Hey Slacker, I mean Visionary, I mean Bestie!!

Have you ever pondered setting 100-year goals? I know, it sounds like a stretch, but bear with me.

Last year I signed up for Michael Hyatt’s “Your Best Year Ever” workshop to kick off the year with intention. It was great, and I’m now a total convert to the Full Focus Planner. And that’s after years upon years of Moleskines!! But . . .

I wonder if setting 1-year goals is just too . . . short-sighted.

Imagine the shift in mindset when you think beyond the immediate quarter or fiscal year. Or 3-10 years.

A century-long vision pivots how you plan and measure progress, regardless of your stage in life, your career, or your business.

It's like the Grand Canyon. It’s really a marvel isn’t it? Proof that steady, consistent actions can carve through the hardest rock. That's the power of the long-term. Things get accomplished . . . but somehow the pressure and anxiety just fades away.

A few things on my 100 year goal list:

• Complete and utter financial freedom to do what I want, when I want, the way I want
• To have a business that provides so much value that people seek it out, rather than one that has to promote to find customers; one that demands we grow to meet the demand.
• To be walking, upright (not hunched over) with a spring in my step
• To travel 3-6 months out of the year
• To be fluent in at least one additional language

What are yours?

That second one of mine brings me to the thing I’m more excited about than anything else I’ve ever done. At least so far.

Background: All this AI stuff struck terror in me last year. 😱 The first time I used ChatGPT, I thought the jig was up. I’m serious, it was existential for me.

But here we are a year later and I’ve learned that ChatGPT is really really really awesome at being reductive, shallow, and spewing general stuff we kinda already know. It’s not an innovator, at least not yet. It’s a parrot. It’s a child that repeats what it hears without knowing what it means. It needs to be taught.

I honestly think it’s getting dumber. But that’s our fault – well not you and me – but other people. They ask it dumb questions and accept dumb answers. And so it cements its confirmation bias.

But, for you and me, it really doesn’t have to be. We just need to be smarter about how we use it.

And this is why I'm incredibly bullish on the necessity of a person and business to have a messaging playbook. We’ve quietly been building these for clients for years. Sometimes for our own purposes, sometimes to deliver to them for them to use. But truth be told, the playbooks weren’t always used as consistently as we hoped. And they were static. They didn’t change as the competitive landscape changed. They’re not useful when they gather dust on your desk or remain an unread PDF on your computer.

Don’t get wrong, we have some star clients that use it for everything. We love you! You know who you are!

But in my fantasy, I always envisioned a way we could make the playbooks more modular, more dynamic, and more responsive. A real tool to use at the moment a communication is being generated.

Now, finally, AI to the rescue! A messaging playbook is the perfect plug-in to take ANY AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Jasper, etc.) and make it unique to you or your company. And to make it smart.

We’ve been experimenting with transforming messaging playbooks into foundational training tools for Language Learning Models (LLMs).

The goal? To ensure that content creators across your company can 'sing the same tune'. This consistent messaging is like a river shaping the landscape – gradual, yet undeniable in its impact. Like the Grand Canyon.

Consider the messaging playbook as THE cornerstone for constructing an enduring brand.

Reality is created in language.

What you say – to yourself, to others – in thought and deed . . . is what becomes real.

Consistent narratives are what transform companies into legends. Every now iconic brand started as a little thing, struggling to survive. Their iconic status came from them becoming known for something.

And that didn’t happen without communicating something consistently over time.

So, here’s a challenge:

What do you want to be known for in 100 years? How do you start toward that right now?

Here’s an idea: aim to craft messaging – for you, or your company – that will be revered in a century. Every word, every action, every campaign should add to a lasting narrative.

What now?

What's Your 100-Year Goal?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What would change in your approach if you set 100-year goals? Do you see how a messaging playbook can shape your long-term legacy?

Let's start a conversation about turning short-term wins into long-term legacies. (And I’m serious about the conversation part. If you’re interested, join my brand spanking new (free) Slack channel so we can make this a two-way thing).

Thanks for reading to the end! Let's build something that lasts longer than 2024.