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In case you missed it, we’ve just rolled right into a brand new year here on this big blue ball, and by now I hope that all of your partying, reveling, and reminiscing is over with.  Time to buckle down, get back to work, and blow the doors off this New Year and make some serious headway toward your goals…

Before you lose all that fresh-and-exciting-new-years-super-power.

You know what I’m talking about, right?  It’s the first few days of the year and you’re all pumped about getting your priorities in order and finally making those changes you’ve always said you were going to make.  The trouble is, after just a few weeks, or even a few days for some of us, the “new” has worn off the new year and we’re back to where we were on December 31st.

So how do you keep that momentum going in the new year?  How can you get serious (finally) about your business, stop treating it like a hobby, and build your network marketing business and join the ranks of the “money-makers?”

One of the most important things you can do is to start fresh in the new year.  It’s going to be very difficult for you to move forward in the new year if you’re still holding on to what happened last year and the years before that.  You’ve got to get your mind clear and set, ready for success in this new year.  The whole concept of a “new year” is all in our heads anyway (is there really anything different on January 1st than December 31st?) so why not get in the right mental shape for the new year?

Here’s 5 steps to help you start fresh and move forward in 2011 and make it your best year ever:

Start Fresh Step #1 – Leave the Past Behind You

I mean it. Before you can move on in the new year, you’ve got to be able to let go of the past.  If you didn’t have a great year last year, move on.  If you had some terrible things come at you, move past them.  I’ve often heard people say that, “You just don’t know what I’ve been through in the last 6 months.”  No, I don’t.  But I do know one thing.  You got THROUGH it.  You didn’t get stuck in it, you made it through.  Maybe it was rough.  Maybe you have some scars.  We all do.  Scars help us learn, pain is a wonderful teacher.  But it’s time to move past it.  Stop holding on to what happened to you in the past, stop holding on to the things that you did or didn’t do.  It doesn’t matter any more, it’s in the past!  Burn the boats and move forward to your dreams.

Start Fresh Step #2 – Plan, Plan, Plan

If you don’t do anything for the first few days of the new year than plan out at least the next 3 months, it will be time well spent.  A ton of people just get really excited about the new year and start doing a bunch of tasks in their business and soon burn out.  Don’t be a flame that sputters out quickly.  You’ve got to burn for a long time.  It’s ok if you take some time, collect your wits, and channel that new year energy into a detailed plan of action that you can follow through on a daily basis.  Make a plan, and make it something that you can achieve.  If you set completely ludicrous goals, you’ll only be disappointed when you don’t hit them.  If you’ve never recruited 100 people into your business in a month, don’t expect that it’s going to happen by the end of January.  I’m not saying that it can’t, but that goal is unrealistic.  There is value in stretching your goals, but don’t stretch too far.  Don’t shoot for 100 if you’ve never recruited anyone.  Shoot for 10.  That’s a stretch for someone getting started, and you’ll reap plenty of rewards along the way to that goal.

Start Fresh Step #3 – Stick to your plan

Too many people get and idea and then try it for a few days, then when they don’t see immediate results, they give up.  It takes time to see results from the seeds you’re planting now.  You may not recruit many people into your business this month, but if you expose 3 people a day to your business EVERY DAY, think about what is going to be happening around March or April.  If you’re sticking to your plan, the results will come, and I bet they’ll come faster than you think they will.  Stick to your plan and don’t give up!

Start Fresh Step #4 – Get involved in your company

There’s too many people out there that think they can join a company, start marketing online and then never have to attend another meeting or event from their company.  Let me go ahead and tell you that if you believe this to be true, you are on the fast track to completely failing in your business.  If you don’t know what’s going on with your company and your team, how are you going to be able to talk to your prospects?  Yes, I know you want to blog and Facebook and tweet, but you’ve got to stay connected to the “mothership” if you want to be successful.  Be clear on this point: blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, YouTubing, podcasting, any of the other -ings you can think of ARE NOT YOUR BUSINESS!.  They are all very effective ways to market you and your business and to attract more leads, but they are not your business.  Your business is exposing people every day to your opportunity.  I’ll go ahead and admit that I was one of the worst offenders of this point in the past.  I really thought that I could just blog and people would just join up with me by the droves.

Let me tell you how completely wrong I was.  Will some join that way?  Sure, but not very many. You’ve still got to talk to people, and your company will teach you how to, or your upline will provide a system that you can tap into to make this process extremely easy for you to do.  But you’ve got to be involved with your company to know what’s going on. Stay plugged in!  Get on that conference call, watch other presentations, go to meetings.  You’ll be glad you did.

Start Fresh Step #5 – Don’t be afraid to make changes

Yes, you’ve got to give things time to see results.  That doesn’t mean you have to keep beating your head against a wall.  I heard someone recently say to break your year down into 90 day goals.  I’d also apply that to your plan for the new year.  Once you have your plan in place, reevaluate what’s happening in 90 days.  If some things aren’t working, make changes.  Now, that doesn’t mean that you get to make changes in 90 days if you only stuck to your plan for 8.5 days.  You don’t get off the hook that easily.

Give things time, but be ready to course correct if you need to.

And that’s how you get a fresh start and get rolling in the new year.

What’s your plan of attack for this year?  What are some of your very specific goals for your life and business?  Take a moment and share them with us in the comments below!

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