99 Days Left!

Are you joining me on the 100-Day Challenge? Perhaps you've only heard about it today and need to start the 99-Day Challenge. :) Either way, there are 99 days left of the year. That's a lot of days to allow us to work toward significant goals so that we move into 2014 with a bang, proud of our accomplishments--rather than hitting January 1st and going, "Ugh, I didn't do anything I wanted last year! Here's my New Year's resolution... This challenge is, in a way, a pre-2014 resolution, an End-of-Year resolution.

I encourage you to pick something! Pick a goal. Something truly meaningful to you, not just, "Oh, I should really do this, that or the other." You know what happens to smoker who quit because they should quit? The usually end up back smoking. When they really want to quit and that's it, they're going to be done with it, the success rate is much higher.

What's your goal? Maybe you are afraid to think big. Think small then. Maybe you can't do push-ups and would like to be able to. Do a push-up a day. "What? That's hardly enough!" Oh? Well, if you do a push-up a day for 99 days, you will have done 99 push-ups before the year is out. That sounds pretty good to me! And if you can do 2 push-ups each day, or maybe 5, think of how many push-ups that adds up to in a short time!

I have read many times that accomplishing something is often about doing small things consistently, not doing an amazing thing once and then nothing for a long time. This challenge is about figuring out those daily, significant things that will make a difference in the long run. What is the one thing that, if you did it each day, would make a real difference in your life over the course of the next 99 days?

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits one-self, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”

― William Hutchison Murray (often misattributed to Goethe)