The new year (and new decade) is upon us! Are you ready to make it the best year (and decade) ever? If not, here are seven things you can do to rock out next year (and decade).

1) Develop an Attention Span

I’m going to get on my “old man high horse” for a minute. Our attention spans have gotten shorter and shorter, and I am not happy about it. TV initially shortened our attention spans to about 8 minutes. Then MTV shortened that to about 4 minutes. Then video shows just starting show clips of videos, and out attention dropped to 1 minute. Now there’s texting and tweeting, where we have a maximum of 140 characters to convey our messages.

140 characters! Don’t get me wrong: I am all for being concise, and I think we could all benefit from learning how to speak more simply (myself included). And Twitter is a fine tool with some useful applications. But Twitter is useful as a delivery tool. But people are conditioning themselves to not be able to pay attention to more than 140 characters at a time. Which basically means we are all getting dumber and less focused…

This next year, do something who’s sole purpose is to increase your attention span. Read a book, do a crossword (or jigsaw) puzzle, take up a hobby, or just sit quietly for a few minutes with no TV, music, or anything.

Attention and focus are the keys to productivity, performance, and great communication. They are worth practicing.

2) Take Care of Your Teeth

Oh boy, did I learn this lesson this year! Let me tell you, tooth and gum pain is not fun. And, evidently, it’s pretty preventable. I never used to floss, but now I brush, floss, and rinse with an antiseptic mouthwash everyday. It took me some serious bouts of mouth pain to get a clue. Never again.

This applies to any kind of preventative care. A few simple actions today can save you some major pain and suffering later.

3) Have Fun

Are you laughing everyday? At the end of the night, can you look back over the day and cite at least one thing and say, “that was fun”? If not, your working too hard, stressing too much, or just letting life pass you by. Go out (or stay in) and have some damn fun!

4) Save a Little More Than is Comfortable

If you are currently in “transition,” you can skip this one (but bookmark it and come back once you find some work). For the rest of us, this is important. If the financial meltdown this past year or so has taught us anything, it’s that Ding Happens! Having solid savings can allow you to navigate troubling times.

Don’t just put away “what you can.” Stretch and put away just a smidge more than what’s comfortable. You will quickly adapt your lifestyle to the reduced cash, and your savings will grow that much faster. Then, the next time the economy blows up, you can thank me (preferably with a check…:-) )

5) Experience Something New

We are creatures of habit. We like what we like. We go where we go. We hang with the same people over and over. There is nothing wrong with any of these things. But that doesn’t mean we can’t stretch and explore new things too…

There is a whole wide world of cool stuff out there, and you may not even know what you might be missing. Also, studies have shown (yeah, I don’t have a citation, but I have read this. If you push me, I would bet you a shiny silver dollar I could find the study…) that continuous learning can maintain and improve brain function as you age.

Travel to a new city or country, try a new restaurant or cuisine, or take a class in something that you would never consider “just because.”

6) Lighten Up

I don’t care how positive a person you are, you have some pet peeve, or know someone, or have something in your life that just pushes your button and irritates the hell out of you. Your 2010 goal? Let it go…

Seriously, few things in life are worth getting that upset over. Even fewer are worth relinquishing your emotional control over. Pick just one thing and commit to not letting it bother you next year. Sure it’ll be hard, and sure, you’ll fail a whole bunch, but keep reminding yourself of your commitment and eventually, you’ll let it go.

7) Take Five Minutes to Think Long Term

Honestly, I would suggest you take a lot longer than five minutes. But if you are unaccustomed to big picture thinking, let’s start with five minutes.

It’s very simple. Turn off all distractions, grab a pen and paper, take three or four very deep breaths to clear your mind, then quickly write down your answers to these two questions:

1. What would I love my life to look like in five years?
2. Is what I am currently doing going to make it look like that?

