My 3 Words for 2017

We have a huge year ahead of us! How will you and I accomplish all that we want to achieve? Let’s pick three words to guide you to success in 2017!

Choose Three Words for Your Success in 2017!

Pick any three words that you can use to guide you forward to success in the coming year. Write these words down every day. Keep them posted on your monitor. Make a phone wallpaper. Whatever is going to keep those words present? Schedule a recurring 5 minute daily appointment that simply gives you a moment to reflect on the three words you’ve chosen for greatness and success.

Let’s look at the process, and then I’ll share mine. FINALLY, I’ll ask you to share YOURS! That’s near the bottom. Plus we’ll use the hashtag #my3words

Why THREE Words?

We choose three words so that you can use them for triangulation. One word seems to fade away from our memory too quickly. Two words sets our brain up to think of “this or that” kinds of logic. Three words gives us a way to think about the situations in our lives from many dimensions.

I’ve tried four words and it was a bad year. Everyone’s tried one word and you get mixed results. Three seemed right, and I’ve been doing it since 2006, so I’ve had lots of practice at this point.

How to Pick Your Three Words

First, phrases aren’t recommended. If you choose “Be the Best,” for instance, the word “the” offers nothing but grammatical glue. I mean, you can do whatever you’d like. It’s just not recommended if you want to follow this concept.

Pick words that apply to your goals, and more so, that apply to how you might make choices. For instance, if you’re thinking you want to lose 30 pounds, a word like “lose” really isn’t going to help. Maybe the word “green” to remind you to eat more vegetables? Or the word “temple” as in “treat my body like a temple.” The word has to trigger a mental association that will prompt you to make a better choice.

Pick words that apply to more than one dimension of your life. Maybe you want to be the best accountant around, but you might also want to be the best mother or best uncle or best Spartan racer around, also. A word like “Here” is simple, but it reminds you to be present, a skill that you can use everywhere.

A real quick note: I have NO idea WHY this is true, but whenever people pick the word “focus,” they report that it doesn’t do much for them. It’s not powerful enough to actually get you to focus. Focus on what? That might help.

Personally, I like words of action that guide me to make an actionable choice.

My Own Past 3 Words Choices

What follows are my previous choices for My 3 Words. The first year, I didn’t write a blog post about it (why not? Dang!). The rest have links to previous posts that explained my thoughts at the time. I submit them for your amusement and for ideas for your own.

2006 – Ask. Do. Share
2007 – Seek. Frame. Build. Bridge (yes, that was 4. It also was a less successful year.)
2008 – Believe. Loops.Farm
2009 – Equip. Armies. Needles
2010 – Ecosystems. Owners. Kings
2011 – Reinvest. Package. Flow
2012 – Temple. Untangle. Practice
2013 – Walt. Ender. Monchu
2014 – Lifestyle. Monchu. Black.
2015 – Plan. Leverage. Fabric.
Home. Shine. Win.

And here we are at 2017. This past year was a struggle for me, but it was beautiful. I have a LOT to accomplish in 2017 if I want to succeed. Plus, I’m getting married in 2017 so I need to really be on top of my game to make that happen. Here are my words:

Move – A reminder to move physically (fitness) as well as on the plans and projects I’m working on. Movement is life.

Voice – Use my voice. Create more useful media. Connect with others, and help others make connections. I’ll do more to make the message shine out in 2017.

Game – Make my own game. It’s how I reached my levels of success and it’s how I’ll get further along. Look for the game inside everything I’m doing, and then find the path to a win. (Also, my book, Make Your Own Game, is due out in 2017 from Wiley!)

There you have it. Those are My 3 Words for 2017.