So it’s been 17 days since I introduced The Year Of The Grind. In that time, I quit my job, made $80,000 on a massive product launch, and moved my family to the tropical island of St John’s.

Well, not exactly. But I have been up to some very good things…

The Start Of Something BIG!

Although I have had my moments of doubt, I am very excited about this year and what has happened already.

I know this project will take time to gather momentum and interest and it’s been overwhelming trying to figure outΒ  how I want this all to look. I don’t have all the answers and actually am looking for answers regarding some changes here.

What I can tell you is that I am moving towards my monthly goals each day and doing when I normally would have been thinking.

Ten days ago I wrote my goals post and am making progress on all of them. I’ll save the full report for the month end post and am committed to meeting them all.

And like many of you have said, when action is taken, things DO happen! I’ve seen this already and I’m happy to say that I’ve seen positive changes come about.

For example:

  • My brother and I have been in contact again.
  • My fitness boot camp class for January was the most profitable one I’ve had in the year and a half I’ve been doing them.
  • I was called out of the blue by the parents of a personal training client I worked with briefly 3 years ago. The are now my clients and I’m training them once each week.
  • My job is going surprisingly well and there are big changes on the horizon.
  • I’ve started feeling better about myself and as one friend put it “I’ve got a spring in my step”. This is a direct result of thinking positively about my job and home life. Although both things are not going particularly well, I am choosing to look at the upside of each.
  • I’m trying really hard to be less of an asshole when I drive. This is actually the most challenging thing I’ve been doing. You see, I’m am always in a hurry. Even when I have no place to really be, I’m in a hurry. And I hate slow drivers. And by slow drivers, I mean anyone driving the speed limit or under. So every time I get behind the wheel now, I have to force myself to relax and remember that life doesn’t have to move at 100mph all the time. And it’s working…mostly.

My Struggles

If this was easy, I would have done it years ago. But making a positive change is hard. I’d be lying if I said I was all smiles and happy thoughts every day. I’m far from that.

We can’t just flip a switch and make ourselves happy. It’s not that simple. I’m a believer in the happiness set point theory and mine is at about a 3 out of 10. Slowly I will reset it, but it takes time and a ton of effort. And I’m going for it!

I know there a lot of people who are trying to change their lives this year (some who have decided to share their goals here), and it’s an uphill battle.

The thing that keeps me going is knowing that there is so much more to life than how we are living it at this moment. I know it.

This is a quote I have often referred to and it’s exactly true. We can have what we want in life. We just need to “ask” for it.

“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.”

This Is Not Just About Me

I want to reiterate that this project is not just about Steve’s life. It’s about you. One of the reasons I wanted to create a small group of people to share this journey with me was to spread the word.

The more people than can publicly commit to doing something that moves them towards a better life, the better. I certainly don’t have the reach or fame to make a huge impact on the world, but combined with many others, I think we can start to make a tiny dent.

And before you write me off as some personal development crusader, that’s not it at all. I’m not in this to change the world or to even change my neighborhood. I just want people to realize that life doesn’t have to suck. It can change.

How is your year going so far? What are you working towards?

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