If “yes,” good for you, keep going! If “no,” then you have two options: 1) change what you are doing now or 2) give up on your hopes and dreams and resolve to live a mediocre life of quiet desperation (was that harsh? Sorry, but everyone needs a little “motivational kick in the smart ass” from time to time)

The Motivational Smart Ass’s Self-Serving Additional Tips for a Great 2010

Warning! Herein lies the parr where I get you to try to improve your life by helping me improve mine…hehehe… 🙂

Here are three more things you should consider doing in 2010:

1. Learn about improv comedy Improv is awesome! And I have a book that can show you how to use improv ideas in your business and life.
2. Be a better speaker Having better presentation skills will help your career, confidence, and communication. As fate would have it, I have a few resources to help you be a better speaker, including an MP3, a DVD, and a four day in-depth Speaking School.
3. Help your entire organization grow in a fun and funny way Bring me in to speak to your group. Everyone will laugh while learning a few simple techniques to make their lives (and your business) easier and more successful! Get more info here

Have a very Happy New Year!

If this woman wants your parking spot, go ahead and give it to her

Just heard about this story, in which “A Missouri teenager is accused of stabbing a man with an ice pick in a dispute over a parking spot”.

Wow.

Ok, I know the holidays can be a stressful time, and mall parking lots can get overcrowded, but come on! Some people have to learn better ways of channeling their anger and frustration.

There are two things I’d like to point out from this story:

1. By “teenager,” they mean 18 years old. Not 13 or 14, but 18. Yes, a person who will react to a parking lot dispute by stabbing someone with an ice pick has the legal right to vote. Truly, the future of our country is in trouble.
2. The ice pick was a “wooden-handled, 5-inch ice pick.” You know, the kind Sharon Stone used to kill people in Basic Instinct. The tool mobsters used to murder people and that doctors of yore used to perform lobotomies.

This begs the question: who keeps a wood-handled five-inch ice pick in their car?!? There are tools people use to scrape ice off of their cars (they are cleverly called, “ice scrapers”) but an ice pick? I’ve never been to Missouri, so I could be wrong. But even if the ice gets caked up on your car, do you really want to go hacking around your windshield with a metal stick?

This story would be hilarious if it weren’t so tragic.

I am pretty sure that if you are smart enough to be reading the Motivational Smart Ass blog, you are smart enough to not stab people with ice picks over parking spots. But if you are like most people, you probably do feel your emotions rising when things go wrong, people do stupid things, or people do stupid things that wrong you. Even if you never resort to stabbing someone, there are still things you can take away from this story:

As In Little Things, So In Big Things

Many people allow themselves to explode over little things because they think it’s no big deal if they get really pissed, yell or get in someone’s face, and then forget about it an hour later. The problem is that every little Ding! in our lives is a chance to build our “success reflex”. How you control and manage your emotions and reactions in daily little things will determine how you respond automatically in situations where you might be tempted to stab someone (or something less violent, but still negative).

Teach Your Children Well

I don’t have kids, but I have friends who do. One thing I have seen them all do is, when the kid starts hitting them or someone else, say, “no hitting! Hitting is bad.” Why does that lesson seem to either not get taught or not get reinforced as the kid grows up? Why is society filled with people who find violence – sometimes potentially fatal violence – to be an acceptable option?

To paraphrase a country song: “Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be ice-pick stabbing psychos.”

Have a wonderful (and safe – for the love of God stay safe and don’t get stabbed!) Holiday!

What does it take to succeed? Two things, primarily: dedication and talent.

I was watching the Monday Night Football pre-game show, and the sportscasters were talking about a “problem” player. Mike Ditka then said an interesting quote (I don’t know if it’s from him or if he was quoting someone else):

Dedication without talent is a daydream. Talent without dedication is a nightmare.

This quote really stuck out to me. Let’s take a look at what he was talking about.

Dedication without talent is a daydream.

This refers to the person who works very hard, but just doesn’t seem to have “it.” You have to admire them, but you feel a little bad for them too. But don’t worry: other than at the highest level of sports performance, the dedicated person can develop the talent they need to succeed.

Talent without dedication is a nightmare.

The diva. The prima donna. The person who feels they shouldn’t have to work. That they deserve success, even if they don’t work for it. The people who overvalue their own skills and undervalue the need for hard work. They may start off great, but their road is often much tougher in the long run.

Ditka’s quote made me think about how these two ideas of dedication and talent apply off the football field. There are definitely some takeaways here:

Do you have both dedication and talent?

To really succeed, you need both. Take an honest look at what you are trying to achieve. Do you have both the talent to achieve it and the dedication to put in the work to make it happen?

