New Years Resolutions and Revelations.
Well, the year has come to an end and I am looking forward to 2010. Not only is this a time for planning the upcoming year, but it's also a time of reflection when we look back at our accomplishments as well as our failures. I mention failures because they are just as important as our accomplishments.
Failures are the way we learn. My mentor, Alex Jeffreys, likes to call it failing forward. The important thing here is that you made the effort and took action. Thomas Edison literally had thousands of failures before he found the correct filament to create a working light bulb.
Determination and tenacity prevailed and the rest is history. But I have found that it's not just enough to to take action. You need to take "intelligent action". This has nothing to do with how smart you are, it's about being focused and sticking to a game plan.
Concentrate on the things that are working for you. Shut out the distractions as much as possible. More than likely you are like me and still work a full time job. Your time is very valuable so must make sure that you are productive with the little time you have.
This was something that I learned this year and it has helped me immensely. I easily tripled my productivity compared to what I was doing before. Have a "to do list" of your most critical action items. Turn off your email, Skype, Messenger, or anything else that might tempt you to deviate from the task at hand.
Then "Get Er Done!"
Of course, this is not easily done if you don't have a clear cut plan of attack. That is why goal setting and planning should be your number one priorities. Not only do you want to plan on a daily level, but you want to plan on a weekly, monthly, and a yearly level.
These will be your New Year's resolutions for 2010. Start big and write down your major goals for 2010 in 4 categories. Personal, Entrepreneurial, Business, and Income. You can later go back and write down what you will need to do to accomplish each goal. Once you do that you will have a huge list of action items that you can begin to add into your weekly and daily schedules.
I am not going to go into detail right now because that could be a novel in itself. I am about to get to the main reason for this post and it's already getting long.
Last year I made a comment on Garry Parkes blog. Garry is a fellow Alex Jeffreys student that has actually gone on to become an employee of Alex's. He was one of the first people in our class to really start taking action and his blog kind of became a gathering place for all the students.
The comment I made was on December 31st, 2008. Garry's post was about setting goals and attaching some kind of accountability to those goals. One of the ways to do this is to publicly announce that you are going to do something. You will then feel compelled to do what you say or you might lose credibility.
So I listed my goals for 2009 for all to see and now it's time to pay the piper and see how well I accomplished my goals. Here is a snippet copied from the comment on Garry's blog. (the annotations in red are the results)
Personal
1. Vacation this year to vist wife’s family in Venezuela. was a great success, I spent 2 weeks there and the wife and kids were there for 6 weeks. I also took a trip to Las Vegas to Alex's work shop and will be returning in 2 weeks to the second one. This time my wife is coming along and we are going to have a couple days set aside just for us.
2. Lose 80lbs. target weight is 250, currently tipping the scales at 330. I have absolutely failed miserably here. I still weigh 330. My wife and I have joined the local gym and I have a good start on this years goal which will remain the same.
Entrepreneurial
1. Create systems for all my tasks and start outsourcing. I don't quite have all the systems created that I want but I have employed the services of a few people and currently have them working on some projects.
2. Find at least 10 serious JV partners. I hosted my own JV Giveaway and created a list of JV partners plus continue to seek out new adswap partners.
Business
1. Build a mailing list of 7300 subscribers. (that’s 20 per day) My list now stands at 6300. I am about 1000 short but that is OK. The last 3 months I have been reserving my weekend adswaps for people just starting out with small lists. If I had not done this, I could have easily surpassed my goal. I just ran the stats for December and I am averaging over 45 new subscribers per day. This number only continues to get bigger so I am very happy with these results.
2. Continue to write for the Profit Pulling Project, re-brand, and distribute. I ended up only writing a couple of articles for Garry's news letter. As much as I would like to, time constraints make it unrealistic for me at this time.
3. Write my ebook series “The Web 2 Whammy” which I will use to build my list and then monetize with a follow up video series. I ended up writing an ebook on JV Giveaways instead. I am giving it away for free to build my list and am monetizing with a OTO and by using integration marketing on my download and thank you pages. I have some big plans for 2010 but will discuss that later.
4. Spend at least 1 hour a day oil rig hopping. 1/2 hour for students and 1/2 hour with Comment Kahuna. Once again I have failed miserably in this respect. I have also been slack when it comes to posting on this blog and my traffic stats reflect this. Time is a big factor but I am not making excuses. This is one thing that I should make time to do.
Income
1. To generate a minimum of $50,000 with my online business this year. I haven't tallied up the exact figures yet but I would say it's between $15,000 and $20,000. Not bad considering I was figuring in a product launch that didn't happen and I only work at this part time. The majority of my income was from affiliate promos and a direct result of my list building efforts. If you build a list, you will make money.
