Celebrate the next 90 days!
Yikes and Yippee! Say it with me, “October! November! December!”
WOW! It was SUCH A THRILL and honor to receive the Spirit of a Leader award from Crescendo Interactive, Inc in Orlando, September 20th!
Charles Schultz, Crescendo President, has remarkable clarity, ethics, and faith. This empowers Charles to surround himself with the best team, create the best products to serve us for Planned Giving success, and live a life of generosity and service. He also said years ago, “I believed something good was going to happen in my future.” Does that sound familiar?
Something Goooooooooods Gonna Happen to Me!
The award was even better because several of my current and former clients were also attending the Practical Planned Giving Conference. Speaking at their events and consulting with them has clearly benefited us both as we navigate the relationships key to our professional and personal success! Thank you! I am deeply grateful for the award – and to all of you who join me in our honorable and noble profession.
AND it inspired me to write a new song! SHINE ON! You can hear me sing it here. First time – a few hiccups. Know you’ll hear it again soon at my upcoming conference presentations! (always better in person!)
Now let’s get to it. October. November. December.
As of today, September 27, you have 95 days left in 2023. Determine now what will make you delighted on January 1, 2024.
1. Clarity is key.
What do you want to accomplish yet this year – professionally and personally? I know you – it’s a LONG list – and you MUST narrow it down to your top 3-5.
2. Control is vital.
What do you, and you alone, have control over in accomplishing your top 3-5? To be clear, you can control your conversations and actions with potential givers. You can’t MAKE them give – that is their choice. You can have every detail arranged so that the whole family will be home for Thanksgiving and well, enough said, right? You can set deadlines for YOU. You can set deadlines for others but you can’t control their response. Focus on what YOU can control.
3. Clearly define the “Must Do’s.”
Most days, there are pieces of our lives we Must Do. Care for our children, show up for key meetings, etc. Though even these can be redefined. ‘Clean the house’ – could become ‘hire a service’. You could ask about taking a passing on certain meetings for the next 3 months. I consider writing this blog a Must Do, but I could have a guest post. Consider the Must Do’s as you plan these next 3 months. Yet, make sure “must” is MUST.
4. Create certainty on why this is important to YOU.
A work-assigned goal, someone else’s deadline, family expectations for holiday gifts/visits, may not be one of YOUR most important year-end accomplishments. What is important to you? What will make you smile, satisfied and joyful on January 1, 2024?
Remember there are two key elements to your success – especially in these last 95 days. Your actions AND your relationships! The actions we take coupled with the strength of our relationships determine the results we achieve.
Actions + Relationships = Results
Knowing the right people is important. But HOW you know them, how you relate to them is even MORE important! As you move though these last 95 days ask yourself:
Do I judge this person? Do I make assumptions about this person? Do I expect things from this person? Do I let this person affect how I act? Are you constantly complaining about having too much to do? Needing more staff? That others don’t respect you?
Research has shown that people who have many strong relationships have happy, successful lives. As you plan out your next 95 days be as committed to the quality of your relationships – with your donors, your family, your colleagues – as you are to your results. Don’t sacrifice relationships to get what you want.
Take time now to reflect on the top 3-5 accomplishments you want to achieve by year-end. Perhaps it’s to execute your annual fund year-end appeals smoothly, have a special day with each one of your kids, take in holiday lights, get your holiday cards and gifts to others with grace, and meet with your list of 15-20 key major givers to present an opportunity for them to make a meaningful key gift.
I say in my song…Stop the victim! Stop the blame! Your choice to SHINE TODAY!
Finish this sentence, “If I could accomplish these 3-5 things with grace and genuine respect for my relationships with others, I would be smiling from ear-to-ear January 1, 2024 and thinking, ‘Job well done.’
Invest in JOY®
