My 3 words for 2016

January 1, 2016 by Raul Colon

Choosing my three words for this year was a bit easier than in the past.

The past six years I have been choosing three words to guide me through the year.

I place reminders of these words. By working with just three words, I have been able to change habits permanently.

I look back at the three words of previous years and some of them I apply almost every day. They became part of who I am.

The best thing about choosing these three words is that they should be easy to follow along.

Applying last year's (2015) three words was more challenging than other years. On another note they were great tools to make quick and precise decisions on certain issues.

raulcolon-photos-puertorico-1-3 My 3 words for 2016

Religious Traditions Behind Resolutions

There are religious traditions behind the New Year's Resolution concept.

As I found on Wikipedia here are a few:

Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year. They would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.
The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.
In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow." At the end of the Christmas season each year they reaffirmed their commitment to chivalry

Why three words?

I am not a fan of traditions much less religious ones. I want something practical that I can apply throughout the year.

My friend and colleague Chris Brogan introduced me to this exercise years ago. Chris publishes a blog post every year sharing what his three words for the new year will be.

Applying the 3 Words Every Day

It might seem hard to choose three words but even harder to stay on track throughout the year. In the past, I have used a daily software reminder. I have also used text on photographs I have taken around my work space.

Finding a way to remind yourself over the year will keep you on track with your three words. It will make it easier to commit to them.

"Remember that your day is your week is your month is your year. Your success comes from each choice you make along the path. And it’s always your choice." ~ Chris Brogan

My 3 Words Over The Years

2011 – Renew, Focus, and Complete

2012 – Sharing, Purpose, and Organic

2013 – Brief, Fluid, and Control

2014 – Observe, Release, and Subtract

2015 – Selfish, Sharpen, and Publish

My 3 Words for 2016

Depth

I believe every interaction we have should have depth. Everything we do we should dig in deeper.

Some of the best experiences I have had during my life have been thanks to how deep I have dug myself into things.

The best relationships I have are because depth. The fact that I make sure those important humans in my life know they matter.

That I try to check up on them often.

As the year starts, I will be focusing my energy more on the people that matter. Those loved ones that I care about and the few I can call real friends.

The past few months I have received many surprises. Individuals that decided to take their time and let me know I am important to them. I want to spread more of that out. I want to also remind close friends and family always of how important they are in my life.

The same with business relationships I want to keep. For new business relationships I want to make sure that if someone is going to do business with us, they understand the value we bring to the table.

That they also know how deep we go into the important issues. How our knowledge of business consultants and understanding technology can help them. How we rank based on experiences of working in diverse and forward-thinking environments.

Those who allow us to dig in deep and enable us to work our magic will receive the best benefits. They will also enable my team and me to feel a lot better about ourselves.

With understanding the depth of any issue or opportunity, I am sure I will be able to stand out from others. Even more importantly serve others with a lot of intention.

The results will be much better and the understanding of the complete picture a lot clearer.

raulcolon-photos-puertorico-1-1 My 3 words for 2016

Reset

The past six months we have reset many things at Limonade. I have also reset a few things myself on the personal side. They undoubtedly were challenging months, and we succeeded thanks to those changes.

There are bigger challenges for us to face in the next coming months. I want to make sure we can reset ourselves in a more efficient way.

By resetting I mean that every time we have a project we are able to complete the cycle . To get ready for the next project one in a more timely manner. To become a lot leaner in the way we manage all types of projects and daily operations.

WE run into an issue that we would rather leave behind. Make sure we reset quickly and move forward with the future opportunities in front of us. As a small business owner, we sometimes waste too much time on issues we know we can't fix.

The project management platform we use forces us to reset the week's goals and tasks every week. It gives us a perspective on how the week ahead is looking and how we performed. I might have to apply this to other things.

That reset aspect will allow me to logically get ready for the work ahead. It will keep me away from not beat myself up when I don't meet a goal or two. It is sometimes impossible to achieve very positive goals. Practical and smaller goals will allow us to reset and complete a higher percentage of them.