So you see that you will not always reach your goals. That's OK. I do think that you need to make your goals realistic but yet at the same time you have to challenge yourself. Don't be afraid to set your goals high. Make your self accountable!
I would like to help you do that right now. I am challenging you to go out on a limb and post your goals for 2010 right here on my blog. Put them out there for God and everybody to see. If that doesn't motivate you to take action then I don't know what will.
Here are mine for 2010:
Personal
1. Lose 80lbs. target weight is 250, currently tipping the scales at 330.
2. Take family on week long vacation to Disney World
3. Go golfing at least twice a month. (driving range once a week minimum)
Entrepreneurial
1. Put together a team to handle all technical functions of my online business.
2. Become part of a master mind group. (or create one)
3. Begin investing in other income vehicles (stocks, real estate, etc..)
4. Continue to expand my JV base by attending live events.
Business
1. Continue giving list building #1 priority. New target is 30K by end of 2010.
2. Use PLR products to set up an affiliate program designed to build my list.
3. Post on the blog at least once a week. Start incorporating more videos.
4. Start a corporation for tax purposes and to insulate my personal assets.
5. Launch a product.
Income
1. To generate a minimum of $100,000 with my online business this year. This is what I need to do to be able to walk away from my current job and become a full time internet marketer.
Ok there you have it. Now it's your turn! Leave a comment and list your goals for 2010. Let the world be your "accountability buddy".
Filed under Ramblings by 
Leave a Comment
Comments protected by Lucia's Linky Love.
Comments on New Years Resolutions and Revelations.
JT,
Great post. I really enjoyed reading it. I commend you on your successes. You have done well and are an inspiration.
This past year was spent "discovering" the online business venue. It took some time to figure out what I felt comfortable with and the type of business that I wanted to generate online. Now it's time for me to get down to business.
I will be the first to set down goals online.
Personal:
1. Take my kids on a week long vacation.
2. Get one of my major bills paid off.
3. Lose that pesky 30 pounds.
Entrepreneurial:
1. Write business plan for my free marketing tools website (helps keep me on track).
2. Launch website officially in March with over 100 free tools.
3. Write business plan for my green offline business.
4. Launch green business later this year once my daughter is in preschool.
Business:
1. Automate my tweeting.
2. Develop a list of subscribers through my website.
3. Provide new marketing/business tools at a rate of 5 new ones per week.
4. Incorporate myself.
Income:
1. By the end of the year I would like to make $5000 per month.
@Kim Jimmerson (1 comments.):
Sounds like you are on the right track Kim. Looks like you have set some reachable goals as well as some lofty ones.
By setting the goals you are half way there to achieving them.
JT
Hi JT,
You've inspired me and I'll put my goals on my blog.
I wish you great success in this new year.
Estani
Hi JT,
This is a great post and even though you did not hit all your targets from last year, you have still moved forward and have even more drive to succeed in 2010!
I have read several "goal" related posts during the New Year period and it's amazing how similar they all are.
Most are centred around building a colossal list and losing weight, haha!
I look forward to seeing what you have lined up.
David
@Estanislao (1 comments.): It always makes me feel good to know that I have inspired or helped someone. I will be stopping by your blog to check out your goals.
Here's to a happy and prosperous new year!
JT
@David Walker (2 comments.): Thanks for stopping by David. I wish I had taken my list building seriously 3 years ago when I first started trying to make money online. If I had, I would already have that "colossal list".
Hopefully, everyone who reads this will put 2 and 2 together and see the importance of list building. The weight loss thing seems to be a constant battle.
Four years ago I quit smoking cigarettes after being a "pack a dayer" for over 20 years. If I can do that, I can lose a measly 80 pounds.
In 2009 I focused most of my efforts towards building my business. This year I am diverting my attention towards the weight loss first and the rest will play second fiddle.
I went by your blog today and saw that you have some big plans as well. I look forward to meeting you in Las Vegas in a couple weeks. I am sure it will be beneficial to all that attend.
JT
Hey JT
Great blog post. It was very informative and educational none the less. It is great to see how you are going to incorporate all these goals into you business this year.
I myself am working on getting myself organized. All my stuff on my computer is a mess and takes forever to go through each thing. I will get sort and move forward with my other stuff and have my routine I will do on a daily basis
Hi JT,
Awesome stuff here, thanks.. My goals for 2010 since the New Year is about as new as I am to Internet Marketing I want to get to 5,000 subscribers in 60 days. Currently at 1,600 which I just built last week and will continue to focus on my list building efforts..As far as income from Online..Look I am a realist and know it takes time and learning to go full time so I will go out on a limb here….I would like to be full time Online from home by the end of Decemer 2010!
