something to avoid this year. These are procrastination, overwhelm, disappointment, and fake news.
When I am into something, I pursue and persevere until I make things happen. Most times, however, I don’t feel a sense of urgency to do something. Procrastination is too common that people aren’t alarmed.
One reason I procrastinate is that I get overwhelmed sometimes. Too many things to do. Too many ideas to think about. Sometimes, having too many make me do less. I need focus. I want to have more time to enjoy sleep also.
I quickly get disappointed with people. People will disappoint us, whether they like it or not.
Fake news is the order of the day. It is working for some people. For example, Donald Trump got into the habit of spreading fake news, and he started believing his lies. When we allow people to feed us with fake news every day, we permit them to deceive us. Don’t spread doom.
Articles & Guides
If you have been to this website before, you would have noticed the change. I prioritized speed and simplicity. I took out the decoration and allow the page to breathe.
I am also going to write more articles and guides. That means that aside from getting the usual inspirational messages, I will be helping my readers understand, try, and apply some principles and practices to get a life and thrive.
Also, I want to help more people. I will find ways so more people will be able to read great content about the following topics:
- Life Quotes
- Career
- Entrepreneurship
- Empathy
- Leadership
- Personal Development
- Motivation
- Productivity
- Focus
- Confidence
- Persuasive Speeches
- Webinars, Training, & Coaching
- Resilience
- Team Building
- Starting A Business
I intend to begin with articles that are easy to read; then, I will add how-to posts to create a content hub.
Learn & Teach
Three hundred days will come to pass without our notice if we aren’t mindful. I am not sure if I can d all the following, but I want to learn each to teach others.
I want to learn and teach the following:
- How to Start A Business
- How to Earn Online
- How to Stop Procrastinating & Start Producing
- How to Start a “Thank You” Habit
- How to Become Resilient at All Times
- How to Lead Without A Title
- How to Create Webinars That People Really Need
- How to Deliver a Persuasive Speech
- How to Write your book in 30 Days
- How to Create an Irresistible Resume
- How to Design Online Courses that People Love
- How to Build A Thrive
- How to Sleep Faster
- How to Get More Clients
- How to Start a Dropshipping Business
- How to Have Multiple Side Hustles
- How to Create A Blog with Million Visitors
I am not sure which ones I am going to pay more attention to. I will be happy to succeed in two or three of these for 2021.
I have already defined the courses and webinars that I will be teaching in 2021. You can find the courses here and the webinars here.
Is there anything on the list that you want to do too?
Earn Money
As much as I want to help millions of people, I also want to earn enough. I believe that whatever I will make, I am going to create. I did not receive last year what I expected, but I continued working. As Ralph Waldo Emerson assured us, I will eventually reap my rewards.
I want to earn enough to
- build a new house in Batangas
- buy a piece of land
- start a college education plan for JC
- help those who are in need, and
- build a scholarship foundation.
Learning Better
When it comes to learning, there are two things that I will continue doing this year.
I will continue working on action learning projects. This time, I will convert these projects into action learning research papers so others will also benefit from my experiences.
Another thing that I will do is to read at least 30+ books this year. Last year, I was able to read more than 60 books as a hobby. This year, I will share the essential lessons with my readers.
I have identified these books.
- The Art of Speeches and Presentations (by Philip Collins)
- The Message of You: Turn Your Life Story int A Money-Making Speaking Career
- On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction (by William Zinsser)
- On Speaking Well (by Peggy Noonan)
- Multipliers (by Liz Wiseman)
- 10 Product Validation Experiments: The Guide to Validation and Minimum Viable Products (by Csaba Hazi)
- Thrive! Create What Matters Most: In Challenging Times and Beyond! (Bruce Elkin)
- The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy by (Chris Bailey)1
- The Epic Keynote: Presentation Skills and Styles of Wealthy Speakers (by Jane Atkinson)
- Building Resiliency: How to Thrive in Times of Change (by Lyn Pulley)
- Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (by Daniel Goleman)
- Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything (by BJ Fogg)
- The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact (by Chip Heath & Dan Heath)
- Finish What You Start: The Art of Following Through, Taking Action, Executing, & Self-Discipline (by Peter Hollins)
- Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations (by Dan Ariely)
- The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing, and Take Command of Your Life (by Bernard Roth)
- Tools of Titans (by Tim Ferris)
- Creativity Rules: Getting Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World (by Tina Seelig)
- Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Gone (by Charlie Gilkey)
- Make Noise: A Creator’s Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling (by Eric Nuzum)
- Free Prize Inside: The Next Big Marketing Idea (by Seth Godin)
- Riches in Niches: How to Make it Big in a Small Market (by Susan Friedmann)
- The Magic of Tiny Business: You Don’t Have to Go Big to Make a Great Living (by Sharon Rowe)
- We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (by Matthew Walker)
- The Choice: Embrace the Possible (by Edith Eva Eger)
- Winning: Management Lessons Outside the Classroom (by Jessica Zafra)
- The Alchemist (by Paulo Coelho)
- Hai[Na]Ku and Other Poems (by AA Patawaran)
- Ukay-Ukay: Cuentos and Diskuwentos (by Mechu Aquino Sarmiento)
- Beyond the Classroom: Essays on Living (by Asuncion David Maramba)
- Bagay Bagay: Contemporary Philippine Poetry (by Teo T. Antonio)
- Basagan ng Trip: Complaints About Filipino Culture and Politics (by Lisandro Claudio)
- Building Your Resiliency: A Guide to Bouncing Back from Life’s Challenges and Taking on the world (by Bretth H. McKay)
People
2021 is also the year to meet more people and learn from them. Here is my list:
- Angel Locsin (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Locsin)
- Leni Robredo
- Vico Sotto
- Noynoy Aquino
- Tim Ferris
- Leo Babauta
- Jacinda Ardern
- Simon Sinek
- Robin Sharma
- Seth Godin
- Mark Sanborn
- Chris Gardner (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gardner)
- Angelina Jolie
These lists will become longer, then shorter. Then I will focus each day on my one thing.
You can read my updates soon.
Jef Menguin
