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YOUR BEST YEAR EVER5 Simple Steps to Propel Your Life & Business Forward in the Year Ahead

D a n C a s e t t a

The end of each year can be a great time to reflect.

• Tolookbackonwhatwedidwell.

• Tolookbackontheareasinwhichwecameupshort.

• Tothinkaboutwhatwewant,andwhatCOMMITMENTSwearewillingtomakefortheyearahead.

Followingareafewsuccesstipsyoucanconsiderthatcouldhelpyou have your BEST YEAR EVER, along with some simpleexercisesyoucandotogetthisprocessstarted.

1) Understand that YOU are responsible for your own success.

Thegreatestbenefitof thewayof lifewehavehere inAmericais the senseof self-determination thatwe all have.Manyyearsago,WilliamJenningsBryanwrote:“Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for. It is a thing to be achieved.”

Inordertohaveourbestyearever,wemustallembracetheideathatweareincontrol.Gettingwhatwewantisnotaboutluck,chance,ortiming.Thosethingsplayarole,butwecancontrolourultimatedestinythroughourpreparationandoureffort.

Do you buy into that?

A major key to taking responsibility for your own success ispersonalgrowth.

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“Where you are is a result of who you were, but where you go is a result of who you choose to become.” —Hal Elrod

Thechangeprocessstartswitheducation,notinspiration.

What can you learn that will make a difference in this next year?

Makealisthereoftheskillsyoucandevelopormasterinordertotakecontrolofyourownsuccessinyourwork.Identifywhatyouwanttolearnandhowyouintendtolearnit.Thengotoit!PREPAREyourself to succeed in thecomingyear.Remember,YOUareresponsible!

3SkillsToDevelop:

1.

2.

3.

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2) Learn the lessons of the past.

“All lessons will be repeated until learned.” —Denis Waitley.

Thisisoneofmyall-timemostmemorablequotes.It’ssosimple,yetsoprofound.Takesometimetothinkaboutthesequestions:

—Whatwereyourgreatestsuccessesinthepastyear?

—Whatactionsareyoutakingthatyouwanttocontinuetotakeconsistently?

—Whathabitshaveyoudevelopedthatyouwanttocontinue?

Journalafewthoughtshere:

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—Whatareyourregretsfromthepastyear?

—Whatmistakeshaveyounoticedyourselfrepeating?

—Whatcommitmentswillyoumakebasedonthelessonsofthepastyear?

Identifyrightnow3changesyouwillmakeinthecomingyearthatwillhelpmakeityourbestyearever.

1.

2.

3.

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3) Know what you want.

Identifyingspecificallywhatyouwantisoneofthemostimportantkeystohavingyourbestyearever.

Howwillyoudefinesuccessinthecomingyear?

Writedownatleast5specificoutcomesthatyouwantforthenextoneyear.

• Whatdoyouwanttoachieveatwork?

• Whatdoyouwanttoaccomplishinyourpersonallife?

• Whatrelationshipsdoyouwanttocultivateorgrow?

• Doyouhavegoalsforyourphysicalself?

• Howaboutthingsyouwanttohaveordo?

Takeafewminutestojustwritethethingsthataremostcompellingtoyou.

Imaginethisforamoment:Ifyoucanhaveithere,youcanhaveitwithinoneyear.So,whatwouldyouwant?!?

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Thehumanmindislikeaheat-seeking,smartmissile.Itmovestowarditstarget,anditmakesadjustmentsalongtheway.Itjusthastohavethattargetidentified.

Look at the above list and mark the 3-5 most important one-year objectives that you are COMMITTED to achieving in the coming year!

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4) Identify “Point B.” Then GO THERE!

Ifyouweretobreakdownyour52-weekgoalsinto26two-weekincrements,eachincrementcouldberepresentedbyaletterofthealphabet,fromPointA(whereyouarenow)toPointZ(whereyouwanttobeinoneyear).

