It was 7:05 am on a Thursday morning when I stumbled across a recent blog post by Seth Godin. It was titled Date Certain. Not being sure what that meant, I clicked on the link and was immediately nodding my head in agreement.
The gist of Seth’s advice that day was to “pick a date”—any date. Flip your calendar, circle a day and month in the not-to-distant future. For lack of a better term, let’s refer to this as your target date. Using this date as your deadline, what are you planning to accomplish? What will you do? Who will you meet? Who will you be? How will you be different? How will you be better? By that date.
“Someday I’ll” is a phrase all too often muttered by good people who have good intentions. But, more often than not, “someday I’ll” wafts into thin air as the days unfold without any sign of accomplishment or progress. Time has a way of doing this to us. (Holy cow! I am 72. Where have the years gone?)
Someday I’ll get in shape. Someday I’ll clean the closet. Someday I’ll buy a new car. Someday I’ll fix that squeaky closet hinge. Personally, I would not be holding my breath for any of these “pipe dreams.” But the following date-driven tasks paint an entirely different picture:
By September 5th I will run a mile without stopping. By July 7th my closet will be neat and tidy. On August 15th I will begin shopping for a new car. My closet will be squeak-less by June 30th.
Seth is 100% correct. “Someday” has no urgency attached. Once you commit yourself to completing a task by a designated date, the chances of success is enhanced tenfold. I won’t go as far as to say, “virtually guaranteed,” but I would be a lot closer to betting on your success.
Let me toss a challenge your way designed to make you a better person. Pick a date—any date. Then give yourself something worthwhile to accomplish by that date.
Go ahead. What are you waiting for? Someday?
Mike Marchev is always looking for a few more proactive travel professionals to join his Sales and Marketing Club. mike@mikemarchev.com.
*** You want more to think about? Check out my weekly podcast (Mike’d Up Marchev). Also listed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and iHeartRadio.
