How To Make 2015 The Most Exciting Year Ever

2014 was a GREAT year for me personally.

There was love.  There was loss.  There was pain.  There was pleasure.

Exhaustion and excitement. Failure and fulfillment.

I learned peace and patience is a choice.

I learned poverty and riches are two sides of the same coin.

I learned that there are only 2 possible outcomes: success, or quitting.  Failure is impossible if you don't give up.

The best part about 2014...is that I'm just getting warmed up.

Here's my personal blueprint for making 2015 the best and most exciting year ever...

1. Ask the big questions.  What excites you?  Really.  What gets you fired up and makes you feel alive? I've learned to correlate the words "excitement" with "purpose".  Meaning, if it excites you, you were meant to do it.  This past year, I followed a simple formula: only do what excites me.  Doing so got me on a network television show, working for myself from home, writing and publishing 2 best selling books,  building homes for a family in Mexico, and growing tremendously in my faith.  I plan to do the same thing next year, and the year after that.  Just keep asking myself "what excites me?" and see where that answer takes me.

2. See the big picture.  I always try to keep the year ahead in perspective with my BIG goals.  My lifetime goals.  My vision for myself and the kind of legacy I want to leave.  You might not look at life the same way I do, but at the very least, look at where you want to be 10 years from now and work backwards.  2015 is just a stepping stone to who and what you'll be in 2025 and beyond.  What you do this coming year will greatly effect what 10 years from now looks like.

3. Gain clarity.  You can step into 2015 with no direction and wander around in a haze of confusion, or you can walk a clear path towards what it is you want.  When you gain clarity on what exactly you want in life, the universe seems to bend to your will and give you exactly what you want.  The hard part is figuring that out.  After figuring out what excites me and matching that up with my bigger picture, I get into putting my goals down on paper (something 85% of successful people say they do).  I write down yearly goals, break them down into quarterly goals, then monthly goals, and then weekly goals.  From there, I can break it down further into daily habits. 

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" -Aristotle.

4. Find my roadblocks.  My biggest roadblock this year, and what will probably be my biggest roadblock for the rest of my life, is myself.  And by myself, I mean specifically my beliefs about myself and my potential. When I changed my thoughts from "I can't do that" to "How can I do that?", suddenly anything was possible. How about you?  Are you severely underestimating the greatness you're able to accomplish in life? Are you your own worst enemy?  If so, it's time to let the shackles go and really take the first steps towards doing something amazing.  But first, you have to believe you can.

5. Find the missing pieces. There was a time when I believed there was always something missing that kept me from accomplishing my goals.  These days, I believe we have everything we need to do anything at our disposal, we just have to go out and find it.  Who do you need to meet in 2015 to help you in your goals?  Do you need to find a coach? A mentor? A business partner? An investor? Whatever it is, they exist out there, you just need to do the leg work and reach out to them.

6. Raise the bar.  In order to do big things, I have to become big things.  Meaning, I have to raise the bar on my own personal standards.  In doing so, I also have to raise the bar on the standards of the people I spend my time on.  We are, after all, the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with.  This means if we want to become better, we have to be around people who raise us up, not bring us down. Who has to get cut out of your life in order to fit someone in who can help you reach your vision for yourself?

7. 80/20 and 90/10.  80/20 refers to what's known as "Pareto's Law" and basically states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of the output.  So what 20% of your time, activity, and resources is giving you 80% of the results?  Cut out the 80% that's only producing 20% and have more time and freedom to do what's most important.  90/10 refers to me going 90% and leaving 10% for slack.  If I do everything 90% and rest 10% of the time, I'll accomplish way more than if I gave 100% all the time and end up burnt out.

Here's to 2015 being your best and most exciting year ever!

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Mark Lopez blogs about leadership and personal development in order to strengthen his own leadership skills.  As a Christian, father, husband, and CEO of his own life, Mark looks to empower others so they can lead life by their own design.  To learn more about Mark, follow him on Facebook.