Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James If you’re working through this course, you obviously want to start approaching your work and your life in a more productive and efficient manner. Once you have defined the goals and habits that will help you most as you work toward your dream, you must list out the tasks that need to be done. These become the items on your weekly to-do list. How do you make sure that you get through that to-do list and that you aren’t constantly treading water? You need to set out the tasks you need to do and then work…

It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. – Winston Churchill Once you have an idea of what you’d like to accomplish, and that habits you’ll need to cultivate, you’ll need to start looking at the tasks you’ll need to accomplish each week. I categorize this as what is Necessary.

Successful people are simply those with successful habits. – Brian Tracy We all know the benefits of good habits. The only problem with a good habit is that it takes time to develop. My Inspired Year is set up so that you plan to start one new success habit every month.

The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny. – James Allen What habits would you like to cultivate in your life? List or check off your top twelve desirable habits. Then decide which habit you would like to introduce for which month.

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. – Zig Ziglar Are you ready to be successful? Uncle Zig got it right. If you are mentally ready for success, nothing can hold you back. Take, for example, the story of Nick Vujicic. Vujicic was born without fully formed limbs. He could have spent his whole life feeling helpless and sorry for himself.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. – Zig Ziglar It’s hard to say who first came up with the idea of setting SMART goals, but there are several variations on the S.M.A.R.T. goal idea. Here is one that works for me.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. – Tony Robbins It seems to go without saying that you can’t hit a goal you don’t set. Setting a goal gives you clear direction for deciding how to spend your time and effort. A clear goal, with designated action steps to get there, gives you a way to track your progress toward getting what you want in life.