2010 Year in Review

Let's just lump all of your clients, prospects (the ones who actually know you), vendors, associates, staff, managers, friends, countrymen, and union delegates together. Do you like what you see? Do you do business with (or at least hang out with) people you like? If you're not spending time with people who make you feel good about you (and who feel good about themselves), you're doing yourself a disservice.

6. Your time

Do you make time to do the things that count? To spend on the people who count? Are you in control of how you spend your time? Consider planning to schedule time off now for the whole year (actually blocking days in your calendar) so you don't convince yourself that you're too busy. Naturally, get to this when you're not too busy.

7. Your associations

Are there business or community groups that would interest you because of the people or the cause? Did you ever want to serve on a board? There have to be business groups that would help you connect with prospective friends, clients, vendors, and staff. If you feel there aren't enough contacts in your network, this is a pretty good place to start.

8. Your finances

I know that, as an advisor, you probably ask these questions of your clients. As is the case with the cobbler's children having no shoes, how often do you look at your own finances? Do you have a healthy cash flow? And by healthy, I mean the ability to pay bills without living paycheck to paycheck (you'd be surprised how many people do this). Do you have life insurance; a will; an investment plan that includes retirement, disability insurance, and a college savings account, such as a 529 plan? Do you know how to manage your expenses and work off a budget? Do you work with a financial planner or someone who knows something about this kind of stuff? Should you?

9. Your personal life

How do you spend your time when you're not working? Are you happy in your personal life? Does your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or "significant whatever" make you feel good about yourself? Are they supportive of you, especially when you want to donate all of your savings to a dog park? And do you do the same for them, or at least try to? Does your partner in life make you a better person? And how often do you tell them that?

10. Your health and wellness

Do you look the way you want to look? Feel the way you want to feel? Eat or exercise the way you should? Have you burned through more gym memberships than you have calories? Good health and fitness increases the quality of life, how long you live, and how quickly you recover from injury and illness – not to mention your increased self confidence and appearance in a bathing suit. Everyone knows all of this, and yet most people don't do anything about it. There's a running joke (not about running) in the fitness world about the increase in gym memberships in January, and their imminent decline in March. The truth is that this happens with almost all resolutions – even the non-gym stuff. Will you be a running joke this year?

Review this list with pen in hand, and write down one good habit you plan on picking up for the New Year. Just pick one; if you pick more than that, you'll be overwhelmed and won't do it. Commit to actually doing it – not trying to do it. One of my clients says that if you do something over the course of 72 hours, it becomes a habit. I say shoot for five days – 120 hours. If it takes, stay with it. If not, do something else. I would imagine the same thing goes for many bad habits you're trying to quit, but we'll save that for next year.

Michael Goldberg is a speaker, consultant, author and the founder of Building Blocks Consulting. His book "Knock-Out Networking!" will be in bookstores and available online in January. For more information or to subscribe to Michael's free blog, The Building Blocks to Success, please visit www.TheBuildingBlockstoSuccess.com or www.BuildingBlocksConsulting.com.