In the December 8 message, Your Presence is Showing, I challenged you to identify a characteristic or trait by which you wanted to be known by the end of 2015. Did you do it? Hopefully you gave it some thought. Now it’s time to be specific and name it. This is important because once you identify something to achieve, your brain naturally begins to pursue it. Your creativity, innovation and problem solving are focused on fulfilling what you singled out.

But here’s the catch: it’s got to be more than a wish or preference. In fact, it has to be more than a goal—an intellectual task that you or someone else conjured up. A simple wish or goal will not be enough to overcome all the obstacles and I-don’t-feel-like-it moments.

It has to be directly associated with a personal aspiration that you have; located deep in your core. It’s where the source of your motivation originates. It will carry you through the challenges and give you the perseverance to pursue something you consider important—an aspiration that matters to you. If you can’t connect it to your inner purpose, you push it away from your gut and into your head—where it devolves into a nice thought with no grit.

So, again I ask: how do you want to be known by the end of 2015? You will likely select something you want to be more of or something you have already been developing. It doesn’t have to be something new.

This is a perfect way to open 2015. So do it.