Design and Live Your Own 2010 Thriving Success Story!

We just launched a new decade so it provides everyone a great opportunity to view their challenges from a different perspective.  In 2009, Suzy Welch published a highly praised book, 10-10-10, that discusses the idea of living with the decade in mind when making all our important decisions.  She also points out that we should consider the consequences in the next 10 minutes and the next 10 months. 

With this in mind, here are several ideas that will help you design a Thriving Decade and a Thriving Year while also providing you the opportunity to begin living your personal Thriving Success Story:

Make the decision to Thrive this year and this decade.  Get use to making decisions in all that you do.  Too many people are hesitant to decide after experiencing the challenges of 2009.  Don’t just participate or go through the motions.  Make decisions (big and small) to take action in the right direction.  Pursue selective greatness.  Choose to do nothing instead of doing the mediocre.  Don’t settle.  Make decisions as soon as you have a reasonable amount of data to support a decision.  Make deciding, not waiting (for more information, a better time, etc…), your habit.  Reach for new heights.

Study something new in great depth.  Find a thought leader or topic that truly intrigues you and spend the next 90 days digging a little deeper to increase the value you can contribute to the world.  Make a radical shift or change in your mindset for the better.  We all know things that are holding us back.  Keep the 90% of yourself that you like and serves you well.  Find comfort in that stability and consistency while re-inventing 10% for the better.  Be curious. 

Don’t look for a reason to say “no” where you spend your time and energy.  Instead, look for opportunities to say “yes.”  Amplify the positive AND find a way to plus it (add one small but significant thing to it) in all that you do.  Choose to take small risks to fail your way forward.  Choose to fit in with dream makers, have more conversations about visions and dreams and find a way to stand out from the crowd by expressing your unique contributions to the world.  Maximize opportunities when things are going well AND when they aren’t.

Be a Master Craftsman.  Choose something valuable to master.  Tools alone will not create impact – the craftsman that applies the right tools creates the impact.  Learn to implement better with every application of your talents, skills, and strengths.  Don’t be a commodity, be a premium brand in work and in life. 

Find a quest to drive you forward.  Seth Godin put it best in his 2009 blog post.  “Having a community-based quest means that there’s less room for whining, for infighting and for dissolution.”  The right quest creates motion in a positive direction, takes you on a ride worth taking, brings out more of your best, and makes you a better person than you were before the quest. 

Take 10 minutes to re-read this article.  Based on this article, make a decision and take action right now generate positive consequences in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years.  Do it with “Thriving Success” in mind.  Do it every day, every hour, and eventually, with every decision.  You will soon be living your own personal “Thriving Success Story!”

© Copyright 2010 Jon L. Iveson, Ph.D.