New Year’s Resolutions, they’ve almost become a rite of passage from one year to the next. Each New Year’s Eve we make resolutions (this year I’ll get in shape, spend more time making music, finally get out of debt, make more money, move to a better place, find a great new man/woman…..on and on.

Now answer me honestly, how many of those new year’s resolutions have you actually made a reality? To those of you who answer “all of them” I say congratulations and very well done! To the other 99% of the world’s population…….Ok, I think we’re all on the same page here.

The reality is, most of the time, New Year’s resolutions are this nice idea that rarely materialize. Why is it that we can’t seem to follow through with them? Obviously they must be important to us or we wouldn’t have made them in the first place. Is it fear of failure, fear of success, just plain laziness? WHAT?

The truth is, one of the reasons many new year’s resolutions fall by the wayside is actually quite simple. Failure to plan.

Effective action requires at least some kind of a plan! Would you attempt to build a house without a plan? Climb Mount Everest without a plan? You probably wouldn’t even try to drive someplace new without a plan. So why set out to change the course of your life without a plan? That’s why resolutions don’t work, no plan.

A good plan should consist of a series of doable steps, which, when done in sequence help you to arrive at your goal. If a step seems too difficult, or you can’t figure out how to accomplish it, it means that there are likely other, simpler steps that should be done first.

In many cases, one small but important step might be to a work schedule for yourself, or a dedicated work-space. If one of your goals is to perform more, a simple but important step might be to set a goal for how many gigs you’d like to play each month, another would be to select 4-5 venues in your area and begin researching each venue’s booking procedure.

I know these steps probably seem really basic, but that’s the idea, the simpler the step, the better. Don’t worry if a particular step seems insignificant (i.e. picking up the phone and calling so and so), each step, as insignificant as it may seem on it’s own, gets you one step closer toward your goal. Most importantly, by keeping the steps simple you are much more likely to actually do them!

In some cases, you may find that your goal is in an area that is relatively foreign to you and that you have no idea where to even begin. My advice is to find someone who is already doing what you’d like to do and call her up! Offer to take her to lunch and pick her brain. Even offer to pay her for her time. You’ll find that most people are more than happy to share their experiences and that it will be well worth the investment of time and money. You will also find that many industries have networking groups, on-line discussion groups, etc. where you can ask questions and gain valuable information. In other words, as a very smart friend once told me, “don’t let the fact that you don’t know how to do it stop you!”

So let’s turn those new year’s resolutions into plans 🙂

Wishing you a happy and successful 2013!!

Jennifer

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