Promises, Promises...

The tradition of New Year's resolutions probably began in the year of 153 B.C., when the Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of gates, doorways, and beginnings and endings. The two-headed Janus has been used to signify change and transitions, such as the progression of past to future, or of one condition to another. Naturally, Janus also became the symbol for resolutions. Many Romans resolved to do better in the coming year, and used the New Year as an opportunity to ask forgiveness from their enemies, or delivered gifts of sacred tree branches on New Year's Eve.

Doing Business With Friends

Jonathan Flaks carries the International Coach Federation distinction as being a Master Certified Coach. He is also a ClientWise coach who has been coaching advisors, entrepreneurs and executives since the beginning of the coaching movement in the late 1990's.

One of Jonathan's areas of expertise is in helping advisors to do business with friends. What follows is the result of an interview that I recently had with Jonathan, where he reveals his observations and insights on this important topic...which can be surprisingly problematic for many top advisors.

How to Manage Your Day Like Jack LaLanne

I grew up in San Francisco, and was in awe of Jack LaLanne. He was always doing wacky, impossibly difficult, physical feats, like:

•  Swimming from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf while handcuffed (age 41)
• Swimming across the Golden Gate channel while towing a 2,500-pound boat (age 43)
• Swimming from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf while handcuffed...and shackled, while towing a 1000-pound boat (age 60)

The dude was (is) a specimen! At 95-years young, he still has it. Every day, like clockwork, he still works out for two hours.

The key for him is, and always has been, ritual!

With this ritual in mind, I strongly encourage you to read this short article by Peter Bregman, in the Harvard Business Review, entitled "An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day."

With elegant simplicity, Mr. Bregman outlines a 3-step process for managing your day:

1. Step 1 (5 minutes) Before turning on the computer, sit down with a blank piece of paper and decide what will make your day highly successful.
2. Step 2 (1 minute, every hour) Set your timepiece to ring every hour. When it rings, look at your list and ask yourself if you spent the last hour productively.
3. Step 3 (5 minutes) Shut off your computer. Review the day. What worked. Where were you focused? Where were you distracted? What learning did you gain to apply to your days in the future?

There you have it. What could be simpler? In fact, this sounds so brilliant...I'm going to try it myself.

I'll keep you posted.

All the best!

by Chris Holman