Still working on being brilliant
I’ve just completed the fourth week of my 90 days of brilliance plan and I’m still hanging in there. I started off by preparing very detailed weekly plans and sticking to them very closely, but that has tailed off somewhat. Instead I’m now setting overall goals for each week, giving myself much more flexibility day-to-day. I’m feeling pretty good after four weeks:
- We’ve launched our new website and are actively working on expanding it
- I’m feeling much more confident about networking and as a result more enthusiastic about going to stuff
- I’ve prepared a 28-day marketing programme and started it (today in fact)
- We’ve defined our vision for 5-years and are actively working towards it
- I’m reading on average one book a week
- I’m signed up for an SQL course which will be starting in a few weeks
It’s all good stuff. Tomorrow will mark the end of the first 30-day plan so it will be time to sketch out what I want to achieve in the next 30 days.
My second week of brilliance
I’m at the end of the second week of my 90 days of brilliance. The highlight of my week was joining the A1 Business Forums and I already feel like I’m settling in there. I’ve stuck to my plan pretty well - I’m not always doing everything on the day that I’d planned to do it but everything on the list seems to be getting ticked off. One of my tasks for today is to plan the next 7 days. Must remember not to cram too much into each day.
The most ‘non brilliant’ thing this week is continuing problems with the bloomin’ car. I’m hoping to try a speed networking event next Friday, so fingers crossed that we’ve managed to get it fixed in time.
How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure
It doesn’t have such a structured approach as How To Be Brilliant, however you could easily note down the various steps and devise your own plan from it. What I really like about it is that it makes you look at things differently and pushes you to try things that you might have dismissed otherwise - I have to own up to being a bit too comfortable in my comfort zone at times, but this book reminds me that I need to push past it.
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Off to a good start
Well, I think it’s fair to say that I’m off to a good start with my 90-day plan. I was up at 6am this morning and did my yoga DVD … not very flexible at all so definitely need a bit more of that. Apart from that I’ve got most of the things ticked off my list for today, which is a good feeling. All that’s left is a bit of reading, doing my relaxation cd (brilliant people know how to deal with stress apparently) and to phone my ‘buddy’, which I’ve got booked in for 7pm.
I’m generally feeling motivated and keen to keep going. Well you’d hope so after just one day, wouldn’t you?
Start of another 90 days of brilliance
One of my favourite ’sorting your life out’ books is How to Be Brilliant by Michael Heppell. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll probably mention it again. The book helps you plan out ‘90 days of brilliance’ to help you achieve or work towards achieving your goals. It’s a brilliant motivator.
Last week I came to the end of a 90-day period, which started well but kind of petered out into unbrilliance - though I did manage to get through my planned reading list, so it wasn’t a complete wash-out. So, I’ve spent the weekend working my goals and planning my next 90 days. This time I will stick to it! Helping me along is my good friend Sparkatrician, who is going to be my ‘brilliance buddy’. He’s also starting out on a 90-day plan so we will egg each other on and generally provide support. Have got our first phone call booked in for tomorrow night.
It’s been quite an intense weekend doing the prep, but I now have 90-, 30- and 7-day plans printed out and in my ‘brilliance folder’. Despite intending to limit my goals to a manageable amount, there’s quite a lot on there. Still, got to aim high! First step will be to get up at 6am tomorrow and do yoga.
How To Be Brilliant
Actually this isn’t strictly speaking a business book as it can equally be applied to your personal life. But I think it deserves the title of a ‘Brilliant Business Book’ on the basis that if I’m brilliant then my business will be brilliant too.
I have to admit I haven’t achieved brilliance yet but I’m following the advice of the book and striving for that brilliant moment. I feel positive that it will come if I work hard at it!
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