Tom Bilyeu is one of the co-founders of Quest Nutrition, a billion-dollar brand and the second-fastest growing private company in North America on the Inc5000 in 2014. Nowadays, Bilyeu is working hard to make his new company, Impact Theory, even more successful. IT, as the brand is known, is completely and utterly focused on giving people the tools they need to be the best version of themselves.
Yes, there are a lot of so-called “mental coaches,” but trust me (as someone who religiously watches Bilyeu’s videos), he offers no empty platitudes, only real, effective tips and mind hacks.
For the new year, Bilyeu made a video about the three things we all need to do to consistently deliver on our goals in 2018:
Here are the 3 things you need to do to consistently deliver on your goals in 2018. pic.twitter.com/2hW7ZOnXjO
— Tom Bilyeu (@TomBilyeu) December 30, 2017
1. Write them down
The wife and I started writing down our goals several years ago. Ever since then, we’ve accomplished the goals we felt most passionately about. We got married. We went on a honeymoon to Paris. We bought an apartment. We paid off the mortgage. We got a car. And in 2017, our beautiful baby girl was born. These goals were all written down — somehow, the process of writing them down made them more deeply embedded in us and it made them more achievable.
2. Routines
As Bilyeu explains in his short video, “routines are going to be your greatest ally on actually getting things done on a consistent basis. You’ve got to know exactly how you’re going to attack your day. Having those routines, especially things that you’re going to do first thing in the morning, are really going to create momentum.”
One morning routine I have is meditating. It helps me center and focus, which is rather useful if you’re a writer. Also, I review my to-do list for that day immediately after meditating, so I know what my day is going to be like. If I notice that I made a mistake on my to-do list, that’s when I fix it, reprioritize, and get started.
3. Change your identity if you want to change your behavior
“Until you have an emotional reward for doing the hard things,” Bilyeu explains, “doing the things you said you were going to do, you’re not going to stick, you need those emotional rewards and punishments to see it through.”
A simple but powerful way to create a new identity is by telling yourself: “I’m the type of person that…” For the blank, fill in whatever behavior or habit you want to create. For instance, in 2017 I started getting up at 5:00 a.m. at the latest. I told myself — and continue to tell myself — that “I’m the type of person that wakes up at 5 a.m., meditates, and then goes to work with passion and fire in his belly.” It sounds like a cliche, but it actually works. Getting up early is something I identify with now, after only doing it for a couple of months. Note: before this year I considered myself an evening person, not a morning person. It goes to show how much of our identity depends on the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
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