Happy New Year! I hope you've had a great rest and are all geared up with your 2017 goals.

Setting goals rather than new year resolutions is a better way to ensure you actually achieve them.

Take it a step further and plan out how you'll reach those goals in 90-day sprints, and you've got yourself a nice little success plan to ensure 2017 is your year.

But, if you're anything like me (and I'm guessing you are a little, otherwise why would you be reading this?!), then you need a little extra help to keep you focused and motivated to stay on task, to keep on top of those 2017 goals.

And that's where I've found these books will help. They will help you to keep on top of your 2017 goals and they will also help you stay focused and inspired when the going gets tough.

It's so easy to lose focus, so all the extra help we can get is appreciated, right?

2017 Goals: 5 Books to Keep You Focused

#1: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic is my go-to book when I'm feeling a bit ‘meh' and in need of a quick pick-me-up, particularly if I'm feeling a little lackluster about my business and the direction I'm heading in.Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert challenges us to embrace our curiosity, tackle what we most love and face down what we most fear.

Whether you long to write a book, create art, cope with challenges at work, embark on a long-held dream, or simply to make your everyday life more vivid and rewarding, Big Magic will take you on a journey of exploration filled with wonder and unexpected joys.”

Here's just a few things you'll find inside this beautiful book:

  • How to find courage
  • How to be enchanted
  • Permission to be creative
  • Persistence is key
  • Trusting in yourself and the process

I'm a huge fan of her previous non-fiction books too. Eat Pray Love is one of the best stories you can read if you're facing tough life decisions.

#2: The Success Principles (How to get from where you are to where you want to be) by Jack Canfield

The Success Principles book should be permanently on your reading list. This is the book I turn to when I'm feeling a little lost, even though I have a plan.The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

Jack has an entire coaching program based off the principles he teaches in this book, and I know quite a few people personally who have read this book and gone on to lead amazing lives… Forrest Willet and Donna Kater, I'm looking at you!

If you need a wake-up call, or just a roadmap for how to be successful and you're ready to get really honest with yourself, then you'll love this book.

A couple of chapters I recommend you read included:

  • Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life
  • Practice Persistence
  • Clean up Your Messes and Your Incompletes
  • Face What Isn't Working
  • Just Say No!

If you read these chapters only, you'll feel 10 times better than if you hadn't — trust me!

#3: Getting Things Done (the art of stress-free productivity) by David Allen

Getting Things Done was a major life-saver for me in 2016, and it's one that I refer back to often, to make sure I'm not self-sabotaging my productivity by trying to do ALL. THE. THINGS!Getting Things Done by David Allen

If you struggle with being productive, have a to-do list that is more than your arm long, then you need to read this book.

The great thing about Getting Things Done is that you can incorporate this into your own system.

Must-read chapters?

  • Getting Control of Your Life: The Five Stages of Mastering Workflow
  • Getting Projects Creatively Underway: The Five Phases of Project Planning

Once you understand these concepts and strategies, it's easy to implement what you learn here.

Productivity is a major focus for me in 2017, because if you're not productive doing the right tasks, then you'll get more of the same.

#4: Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential by Dr. Carol S. Dweck

Mindset by Carol S. DweckStruggling with mindset? Do you have an inner voice like my Neville, who you know is only trying to help, but “Oi with the poodles already!”

You can have all the skills, products, and plans in place that you want, but if your mind isn't on the same page, ie, positive and in a “I got this” frame of mind, then you'll find yourself taking two steps forwards and one step back.

I did this for the first two years of being in business for myself. And I couldn't understand why! Until I read Mindset.

I'll admit, it's a little hard to read, but if you can get past the first couple of chapters and jump straight to Chapters 4 & 5, you'll thank me 🙂

Chapter 4 is my favourite: Sports: The Mindset of a Champion.

This chapter is one I turn to when Neville is getting a little too loud and I know that I've got the skills, I just need to show Neville that too 😉

#5: The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 6am by Hal Elrod

I've actually got a couple of versions of this book, because Hal has written books for specific careers, such as The Miracle Morning for Writers (which I have) and The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs (which I'm currently reading).The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

If you're not a morning person, now's the time to change that. ANYONE can be a morning person, you just have to want success bad enough.

And we all want that, right? After all, you can sleep all you want once you're financially free!

The Miracle Morning book literally walks you through how to be a morning person and then what to do in the morning to set your day up for success.

Here's some chapters you might find useful to read straight away:

  • The five-step snooze-proof wake-up strategy (for all the snooze-aholics)
  • The six-minute Miracle Morning (real results in six minutes)
  • Customizing your Miracle Morning to fit your lifestyle and achieve your biggest goals and dreams

I've always been a morning person, so I'll admit, this wasn't a difficult thing for me to do. But what it did do for me is help me master a morning routine that is all about clearing my mind and doing the things I love rather than opening emails first thing.

If there's just one book you read in 2017, this should be it. It will literally change your life.

There are, of course, more than these five books to help you stay focused on your 2017 goals, but rather than list a whole bunch more, which will only distract you, I want you to pick at least two from this list and then add another three, so that you have your own top five books to read in 2017.

Staying focused on your 2017 goals will ensure you achieve them. Making goals is easy — following through and focusing on them is the hard part.

Make a plan to ensure you take action, read, learn and implement so that 2017 is your best year ever!

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Lise Cartwright
Lise Cartwright

Founder of Hustle & Groove and your creative business strategist. If you want to get notified of new posts just like the ones you see here, then make sure you join the awesome H & G community — Join Now!

    2 replies to "The 5 Books That Will Keep You Focused on Your 2017 Goals"

    • Nicole Reid

      I loved Big Magic and I saw Mindset in a coworker’s cubicle. Thank you for sharing. I am definitely going to check these out!

      • Lise Cartwright

        You’re so welcome Nicole. I think Big Magic is a must-read for anyone who wants to lead a more meaningful life. Mindset is awesome, well worth pushing through the first few chapters! Enjoy!

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