What prevents most people from achieving their goals is a lack of a sense of urgency to get started.

Foreachofyour3-5mostimportantone-yearobjectives—youknow, those ones you areCOMMITTED to achieving in thecomingyear—writedownoneactionyoucantakeinthenext1-2weeksthatwillsetyouontherighttrajectorytoachievethegoal.

ONE-YEARGOAL SHORT-TERMACTIONSTEP

1. -

2. -

3. -

4. -

5. -

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Someexamplesmightbe:

• Hitting a specific sales goal in thenext 2weeks that isconsistentwithyouryearlyobjective.

• Bringingmassiveenergytobuildingmomentumwithanimportantproject.

• Committingtoalteronekeydiethabitthatwillimproveyourhealth.

• Committingtostartoneexercisehabitthatwillimproveyourfitness.

• Having one critical conversation tomove an importantrelationshipinapositivedirection.

IcanrememberZigZiglarsharinghowhehadabreakthroughyearbothpersonallyandprofessionally.Twothingshe focusedonwerelosingabout1poundperweek(anyonecandothat!)andwritingaspecificnumberofpagesofhisnewbook(SeeYouAtTheTop)everyweek.

JustSTARTTHEPROCESSwithwhateveritisthatyouwant.Whatyoumayfindisthattheearlyreturnsaresomotivatingtoyou that you just keepmakingprogress in the rightdirection.12months later, youmight just be amazed at what you haveaccomplished!

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5) Overcome your fears and limiting beliefs.

Fear is actually just a limiting belief, but it’s one of themostlimitingbeliefsthatpeoplehave.

• Somepeoplefearfailure.Doyou?Ifso,why?

• Some people fear rejection.Do you?What is it aboutrejectionthatmakesyoufeeluncomfortable?

• Some people fear change. Do you? If so, you may befocusingonthenegativepossibleoutcomesofthechangeinsteadofallthepositiveoutcomesthatcouldunfold.

• Somepeopleactuallyfearsuccessbecauseit’sbeyondtheimage they have of themselves and so it’s outside theircomfortzone.Crazy?

Ponderthisquote,anotheroneofmyall-timefavorites:

“Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning we give it.” —Tony Robbins

Aftereveryexperienceinlife,wehavetochoosewhatmeaningwegivetoit.Startchoosingmoreempoweringmeaningsforthethings that happen to you.The superiormind trains itself toquicklyredirectnegativeemotionsintoquestionslike:

• WhatcanIlearnfromthissituation?

• What’sthesilverlininghere?

• Whatshouldbemynextstepstogetbackontrack?

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If you start learning from your failures and welcoming allexperiences, youwill begin to have less and less fear in yourlife.Youwillfindyourselfmoreateasewithtacklinganyoftheinevitablechallengesthatcomeupforallofus.Eventually,yourealizethatthefearyouhavehadinthepastreallywasn’tnecessaryatall.So, why not break free from that NOW?!?

Whatisafearyouhavethatyou’dliketoovercome?

Nowamore importantquestion:Howwillyouchooseamoreempoweringmeaningthenexttimeyouareconfrontedwiththisfearinyourlife?

WritedownsomewaysyoucanCHOOSEtorespondandconfrontthisfearintheyearahead:

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What about other limiting beliefs?

All of us have developedbeliefs about ourselves in all areas oflife.Thesebeliefsmayhavestartedlikeflimsycobwebs,buttheyhavedeveloped intochains thateitherstrengthenusorshackleus. It’s important tofirst recognize thebeliefs thatare limitingyou.OnelimitingbeliefthatheldmebackforyearsisthebeliefthatIcanjustdothingsonmyown,thatIdon’tneedanyhelp.Whilethere iscertainlysomebenefittoasenseofself-reliance,Ihaveundoubtedlyheldmyselfbackbyhavingtoomuchprideattimestoaskforhelp.PerhapsIdevelopedabeliefthatitwassomehowweaktoaskforhelp.WhatI’velearnedisthathelp,orcoaching,isnotjustforpeoplewhoaremessedup.It’satooltoACCELERATEtheprogressforpeoplewhoarealreadymovinginapositivedirection.

