Happy 2011, Everyone! Here we are again at the threshold of a fresh new year and perhaps even a clean slate. If you picture a "clean slate" what do you see in your mind? Imagine that you are standing to the left of a giant expanse of  freshly washed blackboard - a blackboard as big and as blank as 52 weeks is long.

You have in your hands a variety of chalks: all colors shapes and sizes. You have plenty of time to fill up the blackboard any way you choose - perhaps you even have 365 days to do it. What is the first mark you plan to make? Now, you can focus in on that first mark and that might help you get started. But afterwards, take a step back...take several steps back so you can see the whole board all the way to the end. Imagine what you want it to look like when it's all finished. What colors, shapes, words, and pictures do you want to see there when it's all filled in end to end?

Most of us make a New Year's resolution by thinking only as far as a month or so into the future. But what if we planned a New Year's resolution just as we would plan to creatively fill in that big blackboard, playfully visioning the colors of a whole year?

Seems daunting? It doesn't have to be! Read on.

This year, try out a totally new spin on your New Year's resolution. What if this time you were to start not at the beginning but at the end of the year, working your way back? Perhaps "reverse engineering" could be the key to your success!

• Start with a little bit of writing on the preceding questions. Then, choose up to 3 things you want to make sure have happened by 12/31/11. Choosing only 3 things or fewer will help you to keep it simple and stay on target. Be sure they are all things you can measure between now and then.  
   
• Open up the 2011 calendar and pick benchmark dates in each quarter of the year for progress on each of the 1 - 3 things. Be specific on what the benchmarks are and mark them in black and white on your calendar. If you use an electronic calendar, be sure to set up reminders a week or two before each benchmark is due. You can set alarms or write notes or whatever method works best for you. 
   
• If you need additional reminders you can set up some future email reminders for yourself by using a free web tool such as http://emailfuture.com. With this fun tool, you can set several dates throughout the coming year to email yourself reminders and little pep talks.
   
• Look back on your journaling about what things will look like in December of 2011. From this writing, compile a list of important benefits that you will gain from the changes you will have made by then. Be specific about how your life will be better. Make sure the benefits list is in bold clear writing and then post it somewhere you can see it every day.  
   
• Share your plan with someone you are close to because it's much harder to not follow through when the plan is out in the open. Show this person your benchmark dates. Doing the resolution process together can work even better. Each of you can set your own benchmark dates and add in buddy check-in dates throughout the year to keep you on task. Together you can find fun ways to celebrate your succeses!

Your challenge for this month:

Try it out! Between now and January 18th, make a reverse-engineered plan for your 2011 resolution. Follow the steps above to see if you can put a plan in place that will really work between now and the end of 2011. Email me when you've gotten all the dates written in your calendar to let me know how it went!

To really jump start your goals and make your life the masterpiece it was meant to be, give yourself the gift of coaching. You deserve it!

And as a reminder, the $50 in free coaching bucks offer is still valid for new clients! Between now and January 31st, 2011, if you contact me and mention this newsletter, I will give you $50 off your first month of coaching.

Visit www.mollyf.com to get started.