I also want to take a bit of time every morning to write and reset my thoughts by writing. I won't publish most of those writing.

I will be writing with the purpose to reset in a thoughtful way with my morning pages exercise.

A simple reset will allow us to ground ourselves. I help focus on the immediate challenges and objectives in front of us.

raulcolon-photos-puertorico-123 My 3 words for 2016

Visualize

My first small business was a dog grooming service I named RJ Pet Service. I was around 14 years old when I started it. Reading every book I could making sure I knew how to groom each dog breed I had as a client.

When it came to dogs without a breed, I remember it gave you some tips on how to create the right look for the dog.

The main point was that you should visualize how your end product (the groomed dog.)

So many times we jump into things and we think that others are seeing what we see. Even worst is when you can't clearly put your ideas on a screen or paper. What you consider to be a solution might create more problems if not expressed in the right way.

When we build our websites we have a 5 step creative process to help our clients see what we are seeing. It brings our customers and partners along in the process. If we did not meet their expectations, we can work along with them to make sure we meet them.

I also have to do a better job of explaining how we work to our newest prospects.

I have to work hard on creating better visualizations on how we work. Creating a clear picture of what the experience will look like if they cooperate with us.

On the personal side, I have to improve my planning. I have to get into the habit to stop what I am doing to visualize if the route I am taking will get me to the outcome I am seeking.

These visualization exercises will be used for my short term goal setting be it financial to fitness goals.

The pause and visualization will help me get to the goal. It will also help me not lose intention of reaching that goal.

raulcolon-photos-puertorico-120 My 3 words for 2016

Why 3 Words Vs. New Year's Resolutions

For years I had failed at keeping resolutions as many of us do.

The most common reasons participants fail their New Years' Resolutions are:

setting themselves unrealistic goals
not keeping track of their progress
forgetting about it
too many resolutions

Instead of creating a long, overwhelming list of items I can't follow through with, I rather use this method that has guided me for the past six years.

Choosing three words will allow me not to forget about it and track my progress throughout the year.

Are you choosing three words or stacking the odds against you when following through with a New Year's resolution?

Feel free to share your three words and your approach at starting a new year.

raulcolon-photos-puertorico-1-10 My 3 words for 2016

My 3 words for 2015

January 1, 2015 by Raul Colon

I can celebrate 5 years of choosing three words to guide me through the year.

I can say every year it becomes a lot easier for me to follow through with these words.

Over time I have been more satisfied with the results of the three words. But I am especially proud of how I applied my 3 words for 2014.

Why 3 words?

Every end of year, everyone says, “New Year, New Me.” I even saw a meme or two the other day making fun of the “New Year, New Me” phenomenon.

My friend and colleague Chris Brogan introduced me to this exercise years ago. Chris publishes a blog post sharing what his three words for the new year.

Applying the 3 Words Every Day

It’s hard to choose three words but even harder to stay on track throughout the year. I usually create a daily software reminder in my task management software that runs throughout the year daily.

“Remember that your day is your week is your month is your year. Your success comes from each choice you make along the path. And it’s always your choice.” ~ Chris Brogan

Choosing three images that reminds me of what I need to do around my work area also helps.

My 3 Words Over the Years

2011 – Renew, Focus, and Complete

2012 – Sharing, Purpose, and Organic

2013 – Brief, Fluid, and Control

2014 – Observe, Release, and Subtract

My 3 Words for 2015

Selfish

Let me put this one up front since it will make a few of you cringe. By nature I am a selfless person with those I see have common values and are seeking to make the world a better place. Being selfless in the past 7 years has cost me a series of setbacks from building a job board where we helped thousands land a job. To going into partnerships where I clearly had a lot more to lose and nothing to win.

I will continue to help out and guide those that I feel need my help but the most important part is identifying how it fits into my 6 month life plan. As I watched when they interviewed one of my favorite Actors Ivonne Coll , I learned how being selfish can be positive. Ivonne explains that the best advice she got from Comedian and Actress Lucille Ball was the art of selfishness. You can watch the complete interview of the Jane the Virgin cast; Ivonne’s short interview starts at a minute and 25 seconds.

