In preparation
It is here, another new year. A fresh start, new beginnings, a time to give yourself a real chance as we head into 2018. Did you achieve all you wanted to in 2017? Or do you want to close the door on the year and forget that it ever happened? What ever happened in 2017, 2018 is a chance for you to take major steps forward.
I don’t write this post for the faint hearted, it is not for those that think they can spend the year in constant meditation, waiting for the cycle of the moon and their horoscopes to dictate their futures. This is a post that will give you a start to mapping out a way to kick the arse out of 2018 and really ‘Get Shit Done’ so you can get to the end of the year exhausted but inspired by what you have achieved and the action you will continue to take to achieve your big goals.
Here are a list of things that you can have to hand to help you to get this going.
- Paper and lots of it, so you can scribble, draw and let your feelings and plans flow
- Post It notes (when do you ever not need them?)
- A3 sheets of cardboard (to help with inspiration)
- Magazines (for inspirational images)
- Pinterest (if you are more of a online lady for your inspiration)
- Journals for self care and ideas
- Anything else you use to prepare, be organised and get inspired.
1) Pick your lifestyle
It is one of the first questions I ask clients, “What LifeStyle do you want to live”? This really makes them think because it is about the whole and it is about you. It is not about breaking down your life into categories, it is about looking and feeling the whole picture.
Do you want move to the country and raise bees? Do you want to move to the city? Do you have dreams of a lifestyle of travelling? Do you want to create a billion pound business or any other dream lifestyle that may currently reside only in your head?
This is the time to be brave. Don’t hold back with what you want, don’t keep something inside because you think others around you will not agree; but also be truthful, don’t just say things because it sounds glamorous or you think that is what every one else would want. This has to be about your dream lifestyle, it doesn’t matter how quirky or unlikely it sounds, it is a lifestyle you have created in your head and your heart therefore you can create it for real.
Put it out there to the universe, (but be warned, keep it from those who will place scorn on it) create a vision board, either a physical one or use Pinterest. Create something that when you look at it you are continually inspired.
Goals are nothing if you don’t write them down
Dreams are amazing but if they just remain dreams they are wasted and that happens to way too many humans. Make a decision for 2018 to not be part of the wasted dream crowd. Make 2018 the year that you take the dreams from your head and your heart and turn them into goals.
From the vision boards you created, turn them into goals. The process of putting them into words takes your dreams to a new dimension. They become real, they become more tangible, as if you have given yourself permission to achieve them.
There are many different ways, methods and processes to creating goals, it is important to use one that works for you. The important thing to remember though is they have to be measurable and achievable. That doesn’t give you an excuse not to think big but you have to know when you have achieved them. Don’t just say I want to make more money because if someone walks by and gives you £1 then that is more money. Write an amount, set a time, set a weight, set a running distance, a number of new clients per month, what ever fits with your dream lifestyle.
I find it very powerful to do this the old fashioned way by writing it by hand on a piece of paper. But you need to find the most powerful way for you.
Once you have written your goals, keep them close to you and make it part of you daily, weekly, monthly practice to review your goals to ensure that you are on track to achieving them. When you do make new ones.
Thinking big is the only way to live
Too much of our lives we put limits on ourselves. We can blame all sorts of people, parents, family, teachers, the news but we are adults now so time to take responsibility for the limits we now live by.
Time to break through them and think big. There is no goal you can’t achieve, it may take hard work, it will take going against them grain, it may take removing people from your life and it will take time. But the feeling you will get from setting big goals and achieving them is worth all the sacrifices and hard work you have to put in to achieving them.
Always be aware, when you are setting your vision boards based on your dream lifestyle, when you set your goals every time you feel those limiting beliefs cropping up, write them down but put them to the side they are something you must deal with later. Then put what you want to put free from limiting beliefs.
Keep pushing yourself, if you decide on a goal, always check in on yourself to ensure that you are thinking big enough.
Find your tribe
This is not the first time I have mentioned this and it will not be the last time in 2018. It is sooooooooo important to surround yourself with people who know what they want from their lives, who think big always and who will support you in your pursuit of your lifestyle and business. You need to find a tribe that will help you fly,
You have to have a good look at the people who you currently spend the most time with. Jim Rohn says “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”.
You have to watch out for those in your life who like to moan, those who always question what you are trying to do, those who have settled for mediocrity. It may not be about completely removing these people from your life, but it may be about spending less time with them and finding a way to manage the negative elements they may bring to your life and it is definitely about finding a new tribe to spend more time with.
Be brave, connect with people you admire, go to events that push the limits of your fear and arrange to engage with people who you know are pushing for their dream lifestyles because they will be the people who help you to kick arse.
Grow your network
It is so important to grow your business, this is not just about finding a tribe, this is about creating a network of people that will contribute to the success of your business. Either through their connections, advice or through partnerships.
Business is not just about sales and marketing, you will find that the old adage “it is not what you know but who you know” rings very true and you can really advance what you are trying to do by having a super connected network.
