Welcome to 2018 lovely.
How are you going to make sure that your business is successful in 2018? How will you make sure that 2018 is your best year yet? I have some ideas to share with you…
But first let me ask you an important question:
Have you created your vision for 2018 yet?
If you haven’t that’s the first place to start.
Creating a Powerful Vision – A New Way to Do It That I’m Trialling
Usually when we write a vision we do it as though it’s in the future.
Recently I took the advice of a mentor Roger James Hamilton (he founded the Wealth Dynamics system and Genius U, which is a free platform that I highly recommend for every entrepreneur) on a different way to create my vision for 2018.
He suggested that we write as though it’s the end of 2018 and it’s all already happened. So we’re writing with hindsight about all the goals we already achieved in 2018.
To me this seems like a good idea.
It really primes my brain for what would feel AMAZING this year!
He suggests that you start with ‘I’m so grateful because in 2018…” And then list all the things that happened and goals you achieved.Teak it until it feels like a 9 or 10 out of 10.
How I Created My Goals This Year
It’s one thing to create a vision, however we all know that nothing will happen if that’s all you do.
After I’d created my vision for 2018 I went ahead and broke it down into goals. I asked myself, what actions do I need to take in order to get to that vision?
First I listed my goals for the year in each area of my life that I want to improve.
Some examples of mine are:
Save £5000.00
Write E-book about creating a successful online business
Then I grabbed an A4 piece of paper, turned it horizontal and drew 3 lines down the page. My page was now sectioned into 4, one section for each quarter of the year – Quarter 1, 2, 3 and 4 (if you’ve ever worked in corporate or an office, you’ll be quite used to working in this way. For our purposes here quarter 1 is Jan – March 2018).
I broke down my annual goals and for each quarter I worked out what I would need to achieve for each goal, in order to hit my annual target (and so my vision).
For example, for my 2 annual goals shared above I wrote what I’d need to achieve by the end of quarter 1 (January – March 2018), Q2, Q3 etc…
In this example Q1 this looked like:
Save £1250
E-book outline done
Then, I took it one step further. I worked out what the daily and weekly actions are that I’d need to take to ensure my Q1 goals are achieved (if you get stuck at this point try just writing down the next 2-3 actions for each goal that you need to take).
You’ll end up with something like a ‘To Do’ list and depending on who you are you’ll either love that or hate it.
However the real power is in the next and final step – Take the daily and weekly actions you identified, just for quarter 1, and add them to your calendar.
Now these actions are actual appointments on your calendar that you’re committing to.
By the way if any of the goals feels either too easy or too much of a stretch you can adjust them. You don’t want them to be too easy, as in you know that you can do them, otherwise you’re not stretching yourself and it’s unlikely that they’ll excite you enough to take action. Equally they don’t need to be such a stretch that they trigger an anxiety attack each time you look at them!
When you look at your goals the ideal feeling is excitement with a little bit of anticipation.
Don’t Make Resolutions!
Because they don’t work! We all know that. Plus they just make you feel guilty. Don’t bother 🙂
Find a Tribe
Having the right people around you is important for a happy and successful life.
Look for a tribe of like minded people who will uplift, support and motivate you on your journey. It’s unlikely that they’ll be your high school friends, although it’s possible.
For me I had to look a little further afield for women who I consider to be in my ‘soul tribe’.
Favourite Book of 2017
The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. For me this book is the epitome of how to create the life you want, day by day, and how to achieve any goal, using baby steps. It’s been a game-changer for me.
My Best Spiritual Advisor
Byron Katie. I love her stuff.
In addition to several books and programs she has available, ‘The Work‘ is free for everyone and involves 4 simple questions that can set you free. I use it whenever I notice that I’m suffering. She helps us to question our painful thoughts which can hold us back and bring us down.
And Finally…
The truth is that as we strive to achieve our goals in 2018, as we improve daily and get better results, let’s remember what all the great masters teach – It’s all just made up anyway!
None of it’s real – Life is a dream and you don’t really need to achieve or have anything.
I realise that this somewhat negates setting goals in the first place, however for me I do it because it’s fun and it stretches me. When I truly heard this wisdom and ‘got’ the meaning behind it, it took all the pressure off.
Now I create a vision and set and achieve goals because it’s FUN – It’s a game I’m choosing to play.
Would you like to join me?
Have a fantastic 2018 beautiful one.
Julie (and Rosie dog).