Don’t Do Resolutions, Do This

January 10th is popularly known as?Quitters Day. A 2019 study revealed that approximately 80% of people who make New Year’s resolutions quit by the second Friday of January. Do you have a concrete strategy to achieve your goals? A detailed roadmap for success? Most importantly, have you set up an accountability system? In a recent episode, we discuss a 5 step process to increase your chances of success by 95%.

Need a sneak peek? Below are the main takeaways from the episode. To listen to the full episode, you can listen here>>

Preview:

“We all have dreams, and we all have goals. Today, I want to share one of mine from when I was growing up, and then I’ll walk you through the five steps you need to take to achieve your goals. It took me a long time to learn these lessons.

I had a huge dream of playing college basketball. But during my junior year of high school, I was cut from the team. That’s right—I didn’t even make the team. However, I eventually walked on to Michigan State University’s basketball team and became one of the 13 players on the number-one-ranked team in the country. So how did this happen? How do you go from being cut to earning a scholarship at Michigan State?

When I got to Michigan State, I still wanted to be part of the basketball program, so I became the water boy. Even that required a tryout, but I made it. Yet, deep in the recesses of my mind, my dream of playing basketball never faded. It was always there, lurking around every corner.

It seemed like an impossible dream. Here I was, a kid who didn’t even make his high school basketball team, trying to play for the number-one-ranked team in the country under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. The team only had 13 players! But I held on to that dream.

The biggest mistake most of us make is keeping our dreams inside. To achieve them, you need to take action. Here are the five steps I learned:

1. Have an idea or goal. When you have an idea or goal, you have about a 10% chance of achieving it. That’s where I started—sitting on the bench as a water boy, dreaming about being on the court.
2. Decide you’re going to do it. Once you make the decision to pursue your goal, your chances increase to 25%. For me, that meant committing to the idea and starting to work harder—gaining weight, building muscle, and improving my athleticism. I went from 165 pounds to 210 pounds and worked tirelessly to increase my strength and vertical leap.
3. Decide when you’ll do it. When you set a deadline, your chances jump to 50%. For me, the timing became clear during my senior year. I realized I was running out of time, and I had to act immediately.
4. Commit to someone that you’ll do it. When you tell someone about your goal, your chances of achieving it rise to 65%. This was one of the hardest steps for me. At 19 or 20 years old, I was insecure about sharing such an ambitious goal, especially given my past. I told my brothers, who were always supportive. Sharing your goal makes it real and holds you accountable.
5. Schedule accountability check-ins. This final step rockets your chances to 95%. Accountability is key. For me, it was checking in with friends and family about my progress in the gym—tracking my vertical, my bench press, and my free-throw percentage. For most people, this might look like monthly check-ins over lunch or coffee with someone you trust. Knowing you’ll be asked about your progress can light a fire under you to stay on track.

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