SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR

YOUR
BEST
YEAR
YET BY ALLAN MCKAY
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................ii

INTRODUCTION .......................................................... page 1

FINDING YOUR PURPOSE .....................................pages 2-4

YOUR 90-DAY YEAR..............................................pages 5-6

CREATING MASS OPPORTUNITY ..........................pages 7-8

JUMPING ON NEW TRENDS ................................ pages 9-10

FRONT LOADING YOUR PAY RAISE ................. pages 11-12

MASTERING A NEW SKILL................................ pages 13-14

YOUR SOCIAL CAPITOL ................................... pages 15-16

SELF-AUDIT 2017 ............................................ pages 17-19

BREAKING BAD HABITS .......................................... page 20

CONCLUSION............................................................ page 21

ii
 INTRODUCTION
For many of us, we want to make massive aren’t willing to put in the work, you aren’t going
changes. We want the success we see others to get the results. But if you are willing to put in
have. But it’s hard to connect the dots that what an hour per day and get out of your comfort
works for others, could work for us. Or that in a zone -- even just a little bit in the beginning --
creative industries such as Visual Effects, you are going to see results, and those results
Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, will snowball.
or even the tools others use might even apply.
The steps, exercises and tools listed throughout
“Networking” is such a stale word. When I hear it, this Guide are the result of thousands of hours
I think of two people at a party in suits asking of failure over the past two decades, to come up
each other what they do with fake smiles and with many of the successes and results built
even more sense of fake interest on their faces. into this system. More so, they have been
When I hear the words “New Year’s Resolutions”, validated and proven through the results of
I think of people signing up for a gym many students who have put in the time and
membership they’re going to let lay dormant for applied these tools to their own careers. Trust in
the entire year. the system, do the work, double down on the
results that work for you and most importantly
But it’s even EASIER to use those mindsets to START NOW -- not tomorrow!
downplay ever wanting to make change in the
first place, using the excuse “none of those Lastly, to make this stick, I have created a series of
things work” to validate never even trying in the videos to accompany this Guide, as well as a
first place. wealth of other information. I believe in total
immersion, so listening to the Podcast episodes,
This Guide is your path to setting yourself up watching the actionable videos that compliment
for big changes NOW and making massive this Guide, as well as the video tutorials and other
impact in your career, life -- and getting you on exercises, this will completely immerse you in the
track for getting the success that you want! training and get the maximum results -- and let
“Success” is another word that when I hear - it’s you benefit from these concepts no matter
usually accompanied by various woo-woo whether you’re sitting on the couch, listening at
concepts. But this Guide is completely the gym or watching on the train to work. This is
actionable, and more so it needs to be your chance to level up your skills and to really
actionable, and measurable. Because without make this your Best Year Yet!
taking action, and without seeing results, we
can’t see progress and it’s easy for us to go back Download the videos, exercises, and video
to those initial excuses we set up. tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY
by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/
But for you to make change, it requires MAKING
CHANGE and this is your one precursor. If you - Allan McKay

SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR

DOWNLOAD EVERYTHING

YOUR BEST BELOW AND GET STARTED!

YEAR YET SIGN UP

BY ALLAN MCKAY

G E T T H E C O M P L E T E E - B O O K G U I D E , 1 0 V I D E O L E S S O N S , 3 T U TO R I A L S , A N D M O R E !
1
 FINDING YOUR PURPOSE
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCAST ON THIS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

Let’s talk about something really important: If By having that goal, it gives you a moral
your goals don’t align with what you’re doing -- compass. In other words, by having this ultimate
then you are in a lot of trouble. goal, it allows you to have that gut feeling if
things are working for you.
SOME DAY GOALS
It’s critical to think about Some Day Goals, the Let’s say you’re working in a different industry and
goals you would want to achieve 5 years from doing well in your career. You may feel you’re
now. It gives you your direction: It’s your True successful but you want to direct your first
North, the ultimate way you’re heading. feature. By having your Some Day Goal, you’ll
start to think about whether your
A lot of us are too scared to go after our dreams accomplishments are getting you any closer to
because: your bigger goals. It should be easy to make that
• We don’t have the courage to say it out loud. decision.
• We’re afraid of being judged.
• We aren’t sure these goals are even possible. One of my friends, who was one of the first 30
employees at Facebook wrote a book about that
If that’s the case, our inner critic will get in the way experience and what he’d learned. He talked about
of achieving things like owning your own studio, Mark Zuckerberg always talking about “that ONE
making your own film or a game, becoming a goal”. For Facebook, that one goal -- was growth.
millionaire, etc. A lot of us rule these things out By having that one goal, it meant that any
without giving them a try. By having a Some Day suggestion that got made would get measured
Goal, it takes the pressure off. against it. By having that laser focus, everything
has to align with it closer and closer.