If you lack talent…

Don’t despair! Talent can be learned! (If you disagree with me, then I suggest you read Talent is Overrated by James Clovin)

Sure, there are some near impossible situations. If you are 45 years old, out of shape, and 5’3″ tall, chances are that you will never play in the NBA. But in that case, chances also are that playing in the NBA isn’t your real goal anyway.

For most real goals you have – being a great parent, furthering your career, starting a new business, etc. – you can develop the skill and talent to succeed. You just need to develop a plan to go out and learn what you need to. Read a book, take a class, talk to an expert, whatever. Just apply your dedication to learning those skills.

Then you can turn the “daydream” into reality.

If you lack dedication…

This one is a bit tougher. Remember, “talent without dedication is a nightmare.”

Being talented, while awesome, can also present its own set of challenges. If you have always had a talent for something, then perhaps you never needed to work at it. As such, you never developed the skill of dedication.

The talent you’ve naturally developed can only take you so far. To go farther, you will need to persist, push, and pick yourself up over and over again when you fall.

This is why so many solo-startups fail, why so many artists are never able to monetize their art, why so many people “self-limit” their own success. Assuming your current talent will be enough is a fast path to frustration and limited results.

This is going to sound harsh, but if you are not yet seeing the results you want then you are not yet talented enough! If you think you are great but are confused why the world hasn’t beaten a path to your door, don’t get angry, don’t get frustrated, and don’t get depressed. Get dedicated!

The dedication to work hard, get better, and do whatever needs to be done will take you where you want to go. Without dedication, you are just living a nightmare.

If you lack both talent and dedication…

Um, this would be weird. Basically you’re saying, “I’m not good at anything and I’m unmotivated to do anything.” In that case, you, my friend, are in serious trouble.

First off, you have a talent. Everyone has something they are good at. You may not have used it in a while, or you may have suppressed it, or you may just not be sure what to do with it. But there’s something there. Worst case, there’s something you want to be good at.

Second, I strongly encourage you to develop dedication. Start small. Set little goals; things that push you just a smidge out of your comfort zone every day. Make it your goal to do things to build dedication, not necessarily things that get you what you want. In the long run, that will pay off much more.

In the end, success is often simpler than we make it out to be. Be good and work hard. Be talented and dedicated. Just remember, neither one alone will cut it. Have both, and your golden…

Bill Swerski’s Suprfans know: Ditka knows what he's talking about!

As the year (and decade!) wind down, you may find yourself reflecting on the past and planning for the future. That, of course, means goal setting.

You probably don’t need me explaining the basics of goal setting to you, so I won’t. Instead, I am reposting an article I wrote years ago on the difference between activity goals and result goals, and how you can use the distinction to be more successful in 2010 (and beyond!).

(Oh, and as the end of year and decade approaches, you may want to re-read the Your (Near) Decade-End Kick in the Ass! post)

Here’s the original article:

How to Achieve Your Goals and Be Happy Doing It

I love goals. I set them every year, and revisit them and set new ones throughout the year.

I also hate goals. I follow the advice of goal setting experts and set big goals, and put them in writing, and visualize them, but it seems that many of the goals never seem to “hit.”

This often leads to the slightly depressed feeling of realizing that I didn’t hit my goal, coupled with the acceptance that my life is not where I wanted it to be.

The real problem occurs though, in the fact that my mood, energy, and sense of self-esteem end up tied into whether I achieved those goals. You’ve probably been there: You just did a great sales presentation and you’re waiting to hear back from the client. If the client comes back with a “yes,” you feel happy and great. If you get a “no,” you feel down and sad. Or perhaps you’re trying to lose weight, and you eat well and exercise, but when you step on the scale the number hasn’t changed – that’s a quick route to depression. Once in while the reverse happens: you eat poorly, skip a couple of workouts, but the scale still shows a drop. Here you may feel good even though you know you messed the week up.

Having goals is great, but judging our success and feelings on the achievement of those goals is a dangerous game, because we place our sense of self-esteem on external factors.

The next time you set goals (New Years or otherwise) make sure to set two types of goals: result goals and activity goals.

Result Goals – These are the things we want to get or achieve. “I want to make $100,000 this year.” “I want to lose 25 pounds.” “I will own a new home.” And so on.

