If you were wildly successful this year, what would you be able to claim as your most impressive result? Whether you’re a CEO; an executive, leader, or manager; an entrepreneur; a successful professional; or just someone who wants to excel in your personal and professional life, knowing the answer to that question may be the best thing you can do for your career right now. Unfortunately, many people can’t answer that question. (Or they simply haven’t.) But you can easily learn to produce a short, compelling sentence that gets the attention of the people around you and aligns them to your most important goals.

If you’re one of the many who join the crowd at the gym at the start of every new year, swearing, “This year will be different!” ~ Or if you’re a serial dieter who resolves every year to lose weight ~ Or if already by January 18th you haven’t yet set a New Year’s Resolution (or forgotten the one you did set) ~ ~ Take heart. This message is for you. We’re doubling down on the New Year’s Resolution with new rules, for new results.

Does it seem to you the world has suddenly thrown open its doors? As the shutdowns end and the vaccines roll out, it seems like every group, team, business, and family is eager to race out of their homes and throw themselves headlong into togetherness once again, with all of the gatherings, appointments, meetings, and travel we’ve been missing all year.

I’ve spoken about personal leadership – or the leadership of the self – many times in the past, but what does personal leadership mean during a crisis, like COVID-19? If you’re like many leaders, on a day-to-day basis you often find yourself swept away by the busyness - away from the sound principles of effective leadership, away from some of the essential things you want to do (but never have time for), and even away from yourself. But now, faced with the pandemic, we find ourselves confronting a new issue entirely – leading yourself during a crisis, when in addition to all of those priorities, you’re trying to manage the intense emotions – your own and of those you lead. During times like these, if you’re able to lift yourself out of panic mode and leverage an optimistic mindset, you have an opportunity to productively move forward and stay clear, confident, and calm despite the crisis.