2019 was quite the year, and if I’m being honest, one of the harder years of my life.
But like anything, I firmly believe we grow most through challenges.
I was open earlier this month about the health issues we personally experienced with Ellie and her pregnancy, and paired with trying to be a strong husband and father while being a busy entrepreneur has certainly brought amongst its challenges.
Personally, I’m looking forward to 2020, continuing to grow as a leader for our community, to support our amazing team, and to be a better husband and father.
We have some amazing things planned for 2020 for our community, and together with my amazing team, we’re going to do big things. I’m looking forward to having you a part of the journey.
As I sign off in 2019, I thought it would be nice to share 20 of my best insights as we head into 2020.
1. Be present: I write this as number one for the simple fact that it’s my everyday reminder. We only have today. We can dream about the future, but we only have this moment, right now, and it can be taken away from us at any moment.
2. Stretch yourself: If you were to tell me eight years ago we’d be where we are today I would have said “no freaking way!” However, none it came from being conservative. None of it came without an extreme amount of stretch and sacrifice. I find that most people spend time in “motion” (spinning wheels, talking, planning, etc), but never take action. Also, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, the harder the work and the bigger the sacrifice. You can’t want to the reward without making the sacrifice.
3. Happiness is about the journey: There is no destination. I am at my happiest when I am working on something that can never be “done.” I can never stop developing as husband or father. I can never stop developing as a leader. I will never inspire positive change in everybody. However, it’s that “never ends” feeling that makes the journey so fun. It’s about the journey, not the destination.
4. What problem do you want? We’ll always have problems. More money, more time, more anything. It doesn’t remove all our problems, it just gives us another problem. In 2020, you’ll have problems, but it’s about choosing what problems you want.
5. Process-based goals: As you look to set goals in 2020 set process-based goals, not outcome-based goals. For example, don’t set the goal of losing 10 pounds (outcome), set the goal of getting in 10 workouts per month (process). You can control the process, you can never control the outcome.
6. Reading for the win. I don’t care if you read a physical book, listen to it, whatever. Reading every day, in my humble opinion, is non-negotiable. It develops you, it challenges you to think differently, it builds a habit. There is only one negative to reading which is all that you’re not learning by not reading.
7. It’s all connected. This is one of my missions in life is to better educate the community that it’s all connected. Everything. We can’t try and isolate one thing. We can’t try to fix one thing while ignoring the rest. From a small example, if your knee hurts, we can’t just look at the knee, it’s probably being caused by something above or below. To a big example like your whole wellness. If you hate your job it’s going to impact your fitness. If you’re stressed it’s going to impact your nutrition. If your finances are not in order it’s going to impact every other area of life. If you want to truly develop (physically, emotionally, financially, etc) as a person we need to realize that it’s all connected.
8. Find a coach. In every area of life that’s excelling I have a coach, and if I’m being honest, in the areas that are lacking, I don’t have a coach. Everyone needs a coach. You’re not better than anyone. We all need a coach. If you want to get better at fitness and nutrition, get a coach. If you want to get your business in order, get a coach. If you need help with your marriage, get a coach. We all need more coaches in our life.
9. You get paid for done. Not thinking, not brainstorming, but straight up action. It amazes me, and I’m guilty of it myself, how long we let things sit on our plates. If you look at it, that act of finishing it is really not that big, but we never get it done. The people that implement the fastest win.
10. Have a really clear vision. I spent two days in Michigan this past year learning about visioning and I’m just cracking the surface. However, I do know one thing about visioning. It works. Write down (they key) where you want to be, visualize it, and then set your goals to get you there. Most of us set goals but we don’t know where we want to be. Figure out the vision first then work backward.
11. Write everything down. Your brain is best at creating ideas, it’s terrible at storing ideas. Your vision? Write it down. Your goals? Write it down. An idea you have? Write it down. Did you workout yesterday? Write it down. Your business operations? Write it down. Everything should be on paper. The physical act of writing it will allow you to comprehend better, and more importantly, you’ll have something to reference back to. Stop keeping stuff in your head.
12. More Kindness. It’s one of our core values at Spurling, and I’m at my best when I am kind. The world needs more kindness. We need more kindness. There is no negative to being more kind.
13. More Play. It’s another core value at Spurling, and I am at my best when it feels like play. Playing with my kids, having fun with my family and my team, making games out of work. We all need to put our head down and work sometimes, but if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
14. Be curious. Another value at Spurling. immerse yourself in anything you want to learn, go all in, get curious. Do you want to learn more about a person or a thing? Ask questions. Are you furious at someone or something? Get curious. We could all benefit from being more curious.
15. Have some values. As you grow the opportunities become more and more, you can become stretched thin. Know your values, know what you stand for. Your values become your guardrails so you know what to say yes to, and more importantly, you know what to say no to.
16. “I can’t.” You can, you just may not want to put in the work, and that’s okay, but you can if you want to. If you truly want something bad enough you’ll find a way. Try to say “I can’t” a little less in 2020.
17. I wish. That's the biggest phrase I work to avoid. I wish I went on that trip. I wish I tried that adventure. I wish I made that career jump. When I'm 95 years old and sitting in a rocking chair I can only ask for one thing...no regrets. I did everything I could to make an impact and leave a legacy. I don't want to say "I wish." Here’s to no regrets in 2020
18. Stop comparing. We all have our own visions, our own goals, our own things that make us happy. Some want a big house to host family dinners, some want a tiny home. Some want to travel the world and some want to be a homebody. Some want to have 6-pack, others just want to feel better. You’ll have your best year ever if you stop comparing yourself to others.
19. Awareness is key. This was a big one this year, for myself, and getting others to realize it. The more self-aware you can be about yourself, how you tick, the better you’ll be. Also, the awareness to realize you don’t know what you don’t know. Having the awareness and humility to understand that. And finally, the awareness of what you’re saying and doing, and how others are perceiving it. It’s huge.
20. 1% Better. This is the motto I live by. Every day I try to be a better person, a better husband, a better father, a better business owner, and a better leader. 1% better every day. It keeps me hungry yet humble. It's everything. 2020 will have highs, and it will have lows, but ultimately it will be your best year yet if you just try to get a little better every day, realize that success is never a straight line and that you determine what success looks like.
Cheers to 2020!
I’m excited to learn, grow, and be humbled alongside you.
Taking the time to read what I write means you said no to something else, and for that, I’m honored.
I hope I have made a small positive change in your life, for that, is my mission.
Happy New Year!
1% Better.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling