Behind the Curtain: How to Have a Great Year Buffini Style | Buffini Blog
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Every week millions of people tune in to listen to Brian Buffini’s podcast, It’s a Good Life, where he interviews thought leaders from all disciplines of business. Recently the tables were turned when Brian became the guest, turning over the interviewing duties to his daughter, Anna, Buffini & Company’s new Social Media Manager. In the conversation, Anna asked Brian his tips on how to set yourself up for a great year, overcoming life’s inevitable obstacles and how gratitude can play an important part in every aspect of your life.
Here are some of the highlights from their conversation.
Hit the Ground Running
Anna first asked her dad for his advice on how to hit the ground running at the start of the new year.
It was important, he replied, to take the time to pause and have a “season of reflection, to review and then plan.”
“I like to read myself full but write myself clear,” he added. “Then it gets down to execution. You actually have to do it.”
Anna noted that some studies have shown that “only about 25% of people stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days and less than 10% ultimately achieve them.”
“What’s the difference to you,” she asked, “between a goal and a resolution?”
“Well, the word ‘resolution’ means to be ‘resolved,’” Brian replied.
“When I set a resolution, the key component is, you’ve got to commit it to writing,” he added. “It’s got to be a goal. It’s got to be something that stretches you. It’s got to be something you’re willing to suffer for.
“People think passion is, ‘I want my purpose. I want my passion.’ The word passion is from the word ‘passeo,’ which means ‘to suffer.’ What do you want to suffer for?”
Start Again Tomorrow
“For anyone who already feels their new habits slipping, what’s one simple practical thing they can do to get back on track and make those habits stay?” Anna asked Brian.
“I just think forgive yourself and move on and start again tomorrow,” Brian advised.
“I think success is one day at a time. I think attitude is one day at a time. I think faith is one day at a time — marriage, business — one day at a time. We all want to control everything. But the one thing I can control is my attitude for this day. I can control my effort for this day,” he said. “And if I owe a bunch of money and I feel overwhelmed, well, geez, one day is not going to solve everything. But one good day can lead to another good day and so on and so forth.”
Gratitude Each Day Start
Brian shared with Anna that he has started practicing a new gratitude habit each morning.
“Each morning, I take my right foot and I stick it out of the bed. And I won’t touch my foot down without starting my day with a prayer and starting my day with gratitude,” he said. “I won’t step on the floor until I talk to my God and ask him for help and then give gratitude and then think of the things I’m grateful for.
“And you know what that does? It makes me believe, ‘I got today. I got today.’ And I think that’s really the best way. That’s the way you win the year, by the way. That’s the way you win the year. Like you got today. Whatever happened before, whatever’s going on, relationally, physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually, you have today.”
Listen to the entire podcast here.
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