For the past few weeks I have been looking at how I need to make sure I start practicing the art of selfishness. This way everything fits into my well being and I can help many more that share common goals and values. I will be asking, “What is good for Raúl?”, in every situation.

Sharpen

Last year I needed to make sure I released things I had under my control. This meant some things probably were not put under the rigorous quality checks I work under. As I got feedback on my newsletter yesterday from a friend who lives in Israel, I realized I need to be more precise.

That means I will make sure I sharpen my tools and even tweak what I produce a bit more than what I did in the past. Running a Digital Marketing Agency and wanting to give more than agreed to has gotten me into trouble in the past. I can only blame myself. So I will have to sharpen my contracts and agreements to make sure they are clear on both ends. I also need to make sure I stay disciplined enough and sharp to deliver the best of what was agreed.

This word ties into the previous word; if I am a bit more selfish it will be easier to use my sharpened tools to succeed. With sharpened tools I will be able to create a better quality product. I hope this also improves our service offering even more.

Publish

In 2014 I wrote less than other years but I published even less than what I wrote. I need to start getting into the process of publishing more. I need to create systems that help me publish the content I create without making it overwhelming.

From the photographs I want to sell to you, to the tips I want to share via my newsletter and here on my blog.

By hitting publish, I can create the momentum needed to find new opportunities. It will also weed out those who might not agree with the way I do business.

Goals or Guidance?

As Jacqueline Carly states “Willpower, Shmillpower” in “There’s Not Always Enough Will For the Way.

We start the year with the best of intentions to stay with our goals. The reality is that the complexities of life start standing in the way of our goals. Would you try to do like many others and fail every year by holding on to resolutions?

Or would you rather choose your three words for the year?

Feel free to share your three words and your approach at starting a new year.

In the same tone C.C. Chapman ended his 3 words post I have to say that in a short time I will be looking back at this post and creating my next 3 words of the next year.

My Three Words for 2014

January 1, 2014 by Raul Colon

For the past 4 years I have prepared for the new year by choosing 3 words. So, Instead of creating a complex and non-functional list of resolutions which we all forget after the second week of January, I keep these 3 words and include them in my short and long term goals.

The 3 Words Concept

My friend and colleague Chris Brogan introduced me to this exercise a few years ago. For the past few years Chris publishes a blog post sharing what his three words of the year will be. If you want more details feel free to stop over his 3 words for 2013 and read through the post.

How I use My Three Words for the Year

These 3 words guide me through the year and I am reminded of them in different ways daily.

I keep them in plain site where I am reminded daily of the three words. I also set up my task management software to remind me to re-focus when I get off track.

My 3 Words Over the Years

2011 – Renew, Focus, and Complete

2012 – Sharing, Purpose, and Organic

2013 – Brief, Fluid, and Control

My 3 Words for 2014

Observe

I need to find a balance in attempting and experimenting with projects and possible opportunities. By first observing how they tie into my current goals and structure, I can get a better understanding of where I want to put my energy. With observation I find that I might be able to identify newer opportunities that might become part of my new goals.

As I also want to improve my photography skills, observing will play a huge part in better shots (which will help me tell my story better). Observing will also help me create better work for my clients from coaching to developing their websites or business strategies.

Subtract

I tend to add to what I create. I do this with some of my blog posts; I will come back and add more words making them longer than I would like. The primary word I want to focus on is subtracting. That means from eliminating certain things that don’t add value to my life from projects to certain business relationships.

I have been trying to practice minimalism and thanks to a book by the minimalists which I was gifted, I can clearly say I have gotten better and removed a lot of clutter from my life. I am still working on that and plan to do the same in other aspects of my life.

Subtracting sometimes is a lot harder to do but I see value in following this approach. The less weight you carry the better you can work on other projects.

Release

One thing I need to fix from 2013 was that I did not publish content as much. I did not write as much as in previous years. I guess the priority I assigned to one of my three words from last year (Control) , because I thought I needed to focus on gaining and maintaining more control. I wanted to work on quality but I find that sometimes by creating quantity you will get better and reach that quality.