2
ELIMINATING DISTRACTIONS
With all the infinite options, it’s so easy to get
distracted. I’ve done a Podcast on my big Year of
No (www.allanmckay.com/100/). During that year,
it came down to having a gut feeling about new
jobs aligning with what I wanted to do. When I had
all these big opportunities, it surprised me how
quickly I would realize that I had to turn them
down. There was a week when I turned down
work at Scanline VFX and Digital Domain, all in the
span of one week. Out of nowhere, I said yes to a
car commercial. The very next day, a friend called
with a great opportunity that I couldn’t take on. By
letting my guard down, I ended up saying yes to
something that wasn’t right for me in the long run.

As long as you’ve got your path, you will have a

sense of certainty. And because there is no
urgency to accomplish something in 6 years, you
know you’re inching your way closer to the big
goal. On the horizon, there is land. You just have to
keep paddling.

TODAY IS THE DAY!

By having a Some Day Goal, you can then set a
5-Year Plan. Then, you can set a 3-Year Plan, a
1-Year Plan. Finally, you can then take a look at
Today’s Plan. If there is not a single thing you’re
doing TODAY that’s getting you closer to your
Some Day Goal -- then you need to make a
change. As of TODAY, you need to start changing

3
your direction!
It’s not an easy thing to say these things out loud
-- but it starts with that. You have to be able to Think about what you’re doing. Think about the
speak about your Some Day Goals out loud -- plans you have already -- and whether those
and you need to start that TODAY! It doesn’t align with your goals NOW.
mean that you start making rash decisions like
quitting your job and risking your career.
This is the most crucial and the hardest part: You
• You can take your time transitioning. must decide what you want to ultimately achieve.
• Or, you can work some overtime right now and Think about what excites and interests you. If you
then take time off to work on your Some Day could do that for the rest of your life, would it feel
Goal. (I talk about the 3-6-3 Mindset: like work? Better yet, if you didn’t have to work,
www.allanmckay.com/16/: Into 6 months, you what would you be doing every day?
can condense a year’s worth of work.)
• When you take a vacation, you can work on your JUST DO IT!
future goals and create opportunities for yourself. Put in the time toward that Some Day Goal right
now. But you need to answer the main questions:
Again, you don’t have to make drastic changes
right away. One year from now, you may want to 1. Are you heading in the right direction?
be in a different career. If that’s the case: AND
• What are the steps you need to take TODAY to 2. What are the key steps you have to take?
make that happen?
• Who are the people you need to get to know? Most people to this day still don’t know what
• What are the skills you need to learn? defines them. If you’re not doing what really

4
• What are the experiences you need to get on drives you, cut out the talking about it -- and
your resume? start doing it!
 YOUR 90-DAY YEAR
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

One thing I’ve talked about is your Some Day enough that you can take on new opportunities. If
Goals and about being able to align yourself with you have these big grandiose goals but set them
those. By having that compass, you can check if due within a year, you lose the urgency. Later on
what you’re doing is getting you closer that goal. in the year, you forget about your goal. In the final
What are you doing TODAY? stretch (which is October - December), you realize
you haven’t accomplished your goal. That’s how
One of the big things is: What is your 5-, 3- and New Year’s Resolutions happen.
1-Year plan? Do that right now: Write down what
could do realistically within a year, to get you
Instead when you make a 90-Day Goal the word
closer to your goal?
that resonates -- is URGENCY. For example, if your
goal is to get 3 more clients by the end of the year,
RETHINK THE 1-YEAR GOAL that’s too low! You wouldn’t really be
When you set a 1-Year Goal, you may either get
accomplishing much. But if you set out to get 12
distracted during the year and lose focus -- or
new clients, not only it’s a great thing, but it
miss out on new opportunities. On the other hand,
changes how you think about it. Even if you fail at
managing weekly goals is too short of a
getting 12 clients -- and get 5 clients instead -- it’s
turnaround.
going to be a higher threshold.

Your 1-Year Goals could be:

• To get more clients. That’s exactly what we’re doing here. Instead of
• To earn more money. setting a 1-Year Goal, you’re trying to accomplish
• To become a Supervisor. something in 3 MONTHS. You’re condensing
• To gain on-set experience. down these massive changes. Even if you don’t
accomplish everything in 3 months, you’re going
I started thinking about blocking out 30-Day routines. A to get a lot more done in 3 months than you
month is long enough that you can do a lot; but short would’ve done in 6 months.

5
CREATE YOUR 90-DAY GOALS
STEP 1: With your 90 days, think about your
1-Year Goals. Write down EVERYTHING that you
want to get done. What are the things that you
need to get done? Make sure you’re writing down
the pivotal stuff that’s going to change your life.
If you focus on the end results, it’s going to be the
big catalyst.

STEP 2: Google the number for each week: Week

45, week 46, etc. Figure out where you are at each
week. Start to figure out what you need to do each
week to accomplish the 90-Day Goals. Mapping
things out by weeks allows you to focus on
pivotal things.

STEP 3: Every single week, work on those goals.

Anything you don’t accomplish in a week, move it
to next week. Bit by bit, you’re moving forward. But
you’re not getting bogged down by the fine print.

THE KEYWORD: URGENCY!

The whole point is that by having everything
planned out as a big picture and then broken
down into smaller bits, you’re able to inch your
way forward overall and see the progress every
single week. By doing that, you’re not taking on
too much or too little. When your plan is 90-Day
Goals, you have a sense of URGENCY.

• Can you cut a new reel? Yes!

• Can you learn a new software package? Yes!
• Can you get a job that launches your dream
career? Yes!
• Most importantly: Can you accomplish all of
these things at once? FUCK YEAH!

6
 CREATING MASS OPPORTUNITY
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

Given the fact that it is the end of the year, you happen. That puts you in great position especially
already have an excuse to go out with the bang: when you’re inviting:
to network and celebrate the year being done. • Studio owners;
Here is your opportunity to instigate it: Throw a • Studio managers;
Christmas party! • Other VFX artists.

Some of you may instantly react to this by saying, If you look at bartenders: Inside of the bar, the
“I’m shy” or “That’s not my thing.” All it takes is bartender is the center of attention. In that
telling people, “I’m going to be at this bar at this position, there is a power shift. It’s the same when
time, let’s hang out.” It doesn’t need to be this you are the organizer of the party.
complicated thing that involves event
management. There is already a Christmas angle Same goes for a networking party. This gives you
this time of year. You’ll get more people just a chance to get yourself outside of your comfort
because people are already out and about. zone, get to work the room and meet people you
wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to meet. You
are the center of attention.
BECOME THE GO-TO PERSON
The point of this is that you’re positioning
yourself at the center of it all. You become the
authority because you’re the one who made it all

7
PLAN A KICKASS PARTY WHEN NETWORKING BECOMES FUN
You can go further than just inviting people for drinks. Going back and forth, all of a sudden the even
becomes larger. Take these easy steps:
STEP 1: All you have to do is set up a Facebook • Announce on Facebook Group.
Group and invite a bunch of people. Ask people to • Get a headcount.
share this invite at their studios. It’s a good • Get a space locked down.
excuse! All of sudden, you have a good number of • Go back to the bar to communicate that headcount.
people showing up just from that invitation alone. • Get a bar tab.

STEP 2: You can then call up the bar and tell them The more the event grows, the more people will
you’re going to have 30+ people showing up on attend it. Just think about that for a minute:
this day and that would be great to get reserved • You get to be the host.
tables. At a lot of places, if you can guarantee at • You get to bring industry people in.
least 30 people to show up, they’re more than • You get to work the room -- and get outside of
happy to accommodate you! your comfort zone.
• You can get people’s business cards and build
Then go back to Facebook and post this new “VIP your contacts.
Style” Table update. • You get to meet people on even ground.

STEP 3: If the event grows large enough, some A TIP: You can call up some studios ahead of
people or studios can even offer to contribute, time with a personal invitation. When you do, don’t
once they’re aware of the event. All of a sudden forget to compliment them on their work -- and to
you get a sponsored bar tab! Some bars will even wish them a Merry Christmas!
give discounts on drinks for your party because
it’s worth it for them in the end. That’s all you need to do. Word of mouth spreads
really quickly. It’s simple and effective. You’re
taking the initiative and you’re creating the event.

I hope I get invited to your party!

8
 JUMPING ON NEW TRENDS
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

If you’re looking for a way to get the upper hand • In gaming, Unity and Unreal Engine are
-- more importantly, a way to stand out in 2018 dominating right now.
-- one of the biggest things you can do is figure
out what the latest trends are. It’s about where you invest your time and become a
commodity. It’s better to add it to your toolkit now.
There is so much innovation but not enough
people to fill those seats. I’ve talked about High BE SPECIFIC WITH YOUR SKILLS
Demand -- Low Supply before: Take a look at the skill sets you already have and
www.allanmckay.com/44/. This is a chance for propose them more efficiently:
you to anticipate what the biggest things that • Instead of saying you’re a 3D Artist, call yourself
everyone is going to jump on -- and to become one a “Real Flow Water Simulation Artist who Also
of those innovators by getting ahead of the curb. Does Destruction in Thinking Particles”.
• Instead of an FX Artist, you’re a “Thinking
Take a look at Sol Rogers, the leader in Virtual Particles Destruction Artist”.
Reality: www.allanmckay.com/24/. When VR • Instead of calling yourself a Compositor, you are a “Nuke
came around, most people thought it was cool. Compositor with Plenty of Stereoscopic Experience”.
But Sol was able to make it his focus and get in on
the ground floor. It’s so easy to take a look at what Use the keywords that answer the questions
is coming up and what the jobs are starting to get ahead of time. This will make you resonate
posted a lot (in specific software, for example). more. In addition, when you interview with HR,
they will recognize those key words. You can then
IDENTIFY UPCOMING TRENDS bypass a lot of red tape.
You have to think ahead: What are the upcoming
trends? For example: By niching down, you’re going to stand out and
• 3DS 2018 has Bifrost. That is Maya’s Fluids. This that makes you resonate the most.
tool became public a few weeks ago.

9
START BRANDING YOUR STAND OUT
SPECIAL SKILLS There are a lot of new tools and platforms coming
Look at what’s coming up, what innovations are out. This is your chance to get into that space.
coming around the corner. Look at the ways you (Listen to my interview with Bay Raitt on VR
can stand out. It is really important to find that! comics: www.allanmckay.com/102/.)

• Go to the job boards and see what people are For you, right now might be a chance to stand out
posting the most. and gain a lot of traction. It’s worth putting in the
• Look at what the new tools are time knowing what nobody else is doing. You can
being announced right now by later apply that traction to other areas.
every company. Decide which
ones have the most potential. You can even tackle it at a micro level: Ask your
• Put out some tutorials on Studio Manager about what tools they’re looking
these new tools and become into. They may be looking to hire a water
visible. By doing that, you’re specialist. Offer to learn that in your spare time.
positioning yourself as an authority. (They may even offer to pay for a course for you.)
That would solidify your place in the company.
You want to be identified with that new thing. Become Scripting has always been a tool like that. It
cross-associated with it. That’s powerful branding. makes you irreplaceable because you’re doing
something no one else can do.

10
 FRONT LOADING YOUR PAY RAISE
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIAL AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

One of the big things we all think is: “Next year, I painting a roadmap to getting more money. It’s
want to get more money!” If you have a full-time job, the simplest thing in the world!
it’s harder to get those pay raises. If you are a
freelancer, it’s a lot more simple to step up your rates. Some people think that the only way to getting a
pay raise is get a new job offer and then come
TAKE THE INITIATIVE back to their current employer with threats to
This is a perfect opportunity to take the initiative leave for a place that pays them better. That’s
to take things into your own hands: negative behavior and no employer wants to deal
• You can go to your boss right now and talk about with that. The worst thing is to burn bridges.
investing yourself into the studio.
• Mention wanting to supervise down the line. Instead, you can go in and tell the employer that
(Mention whatever goals you have.) you love your job and you want to improve. Take
• Discuss your performance this year. the further steps:
• Talk about where you can do better to become a • Make sure to repeat that list of mentioned
more valuable asset to the team. improvements back.
• Ask about areas where you should improve • Schedule another review 3 months from then --
(better communication skills, leadership skills, etc.) and do a follow-up.

The point of that is to learn how to do your job STEP IT UP

better. Every employer wants to hear that! Then you just have to go DO it! If you go get new
skills and become more valuable, they will want
Whatever it might be -- lighting or compositing -- you to get even more skills later on. But you have
by getting that skill, you will become more to prove to them that you’re interested in being a
valuable. By simply having that meeting with leader. In those three months, crush it! Do more of
your employer, you’re taking a step toward what the employer wants.

11
Make sure to document it all. Every single time contract when you’re getting hired:
someone praises your work, ask them to shoot an • You can negotiate a 5K raise every three months.
email to the boss. Document this on your end as • You can negotiate to have a once-a-month lunch
well. When that follow-up review comes us, you with a Senior VFX Supervisor. By doing that, you’re
can mention all of that improvement. Promise to getting face time with a valuable person in the
continue working hard. company and you’ll get more included in things, in
the long run.

RINSE AND REPEAT (Listen to my Podcast on Negotiating Creatively:

All you’re doing is a relay: www.allanmckay.com/64/.)
• Ask what you need to do.
• Go do it. You have to start thinking longterm. Just doing
• If you accomplish that list, ask for more good work is one thing. Negotiating the
feedback. spotlight to be on you -- that’s how you’re able to
• Go do that again. insure you get maximum growth.
• Then you can ask for more of a Supervisor
responsibility -- and therefore a Supervisor’s pay! As a freelancer, all you have to do is raise your
rates on every new job. If you’re doing repeat work
with one client, you can change your rate to keep
This is a really simple concept: If you want more
a healthy relationship. You can negotiate it down
money, ask for more responsibility. Ask for your
to their target rate but make sure that they are
employer to groom you. The money comes as a
aware that it’s a pay cut for you.
no-brainer with that.

Don’t ever be afraid to negotiate: The negotiating

Start thinking bigger. Think more strategically:
part happens at the first point of resistance.
What makes your irreplaceable to the team? By
putting a deadline on it, you’re positioning yourself A TIP: In the meantime, keep improving:
for another review over and over. • Cut a new reel every 6 months.
• Ramp up your skill level.
A NOTE ON NEGOTIATING • Advertise your growth every time you come back
You can even negotiate those reviews into your to a studio.

12
 MASTERING A NEW SKILL
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

We’ve all heard about the 10,000 hours to learn a

IDENTIFY THE WHY
new language or master any skill. Investing an hour a Why do we learn something? We do it to obtain a
day for 90 days allows for a growth spurt. But there is new skill set to apply in our life, to have something
another way: by total immersion. By fully immersing fulfilling outside of our work. That’s the key thing:
yourself, you can learn at an accelerated rate. Think about WHY you want to learn.

You can chose to do the minimum: When you go

SET THE BAR HIGH
The important thing is to have the bar set high. If
study at a university, it’s the curriculum is set at the
you set it too high, you’ll have to adjust it. If you set
minimum pace of what’s expected out of you. But if it too low, you won’t push yourself hard enough.
you’re a champion -- if you want to achieve more --
you’re going to set the bar higher and you’re going For example, rather than following a tutorial,
to have a sense of urgency. create your own shot. That way you meet your
own challenges and learn how to overcome them.
That’s why in my Courses, I encourage my
students to create their own stuff:

• It gets them more noticed because their footage

stands out.
• They’re learning to meet their own challenges.

13
THERE IS ALWAYS ENOUGH TIME! Just by getting up an hour earlier, you get so
much accomplished. This is important! People set
A lot of people say they don’t have enough time.
their own curriculum. It doesn’t mean you can’t
That’s why I’ve put together The Productive
have a different momentum, a sense of urgency.
Artist. What you’re really saying, “I am making an
excuse for why I’m not going to learn this new
skill”. Once you have learned to manage your time CRUSH IT!
better, what would you do with that extra time? • Achieve total immersion.
Reinvest it in yourself! • Have a sense of urgency.
• Have high expectations of yourself.
There are so many ways to find extra time. If • Get out of your comfort zone.
you’re able to invest 1 hour a day, it amounts to • Put the new skill toward something. Have an
4% per month. If you commit one hour per day for end game!
90 days, you can condense 1-2 years of learning
into that period just by pure momentum. This is Making time is the easy part. It’s up to you what

14
an investment within yourself. you do with that free time.
 YOUR SOCIAL CAPITAL
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

Networking, or having solid ability to can aspire to have a bigger network and more

communicate with other people, is the most successful people in it. But what you currently

important skill that you could have. You should have -- your friends, colleagues, people in your

be able to walk into any room -- be it a conference life -- is your social network right now!

or a Starbucks -- and be able to work that room. It

is the one thing that scared me the most my EVALUATE YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLE
entire life. As soon as I started to devote my time You should really start evaluating your circle. Start

to it, I’ve discovered more opportunities than by writing down every person in your family,

having talent could ever do! friends, as if they were part of your business:

• Who is successful?

At the same time, you don’t need to hop on a • What are the skills they have that could be useful

plane and go to some boring conference. You to you?

should be looking more internally at what you • What are your friends’ careers?

currently have and what your social capital is. You • Are you friends better at communicating/networking?

15
It may sound sleazy if you think of it in terms of would they benefit from knowing each other if you
how you can utilize your friends. You can be helped them connect? That would strengthen your
grateful for them and value them, but it’s worthwhile circle. Reach out to your friends and ask them if
to take a look at this. (It can also help you weed out they want to be introduced to beneficial parties.
negative influences from your circles.)

START THINKING: LONG TERM

This is valuable for many reasons. By doing this,
You may be thinking about the immediacy of
you will start to realize that you do have a pretty
instant gratification. But if you connect the
amazing network already that you may be taking
people who are already in your circle, you’re
for granted.
creating long-term relationships / connections.

The more you’re able to make connections for

NETWORKING IS NOT A
people that benefit them, the more you become
ONE-WAY STREET
the power connector. That means you’re someone
That’s where a lot of success happens: It’s about
everyone values and bit by bit people will start to
strengthening your current relationships.
reciprocate. Without needing to go to some
However, networking is not a one-way thing. Take
conference, you’re able to build solid connections
a look at the following:
with people. That is way more valuable because
• How would these people convey you?
the referrals that follow will be more personal.
• Are you someone who is contributing a lot to
their net worth?
• How do you measure up? ‘TIS THE SEASON!
The holiday season is a great excuse to connect
Start thinking of these valuable people and how with people and to start to reevaluate your
YOU can benefit them. There are multiple ways relationships. Find out what people do, evaluate
you could do this: on how they contribute to your life -- then
• By offering them a beneficial connection, socially evaluate how you contribute to their life. Do
or financially. whatever you can do to bring people together.
• By offering an emotional connection.
• By offering a professional advice. This is a first step to realizing you already have an
amazing network in place. The more you do this,
Look at how each relationship works and how you the more it will come back to you tenfold. Do that!
can benefit it. For example, if you have a friend Put in the time right now!
who is a writer and another who is a designer,

16
 SELF-AUDIT 2017
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

Let’s play a game! This is something I do want you STEP 1: Leverage the goals that are still worth
to write down: doing. After you take a look at the reason why
• Take a look at your year. you’ve failed to accomplish these, eliminate those
• Figure out what was working / what wasn’t.
risks. Think of the reasons why you haven’t
• Narrow down how you can apply that knowledge
accomplished these things. Put in mini goals and
to next year.
attack them with urgency.

So: 2017, on the scale of 1 to 10, how did you do?

STEP 2: Figure out why you want to accomplish
• How many goals have you accomplished? Goals these goals in the first place. If you want to get in
are valuable because they are steps to bigger goals. shape, for example, figure out what drives you to
• How many of those goals have you not make it a real goal. You have to justify why you’re
managed to achieve -- and WHY? It’s important to putting up with the punishment / sacrifice.
reflect on these reasons. These reasons might go
deep (like fear of failure or fear of success).

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED --

TRY AGAIN!
By diving deep into this, you can deconstruct the
reasons and set yourself up for success for next year.

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THE 80 / 20 PRINCIPLE
Get rid of the job that are unreliable and pay
There is a Pareto Principle that states that for
attention to those who bring in most of your
many events, roughly 80% of the effects come
income and are reliable.
from 20% of the causes. That’s something that’s
worth checking out:
STEP 2: What did you enjoy working on the most
• What were the things that made you most money?
this year? It may not have made you money, but it
• What were the things you found most enjoyable?
was a dream to work for. Those are the jobs you
want to find more of, as well.
STEP 1: If you take a look at your clients, it may
be that 80% of your clients made you 20% of your
On the flip side, what are the jobs or clients with
income. The more you grow, the more you realize
whom you hated working? Or, the experiences
that the other 20% are giving you 80% of your
that you would never want to have again?
income. This leads you to discover the clients that
you enjoy working with the most and / or that
STEP 3: Another good point to bring up: Who are
make you the most money (depending on your
the people you would conflict with? Especially when
indicators). Certain clients might be stepping up
you’re working on site with other people, there is
your career.
always going to be one person who bugs you.

