A New Year for a New You: Day 4 of an Annual Review

Happy New Year’s Eve! And welcome back for day 4 of A New Year for a New You, the 7-day annual review. If you’re just joining me, it’s easy to catch up! Simply gather the prompts from days 1, 2 and 3, and go at your own pace.

Each day, I work through the previous day’s prompts and then offer a new set for us to work on.

If you’ve been following along with me, then I know you’re in serious review this week! I’m even surprised at how much comes up and how long each day’s questions take to answer. The good news is, there’s no better week to take the time out than the sleepy days between end-year holidays. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself, and I hope you are too!

Part of my coaching and writing is to teach creatives better business practices. An important business practice is to not let others manage your time or energy. Ever. I write + enforce these policies with love, so that I may provide the best service and value for all concerned. I hope you’ll do the same.

:: The best way to reach me:

The best way to reach me is via email. I am so protective of my phone number that I’ve simply stopped giving it out. I like for only the family who lives in my home to know it, especially the landline. I have two major reasons for blocking incoming phone calls:

1. Most people don’t understand how important my honoring my work schedule is to my career. They don’t realize that, during any lunchtime hour, I might be giving a live webinar to 100 people from my home office. After a few years worth of interruptions, I realized they’re not really trying to figure it out, either. Now I only share my mobile phone number with our nearest + dearest and reserve the household line for family use.
2. I don’t like to be put on the spot. I’m an introvert, and that’s not how I operate. I need time to think things over before I make a decision, and I prefer to make plans in writing.

:: The best time to reach me:

I check email regularly, but the best time to get a quick response from me is on weekdays in the early afternoon.

:: How I prefer to be treated: 

I’ll always be considerate of your needs, appreciative for your energy and respectful of your time. I’m very thankful when I get the same in return.

:: What I will not tolerate:

I will not tolerate passive-aggressive behavior. If you have a problem with me, confront me directly or expect the issue to be forgotten.

I will not tolerate people who refuse to admit their wrongs; It’s a sign of stunted growth. It means that the person is not interested in taking responsibility for their own actions and it guarantees they’ll continuously repeat the same mistakes.

:: Hours of availability:

I work every weekday from 8 AM – 1:30 PM (beginning 2015). I chat with The Luminaries around the clock.

:: My pricing:

My pricing is going up in 2015. I make no apologies for this (and neither should you when you need to adjust yours), but I will explain what’s changing in full detail before it takes place.

Other than the upcoming Movers and Makers Summit, the only way to work with me as a creative business coach right now is by joining The Luminaries Club. More on this in the next section.

:: My policies for those seeking advice:

We have several ongoing conversations happening inside The Luminaries Club, and I’m available to all types of requests: critiques, questions, suggestions, follow-ups on e-books, how-to’s, insider secrets, etc. I’m an open book, and the price is extremely reasonable. For $27/month, you get my e-programs, challenges, your questions answered and some creative camaraderie.

My email subscribers regularly ask me questions via the comments section and contact form on this site and on Twitter. I share an exclusive Q&A at the end of my bi-weekly newsletters. I love to answer industry-related questions that I know will go onto help many people facing the same obstacle.

I do not respond to emails or Etsy convos requesting pointers, critiques, tips or instructions, except to direct you to my blog where you’ll find hundreds of pages full of free advice.

Today’s Prompts:

I’m going to share a few prompts to help you choose your intentions for the New Year. I like to do this exercise before setting any major goals or resolutions to get a sense of what I really want to create in the coming months. As Jack Canfield said,

You don’t want to get to the top of the ladder only to find out you had it leaning against the wrong wall.

What do you want from 2015? Consider the following five pillars of a harmonic life, as taught in Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want by James Arthur Ray:

• Financial:
• Spiritual:
• Mental:
• Relational:
• Physical:

Next, we’re going to apply each change/desire above to the following list. I’ve gathered the questions below from MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins (it’s really good!).

1. What do I really want? (vision)
2. What is important about it? (values)
3. How will I get it? (methods)
4. What is preventing me from having it? (obstacles)
5. How will I know I am successful? (measurements)

[Tweet “A goal-setting worksheet + template for real change!”]

If you don’t have time to answer these questions today, that’s okay! I turned them into an image so you can pin the worksheet for later.

Thank you for joining me for Day 4 of this 7-day series! I’ll meet you back here tomorrow with a new set of prompts + my answers to today’s list.

It’s time to make your big dreams happen already. Here’s to your best year yet,