Kevin Vogelsang

Admittedly, I didn’t have a resolution ready when the calendar switched to 2010.  I somewhat mulled a few over earlier this month, but none really struck me.  They just didn’t fit.

However, while I didn’t have a resolution ready, I knew what 2010 was going to be about. 2010 is the year of the Hustle.

Establishing yourself in the world takes time.  It takes a lot of hard work and years to become a “somebody.”  Most 22 year-olds aren’t really “anybody”; they haven’t had time to do much of anything yet.  “It takes time. Be patient,” is the common reply.  Some might even say, “being a somebody isn’t important.”

I disagree with both wholeheartedly.  Patience is too close to complacency, and we should all want to be a “somebody.”  We should each have a vision for ourselves, a vision that we’ll need to work for and grow into.  That vision will be drastically different between people, but we need to have one.  The world runs on people making something of themselves.

With this in mind, I think my head’s in the right place.  I’m tired of being a nobody.  And I should feel that way at this stage of my life.

However, I wasn’t sure how to turn this into a good resolution.  At least not until tonight.

Luckily, before too much of 2010 had already come to pass, it came to me. Kevin Vogelsang’s New Year’s Resolution of 2010:  Make 80% of the Days an Absolute Masterpiece.

Any goal should have criteria put in place so you can tell if you achieve it or not.  So what does it mean to make the day a “masterpiece”?

As with many things, it comes down to what you can say to yourself at the end of the day.  I’ve made the day a masterpiece if I can honestly answer the following questions with a ‘yes’:

Did I wake up and take the day on with enthusiasm?
Did I focus on the task at hand?
Did I seize opportunities (within my means) to help someone out?
Did I avoid wasting my time by worrying or harping on mistakes?
Did I take time away from my work for myself and for other people?
Did I appreciate the people around me so much that they felt the appreciation?
Did I learn something?
Did I celebrate the day’s triumphs?

A masterpiece is rarely the most dazzling work of art.  The Mona Lisa isn’t particularly exciting. But there’s an incredible density of substance within the strokes.

It’s the same with the day.  If anyone was to expect to wake up bubbling over with happiness and energy each day, they’d be foolish.  But no matter how you feel, or what you have to do, you can work real beauty into the day.

So how’s that for a resolution? Of course, a resolution ultimately means nothing without real execution.  But, setting the right goals is the key first step.  You can see how I do by following me on twitter (@KevinVogelsang).

-Kevin
1.17.2010