Keith JonesDecember 18, 2015

This morning I learned how I could make a small tweak to my daily routine to produce greater success in key areas of my life. In an interview with Brian Johnson on the Optimize podcast, Karen Salmansohn, self-help author and host of the radio show Be Happy Dammit, suggested creating a ToBe List. This is where you write down the kind of person you want to be. The concept resonated with me immediately.

A ToBe List sets the framework by which you operate throughout your day, and it influences your daily todo list. Your ToBe List might include being a person who has optimal health and fitness. You would then list the tactical steps you will take that day to be a person who is committed to great health. Doing cardio for an hour and eating healthy all day might be on your list.

Taking care of my physical health has been a priority of mine for over 20 years. It’s on my subconscious ToBe and ToDo lists. The areas I see a ToBe list really paying off for me are finances and a relationship with a significant other. These are areas where I’ve fallen short and stumbled. I want to be a person who is excellent with finances so I can make an even greater positive impact on the world. This means taking on and completing daily tasks and mini projects that grow my business. It also means being strategic in how I charge for services and invest money back into the business. And in relationships, I want to be the kind of person who lovingly supports my partner’s life plan to be their best and live their best life. For this to happen, my daily todo list would include speaking my partner’s love language, honoring her in my words and actions and making sure I do things that express how much I value, love and support her.

I invite you to join me in creating a ToBe List so your daily actions are more focused and produce faster and greater results in your life. Here is how to do it:

1. Create a personal ToBe List that’s followed by action steps on your ToDo List. Write down the kind of person you want to be personally. How would you like to care for yourself? Include how you talk to yourself. Is the conversation positive or negative? Is it free of blame, shame, guilt and victimhood? Make your internal dialogue positive and loving. How do you honor your health and fitness each day? Be a person who eats healthy and does some form of exercise each morning, even when no one is watching. It’s a gift to yourself that you completely control.

2. Create a professional ToBe List where you’re the kind of person who experiences your ideal level of success. If you want to take your best ideas from dream state to realization, complete your projects. Take action on them daily. Cut out all distractions like phone, social media use and notifications and television while working on your professional goals.

3. Create a relationship ToBe List. Write down the kind of person you would have to be if your goal is to be the best relationship partner and friend. Practice actively listening to what matters most to your significant other and friends. Find ways to support their life plan to be their best self. Be loving, supportive and nonjudgmental in how you speak and treat them.

Join me in beginning each day with writing a ToBe list and living into being that kind of person. Doing so will influence your actions for the day and produce BIG results.

Keith