Now that you’ve rung in another New Year and returned to a more normal routine, the goals and resolutions you made can begin to take a back seat to the realities of daily life. The carrot sticks were OK for a few days, but it’s just too hard to say no to those chocolate chip cookies, right? The demands on the job can quickly distract you from your professional goals so they become equally challenging to achieve. When it comes to setting goals, there’s an endless list of resources to help you. The trick is actually achieving them. If you’re inclined to set goals, I doubt you do so without intentions to make them happen. But those little things called obstacles – I like to call them challenges – pop up when you least need or expect them.

If you’re like me, you set some goals you know you’ll achieve. Writing them just gives you clarity about what you want the achievement to look like. Those are the “cruise” goals.

Then there are goals that stretch you; but if you keep them in front of you and create a plan, you’re pretty confident you can accomplish them (losing weight, staying on an exercise regimen, becoming more of a strategic partner in your business). Those are the “high gear” goals.

And then there are the “jet engine” goals. These get written and rewritten year after year. The only difference a new year brings is that it gives you another 12 months to figure it out and hope for new insight, a revelation or a miracle.

Do you know people who regularly seem to accomplish what you would consider “jet engine” goals? What do they do differently?

Here are some recommendations for bringing those “jet engine” goals within reach.

1. Believe you can. Belief is an amazing catalyst for uncovering the ideas, resources and tools you need to achieve your goals. And when you don’t believe, it’s amazing how you can be blinded to those same things. All of us have room to grow when it comes to our mindset, and the more we grow here, the more unstoppable we become.
2. Take up journaling. There are some great books that provide techniques for journaling. One of my favorite is The Artist’s Way. It explains how to get all the gunk out of your head first thing each morning so you can clear the way for creative thinking. It’s not just for artists – and there are many types of “art” in life.
3. Connect with a mentor or coach. Connect with one of those people you know who is achieving the jet engine goals and ask that person to mentor you. Learn how that person thinks, makes decisions and plans differently from others. Then identify ways you can change and grow from what you learn.
4. Persevere. It will take mindset shifting, habit changing, plan writing and execution. Remember, you are stretching yourself beyond your normal stretch goals so you are going to trip up. It’s like learning to ride a bike, roller skate or hang-glide. You are going to get some bruises. Only this time it won’t be your knees – it’ll be your ego. But the recovery is the same. Brush yourself off and try again.

Those are four simple things you can keep in mind to achieve more this year. Pick one area to work in and see what happens. Go ahead. Make 2012 the year for huge growth and big accomplishments in your career and in your life.

One of the most destructive tornadoes on record hit the mid-western town of Joplin, Mo., on the evening of May 22, 2011. The tornado ripped a swath of destruction nearly a mile wide through the heart of town, leaving more than 160 people dead and many more homeless. In the days following that terrible event, SVI was one of the many organizations that provided volunteers to help with the cleanup. Six months later, SVI returned as a company to pitch in and help in the rebuilding process. In this video, Randy Curry, a resident of Joplin, tells one of the many stories about people pitching in and helping those effected by the storm.

My newly 4-year-old granddaughter bounced into the living room with eyes wide and anticipation written across her face. The time had come to open her presents.

First up, a rectangular box wrapped in shiny blue paper with a golden bow, then a purple bag with a treasure hidden beneath the tissue paper.

“Open the card first,” her mother said. “Let’s see who it’s from.”

Ella tore into the envelope with excitement, pulling the card out and holding it upside down in her hands.

“A card!” she screamed with delight. “I wanted a card!”

Several of us laughed. “We should have just gotten her cards and no presents,” someone said. And, frankly, we began to realize that might have been fine with Ella.

She sat the card aside and went through every present with equal enthusiasm, stopping after each joyous opening to find the givers, look them in the eyes and thank them personally for their gifts.

No amount of parental coaching could coax such genuine gratitude. It simply flowed out of her heart, a natural thankfulness for what life was bringing her way. “She’s a great gift-receiver,” her aunt pointed out.

As we at SVI pause with the rest of America this week to reflect on all that we’ve been given – our work, our clients, our friends, our family, our communities, our opportunities and even our challenges – we want to be “great gift-receivers” – genuinely, passionately grateful. Each day, we unwrap life. Join us, won’t you, in giving thanks.

Let’s face it, we’re all busy. We’ve got looming deadlines, competing priorities, client demands and so on and so on. The problem is, if we want to get ahead, we’ve got to pull out all the creative stops. We have to be more inspired than the guy next to us, more innovative than our competitors and more imaginative than other industries. But in the midst of a 50-hour workweek, it’s often hard to tap into that creativity; it’s even harder to schedule time to flex our imaginative muscle. If this sounds familiar, it may be time for an imagination oil change to kick-start your passion and creativity at work.

Creativity doesn’t have to be – and shouldn’t be – another task on your checklist. There are simple ways to integrate time to be creative during the course of your day.

Open your mind to new perspectives, new adventures, new cultures, new ideas and new risks. Experiencing new cultures can teach patience, acceptance and respect; all of these traits support collaborative work environments. New risks, like proposing an idea that contradicts the status quo, can teach you about the strengths you possess and the things you’re capable of accomplishing. Increasing your courage and self-confidence helps grow your imagination. Not only will this help spark your imagination, but it can re-energize you and increase your motivation. The more motivated you are, the more focused you will become at work. Focus helps you set clear goals, achieve them and produce exceptional results.