Wow now that's a big one to live up to….. Another goal I have set is to launch my first product in Feb. or March…I am currently preparingn for this by Networking and getting myself and my BRAND out there online. (T.B.I.M.) which stands for The Bumbling Idiot Marketer….
Where did that come from I can hear you asking?? Well befor I decided to become a student of IM I was running all over the internet not accomplishing anything…Just like a Bumbling Idiot…So it kinda stuck….People remember the name and logo…so why not..turned out to be pretty good Marketing strategy if you ask me…
So there you have it..for the world to see and hold accountable…I will do my best to accomplish these goals and go out of my way to help others online….Like so many have done for me….Thanks JT for this oppurtunity…Hope everyone finds what there looking for in this New Year 2010!
T.B.I.M.
@Bruno Auger (1 comments.): Getting organized will make a HUGE difference. I make a weekly schedule and then break it down into daily schedules. I was using a timer before but now I use Action Machine Pro which is software that lets you set up timers for different tasks and save them. It will also give you daily reports on what you have done.
I use a sheet where I record what I have done and how long it took. This lets me identify what things keep me from getting my work done. I have easily increase my productivity by 3 or 4 times since I started doing this.
For someone like me with limited time to work on my business it's a necessity.
JT
Hi JT
Great goals you have set yourself, especially as you are working your business part time.
I'm sure you will achieve the goal of full time – your name crops up time after time!
A note of thanks, on behalf of those with smaller subscriber lists than yourself, for the help you provide. It's much appreciated.
John
Hey JT,
I just missed you yesterday at my blog. Thanks for the comment.
The reason I missed you was because I was writing a post about my goals for 2010 which I will get to later.
Congrats on a great year. It sounds like to me you had a very successful 2009 especially in building your list. That's one of my key focus areas this year. Maybe you can give me some help. Don't worry, I will be calling to ask for you help.
You've set some pretty lofty goals for 2010 but from what I can tell you started the snowball rolling last year and it should grow bigger and faster this year. Good Luck!
In your comment on my blog you asked me to come over here and post my goals for 2010 so that's what I'm going to do. Although, this is a very short list because I wasn't really ready to set my goals yet but I already knew what the big 4 were for me. I will sit down and come up with the rest of my goals later this month.
So here we go.
1. My list is just over 1,000 subscribers now and I’d like to hit 10,000 subscribers by year end. I’m aiming high.
2. My traffic has always been in spurts so I’d like to have a substantial increase in steady traffic to my blog.
3. I’m really going out on a limb here as I haven’t created my first product yet. But this year I’d like to create one new product each quarter.
4. Sometimes I go through long stretches without posting to my blog so this year’s goal is to write one post a week.
I will add one more here seeing you put your weight issue out there for everyone to see. I never had a weight problem until 5 years ago because I've been a weight lifter pretty much my whole life and always been very active. But 5 years ago I finally succumbed to the debilitating pain I have because of a deteriorating spine and was forced to leave work on disability.
So the result of being inactive now and the fact that I love to eat I've gained a shit load of weight and have maxed out at 270lbs. I have set a goal to lose 81lbs which will put me at 189lbs. It just sounds better that 190. It's going to be tough to do as I'm 6' tall and still very big from all the years of weight lifting. It seems I still have the muscles it's just that you can't see them anymore because of the fat. LOL!
Sorry for the long comment.
Good Luck JT in obtaining your 2010 goals.
Later,
Jeff Sargent
Hi J.T,
Thanks for stopping by my blog http://www.janepope.com/blog your comments are really appreciated.
You are correct about goals, I am really bad at that. I recently sat down and evaluated my site and the way I need to go, whilst I am going to continue with my blog, I am going to concentrare on the building and marketing of my site for work. I am a hypnotherapist and I really enjoy it, so, I plan to market more on line. The blog is plodding, sometimes though I get the feeling that everyone wants to sell to me. Which could be my fault as you noted in my post "It's offical"
Money is short so, although I did outsource, I am unable to at present, but J.T. I see this as a learning curve.
May I wish you all the best for 2010, I love your site and although not posted before, I have visited and I will do again.
Jane
Hey JT,
Great post, I like the fact that you not only posted your goals but your results for last year.
As you say you will not reach every goal but if you don't set any then you have nothing to aim for and will no doubt get knowhere fast.
All the best for the year ahead,
James
Hi JT,
Probably one of the most popular posts around this time of year in the internet marketing world !
