Where Will You Be In 10 years?

As a new decade begins, it is a wonderful time to reflect upon the past 10 years and recognize all the many amazing achievements that have occurred.

Start by considering where you were 10 years ago!

In early 2010, I moved from Sydney, Australia to Toronto, Canada to assume an exciting new position as the CEO of a Canadian finance company my Bank had acquired.

It has been amazing to reflect upon all the wonderful things that happened over the proceeding 10 years, which include:

• Working with an amazing team in Canada to significantly grow our company.
• Merging with a US financial institution to expand our operations across North America.
• Moving to Chicago in 2015 to establish my own global consulting practice.
• Working with thousands of finance and sales professionals in three countries to help them achieve their professional and personal aspirations.
• Obtaining permanent residency in the US while also maintaining a great home in Sydney, Australia where I spend several months every year helping my Australian daughters achieve greater success.
• Traveling to many great cities across Canada, USA, Australia and Europe.
• Buying and selling properties in Australia, Canada and the US while also investing in global stock markets.
• Having a beautiful baby girl.
• Building my dream home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
• Plus many many more ….

Wow! What an incredible decade!

I hope you take the time to list and reflect upon your many amazing achievements over the past decade. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. Let me be the first to congratulate you!

I am sure many more potential achievements were impacted by events outside your control. This happens to all of us, but I encourage you to deliberately enhance your focus on personal goals/desires so you can learn to develop and realign your plans to achieve them.

I can clearly recall that as I embarked on my new adventure in February 2010, my personal aspirations for the next decade were to:

1. Enjoy living abroad and embrace the local culture.
2. Further enhance my leadership skills and continue to develop/inspire others.
3. Create a sustainable and adventurous life for my family, and help them achieve their goals. 

I can confidently say I achieved those goals, but not without navigating some challenges and unforeseen events along the way. The key for me was to always be clear about what I wanted and consistently review my plans for success.

Now consider where you would like to be in the next 10 years! Are you clear about your future aspirational goals and desires?

Even though we may not be able to predict or control everything that may happen over the next decade, we can certainly set personal goals and proactively take steps to achieve them.

And the time to set your next 10 year goals and make plans is now. Like New Year Resolutions, don’t wait too long to establish and plan your “New Decade Resolutions”.

Consider these simple ideas to help make your next decade an even greater success:   

1. Write down at least 3 broad (but somewhat specific) personal AND professional goals and place them somewhere you can see them often.
2. Bravely share these goals with close family, friends and/or a coach.
3. Discuss how you specifically plan to achieve those goals and commit to at least three specific actions over the next year. Of course you will repeat this step every year.
4. Consider what support you need to effectively execute those actions and ask for help (or take active steps to gain the support you need).
5. Dedicate time to do all of the above. Be deliberate and determined about creating, sharing and achieving your goals and plans.

A new decade is an exciting time to reflect on all your wonderful achievements over the past 10 years and to start predicting where you would like to be in the next 10. Now it is up to you to make those predictions come true. 

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Article written by Joe Micallef – Sales Strategist & Coach – Grow UP Sales. For more advice on achieving your 10 year goals please email joe@growupsales.com

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