379 - New Year Resolutions Are Weak. Execution Commitments Win!

0:00If you're listening to this thinking about New Year's resolutions, let me stop you right there. Resolutions are soft. They are emotional promises made at a moment of time, and most of them are broken before February. If you doubt that, watch during the first week of January what the gym looks like, and about the second or third week, look and see what it looks like. Big difference. What actually moves the needle in business acquisitions is not hope. It's identity, execution, and commitment. So today, I want to give you a better framework for 2026. Three parts, affirmations, execution commitments, and goals.

0:48So let's start with affirmations. Most people treat affirmations like positive thinking. That's not what I'm going to talk about and not what I'm talking about when I outline this. An affirmation is a declaration of who you are becoming, not what you wish would happen. So for example, instead of saying, I hope I buy a business this year, you say, I am someone who takes disciplined action every week towards acquiring businesses. Identity always comes before behavior. If you don't change how you see yourself, your actions won't change for long. That's why I talk so often about self-image and self-esteem being the barometer of success.

1:35Here are a few examples you can steal. I am someone who follows through. I am someone who has uncomfortable conversations early. Boy, that's important. I am someone who does not wait to feel ready. I am someone who finishes deals. Write three to five affirmations like that for 2026. Read them daily. or, better yet, twice daily, when you get up and when you go to bed. Not because they feel good, but because they remind you who you are committed to becoming. Now let's talk about execution commitments. This is where most people fall down. Goals without execution commitments are fantasies. An execution commitment is something you will do whether you feel like it or not, and that's where discipline comes in.

2:28For example, every week in 2026, I will contact five acquisition prospects. Every week, I will maintain 20 outreaches, whether that's emails, calls, letters, etc. Every month, every week is probably too often, I will update my board and professionals with my progress. Notice what I did not say. I did not say when I have time. I did not say when I feel confident. I said every week, or in the case of the last one, every month, execution commitments are binary. You either did them or you didn't. A yes or a no. That's why they work. Pick three execution commitments for 2026, if you did them consistently, would it make it almost impossible not to succeed?

3:22So now let's talk about goals. Goals are outcomes. They're important to be sure, but they come last. Your goals for 2026 might include acquiring one business, joining or forming a board of directors, replacing your income, or moving from thinking to doing. Here's the key point. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your execution commitments. If you do the affirmations and the execution commitments, the goals pretty much take care of themselves. I want you to do one final thing. Write a one-page document, which is titled my 2026 commitments. At the top, put your affirmations.

4:09In the middle, put your execution commitments. And at the bottom, put your goals. Sign it, date it, and treat it like a contract with yourself. And it should be a contract with yourself. Because the difference between the people who are still talking about acquisitions in December of 2026 and the ones who have actually closed deals is not intelligence, is not background, and mostly it's not luck, although luck helps. It's execution. Dreams demand discipline, and 2026 rewards those who act. So I hope you know what to do. I hope you follow the steps. I hope you take massive action and are focused and eliminate distractions.

4:56All of those things will be in support of doing this exercise and making that contract with yourself. So here's to the best for you in 2026, but in large part, you will make your own luck.