When it comes to improving our financial situations, I am a huge proponent of reading both about mind set and productivity. Recently, I checked out The 12 Week Year: Get more done in 12 weeks than others do in 12 months by Moran & Lennington. I liked it so much, I bought a copy for my personal library.
The 12 Week Year is a content-rich and handy little bible on mindset, intentionality and productivity. The opening question is compelling: How is it that some people seem to accomplish so much while the vast majority of people never accomplish what they are capable of?
The Challenge
If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. ~Thomas Edison
This is what the book promises to deliver:
- Increase your current results by 4x or more.
- Learn exactly what it takes to perform at your best every day.
- Unwrap the secrets of top performers–align thinking and actions to produce staggering results.
- Creating greatness isn’t complicated (but not easy).
The authors thwart the idea that “knowledge is power,” and give more credence to “implementation is power.” They tell a story of a top insurance producer who used to be willing to share his secrets with anyone. Now he shares them with no one because not one person implemented what he taught them.
Implementation and Building Wealth
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. ~Henry Ford.
Chapter 2 begins with the Ford quote. I’m going to change it up a little to, “You can’t build wealth on what you’re going to do.”
In other words, you can’t say when you make more money, you’ll consistently add to retirement. You build wealth by consistently adding to a retirement account starting today. Further, if we stop thinking in year-increments, we won’t be waiting for January 1 to set resolutions, December 20 for “year end,” and allowing the 10 months in between to be a blur of procrastination. The challenge is to set our objectives and evaluate our progress every 12 weeks.
Tie an Emotional Connection to Our Dreams.
The Emotional Connection chapter challenges us to dig deep into why we’re choosing the goals we’re choosing. If they aren’t in alignment with our deepest desires and values, we’ll probably abandon the goal early on in favor of procrastination and the easy path of not doing it. The action step in this segment is to “create a personal vision, a vision that clearly captures and articulates what you want in life.” (Moran, p.21.)
This applies to our desire to get in control of our money. If you don’t have a good reason why money is important to you, and what it can do and provide to you and your family, you may continue to disrespect and neglect your money and financial life.
Here is a list of why money is important to me. I want:
- To be able to take all my college-aged kids and their roommates to a nice dinner, no sweat (I thought it was awesome when my friend’s dad did this for us) (significance);
- Options now and later as to whether I work and/or the type of work (security);
- Time and financial freedom to have experiences and adventures with my husband, like living in the South of France or Costa Rica for 6 months (experiences);
- To give super cool gifts; like the time in Jr. High when I had so much babysitting money that I bought 3 of my best friends velvet lined, large wooden jewelry boxes and gave them out at our December slumber party (generosity).
- To always be self sufficient (independence).
- To look cute by buying great clothes on sale and keeping up with the latest facial treatments (vanity).
I recommend making your own super specific list so that you can get to the root desire of why managing your own money well matters. Remember to label them in terms of what you “want” not what you “don’t want.”
Score Keeping and Accountability
Measure and report is a summary of some future chapters. There is a week between each 12-week block to evaluate whether you hit your target and to circle back with a friend, colleague or spouse that you’ve chosen to be accountable to. One thing I plan to do for the New Year (see how hard that year habit is to break?)…I want to do a 12-week challenge with a group of 4-5 friends. Friends make everything more fun.
This applies to doing a monthly budget too. Pick someone you trust that won’t nag too much and share your budget goals. Report on whether you made your budget and how well you stuck to your plan. You’re the boss of your money! You tell it what to do. Your money is accountable to you, now you be accountable to someone else.
Excited for Our New (12 Week) Year!
Let’s Implement. The book is chock-full of valuable ideas, insights and immediate applications. Read with a highlighter in hand. First the read, then the do. I’d love to hear feedback on both the book and your implementation of your first 12! xo, Amanda