It was just yesterday that I read the heart-warming story of Svante Myrick, the 28-year-old mayor of Ithaca New York.

Being mayor of a mid-sized American city like Ithaca – which is home to Ivy League Cornell University – is no paltry feat. He’s the city’s youngest and first African American mayor since its naming in 1804. But what made his story particularly appealing to me was the fact that this notable achiever used to be homeless.

Myrick was born into lack and misery, and while growing up in New York, poverty kept him company. As a recent upworthy.com profile on him revealed, “After he was born, his mother came home from the hospital to find a red eviction notice tacked to the door. The family slipped in and out of homelessness, living in shelters and spending a few nights sleeping in the car.”

They had to make do with food stamps from the government and free food, shelter and other services from nonprofit organizations like mine.

The future must have looked so bleak for Myrick. Understanding human nature, it is not hard to imagine how some callous individuals must have mocked and maltreated his family. Sadly, some humans tend to cast every poor family in the descriptive dungeon of indolence and ignorance.

But Myrick’s single mother was hard working. She worked a number of jobs to raise her four kids. And the harder she worked, the harder it was for her to make ends meet. Given the living conditions of the family then, it is safe to say there was nothing to suggest Myrick would one day be an alumnus of Cornell University and mayor of Ithaca.

Look at him now – a resplendent reference point in personal transformation. I won’t be surprised if he occupies an elective position in Washington DC in the near future.

His current and future success is traceable to an early realization that change doesn’t grow effortlessly like weeds. He must have realized he had to take his future by storm. What informed my conclusion? He set his eyes on Cornell University and worked four jobs to fund his education there. In my dictionary, that’s called DETERMINATION.

Determination is gender, race, creed, height, weight and social status neutral. Anybody anywhere can be as determined as Myrick – and his is the kind of determination that propels positive action. Positive action is like a good seed planted on the good soil of determination.

So, this year, make sure you always wear your determination hat and never forget that determination without meaningful effort is empty.
Jesse Owens put it best thus, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

I agree. Do you? Let’s go. 

The year 2015 is over. Ok, I get it, your mind is telling you there are still three weeks left to tidy up loose ends. Maybe, you are thinking of working harder to complete one or two small projects in your organization. Maybe, you want to take advantage of the discounts brick and mortar and online stores are offering these days. Or maybe, you don’t want to miss the last minute opportunity to donate generously to nonprofits around you that are actually touching and transforming lives.

That’s all fine and good. But, please, in all you do in what is left of 2015, do not forget to take proper stock of the receding year – and truthfully score yourself (A, B or C). Also, make it an utmost priority to take clear-sighted aim at the incoming one. Philosopher and theologian Søren Aabye Kierkegaard put it nicely thus: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” And that’s true.

Looking back at the three hundred and something days that have passed, what would you say are the most remarkable accomplishments you made? Will they matter to people in your community three to five years from now? Are the accomplishments all about you or have they really lifted up others (especially the less fortunate)? Your stock taking will help you find the right answers – which will in turn help you zero in on your 2016 goals.

There is a good reason many employers look at past performance when making important hiring decisions. Past performance tells them the candidate can produce results in the future. Though there is no guarantee the candidate would, it helps to predicate a view of the future on an understanding of the past. If you like, call it the asparagus mentality (because you plant asparagus once and it brings you yearly fruit for up to 20 years or more) but people should always be judged by their actions. Or as the good book rightly says, you shall know them by their fruits. Yes! Your good fruits tell the best story of your efforts in 2015. 

So, is it wise for able-bodied and liberty-enjoying individuals who cannot lay their fingers on two or three enduring achievements they made in 2015 to spend many hours on self-gifting holiday shopping? Don’t get me wrong, they shouldn’t go on hunger strike or turn themselves into hermits just because they didn’t perform well, but they shouldn’t “high-five” themselves either. They should take stock, and take aim – like the achievers. 

Since you’ve read up to this point, let me assume you made three or more palpable achievements in 2015. Commendations for that. Let me also assume that you don’t want to decline or depreciate. Rather, you want to go up; you want to record more achievements in 2016. But big and enduring accomplishments are hardly impromptu. They don’t just happen in a vacuum or fall like snow in winter. They happen because people strongly desire, carefully plan and painstakingly work toward them. 

What do you want to accomplish starting January 1 2016? What are your goals? I suggest you write them down. There is no need creating a fanciful and long-winded list. Three to five goals will do. Make sure they are not fuzzy dreams. Make sure they will lift you and others up. Make sure you start working on them now. 

Meanwhile, best of the holiday season to you. If you live in metro Detroit, feel free to join us in lifting people up at our free admission Christmas party happening at 3606 East Forest Street Detroit from 11am to 2pm on Friday December 11. Merry Christmas!