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FinishYear

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 5

FinishYear February 5, 2012 • Comments

Today marks the end of the fifth week of FinishYear. (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during February, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
Can’t believe we’re less than a week away from the conference. Last week, I hustled on creating some brand new, never before shared material for the conference. Next week? My entire schedule is cleared to practice, practice, practice the material.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I finished Great by Choice  by Jim Collins. (Which I really enjoyed!) Time to pick the next book and get started.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
It was hard keeping on track this week because I traveled to Oklahoma and Dallas. I managed to run 3 of the 4 times I was scheduled.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
The book kicks into high gear at 5:01PM this Saturday, the minute the Quitter Conference is finished.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
I wrote two thank you notes this week! This one is proving to be the most challenging, which is weird because it’s so simple.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
This one feels great, though this week wasn’t a home run. I only wrote 3 out of the 7 days, which is my lowest week thus far. I do however feel like I’m in a rhythm and am actually enjoying it, not just clipping through it to cross it off a list.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Ready for February?

FinishYear February 1, 2012 • Comments

January is done!

Seems like just yesterday we were talking about battening down the hatches for an intense month of hustle with FinishYear.

We created Finish Lists.

We talked about the brilliant person we ignore every day.

We challenged fear to a staring contest. And won.

And now the question is: Do you want to knock out February too?

My initial thought was that we’d do this as a one month project. We’d just treat January like a slingshot month. We’d overwhelm it with support, encouragement and community to create momentum for the rest of the year, and then we’d stop.

But I’m not done.

I’ve had too much fun.

There’s too much year left.

It’s called FinishYear, not FinishMonth after all.

So I’m in. I might tweak a few formatting things (like dropping the Saturday Song and Tuesday Task) but I’m in.

So my question is, are you?

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 4.

FinishYear January 29, 2012 • Comments

Today marks the end of the fourth week of FinishYear. (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during January, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
Biggest thing I did this week toward this goal was work on the material for the conference. In addition to the Writer’s Workshop, I’ve added new material to the conference. Editing that and practicing that is what I’ll be doing for the next two weeks. (And the conference sold out! I’m really excited about that!)

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I’m almost done with Great by Choice  by Jim Collins. Even though I’ve read almost two books in the time I planned to read one, I’m not changing my goal. It’s “FinishYear” not “FinishMonth,” and I don’t want to burn out by changing the pace dramatically.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
This week was challenging because I was hosting and speaking at the Georgia Baptist Convention. I was out of town Thursday through Saturday. But eliminating the surprises helped me actually run 4 times, which was my goal.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
You are going to grow weary of hearing me say this, but I’m not starting this one until after the Quitter Conference.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Success! I wrote a thank you note to two different people who very kindly invited me to speak at their events.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I wrote 6 out of 7 days this week. This one is soul food at this point.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Thursday Resource: Rules of the Red Rubber Ball

FinishYear January 26, 2012 • Comments

This book is on the list of “books that challenged me to build a life, not just a job.”

I first read it about five years ago and Rules of the Red Rubber Ball: Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work has remained a favorite. The design is beautiful, the message is perfect and it’s small enough to make you feel like it goes on adventures with your moleskine pocket notebook when you’re not looking.

It’s a brilliant book written by a guy named Kevin Carroll. In it, he breaks down seven simple rules about doing your life’s work:

1. Commit to it.
2. Seek out encouragers.
3. Work out your creative muscle.
4. Prepare to shine.
5. Speak up.
6. Expect the unexpected.
7. Maximize the day.

If you’ve got space on your bookshelf for one more awesome book, I recommend this one.

Question:
What’s a book that has helped you figure out your life’s work?

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 3

FinishYear January 22, 2012 • Comments

Today marks the end of the third week of FinishYear. (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during January, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
This week I announced that my wife Jenny will be joining me for a special Q&A session, which I think is going to help a lot of folks. That is definitely a step in the direction of awesome.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I’m 100 pages or so into Great by Choice  by Jim Collins. It’s been hard not to start other books at the same time, which is what I usually do. But I’m making a lot of progress by just reading one non-fiction book at a time.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
I did pretty good on this one this week. I ran three times but missed Sunday’s run because we were out of town in Atlanta. So that’s a 3 out of 4 on that one.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Once the Quitter Conference is over, I will actually put some pen to paper, fingers to keys, heart to book, etc.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
I wrote one this week to Bobby and Cindy Williams. They started a company called Boconi and sent me a new messenger bag that I love. But, after writing the note, I couldn’t find their mail address on their site. If you know Bobby or Cindy, please tell them I have a pretty amazing thank you note written to them on my desk.

6. I am going to finish handwriting the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I wrote 6 out of 7 days on this one. This one has been a blast.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

The most dangerous thing you can say to your dream.

FinishYear/ Quitter January 20, 2012 • Comments

My wife did not care for the first draft of my first book.

When she read an early chapter, she paused and then confessed, “I think it’s well-written, it’s just that the whole thing is a lie.”

That’s not fun feedback to get at the kitchen table. But she was right. I wasn’t writing the book I wanted to write. I was writing the book I thought I should write. I was sitting down and trying to copy the writing of other authors. I was writing Donald Miller’s book or Tim Ferriss’ book.

Why?

Keep Reading —›

Thursday Resource: My Favorite Book on Ideas

FinishYear/ Resources January 19, 2012 • Comments

Please read “A Technique for Producing Ideas ” by James Webb Young.

This book, more than any other on writing, shaped the way I come up with ideas. Originally presented to students in 1939 and published in 1965, this book does in 47 pages what other books fail to do in 400.

It’s short, powerful and only costs $6.95 on Amazon. This is a tremendous resource for anyone who wants to create great ideas that turn into great actions. (And that describes everyone working on their FinishYear goals.)

Pick up a copy today.

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week2

FinishYear January 15, 2012 • Comments

Today marks the end of the second week of FinishYear. (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during January, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
This week I announced the Writer’s Workshop we’re holding as part of the Quitter Conference. I think it’s going to be an awesome chance to equip and encourage anyone who wants to write a book or a blog.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I finished the first book I was reading for the year, Donald Miller’s brilliant “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.” I’m excited that I finished faster than a month but I don’t want to over do it. I tend to speed up on my goals and then get worn out in the middle of the year. I need to read my own blog and not rush on to the next book right this second.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
My training plan started this week. I ran four days for a total of 17 miles this week. I feel good about this one.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
I didn’t make much progress on this one, but I think it won’t pick up speed until after the Quitter Conference. Once I’ve done everything I possibly can to make that a great experience for attendees I’ll start focusing on this new book.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
I mailed one this week! A guy named Jonathan Mead, mailed me an INXS t-shirt after I talked about how much I loved them when I was growing up. I sent him a thank you note because that was a really kind thing for him to do.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I wrote 6 out of 7 days this week. I am loving this one.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

VIDEO: The first step of every successful idea.

Creativity/ FinishYear January 13, 2012 • Comments

Every successful idea goes through three different stages. The first stage is “Imagine,” and is the topic of this quick video I did. This was taken from a speech I gave to Alabama Power employees.

I’ll cover the other two stages, and Imagine in a lot more detail, at the Quitter Conference in a few weeks.

In the meantime, take a look at the clip!

 

Question:
As you work on your FinishYear goals, are you setting enough time aside for thinking?