I will give it my best to write more and create more content in 2014. Writing always helps me with overcoming goals, hitting publish also does, and releasing projects has proven to be a very useful formula for my personal and business success.

I will work more on releasing ideas, publishing, and working on putting more stuff out into the Universe.

Resolutions or a Few Words

Will you be taking the traditional approach or using something more practical to guide you during 2014?

What are your 3 Words for 2014?

PS: It’s my brother Luis’ Birthday so if you can stop by his facebook profile and wish him a Happy Birthday that would be super cool.

My 3 words for 2013

January 1, 2013 by Raul Colon

Many people go crazy by creating resolutions and of goals that they probably don’t believe they are going to reach during the first few weeks or days of the new year.

While I was doing my last workout of 2012 yesterday with our neighbor’s husband who is German and lives in Romania part of the year explained how many wanted a new experiences but welcomed the new year with old bad habits. At the moment that particular moment there where people eating and drinking uncontrollably, most of them drunk already, and it was only 4 pm.

He explained that their behavior identified the new years resolutions of having a bigger gut and degrading their health.

Welcoming the New Year with a 6 mile run!

His thoughts made me think of how as a person that is constantly looking to evolve into healthier habits maybe I had to start the year in a new way. I quickly shifted my mind into just waiting for the New Year to make noise and hug people that are near me to lying down next to my daughter (who was sleeping) getting rest to make sure I could get up and run at least 6 miles in the morning.

The 3 Words Concept

For me the past 3 years I start the New Year by choosing 3 words that will guide me throughout the year.

My friend and colleague Chris Brogan introduced me to this exercise. For the past few years Chris publishes a blog post sharing what his three words of the year will be. If you want more detail on how he uses and explains the concept (feel free to stop over his 3 words for 2013 and read through the post).

How I use the Three Word Concept

I use the three-word concept as a guide to focus on certain areas I need to improve on. In previous years I put some post in notes in front of my desk with the 3 words as a reminder. This year I am planning to take the first pictures I take this year add my 3 words and print them out to place in strategic places as reminders. I will create a follow up post on things I plan to do to remind myself of the 3 words that will guide me throughout 2013.

My 3 Words Over the Years

2011 – Renew, Focus, and Complete

2012 – Sharing, Purpose, and Organic

My 3 words for 2013

Fluid

I have a tendency to start resisting once something discomforts me. I have been very lucky to have people around me like Melvin, Chris B., Resat, Robbie Vorhaus, and Lucy helping me focus and not resist things that drain energy from me.

I believe that by being more fluid in many personal decisions I can also cover many of the gaps I see need to be filled in my business by using my resources to strengthen them.

I want to have the ability to flow around obstacles and take the form needed to solve most of my personal and business challenges.

Control

Taking control of my emotions ties well with being fluid. Even though I have gotten better at it I tend to allow others to take control of my emotions more often than I should. As C.C. Chapman explains in his book Amazing Things Will Happen you have to be like a duck and continue to move under adversity.

I will also work on controlling when to stop to enjoy moments that will not return. As I was completing the draft of this post on New Year’s Day my daughter approached me with a few requests. I dropped everything and took care of her made her giggle and smile. I knew that you could wait longer to read this post but my daughter needed my love and attention at that moment (and that just could not wait, I hope you understand).

Too many times I see myself and others attacking secondary priorities (ex. Work) and not taking care of their key priorities (ex. Family). Time moves on and people get caught up in mortgages, bills, and other things that take away and drain a family’s resources. Make sure you control how you use your resources so you can be lean and always make those loved ones in your life a priority. We are only here on this earth for a short period of time.

I will also look into controlling some aspects when it comes to business decisions finding a balance in between logic and my gut feeling.

Brevity

In 2012 I wrote less than previous years. I also worked harder to make sure I was listening to others. I like to share stories and experiences but sometimes I take away from being able to absorb the experiences from those around me.

