When I was in college, I worked part time doing clerical work in a farm implement shop. It was a fairly benign job most of the year.<\/p>\n
Then December rolled around and I was sent to a dark cavern where the dusty parts bins were housed. It was my version of being sent to Siberia.<\/p>\n
My assignment was to count the contents of each bin. It took a couple of weeks to complete and I often wept as I inventoried the metal objects housed in the bins.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s common for businesses to do an end of the year inventory to see where they\u2019re at. Even if your business doesn’t have an inventory of products or parts to count, it’s a valuable exercise.<\/p>\n
I faithfully do so myself, but it\u2019s far more pleasant than counting tractor parts.\u00a0My inventory only requires a journal, a pen and some thoughtful time answering the following questions.<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What can you do now that you couldn\u2019t do (or hadn\u2019t done) at the start of the year?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 Where have you been that you hadn\u2019t been a year ago?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What have you learned?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What problems have you solved?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What has inspired you?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 How have you celebrated?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What investments have you made in yourself?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What new profit centers have you created? Launched?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What new books have you read?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What new connections have you made?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What did you instigate?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 Which of your ideas are coming to life?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What are you proudest of?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 Where have you made the most progress?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What disappointments have you overcome?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What unexpected gifts appeared?<\/p>\n
\u00b0 What would you like more of next year? Less of?<\/p>\n
For me, the real purpose of taking inventory is to answer the question, “Are you living in a bigger world than you were when the year began?” How I honestly answer that question determines my journey for the year ahead.<\/p>\n
As Alex Haley, author of Roots<\/em><\/strong>, reminded us, “The person who doesn’t know where they’re coming from, can’t know where they’re going.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I was in college, I worked part time doing clerical work in a farm implement shop. It was a fairly benign job most of the year. Then December rolled around and I was sent to a dark cavern where the dusty parts bins were housed. It was my version of being sent to Siberia….<\/p>\n