Well when I say popular, only to those that stand up and actually have a goal with a plan, otherwise we/they will just keep doing what we/they have always done.
I too for the first time have publicised my Goals for 2010, and you are absolutely right, it empowers you more to achieve them, and makes you accountable too to everyone that follows you.
Be in touch real soon.
Have a great 2010!
Sean
@The Bumbling Idiot Marketer (1 comments.): I think there is a long list of "bumblers" who did the same thing when they got started. I always called it "program hopping". I was definitely guilty of some bumbling myself.
Your doing the right thing by branding your name although I think I would have picked something more positive. LOL But to each his own.
You have set some lofty goals and I hope you reach them. The good thing about setting the bar high is that you push yourself harder to reach them.
JT
@John Coates (1 comments.): It's always a pleasure to help out "the little guys" John. I have plans to continue to help out by designating my weekend adswaps to people with small lists. Just my way of giving back.
I was in the same shoes only a year ago. When I started doing adswaps my list was only about 400 subscribers. People like Henry Gold, for example, did an adswap with me even though his list is gargantuan compared to mine. He didn't even want me to mail extra times to try and make up clicks.
That made a big impression. I also owe a lot to Rodger Hyatt for bringing me into his adswap group where I met a lot of big time marketers that I probably would have never met unless I went to a live seminar.
I am a big believer in the law of reciprocity and Karma. I will always go out of my way to help out when I can. I think it's the right thing to do and the results will make me richer in more ways than one.
I am glad to here that my name keeps coming up. Hopefully that means that I am doing something right. I still consider myself a little guy. Compared to the big boys, I am just a newbie. Maybe by the end of the year, after I accomplish my long list of goals, I will think differently.
JT
@Jeff Sargent (13 comments.): Thanks for coming by Jeff. It's been a while since we talked. I've been so dang busy. The more I get into this Internet marketing, the more ideas I get and things that I want to do. Sometimes it's hard to just stick to the game plan.
I like your goals. You should have no problem hitting 10k this year on your list building. If you have already reached 1000 then you have enough of an asset to start leveraging with adswaps.
Send me an email or leave me a ticket at my help desk and I will show you the ropes about adswapping and we'll have that list snowballing like mine is.
The bigger your list gets, the faster it grows. It still amazes me at how fast some of my partners are growing their lists. Once you get a few thousand subscribers, you will also start to see your Paypal account swell up a little too.
Speaking of swelling up! The weight issue has priority for me this year. I'm like you in the respect that I have back problems as well. I am 6' 4" and played football for the University of Georgia, so I am no stranger to a weight room.
I have gone from 250 to over 300 twice in the last 15 years. I always lose it and then gradually over time, it comes back. This time I am going to lose it and remain vigilant!
I spoke with a personal trainer and he said that I have to get back on the weights. Before, I was doing a lot of aerobic type exercise to lose the weight. My trainer said that if I want to keep the weight off I have to build more muscle.
I am going to try it his way this year. We shall see. I have to do something. I think you are right. I am sure that I still have a six pack under that layer of flab. Otherwise, I couldn't do 500 sit ups. This year I am going to let it out.
JT
PS – Give me a hollar Jeff and lets start building that snowball.
@Jane Pope (1 comments.): It's all a learning curve Jane. The important thing is that your giving it your best shot and learning from your mistakes.
Having a focused game plan will only make it easier and keep you headed in the direction that you want to go. It is soooooo easy to get distracted.
JT
@James Howard (1 comments.): What's the use of setting goals if you don't go back and compare your results. It's like setting up a split test and then never checking to see which version converts the best. LOL
Seeing as how you are a student of Alex's, you surely remember him talking about the "Daily Did Sheet" in module one. I love those things! They show you exactly where you are wasting your time and where you are being productive.
I work a 40 hour job and have a wife and 2 children. That takes up almost all of my time. When I get to sit down in front of the computer. It's "GAME ON". I have to be productive or I get nothing accomplished.
If you haven't done so already, you should check out Gary Simpson's Motivational Planner. It not only gives you a detailed format to plan your day, but also has a sheet where you grade yourself to see how productive you've been. Talk about accountability!
Thanks for stopping by James,
JT
Hey JT awesome blog post… I use a similar time management and goal setting strategy (too much to explain) but having a plan helps out so much!
Like you product creation and list building are 2 of my main business goals for the year…
I have 6 months of 2010 worth of product launch ideas (2 per month)… I'm sure you can create more than 1 product this year… it's easier than you think
look forward to working with you this year!
