It's New Years Day. A fresh slate. I walked down to the local gym. Every machine was in use. New sneakers paced the floors, "Why is it so crowded?" Oh, it's New Years! Everyone made the decision to start exercising again. About a month later, that same gym will be nearly empty. Why?

As Seth Godin says, it's easy to start things, and lots of people do it. That's not the hard part. Signing up for the gym takes no work. The hard part is going and lifting the weights. Yet, every year without fail hundreds of thousands of Americans make a self-promise to get into shape and then give up when it becomes inconvenient.

Before starting a project, it's a good idea to think about the "hard part". What are going to be your biggest hurdles? That way, you'll not only recognize them when they arrive, but you'll anticipate. E.g. it's way easier for me to wake up at 4:00AM if I know ahead of time I have to wake up that early. I can prepare by going to bed earlier, setting an alarm, etc. If I don't know I'm supposed to wake up at 4:00AM I'm sleeping right on through.

Figure out the hard stuff. That's where the value lives. Anyone can sign up for a gym January 1, but not everyone will be there in February.