One full day into 2016, and it’s day 7 of the 7-day New Year for a New You annual review and reflection on Marketing Creativity! Welcome back.
If you’re just joining in, it’s easy to catch up! Simply start by prepping your end-year review and answering the prompts from …
:: day 1 :: day 2 :: day 3 :: day 4 :: day 5 :: day 6
At whatever pace you take this review, I’m honored you’re here. I just know this is going to be an epic year for creative entrepreneurs.
Last day! Thanks so much for joining me on this journey; I’m using this moment to shower us with virtual confetti!
On Goal-Setting and Follow-Through
If you’re anything like me, you’re starting the first week of the year with (1.) a list of intentions, (2.) a list of goals you’d like to accomplish, and (3.) an energetic inner-restlessness so powerful, it’s practically palpable to the people around you. (I did not put all those P’s there on purpose :D.)
So, I want to close this series with suggestions for softer goal-setting. Your vision for the New Year should make you feel good rather than anxiety-ridden. In the book, Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life
, Maxwell Maltz offers this advice:
“You should use the same technique in all your affairs that Jackie Burke recommends in putting. That is, not to feel that you have to pinpoint the ball right to the cup itself on a long putt, but to aim at an area the size of a washtub. This takes off the strain, relaxes you, enables you to perform better. If it’s good enough for the professionals, it should be good enough for you.”
Furthermore, in the book,The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
, Jack Canfield told about the year he wanted to earn $100,000 (up from his current salary of $18,000). He did what positive thinkers do: he made signs affirming his new and abundant salary, he worked all year-through consciously and subconsciously creating more income for himself, and by the end of the year he had earned more than $90,000. Others told him that he hadn’t actually achieved his goal, but he says, “I wasn’t disappointed!”
The point is not to cross every single goal off the list. What matters is that you’re setting the bar higher, and stretching yourself daily. That’s the only way to grow and work toward your dreams.
Be Prepared to Tackle the Mud
Anytime you start a project that you’ve never done before, you’ll run into a whole lot of obstacles that will threaten to seriously slow your progress. In other words, you’ll run into a whole lot of mud that is sure to make you struggle.
On day 6, I showed you how to create a project map:
You’ll notice there’s a step on there to tackle “mud” (#3). The most dangerous thing about your upcoming obstacles, aka the mud, is that it can feel overwhelming and impossible when you chase it in your head. You can’t avoid it, so the only way to get past the mud is to start trudging through it one step at a time.
Before the project map, I typically stopped project development as soon as I encountered the mud. Because it’s true: You don’t know how to do things you’ve never done before, and that makes this creative business tough! Until last year, mud has caused me to quit on some of my greatest ideas. Not anymore!
Your Best Year 2016
If you don’t know, now you know! Creatives are RAVING over this workbook and giving it 5-star reviews. Here are just a few of my favorite testimonials:
I really love it. Just what I was looking for and paired with a daily planner, you’ll have the perfect combo. The author of this book is a Godsend. Thank you!
I truly can’t say enough about this book! It is a MUST HAVE for all small business owners. Lisa is a master at walking you through your past year, helping you to find needed changes and navigating you to set goals. She has systems in place to help you actually see where you want to go with your business and personal life and how best to achieve those goals. She does this by asking a series of questions so that YOU can map it out. This will be a necessary tool that I will use all year long and continue every year moving forward. I’m not exaggerating when I say I had to sharpen my pencils 5-6 times today. I couldn’t stop writing! Thank you, Lisa, for all your hard work!
OH LORD JESUS If you are a creative seller YOU HAVE TO BUY THIS! You Rock, Lisa! God Bless you! Thanks for sharing all this knowledge!~ I’m In love with this workbook.
In Conclusion
There’s a lot of work to be done. Period. As always, it’s time to put my money where my mouth is! I love you all so much, and I’m so excited to embark on 2016 with such an amazing group of creative souls. Let’s do this! Until next time and all the best,
