5 Ways to Leverage Success in 2020 (Ep. 145)

When it comes to taking your life to the next level, one thing is certain, you must grow, learn, and change. Whether you’re leading, blogging, writing a book, or simply coaching, discovering your why and taking an inventory of your strengths is vital to success.

I’ve been on a unique journey the past several years. It all started with a desire to create a blog to give my Small Group ministry at the church a place to connect and take their spiritual life to the next level. As time moved on, this blog has grown into a place where writers and leaders come to leverage their time, energy, and creativity so that they can succeed in their family, ministry, and life.

Maybe you’re stuck in the same place and you’re looking for inspiration to help you succeed and find what it is that God has called you to accomplish in this world. I know the feeling because this is the journey that I’m currently on.

Years ago, I made you a promise that this blog will be a testing ground of authenticity of where I am at in my own writing and leadership journey. This post is one of those times where I open up about the future, my dreams, vision, and fears of failure.

I want to give you 5 things I’m doing right now to take the message God has given me to the next level.

1. Reading self-help books daily!

It’s no secret that I love to read. But above everything I love to read, novels are at the top of the list. This year, I made a commitment to read 12 self-help books. I have made a dent in the number of books I want to read. Currently, I’ve read two and am reading three others right now. That puts me at 5 books nearly read this year, and it’s only the end of February.

Reading these books has sparked something deep inside that is changing my focus and energy. In other words, my goal and aim is to find my zone of genius and take my knowledge and put it into practice.

This simple act of reading helps leaders grow, change, and experience fresh ideas. It’s that simple spark that germinates into something worthwhile. Maybe you’ve felt stagnant in your life and wish you could pull yourself out of a situation that keeps you from moving forward. Reading eliminates stagnant thinking and elevates your mind to the next level. It simply makes you a better leader.

This year, I plan to read 2 books per month. We’ll see what happens.

2. Listen to daily podcasts.

If you were to ask me several years ago, you’d find me listening to audiobooks and not podcasts. Now, I still listen to a lot of audiobooks. But podcasts have allowed me to increase my knowledge on certain topics. It’s like my daily dose of inspiration.

There are several podcasts I listen to in my area of business growth and coaching.

• Lead to Win with Michael Hyatt
• The Ray Edwards Show
• The Cliff Ravenscraft Show
• 48 Days Podcast
• The Self-Publishing Show

The thing I love about podcasts, it gives me new ideas, inspiration to keep moving forward. I can discover where they’ve failed and do my best to avoid those same pitfalls in my own life. In other words, I’m learning from other’s mistakes.

If you really want to take your business, ministry, or life to the next level, listening to successful individuals on their weekly podcasts is one way to figure out what makes you tick and how you can further your life goals.

3. Focus on goals to further success.

The past twelve months have been the most fruitful and beneficial months I’ve had in years. I used to be a calendar guy. We’re talking paper calendars for years. I was the only guy in college with a day-planner. Around 2010 I started making the switch to online calendars. It worked for a while, but somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked and overwhelmed with my ever-growing to-do list. Things often would spiral out of control and I would have no more leverage to make time work for me instead of me working against time.

In 2018, I switched back to a paper calendar, but I was lacking something greatly. I needed something to help me focus on my yearly goals; something I learned from Michael Hyatt. So, in July of last year, I found a 90-day goal planning calendar. This daily calendar helped me focus my energy and forced me to distill my goals down into bite-sized chunks.

The end result, I’ve been using a 90-day calendar by [Michael Hyatt and it has revolutionized my life. The Full Focus Planner allows me to focus on the most important goals in my life, leverage my time, and help me figure out what I need to do each day to succeed. If you want to succeed in life focusing on your goals and leveraging your time will allow you the freedom to focus on what you need to get done on a daily basis.

4. Offer three different coaching products.

It’s clear to me that there are people in my audience that believe in my message. I know, because they’ve paid me for my services. My passion is to help you truly discover what it is God has called you to do, by helping you discover your story. There are many ways to leverage your time and energy. This is why I’m planning on creating some coaching packages to help you get your book written, start that blog, or simply create a more productive lifestyle in helping you think forward and win at your goals and life.

1. A 1-on-1 coaching program. This program would be an hourly or limited coaching experience, depending on your needs.
2. Live Masterclass Seminars. These would be an all-day in-person class in the Twin Cities.
3. Online Courses. These courses would be released periodically throughout the year.

5. Write and publish 2 – 3 more books.

It’s no secret that writing is a huge passion of mine. What better way to teach and coach writers how to publish than to publish my own writing. This year alone I published 2 books. That alone was huge! My goal is to write and publish two to three more books next year.

I have a dream of becoming the Christian indie version of James Patterson. I would love to be able to publish 7-8 books a year, and have co-writers help me get my stories written and out into the world.

Without dreams and vision for the future, you’ll never be able to work toward those goals. When we make a commitment, write that commitment down, and tell someone about those commitments, we’re more likely to work toward seeing them fulfilled.

What are your 2020 goals? Where do you see your family, business, and life in the next year?

If you’re looking for coaching, simply contact me and mention you’d like some coaching on how to leverage your time and write your story.