Ascending to 50,000 Feet

For me, Rosh Hashanah is a holiday where I ascend to 50,000 feet and look down upon how the past year has unfolded and how I want the upcoming year, starting tomorrow, to be.

As entrepreneurs, we find ourselves with our feet on the ground 99% of the time. We manage advertising, order inventory, plan the supply chain, solve problems, and so on. I've written to you more than once about the importance of ascending to at least 10,000 feet once a week to gain a higher perspective on things and navigate the ship in the right direction.

Rosh Hashanah comes to us every year in a remarkable period, unlike the rest of the world that reaches the end of the year in euphoria just after the strongest sales month. We get to summarize our year just before the strong sales months, usually after spending significant sums on large product orders for this period, and this year, with the additional high shipping costs.

How do you do it?

Take a notebook, not a Word document, not an email, and not an iPad.

A notebook and a pen or pencil.

And write down the answers to the following questions:

1. What goals did I achieve in the past year?

2. What were the mistakes I made this year?

3. What were the areas I enjoyed working on the most in the past year?

4. What were the areas I enjoyed working on the least in the past year?

5. What are the three personal and business goals I'm setting for myself in the upcoming year?

After you've finished this, let it sink in, and revisit this list right after the Sukkot holiday.

Open your calendar and task management tools, and build an organized work plan to achieve your annual goals.

May we all have a good, sweet, and successful year!