Put plainly, there’s no better time than the present to invest time developing and/or refining your personal plan. You’re already sifting through financial records and creating a semblance of order from the chaos of a year’s worth of economic activity—why not take the opportunity to build your plan when your financial position is top of mind?

Being able to think in the moment about whether your contributions to a conversation are valuable to the other party or potentially damaging is an incredibly valuable skill. It’s impossible to always be tuned in to how a message is being interpreted, but being more aware of what you’re saying and how you’re saying it can lead to more productive conversations and reduce the likelihood of stepping in a proverbial relationship mud puddle.

Many times, we feel stuck because our scenery never changes. We take the same route to work and follow the same routines throughout our day—allowing our subconscious mind to take control of the wheel. While for many of us, a lack of change in our lives can be comforting, it can also be a root cause of why we feel stifled and frustrated. 

The global banking system thrives because of the unwritten social contract that exists between banks, their investors, and clients (individuals, businesses, and institutions). The banking system relies on the willingness of its customers to understand that loans (assets) are supported by deposits (liabilities) and that the predictability and reliability of the relationship between assets and liabilities is what keeps the doors of the bank open. Said differently, the entire system relies on investor and depositor confidence. 

The real magic happens when you empower and engage managers and individual contributors from multiple departments to do the heavy lifting. What a great way to get colleagues who would normally not interact with one another working together toward a common goal. Once team members see what they can accomplish together for the United Way, just imagine what they can do together to build your business! Oh, and running a campaign also has the knock on effect of introducing your colleagues to the personal benefits of philanthropy and giving back to the community! Win-win.

When purpose and vision are not clear, the status quo becomes a warm, comfortable blanket to snuggle up in. It takes discipline to get to where you want to go. When you take a look around at the “successful” people in your life, I’d put all the money in my pocket on the bet that they all share the skill of discipline.