You have 2 choices this year: 1) Bite off more than you can chew and get nothing done. 2) Point your laser where you want to move the needle and get it done. Do you feel like you may have already bitten off too much? It’s normal, but just know that it’s never too late to pair things down. It’s the beginning of the year, better now than deep into Q2! This is why I’ve decided our word for the year is “FOCUS”, and our secondary word, which is meant to compliment it, is “AMPLIFY”. I want to share with you the key questions that have helped us grow Blezoo in double digits for the last 8 years.. 

FOCUS.

Do you remember the game Whac-A-Mole? This is how many of us run our days, weeks, months and years. What if we could just plug up a few of those holes? This is what you can do when you focus. Understand that you’re never going to get everything done if you self sabotage – and believe me, many of us are doing this to ourselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1) What can I remove from my agenda?

2) Is this actually important to me?

3) What are boundaries I can set for myself to make it easier to say “No” to distractions?

4) How can I minimize distractions?

5) Can I focus only on one thing/step/item today so I can finish it?

Pro Tip: Schedule your priorities in time blocks. You’ll be amazed what will get done in 1 hour instead of 2 if that is the only time allotted. 

AMPLIFY

I love talking about the inertia of the universe. What I mean by this is: actions which are taking place by me, or others, and how I can use that inertia to achieve my objective, OR, better yet, how can I use these actions which are already taking place to AMPLIFY my message.

For every industry this is going to be slightly different, but here are specific questions you can ask yourself during any action to see if amplification is possible:

1) Is there a way to reach more people with no additional actions?

2) How can I make this message resonate with my audience even more?

3) What would be the easiest way for others to share this message?

4) How can I receive the right feedback so I can tweak my message and maximize its effectiveness?

Pro Tip: Next time you are taking an action, pause and see how you can 2x, 5x or 10x the results. You’ll be amazed at how many opportunities there are.

Of course we are always thinking in the context of marketing, promotional products & branded apparel around here at Blezoo – but these questions can be applied to virtually any industry. When you are investing your money, you are focusing and amplifying. When you are reading 3 books on a subject and then putting it into practice, you are focusing and amplifying, etc. You are already doing this in many ways subconsciously, now can you focus + amplify your year?

———

Want monthly ideas & inspiration? Make sure to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter here