I don’t know if Chris Brogan started the meme or not, but every year he publishes 3 words that will serve as his guiding pillars for the year ahead. Last year I didn’t publish 3 words; instead I stuck with one: Freedom. Looking back at that post from the beginning of 2010 I can reasonably say that I did find more freedom last year than in previous years. At least in some ways. I’ve also taken on more projects than ever before.

2011 is going to be a big year.

Here are my 3 words for 2011:

Create. Accelerate. Win.

Create: I’m an entrepreneur at heart. And I live to create things. I have to be careful not to create too much and take on more than I can handle, but this year is all about wiping the slate clean and starting new things.

Accelerate: It’s time to move even faster. No one is waiting for me (or anyone else), and the old adage is certainly true, “If you want something done [right] do it yourself…” I can’t sit on the sidelines and expect things to happen. And I want to accelerate everything I’m doing, and help others accelerate successfully as well.

Win: I want to win. I want to win big. I want to win all the time. Winning is good. I know I’ll lose once in awhile, and I’m certainly going to stumble and make my share of mistakes, but I have no problem planting the proverbial flag in the sand and saying, “I want to win.” That’s not ego talking, it’s drive.

Create. Accelerate. Win.

The year is long. There are always ups and downs, emotionally uplifting moments and plenty of emotionally draining ones as well. As they say in hockey, “It’s a long season.” And during the year it’s hard to maintain momentum (or in my case, acceleration!) – we get tired, sick, beaten down, angry, sad, frustrated… But humans have an amazing ability to take a kick in the teeth, get back up and do even better than before. I want to maintain that inspiration throughout the year by using create, accelerate and win as my 3 words for 2011. Do what you need to in order to buffer yourself against all the craziness of life and get ready to kick some serious ass. Maybe it starts with 3 words of your own…