However, this takes a plan and a process, you can’t just bowl into being a super connector. It is definitely not about turning up at every suburban networking group that is advertised. It is about having a strategy, it is about knowing what you want to achieve and it is about being consistent.
Take both physical and online networking and create plans for both. What networking groups can you attend where relevant people will also be in attendance? What do you want to achieve from the group, who in particular do you want to meet, what are you going to say in your pitch and how are you going to follow up?
When it comes to online networking, where do the most relevant people reside, is it LinkedIn, is it Instagram, it is Facebook? Again create a plan to consistently add to your network.
The secret to growing a powerful network, is to become a super connector. It is not about adding to your list, it is about helping others so that the laws of reciprocity will be applied. How can you engage, who can you connect to whom, what information can you send to someone that may help them out and how can you fill spare time on your calendar by arranging a one to one either via Skype or in person.
You will find most successful people are well connected and respected because of it. Having a connected and engaged network is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.
You can find out more about how to do this in my post Join the Elite World of Super Connectors.
Be consistent, always!
This may seem obvious but this is one of the things that can throw people from their goals. So many people start with good intentions but many things can throw you off track when you run a business but the ones who seem to make the greatest success are because they are consistent in what they do.
I am not going to soft soap anything. It is hard work being a female entrepreneur. It can be a lonely road when you are trying to achieve big goals but unfortunately that is the way it is. You may have to stay up late, wake up early and sacrifice a night with friends to get things completed. But if you show consistency in every thing you do then you will succeed.
Whether it is the number of times you post to social media or the number of blog posts you write per week or the number of people you connect with weekly or the number of sales calls you make or the daily practices that you set yourself to do or the time you wake up. What ever it is, you have to be consistent, whether you have a busy day or you are on a client site it doesn’t matter you have to plan and be prepared to be consistent.
Get Shit Done!
This is short and sweet but you have to have a Get Shit Done attitude. You can do all the prep and planning on this list but at the end of the day it will be your actions that pay off. You have to wake each morning with a plan to ‘Get Shit Done’, you have to get through those tired moments always with the aim to ‘Get Shit Done’, you have to fight the monotony always with ‘Get Shit Done’ in mind and you have to fight your fears and limiting beliefs with ‘Get Shit Done’ and then you have to do it.
Start each day with an attitude of what plans do I have to ‘Get Shit Done’ today?
Don’t let your brain dry up
This one is maybe one of the most important. To keep learning is to continue the success in your business and your lifestyle. You have to plan in each day, each week, each month to learn. You will find all of the most successful people make this a practice in their daily lives. I am always shocked when I meet people who complain about their businesses failing but when I dig deeper you find that over the years they have done nothing to keep up with the current trends in social media, marketing, brands, products, AI, VR and all things that are heading our way that will impact how people make a decision to buy a product or service.
Time is always something that is given an excuse but an big excuse it is. Swap a fiction book out for a business book, swap music out for audio books, when you work listen to podcasts, join a mastermind group. To fail to make the time to learn is to fail to move your business forward.
Get a coach
This is really important you have to have someone in your life that will help take you out of your business so you can work on it. Someone that will help to hold you accountable, someone you can discuss ideas with, someone you can turn to when you need extra assistance. A consistent person in your life who understands your goals and will work with you to achieve them.
Be brave with this, finance is often used as an excuse to get a coach but you need to find a coach that pushes you, one where you need to get a new client a month to be able to afford it. Every single successful female entrepreneur I know has a coach, every struggling business woman I know tells me they can’t afford one.
You are allowed to be selfish, it’s called Selfcare
This may seem, to some, counterintuitive, but in order to achieve all you want, in order to have the energy to work as hard as you need to see your goals come to fruition, you need to practice daily self care.
This is something that women, especially Mums can be very poor at, but it is as important to make it part of your daily routine to be able to complete all of the other points. It is also important to show your daughters that it is important for them to create a routine of self care as they grow into women.
You need to take time to meditate, to go to the gym, to have a face mask to get your hair done, to sit and be grateful to create vision boards to review your goals, to take a few days away from it all. This all needs to be done in moments of solitude. This means that partners need to play their part. This means that children need to be kept at bay that time is taken and a space is available for you to be to do this.
To end
This may all seem a little over whelming but so is regret. Do you have people in your life or people or you know of, where they just seem to be on a roll, where every thing seems to be going right for them? You may see the successes and recognise the positive energy but you haven’t seen what has gone on in the background to get them there.
Everyone sees the glamorous side of Beyonce’s life but no one has any idea how hard that woman works on a daily basis to be at the top of her game and continue to innovate in everything she does. She will have a daily practice of all the above I mentioned and it shows big style. So look forward, follow your own path, don’t be dissuaded by the limiting beliefs of others and you will find that the momentum of success sways in your way on a more and more regular basis until the feeling becomes addictive.
To talk to me about how I can help then visit my Work With Me Page.
I hope to see you in 2019 with big smiles for all you have achieved.
This is the most comprehensive AWESOME list of practical practices. Every point perfectly made and true. Thanks for the marching orders Mrs!