DON'T WAIT FOR Jan 1st. Improve NOW!

Not enough time goes by before I hear myself say "I don't have time to..."
The blank after that sentence could literally be anything:
*Not enough time to train
*Not enough time to work on this project
*Not enough time to promote my business

...The list is endless. No one really cares how good you are at your craft, how well you've mastered the quadrants or how many titles you've racked. If you're not making a daily conscious effort to get better every single day, you're not thriving, you're sinking slowly.

It's not even about the experience and the capital your dog training career brings you. How are you better this year?
What will be the one thing you accomplished at the end of this year? Don't measure your success in terms of finances, although that's a big part, because finances could just mean your marketing efforts were better this year. How are you ending the year? Are you the same dog trainer you were last year? Are your communication skills the same as they were last year? Are you progressing on a yearly basis?

Have you read any books? Attended any seminars? Learned from new trainers? Or are you still convinced you know everything?

Let's talk finances now. Are you making any significant progress? Are you on your way to getting better? Are you expanding yourself as a person?
One of the scariest things a person can experience is to work very hard doing something they love only to realize they can no longer afford to do that anymore. What will you do if you have an injury that puts you out of commission? 

As a person, I hope you're putting effort in expanding your horizons. Pick up a new skill, learn something new. 
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"But I don't have time!". BULLSHIT! You do have time. You don't have priorities. 

Don't worry if you feel like you've wasted this year. There's always tomorrow, at least for  most of us. Because you really can't guarantee that either. So don't wait till January 1st. Fuck a new year's resolution, start now. Get that loan! Sign up for that class or that seminar, go talk to those referral sources, do whatever needs to be done.

​Oh and quit hating on people who are making it, and if you're making it, quit rubbing it in the faces of people who aren't. Trust  me, this is a personal journey for everyone. You shouldn't be competing against others, the competition is with yourself.

This is just a thought that popped in my mind. Not a rant, not useful or informational, just a reminder (for me mostly) that dog training is just like any other career, it can get stagnant.