@Sean Beardmore (1 comments.): I went by your blog and read your goals. By the way, I love the inspirational video you have there. Of course, as an x-football player, I can totally relate to what was going on. Our coach had a drill he calle "Thunder Road" instead of the "Death Crawl". LOL
I hope that one of the events you are going to is Alex's workshop in Vegas this month. It would be great to meet you. I will be there for sure.
I went to last year's and met all the gang. We had a great time and I made some great partnerships and learned a lot.
Your comment about people that keep doing what they always have done reminds me of what Tony Robbins said,
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten."
It's like doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Duh. Anyhow, you've set your goals for 2010 and that's half the battle.
JT
@Jeff Bode (1 comments.): Dude, I have so many ideas for products it's insane! That is why a big part of my plans for 2010 is to put together a team to help me turn all of my ideas into products.
There is no way I can do it all by myself. Speaking of working together. We never did do an adswap. I have over 6000 on my list now. Email me: adswaps at jtmartin dot net.
Here's to being organized in 2010,
JT
@JT (113 comments.):
Hi JT,
Glad you liked the video, of course our football is a bit differnet here in the UK, and I doubt that you find any english football player doing the death crawl lol! more like the death dive!
I was hoping to get to Vegas, but I am going to have to skip it for one reason or another, but hope we can meet up at some point for sure.
Any way, off to stick to my plan JT, be in touch real soon with a progress report on my Blog.
Take care
Sean
Wow, what an amazing and inspiring post!
"Intelligent action" is one of the keys for sure. I have never heard it phrased that way, but you hit the nail right on the head. I personally need to sit down and work out on paper what my goals are for 2010 pertaining to the areas discussed in your post above…
I am a tad nervous about sharing them with the world, but I will step out and do just that shortly. Great job posting both your success and short comings for us to see. I appreciate the transparency…
Thanks for taking the time to make this post, I will be telling as many people as I can to come read this post. I think this is a post that anyone striving to reach any goal should read… Even if said goal is outside of IM. There is a powerful message and several lessons hidden in the words of this post…
Thanks again JT…
Jay Wilson Jr.
@Jay Wilson Jr. (1 comments.): Glad you found the post inspiring Jay. I love it when I can motivate someone to take positive action that will help them improve their life.
Don't worry about being a little nervous. You have to learn how to step out of your comfort zone. It's all part of the learning process.
Spread the word,
JT
I have finally had a moment to take a breath to make it back here to post my goals. You may think they are small, then again you may find them to be large. I think big goal, small goal is really relative, depends on where you are at and your viewpoint…
Anyways with further mumbling
=============================
Personal :
– Improve/strengthen my relationships. As much as we preach relationship building online you'd think I'd have have amazing relationships with everyone offline right? I have a few family members that I had to distance myself from when I was striving to quit my job and do IM full time…
I reached that goal two years ago, so I'm fresh outa excuses for staying away :/
– Continue to develop my mindset, and surround my self with people whom are where I desire to be in life. I will read atleast one book a month. I used to read 2-3 books a week a few years ago, then I came online and started consuming ebooks, videos, and webpages. It's time for me to go back to sitting in my comfy chair with a warm cup of tea and a real book… No laptop!
– Improve my spiritual life, I desire to have a deeper spiritual life. I will be spending some time read my Bible each week, I won't say that I will read everyday… I'm gona aim for 3-5 days a week consistency is something I will be aiming for in this area…
Entrepreneurial:
– Form several profitable companies this year. I'm think 3, but maybe more. I won't bore you with the details of all of them. I also have set a goal of developing 10 niche e commerce sites. By years end I want 10 profitable sites that deliver cash to my account like clockwork with minimal effort from me.
– Launch 2 products in the IM space with recurring revenue built in…
Business:
– Hire local people (or people willing to relocate to my area) to work out of my local office.
– Put additional systems and processes in place that will allow me to be as hands off of the nitty gritty as possible.
– Meet and work with other like minded business people/marketers both on and off line.
– Brand myself by creating products, tools, software and services that help make marketers life's/businesses better.
I will help as many marketers as possible reach their goals, in some way. My hope is that my customers will finds things easier/better as a direct result of what I provided. My customers will happily compensate me for what I provide to them…
(Can you really set a goal for that type of customers you will deal with? I guess so since I just did it, hehe…)
Income:
– My companies with break the 7 figure mark. I will net in excess of 25% of gross revenues.
=====================
So there is it written into the digital archives of this site before God and Man. I have stepped out my comfort zone and shared personal information with the world. Will you take a moment and do the same? I mean, it's not like I'm asking you to do something that I haven't done myself
Thanks for making this post JT,
Jay Wilson Jr.