Keep Focus: September is Not Time for Complacency

Amazingly, we’re nearing the mid-point of August. Some kids are already back in school. September looms, which means Labor Day is just around the corner.

September can be a “crossroads” type month. Summer’s just about over, autumn lies in wait, and shortly after that it’s the holiday season (which seems to get bigger and longer and more drawn out every year) and then New Year’s.

Some might feel tempted to coast the remaining 3-plus months of the year, figuring they’ll just run the string out and see where things wind up come December 31. For others—such as yours truly—September represents yet another opportunity to achieve your goals and do some of those things you intended to do this year but haven’t quite gotten to. In other words, in football parlance, it’s like the beginning of the 3rd quarter: time to pull out all the stops!

What’s your experience been business-wise, post Labor Day? Do you find it’s time for a renewed drive to the end . . . or is it time to let off the accelerator and coast to your destination?

A few years back, I wrote the blog,?“Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,”?which was all about having the tenacity to reach your goals — whatever time of year it is. Here’s that blog again . . . and good luck in the home stretch for 2021! May you make it whatever you want it to be.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

It would be easy these days to become so preoccupied with what’s going on in Washington DC (or “not” going on, for that matter), your state capital, or your local business environment, that you start to lose sight of the task at hand: to live well, love well, work hard, and make a difference in the world.

Think back to last New Year’s Day. If you’re like most of your Barrel O'Monkeyz brethren, you probably made some personal and professional resolutions.

• “I will commit to a daily exercise program.”
• “I will lose ## pounds and keep the weight off.”
• “My business will exceed last year’s performance by ##%.”
• “We will get ## new customers this year.”

Now that your memory has been jogged, what objectives did?you?set out to reach this year? How have you done? Have you achieved them all, some of them, or none at all?

It’s far too easy to blame others when things go awry. So you lost that new client you were pitching to a competitor. Are you tempted to say, “That’s ‘so-and-so’s fault; he’s always undercutting my pricing,” or do you take full responsibility for missing out? Did you fail to find the time for regular exercise and actually?gain?weight? Did you justify your results by saying, “That’s because membership at the local gym was just too expensive?” Last I knew, it didn’t cost too much to take up jogging, do basic exercises in your home, buy a 10-minute workout DVD, or simply commit to eating a better diet.

The fact is that many people?are?able to reach their goals, business or otherwise—so why not you? Apparently, they were more committed and/or motivated. They were willing to make the tough choices, sacrifice, or simply grit it out to get what they wanted. Reaching a goal takes willpower, focus, and a can-do attitude.

• To reach a goal, you have to know what the goal is. Articulate your goals. Write them down. Make a list you can look at every day.
• You—and only you—are responsible for achieving your goals. This doesn’t mean you can’t enlist the help of others in getting there. But the ultimate responsibility for achieving the desired result is yours. If it’s your goal, you must OWN it.
• Stay motivated. Keep your head in the game.?Sure, keep abreast of what’s going on in the world, but don’t get overwhelmed by the politicians and the media naysayers. Their job is to do what it takes to get your vote or get your attention. Your job is to reach your goals.

If you’re a regular reader of the Barrel O'Monkeyz blog, you know I talk a lot about “paying it forward”—doing good things because it’s the right thing and because when you do good things, good things tend to happen for you, too. It’s a win-win situation. Even when faced with an economic slump or a pandemic, you can?always?find ways to do good things, to pay it forward. No excuses. Now that’s a goal everyone can apply to business and to life alike.

How have you been paying it forward this year? How has someone gone out of his or her way to help you?