How To Make THIS YEAR Better Than Last Year

It’s called “The Clean Slate”

You see, January 1st is a very interesting day.

Because in everyone’s collective consciousness, we all decide to press the “reset” button and start fresh.

We let go of last year, forget all of the excuses and setbacks, and set our sights high on what is to come in the next 12 months.

… Which is pretty funny if you think about it because the truth is, we could all do this at any time throughout the year but we really only decide to do it on this one special day.

(We are a funny species… aren’t we?)

What Creates True Lasting Change & Evolution

There is a problem with this ritual that we all seem to go through.

Which is that you cannot solve your problems and create new results from the SAME state of consciousness that created them in the first place.

In plain English, that means that you can’t just write down or declare what you want to happen (and expect it TO happen) without looking deeply at what prevented you from achieving your goals and desires in the first place…

… and then do the appropriate inner-work to make sure you’re making NEW choices that are deeply aligned with your new desires.

Does that make sense? Because this can be pretty deep stuff…

Here’s How I Do It…

Even though this last year was our best ever, it was still very challenging for me.

Mostly because of the stuff I’ve been going through with my dad, but we also because we experienced some pretty heavy growing pains as we quickly jumped to be a 7-figure business so fast.

So the first step in this process of making sure your new year is as powerful and successful as you want it to be is to LOOK BACK at your previous year and reflect on your most intense periods to really honor and embrace how you’ve grown and evolved.

That way, you can really honor yourself for the journey you’ve been on and make sure you’ve learned the lessons you really needed to embrace.

For example, here are a few of mine:

1. In order to cope with the emotions of my dad’s brain tumor, I created an entire documentary about him and this process.

It was a beautiful experience and led to an absolutely amazing film… yet I also realized so clearly that I made this decision out of my conditioning to stay stuck in work mode instead of feeling the pain.

Great learning lesson to realize that business cannot solve all my problems and sometimes I just need to “be in it” to cope.

2. Convinced John Assaraf to be my personal coach, invested a huge amount of $$ for that privilege, and proceeded to watch my business soar.

Realized more deeply than ever before that we ALL need help and support to make our big vision real. And that the more deeply you are aligned with your coach and teacher, the better the results you will get.

3. Managed my business finances very poorly and was hit with a SURPRISE $61,000.00 tax bill.

Ouch. This has been a painful lesson.

Realized that every part of my business, including who I hire and how I manage them, is 100% MY personal responsibility. If I don’t make sure that every thing I’m doing reflects the integrity and precision that I stand for… I get slapped by the universe (and the IRS).

We may not always like it… but the truth is that our business is our business. And no matter who else is playing there with you… you are responsible for everything that happens.

My List Keeps Going… but You Get The Point.

So that’s the first step… to write out all the major things that happened last year so you can look at WHY they occurred (positive and negative) and then make your commitment to reinforce the positive choices and interrupt the not as conscious ones.

Make sense?

The second step in this process is to create a vision of your next 12 months.

Because you know the saying… “you need to know where you’re going to figure out the best way to get there.”

So here’s how I have done it in a simple way that’s truly served me…

My Big Vision Process

Step 1: Get quiet and still.

Take some time to sit down, close your eyes, and be still. Get present to a deeper part of you. Connect to a place that knows more deeply what you really want. From this place, it’s easier to see clearer.

Step 2: Imagine each area of your life.

From this quiet space, I inquire: “what does this next phase look like in home, relationship, business, and daily life?”

Then I listen… and allow my deeper wisdom to create a picture of my life.

Sometimes it looks like something specific… like doing a new project (like my new TV show) or making a certain amount of money.

And sometimes it just feels a certain way… like I am remaining very humble and cultivating a beginners mind.

Whatever starts to unfold, I go with it. Not judging it or worrying about how to make it happen.

For about 30 minutes… I just allow myself to be a visionary.

Step 3: Write it down

Richard Branson once said: “The mind is a brilliant device but a terrible storage unit.” haha… I love that.

So I never tend to store ideas, visions, plans, or anything else in my mind.

I write EVERYTHING down.

… And this is no different. Take another 30 minutes to jot down everything that came up so you can see it all on paper.

Again, resist the urge to worry about how to make it happen. Those ideas will come later. For now, just get it out of your head.

Step 4: Let it resonate.

Take at least a day to just let your vision resonate in you. Don’t feel the need to jump immediately into action yet or even to share it. A great marinade needs to sit for a little so that the juices really settle in.

In my eyes, a powerful new vision is exactly the same.

Happy New Year My Friends…

So that’s it.

Simple… right?

And each year I do it, I am always amazed at how much of this vision manifests into reality. Especially if I keep looking at what I wrote down to ensure I’m focusing on the right things.

So I hope this process has served you like it has me.

Remember… go after what you really want. Be courageous enough to change. Make big decisions. And never stop dreaming.

You are an amazing person… and you deserve to be happy, successful, and loved.

And if you feel so inclined, I would be honored and grateful if you shared some of your thoughts or answers with me in the comments section below.

Or if you have something cool or different to add to this process, I’d love to hear that as well.

As always, I’m deeply humbled by your presence in my life.

And let’s have an amazing new year together…

Much love,

Max

P.S. if you think others could benefit from this little process, please feel free to share it on FB and Twitter. ok?