Activity Goals – These are the daily tasks we set for ourselves to achieve our result goals. “I will make 10 sales calls a day.” “I will exercise 3 days a week for 45 minutes a day.” “I will set aside X dollars per month to build up my down payment.”

Both of these types of goals are important, but there is a critical difference. You have near absolute control over your activity goals. Your result goals almost always rely on things outside of your control. In the sales example, you might not be able to control how many sales you close (buyers are fickle, after all), but you can control how many calls you make per day.

The key then to achieving your goals and being happier doing it is quite simple:

“You must measure your success by your Activity Goals, not by your Result Goals”

You should set result goals. They should be written, and vivid, and specific, etc. You should take time to visualize them everyday. But, when deciding whether you are a success, you should simply look at whether you hit your activity goals.

The two are related. You set your result goals first, then you determine the consistent actions you must take to achieve those goals. These consistent actions become your activity goals. When you plot out your day, or week, or month, determine what activities you will do and when you will do them. Then, at the end of the day, week, or month, let your sense of success and self-esteem be guided by one questions: “Did I do what I said I would in my activity goals?” If the answer is yes, regardless of what you achieved, then you should sleep easy. If you said no, then you need to revisit and adjust.

I can hear the dissent now, “but if I ignore my result goals, how can I be sure I get what I want?” Make no mistake; I never said to avoid result goals. If time goes by and you are not getting the result you want, than you need to adjust your activities to increase the likelihood of getting what you want. The difference is, you judge your success on what you do, not on what you get. Results are your feedback – if you get what you want, keep doing what you are doing. If not, try something different.

Measuring success based on your activities has three powerful benefits:

Internal vs. External Self-Esteem

– This whole idea began when I realized how ludicrous it was for a person to let their self-esteem and mood be based on events they have no control over. Why be depressed because some client doesn’t have the budget for your service or product? Why get down because the guy or girl you were interested in didn’t call you? Why sulk just because your body didn’t drop two pounds this week? There are so many variables outside of your control that all you can do is do your best.

When you base your success on what you do, you can always feel good. Whether or not you close a sale, you can sleep well knowing you put in your 100 calls for the week. Even if the scale didn’t drop, you are happy knowing that you are doing the right thing in eating right and exercising. Don’t worry if one guy or girl doesn’t call you – be content in knowing that you are out there and doing what you need to to find the right person.

Of course, this only works if you actually do the activities you’re supposed to. If you don’t, then you might feel down – but at least you know that you deserve to feel down and you’ll know what you need to do to fix it!

Forward Moving Action

– By judging yourself on your activities, you will force yourself to take action. Sometimes, when you focus just on the result, you procrastinate or feel overwhelmed. If you focus on the individual activity you committed to doing (and judge your success just on whether you do it) you will be much more likely to take that action. This will have the effect of constantly moving you towards your goals.

Ironically, the more you focus on your activity goals instead of your results goals, the more likely you will be to actually attain the result you want.

Law of Detachment

– There is a principle in spirituality, improvisation, martial arts, sports, and many other areas called the Law of Detachment. It goes by different names in different arenas. It is the Law of Detachment in spirituality. In improv it is “let go of control and go with the flow.” In martial arts, it’s the “resolute acceptance of death;” in sports, it’s “playing loose.”

Whatever the arena, the principle states that the more attached we are to an outcome, the more unlikely we are to actually get it. This is because the attachment creates resistance. We send out the wrong kind of energy (spirituality), resist the positive things going on around us (improv), get overwhelmed and paralyzed by fear (martial arts), and just plain tighten up (sports). By letting go of attachment to what you want, you free up resources and energy that makes it much more likely for you to get it.

Focusing on your result goals creates attachment. Focusing on your activity goals detaches you from your outcome; you go about the business of doing your activities, confidently knowing that they will result in something good. This is a terrific way to not only happily achieve your goals, but also to just reduce stress in general.

Try this method the next time you do your goal setting. Make your result goals – make them big, make them great, and write them down. Then determine the activities you consistently need to do (and are willing to do) to achieve those goals. Then, even if just for 30 days, commit to ending each day judging yourself as a success or not based simply on whether you followed through or not. Do this, and your self-esteem will soar, you will be happier, and yes, you will be on your way to achieving your goals.