Hey everyone, Happy new year to you all and welcome back. It’s great to be alive and back again for a new year. You could be sick, in jail, or dead or dying but nope, here you are reading this blog. So lets thank the Master for life and another chance to do things better.

The beginning of the year is a particularly intriguing time. It’s perhaps the only time in the year (except for our birthdays) that we really take time to reflect on the past and future seriously. Thats why resolutions are generally made at the start of the year.

For the last three years I’ve been in the habit of not making resolutions. I find that new year resolutions generally set me up for failure. They are usually not made with the right convictions and then followed up with really weak efforts. By end of March, I’m caught up in the waves of daily life and nearly forgotten most of my resolutions . Then the end of the year comes and I beat up myself because I didn’t even make a scratch in my resolutions. Does that sound familiar?

My solution to this crap cycle is to have a constant set of personal goals that I work on regardless of whether its a new year or not. I find this to be much a more progressive and fulfilling approach. Have your 3months, 1year, 5year and 10year goals at all times. They give direction, focus and hope.

An interesting alternative for new year resolutions is having an overall Yearly Theme. I found this on Steve Pavlina’s blog, an individual whose material i find to be exceptionally deep and insightful. His approach is to have a general theme for each year. For example 2008 his theme was Health, 2009 Relationships. This gives you a nice framework that helps you focus on a particular area of your life for one whole year whilst still working on your regular life goals.

Whatever you choose to do for 2010, what I can say is any resolution, goal or theme is better than just floating through the year and seeing what happens. As the saying goes “if you don’t know where your going, any road will take you there”.

I read somewhere that we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a single year and underestimate what we can do in ten years. It hit me so hard to realise that we’ve just completed the first decade of the century! Think about that for a moment. 10 years. I think of all that i could have achieved by now if i’d only made serious commitments and goals ten years ago!

Heck, i simply decided to have flimsy resolutions and see where the year takes me. Now I’m still as far away from achieving my dreams as i was 10years ago! That is disturbing. I’m certainly not going to make that mistake with the next ten. I encourage you not to make it either.

So I bid you health, wealth and love in every aspect of your life in 2010. May be prosperous, may you become a greater person than you ever dreamed, may you conquer giants and love and be loved deeply. And may the Master be your guide, your strength, your refuge and your hope in this year and beyond. Amen

Let’s make 2010 a spectacular year.

Shalom

“I hope you live more, love more, laugh more, dare more, take mind blowing risks and achieve more in the new year.” New years SMS from a friend

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what some of the sites and blogs really successful people visit regularly. I mean, have you ever wondered what blogs Gates, Buffet, Branson or Madiba visit regularly to learn, or get encouragement? Well, i’m definitely not in the league of those dudes, yet; but i felt i’d share with you my favorite watering holes. I’m confident that alot of these will help any one grow their business, their relationships and themselves. So here it goes, in no particular order.

1.Crosswalk.com

A complete portal for Christian content, featuring blogs, devotions, financial, marital and career advice articles. This is where I start my day. Nothing like a fresh word from The Master to set my heart on the right path for the day. An excellent site.

2. The Art of Manliness

I am a man and true manly men in this day and age are an endangered species. This site is dedicated to recapturing and rekindling the dying art of being a man. I love it cause it breaks things down as simply and straightforward as can be. No being politically correct here. Just sweet, kick-in-the-butt advice on what Manliness is all about. A must read for all males!

3. Problogger & Daily Blog Tips

These are both community sites for professional bloggers. They have excellent articles on blog writing, monetization, SEO and memberships. A great resource for those who want to make a living or business from blogging.

4. Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for smart people

This has to be my all time favorite blog for personal development resources. This guy has some questionable spiritual beliefs but overall, his insights and advice are timeless. I keep going back again and again to the archives section and always find something new to read and learn. Awesome resource. Highly recommended.

5. CNET Crave

This one appeals to my love of all things geeky, techy and gadgetry. It helps keep me informed about all the happenings around the globe. Considering that it’s a part of the CNET family, it’s a definate trusted source. A daily stop for technophiles.

6. Inc.com

A wonderful community for all things Entrepreneurial. It has articles, showcases, blogs and advice. It’s a great stop for inspiration and growth for small business owners.

7. Enterpreneurs Journey

A lovely site that appeals to both Entrepreneurs and Bloggers. Yaro Starak is accomplished in both these areas. He has a wonderful insight, avudde wwala (he’s come from far). He’s what you’d call a blogger entrepreneur, a guru in internet marketing. His posts are usually quite long but well worth the read.

8. Six Revisions & Hongkiat

I am by profession, a designer. Web, Graphic and Motion. These sites are a daily source for inspiration, trends and tutorials for me. A great help in my daily work. Highly recommended to all designers. DesignKingdom.ug is my own initiative to offer the same value to Ugandan artists, similar to these two sites.

9. Income Diary

A blog created by 20year old Michael Dunlop. It’s all about blogger entrepreneurs with interviews, advice, tips, success stories. I love this cause it makes an emphasis on showing you how you can live the internet lifestyle, those who are living it and how practically you too can live it. Inspiring is the word.

10. Darren Hardy’s blog

Darren is the editor of Success Magazine. His blog is obviously all about achieving success in all areas of your life. It’s updated only about once a week but a great resource nonetheless.

11. Dan Millers Blog

Dan is a Christian Entrepreneur and Life coach. As a Christian myself, it’s important to me to achieve my success in an honest and integrity based manner that glorifies The Master. Dan has excellent articles and posts that help me see what all other success gurus talk about in light of biblical principles. Love-lu-lay.

So ofcourse I have a ton of other sites I visit regularly but these are the ones i feel most drawn to regularly. I would advise everyone of you who visits tons of blogs to use Google Reader to effectively manage all your different feeds. Blogspirit will help you manage all your Ugandan blogs.

I’m always looking to add more wonderful resources to continue my personal growth and I would like to here from you. What are some of your daily reading lists?

Shalom

“Always keep learning. It keeps you young.”-Patty Berg

“In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”-Eric Hoffer

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence to see for themselves.” -Will Rogers