If you get rid of the 80% who are only bringing the
What were the reasons behind your conflicts? You
20% of your income, you can free up space for
can look at someone’s negative behavior and learn
more successful relationships. If you find where
something from it. Look at those interactions. You
your success points are and double down on
may be in the right or in the wrong.
those, you can grow your income. (I’ve talked

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about this with Christina Burton:
www.allanmckay.com/99/.)
THE 3-6-3 MINDSET
You might be surprised to see where most of your
income came from. It may be from the same
client. The key is to get to 3-6-3 mindset
(www.allanmckay.com/16/): You may need to
work those jobs for 6 months and bankroll the
freedom you want for the things you really want
to do. That can also apply to a situation where
you want to switch careers.

What were the experiences you’ve had in your life

that overwhelmed you:
• Meetings;
• Speaking engagements;
• Tasks you didn’t enjoy.

This is the time to identify these things. If you’re

getting asked to animate and you hate doing it, you
can communicate that with your boss. You can
then focus on the things you do want to do. You
can approach it the right way or the wrong way.

THE QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING

It’s worth asking yourself these questions. You
have to sit down and think about them. You don’t
know what kind of realizations you’re going to
have by doing this audit on your year.
• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• What were your successes? What can you do
more of?
• If you could go back in time to the beginning of
2017, what would be the things you would warn
yourself about?

Sit down and go through it. You will start to think

differently: You will see where you’re getting

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most success and where you’re failing
repeatedly. These things can change the
outcome for next year.
 BREAKING BAD HABITS
CHECK OUT ALLAN MCKAY’S PODCASTS AND ACCOMPANYING TOOLS AT: WWW.ALLANMCKAY.COM/BESTYEARYET/

It’s the end of the year and you can review

ON COMMUNICATION
yourself while your memory is fresh. That’s the One of the big projects I did this year was one that I
only time you can look at that with honesty. If you didn’t enjoy. I could blame the client. But I could also
wait longer to do that, you will begin to autocorrect. look at my end honestly: Maybe, I didn’t communicate
That’s just human nature. It’s good while it’s fresh well. Some of the biggest aha moments I’ve had were
to take a look at yourself and your year. related to lack of communication.

Keep in mind that this is a really political industry. I

START WITH THE WHY interview my clients more than they interview me.
It’s beneficial to go even deeper than that: What
That way I am not setting myself up for crazy
are the things you didn’t do -- and WHY you didn’t work hours or clients who don’t pay me on time.
do them? We all have underlying reasons why When it comes to getting paid on time, I tend to
things didn’t happen. invoice at the end of the job. I had one contract
where it took a year to get paid. This is partially
This is a chance for you to look back freshly, my fault: I didn’t ask them about a better way of
recognize what went well and double down on it -- invoicing. I presented my invoice at the end of the
project and they hadn’t plan for that budget.
and then recognize the things that didn’t go well
and WHY. Be entirely honest: The reason you
So, discuss payment milestones upfront. Make
didn’t get a pay raise is because you slacked off.
sure to communicate! Have a traceable email
Or, your achievement wasn’t visible. Instead of from the beginning. If the first payment milestone
blaming yourself, lean into it and figure out what is not met -- that’s an immediate red flag. Attack
you can learn from it. this while it’s fresh!

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 CONCLUSION
So now what?

Rinse and repeat, these are the staple tools that you need to apply and
reapply to your career on a weekly basis. Form a habit and regularly look
at the results you’re getting, as well as where you’re not getting results.
In the areas you are getting the most results -- double down! Do more
of this, and tweak it as you like to make this become your own rituals
that you can apply to 10X your career.

More so, the areas that aren’t quite working -- dig deep into these and
look at WHY they aren’t working. Is it that you’re not sticking with it? Is it
because you may need more information to understand it better, or you
need to approach it differently? We all learn and connect the dots differently, which is why beyond this
Guide there are videos, exercises and tutorials all to make this information STICK.

If you haven’t already downloaded the other resources, take action and do this now -- as the additional
videos and other resources are not available forever. I would hate for you to miss out!

Go to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/ to download these videos while they are still available.

SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR

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YEAR YET BY ALLAN MCKAY

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And if you have any questions, or if you want to share your results, email me anytime at
amckay@allanmckay.com with the subject “Best Year Yet” and let me know how you are doing!

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