Book Review: YBYE
Book Title: Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals
Author: Michael Hyatt
Publication Date: 2018
In November 2017, my eye caught an online advertisement, and I bought something. Crazy! I know. It caught my eye because it was a planner that looked like a hard-covered journal. Even though my business processes are 100 percent cloud based (meaning, everything is online), I like to write out—with a pencil—lists and project details. The Full Focus Planner has been a wonderful investment and strategy to help in my entrepreneurship journey.
Your Best Year Ever (YBYE) complements the planner. But you don’t have to use the planner to get something out of the book. The author outlines five steps to goal achievement. I write highlights from each of the steps.
Don’t think the impossible. What past failures or obstacles do I think have held me back? What thinking do I need to change to accomplish goals? What old thoughts “limit” my current actions? I need to recognize my “limiting beliefs,” and then reorient and revise my thinking.
Remember from where I came. What goals have I achieved or failed to achieve? What disappointments did I face? What were my proudest moments? What lessons have I learned from my past experiences? Is there something I regret? I need to learn from my past performance and make necessary changes.
Define your goals. Have I set goals that are too “comfortable”? Have I “downgraded” my goals because they didn’t seem achievable? Am I ready to take on more risk in my goal setting? I need to set goals in my “Discomfort Zone.” The goals shouldn’t be delusional, but they should be challenging, risky, and rewarding. Don’t let fear control.
Don’t quit. Have I lost focus? Do I feel like giving up? Why am I doing what I am doing? I need to remember that it takes perseverance and persistence to achieve my goals. Learn to enjoy the journey.
Take action. How am I planning to meet my goals? Have I been procrastinating? I need to take the next step.
Who should read this book?
An entrepreneur who needs a new or revised goal setting system,
An entrepreneur who feels they are failing, and
Someone who has already read the book should re-read it!
As my key take-away, I will quote the author: “The most important aspect of making it happen is practicing the art of the start. You don’t have to see the end from the beginning…. All you have to see is the next step. Any goal is manageable one action at a time” (pg. 195).