Well, we’ve all been through a hell of a nine months or more. There’s an old saying: The good thing about having your arm twisted is that it feels so good when they stop.

Keep these probabilities in mind for balance:

1. There is no old normal or new normal. There is ongoing adaptation. No one returned to the horse once automobiles were invented, and they keep making better automobiles.

2. You have more stamina, resilience, and adaptivity than you think.

3. Helping others helps yourself.

4. About 25% of every business will be permanently changed in my view.

5. We’ve seen horrible decision making in too many cases, from government leaders to medical experts, from corporate executives to academic presidents. The nature of a person’s title or zeros on their paycheck does not make them in any way superior to the rest of us.

6. There has been a terrible medical death toll, but also an equally terrible economic death toll.

7. A business rebirth is coming, in the next few months, all the signs point that way. You need to be preparing to participate in it and take advantage of it or it will bury you.

Wherever you are in the world, what’s next?

Not a bad question for January 1.

A fundamental learning point for me, and it’s certainly not new, is that we have to control what we’re capable of controlling and stop bemoaning what we can’t control. There’s a horrible phenomenon that develops whereby we can’t control something really important (e.g., travel or gatherings) so we cede control on things that are also important and we can control (helping our kids with schooling, assisting others, engaging in personal interests).

Tough times exacerbate the positive and the negative. In other words, people who are normally optimistic and positive—who perform well and provide good service—continue to do so and stand out like beacons in the night. People who are pessimistic and negative—who are nasty at 7 am and resentful of customers—become outright antagonistic. Some of our delivery people I tip quite well at Christmas, and some I want to turn Bentley loose on.

Forget about dumb resolutions. Who are you going to be over the next 364 days? I didn’t ask “What will you be doing?” or “What do you want to accomplish?” I asked “Who are you going to be?” Will you be a light for others or a whine in the dark?

Every day sees a new page in the book of our lives. “Legacy” isn’t something that occurs when we die. It’s created daily. The question is this: Is that new page blank, or the same one as yesterday, or is someone else writing it—or are you writing something new, growing daily?

Life is not some search for meaning that someone else has found. Life is about the creation of meaning for yourself.

I’ve seen too many people who are merely bystanders to their own lives.

Take control. If not now, when?

The Coming Business Renaissance 

If you want to capitalize on the approaching great wave, join me for a dynamic livestream on how to do so immediately. Roar into the new year, don’t wait for it to come to you.

Do you want to be the disruptor or the disrupted? There is a business boom coming that can bury you in the sand or propel you to new heights. You can join me for just $100, and ten percent of that is going to a homeless shelter.

SECOND OFFERING: How to Write with High Impact, High Speed, and High Success

Would you like to blog three times a week without stress and in a manner that creates a positive reaction from readers? Would you like to finish writing your next book two months ahead of the deadline without major revisions, without tedious self-editing, and with tremendous appeal to your ideal buyers (and without stress)?

Would you like to write literate, influential emails, reports, recommendations, and even social media postings that stand out in a crowd and make you an object of interest?

Join me for a three-hour Zoom experience during which you’ll master:

• Powerful openings
• Brilliant metaphors
• Succinct but dramatic argument
• “Assertive tact” and persuasion
• Brevity and focus
• How to market and sell through your written words

The session will include prep work for you to include a specified piece to submit, examination of writing of ourselves and others, specific IP to use to elevate your writing immediately, and much more.

Is it worth spending three hours with me so that can reduce your writing labor by half and increase your productivity by 100%?

I won’t be asking you to be me, but I will show you techniques and options that I use which you can use immediately. I will guarantee that you will be capable of (assuming you have the discipline and accountability) writing a book in 90 days, writing a blog post in five minutes, posting on Twitter in 30 seconds, and cutting in half your email labor.

You have the opportunity to submit further pieces to me for 30 days after the session, with 48-hour or better critique and turn-around.

Date: February 2, 2021
Time: 11-2 US eastern time (west coast and Europe-friendly)
Fee: $1,400

Option A: In addition, you and I will co-write an article for publication online, of any length, or in a hard copy publication, wherever. You may include my name or not, up to you. We will finish this within a week. Fee, including the above program: $1,900

Option B: In addition, I will walk you through an eBook of up to 50 pages, critiquing the entire work and adding to your writing, if needed, examples, case studies, IP, etc. I’ll help create the table of contents and contribute narrative. It is up to you whether or not to use my name. We will finish this within a month. I’ll also help you with the topic and premise if you like. Fee, including the above program: $3,000

NOW VIRTUAL: Million Dollar Consulting^® College 2021

Join me for the second virtual college, over three mornings, January 26-28. We’ll have group exercises, role plays, case studies, and great interaction. I can only accept a limited number of people. Use this opportunity to help launch you into the emerging economy with new energy and new techniques. If not now, when?

Sentient Strategy

We’ve certified 35 people in Sentient Strategy, an ideal methodology to remotely create a one-year strategy in just two mornings. Four sessions have already been sold to various size businesses. The training sessions are just two mornings on Zoom. Learn more here. Write me to apply for the training.

MacKay CEO Forums: My long-time client and colleague, Nancy MacKay, is seeking additional chairs for her vast network which provides virtual meetings for business owners and executives. The chairs, while continuing to run their own businesses, also facilitate these meetings periodically, and gain exposure to potential clients by also addressing the groups and becoming known within the network. Here’s a video conversation with me and Nancy with more information. You can reach Nancy for further discussions here: [email protected]. Just mention that I sent you to receive a quick response.