OtherlimitingbeliefsInoticeinothersfrequently:

• “Idon’thavethetalent/abilitytodothat.”

—>Therealityisthatallskillsarelearned,andyoujusthavetomakestepsintherightdirection.

• “It’stoohard.”

—>Nothingworthwhileiseasy.Youjusthavetoclearlyidentifythelonger-termbenefits,andanyactionornewhabitcanbecomeeasiertostart.

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Whataresomelimitingbeliefsthathaveheldyouback?

What’sthe“positiveopposite”ofeachofthoselimitingbeliefs?

Taketimetoconsiderthis,andDECIDEtochooseanewdirection!

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MY FINAL CHALLENGE TO YOU:

Here’saninterestingphilosophyforyoutoconsider:

For you to not reach your goals is the most selfish thing you can do.

Ifyoufailtoachievethegoalsyouhaveforthecomingyear,youarenotsettingtherightexampleforthepeoplearoundyou.Ourcolleagues,ourkids,ourcircleofinfluence…theyareallwatchingus.Inevitably,manyothersinourcirclewillmodelouractions.Whatexampleareyousettingforyourworld?Failingtoachieveyourgoalsalsomeansyouarenotaddingthemaximumvaluetotheworld thatyoucouldbeadding.Maybeyou’reeventakingmorethanyouaregiving.Thismightnotseemsignificanttoyouatfirst,buttheaccumulatedeffectofthiscanbedevastating.

Whenyouperformatyourhighestandbest,youbringeveryoneelseuparoundyou.Whenthetidecomesin,ALLtheboatsintheharborriseup.Let’sallstrivetomaketheopportunitiesandpossibilitiesoftheworldbiggerandbetterforeveryonebydoingourpartindividually!

Jon Berghoffwas one ofmy greatest colleagues, and he’s stilloneofmygreatestinfluencestothisday.Ashewaslearninganddevelopingasacollege-studentinmysalesoffice,hewouldaskhimselfthisquestionfrequently:

“How would the person I want to become act in this situation?”

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BY TAKING THE ACTION, YOU BECOME THE PERSON.

REMEMBERTHESEIMPORTANTCONCEPTS:

1) Takeresponsibilityforyourownsuccess.

2) Learnthelessonsofthepast.

3) Identifywhatyouwant

4) Takethefirstbigsteprightaway.

5) Break through your fears and limiting beliefs and takeconsistentactioninthedirectionofyourdreams.

DO THESE THINGS AND YOU’LL HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

To your success,

Dan Casetta

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dan Casetta is a dynasty builder. Throughout his career with the Vector Marketing / Cutco sales organization, Dan has been a one-in-a-million achiever and transformational leader. He became the most successful and influential field manager in the nearly 70-year history of Cutco, and his programs for leading and developing teams were integral in sparking the company’s rapid growth and expansion. Throughout various roles with the company, Dan has coached and mentored top sales reps, managers, and executives, teaching skills like selling, leadership, financial well-being, and personal development to the company’s top talent. Dan’s sales teams won 7 National Championships with the company, and he has developed at least 12 other people who have been National Champion in their sales category for one year.

Dan helps create champions both in and out of his Cutco business. His influence has extended nationwide through speaking, writing, and hosting gatherings of like-minded, success-oriented people. He’s the co-author of an upcoming book with Jack Canfield titled “Success Starts Today.” As a respected and trusted business leader, Dan has had a profound impact on thousands of entrepreneurs, leaders, and salespeople over the past 25 years. His passion is in adding value to the world and leaving positive ripples everywhere he goes.

Stay connected with Dan:

www.dancasetta.com

www.facebook.com/dancasetta

www.linkedin.com/in/dan-casetta-71b6179/

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