Invite someone to be your creativity accountability partner. Most people are easily distracted from their commitments to new goals because of other demands or because of the challenges that come up when they go outside their comfort zones. What they don’t realize is that they are missing out on powerful lessons, gaining new knowledge, and discovering potential passions that all come with new experiences. A partner can spot you as you flex your imaginative muscle to help keep you motivated, providing padding when you struggle and acknowledgement when you succeed.

Look inside. Waaaay inside. One of the best ways to find what makes you come alive and identify what you’re truly good at is to self-reflect. Often. This allows you to take a more holistic view, which in turn allows you to uncover deeper meaning behind what you say, feel and do. You’ll discover a greater purpose and passion for your work, and this understanding can prompt extraordinary creativity and innovation.

If you’d like to learn more about how to ignite your creativity, generate imaginative ideas and become more motivated by your purpose at work, visit www.organizationalchampions.com and check out the “Want to learn more?” box.

Recent storms around the world have been more intense than any we’ve experienced in a long time – probably more intense than most of us have experienced in our lifetimes. These storms – tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods – have altered the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Those affected experienced great losses, ranging from being completely uprooted to losing that which can never be replaced, their loved ones. Some of those impacted have had to rely on support from complete strangers. Regardless of what the impact looked like, these storms were a disruptive slap in the face.

Whether or not you experienced any of these storms, you’ve no doubt experienced the storms of life. They can’t be recorded with a camera and may never make it onto the evening news, but these storms can feel just as devastating and disruptive.

Consider financial downturns, the loss of a job, the betrayal of a spouse or trouble with a wayward child. Economic challenges, unexpected turns in the competitive landscape or sudden changes in your industry can all feel like high winds and hard rains, making it hard to know where to turn, or even what turn to take. But there are no politicians declaring a state of emergency to ensure you get aid to recover from your personal storms.

How long does it take to recover and move forward? The answer is, it depends… on you.

To get through life’s storms and recover quickly, we need to develop resilience. Resilience begins with accumulating strength so that when storms hit, we can endure, keep moving and, ultimately, overcome and rise above. That strength is not just physical. We need to build emotional and spiritual strength, as well. The more we put into developing strength in all three areas on a consistent basis, the better prepared we are to weather the storms and grow from them when they come – and they will surely come.

When you’re in the midst of a storm, it can be easy to get thrown off balance. But this is the time you most need to create solutions and look for opportunities. Strength makes it is easier to be resilient in the moment – or apply just-in-time resilience. Just-in-time resilience helps you keep a positive mindset and avoid the paralysis that can come with unexpected setbacks so you can take productive action. Those who can maintain a positive mindset are the ones who will uncover opportunities through even the most difficult circumstances.

Are you in the middle of a storm? Are you prepared for the next one when it hits?

Learn more about being resilient in the midst of life’s storms. Visit www.organizationalchampions.com.

I didn’t mean to become a grammar geek. But somewhere between researching whether healthcare is one word or two (don’t get me started) and posting on Facebook a really bad pun about verb tenses (more on this later), I realized, yes, I had crossed the line.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I started off as a photographer. You know the type: They’re like the drummers in a marching band. They’re the ones in the back, living on the edge, bending the rules, never getting caught, and laughing louder than everyone else. Yep, that was going be me.

Then I realized I was mediocre as a photographer. Okay (or is it OK?), so maybe being the reporter, rooting out corruption, telling stories with heartbreaking prose, and afflicting the comfortable wasn’t so bad. I kind of liked the image of a hard-charging reporter hanging out in seedy rooms, talking to shady characters and stashing empty booze bottles behind my computer. But the only part of that image that turned out to be real was the bottles. (Thanks to a former Texas boss. I miss her.)

So here I am, quality control editor at SVI – still working over words for a living and enjoying it. The lifestyle is different, without the daily deadlines and frankly with a bigger group of nicer people, but the urge to put my own special twist on words remains. In my line of work – editing for clients who want clarity, entertainment and branding up front – consistency is king. You quickly learn what needs to be done to pay the bills. And if that means becoming something of a grammar traffic cop for wayward commas and bullet points, so be it.

So what does one do to cure the geekiness of a grammarian? A couple of things (make that four):

• Never refer to yourself as one (see sentence above). Would you really talk to your wife (husband, friend, significant other, dog) that way? No.
• Accept your fate. It’s not so bad. At least I’m not chasing some meaningless politician making another meaningless promise in another meaningless campaign stop. Been there, done that and I threw away the T-shirt.
• Know that language evolves. Even the venerable Associated Press Stylebook acknowledged grammar evolution when the editors there decided writers didn’t have to capitalize “web page” anymore. I mean, really, when grandmothers can set up a web page in about 15 minutes, is it that special anymore? Accept it. Embrace it. Love it.
• Play games with words. It keeps life interesting. As promised up there in the lede (that means the story’s first few lines in journalism-ese), here’s that Facebook post: The past, present and future walk into a bar. Things were tense.

Yes, I’m a grammar geek and there’s nothing I can do about. I soothe sentences and polish paragraphs. It’s what I do. And about that pile of bottles behind my computer – it’s frighteningly low. Now there’s something else I can fix.