If someone reminded me in 2012 that brevity is highly important was Mr. Chris Brogan. In 2013 I am deeply committing towards being more concise and precise in everything I do.

Which in once sentences means talking less and listening more.

What are your Three Words?

I followed Chris Brogan’s lead for the past 3 years and I have gotten lots of value throughout the year by being able to use these 3 words I choose as a guide to making better overall decisions.

I would love to hear what your 3 words are?

Feel free to share your 3 words in the comments are or a link of where you described them.

Have an awesome 2013 I am sure I will make the best of mine!

3wordsrainbow-1024x769 My 3 words for 2013 — Isla Verde New Year’s Day 2013 with my 3 words for the year.

This pic was taken at Isla Verde Beach here in Puerto Rico after my 6 mile run New Year’s morning with my running partner Leonardo!

Ready for 2012… With my Three words for the New Year

December 30, 2011 by Raul Colon

Last year I followed my good friend Chris Brogan’s advice and instead of creating a list of New Year’s resolutions I went ahead and choose three words to guide me during the year 2011.

I am amazed once again on how quickly time went by this year. A few days ago I read Chris Brogan’s three words for 2012 that gave reminded me of having to choose 3 new words for 2012.

Three Words of 2011 – Renew, Focus, and Complete.

During the complete year I have kept those 3 words written on Post it Notes in the wall in front of my desk. Every time I lose track I try to look at the three Post it Notes to guide me into what my overall plans where for 2011.

I had to renew the way I did business I have been trying to stay away from doing IT security work and doing more web development and online presence consulting. I think that I did follow that word even more than any of the other 3 during the whole year. I was able to create various opportunities making my partnership with Human Business Works the most important one since I get to work with great people doing what I mostly enjoy.

I also had to focus a lot on a few projects I wanted to get running. Although I admit that I have to work on focusing a bit more because I seem to find myself battling distractions every day. On the other side if I look at 2011 overall I have to say I did a better job at focusing what on where I wanted to be.

As for completing things I was able to launch Papaheroes.com, Veglatino.com, moved my corporate site into Spanish, and a series of other accomplishments that I completed in half the time I would have in the past. Being a New dad has clearly made me more inclined to prioritizing things so I can get them done the right way.

My New Three Words for 2012

After a few days of thinking it over I choose these 3 words Sharing, Organic, and Purpose.

Sharing

Since I have been blogging I tend to share a lot of things but I want to focus on putting the spotlight on others even a bit more, especially those that have the same interests as I do. I also want to share as much knowledge as I can on certain topics I am passionate about. I also want to open the door for others to share with me anything that might be of value to my community and most importantly me. If you feel I have something to share or you would like to share something with me to publish on this blog feel free to contact me and give me your feedback.

Purpose

I am very inclined towards trying new things out. A few of my biggest setbacks in 2011 where caused to me failing to identify a purpose of many of the small projects I committed myself to. Those whom I thought where collaborating with me might have had a separate agenda that I found out later. Before I start any project or a relationship I need to start identifying what is the purpose of any effort I will commit myself too. If I am able to find a personal, business, or any kind of purpose a project then I need to prioritize it against the other opportunities. Working on finding a strong purpose for everything I do will help me make better decisions and also align those projects with a purpose towards helping those around me.

Organic

Being organic goes a bit along my vegetarian lifestyle. I want to become Vegan by end of year. I have been staying away as much as possible from dairy and eggs. But I also want my projects and efforts to be very organic. I want to be able to produce things from the core. Maybe create an application to resolve many of the issues I bump into on a daily sense for others. I also want to make sure my lifestyle steers away from luxuries and even things that will not benefit me long term. On the nutrition side I will also try to eat more organic foods by supporting the local agriculture efforts here in Puerto Rico and finding a way to get them noticed. I think inclining towards organic will give me better results for 2012.

Looking back at 2011 I have to say that similar to 2009 it was a year of many lessons that I hope to apply in 2012.

Do you create New Year’s Resolutions?

Or would you rather guide yourself through the complete year with three key words?