500 Days of Blogging

Today I'm celebrating 500 days of blogging in a row!

I set out to blog every day for two years straight (730 days).

On day 48, I almost gave up. It just felt like the task ahead was too big.

(I remember because I wrote a blog post about it that day).

But I'm so grateful to my past self that I didn't stop.

I've found my writing voice, I've documented all of my goals, and I've built an audience of thousands of monthly readers.

Most importantly though, I've become the kind of person who can stick at a goal.

I've developed grit.

Grit = passion and perseverance for long-term goals.

Grit isn't luck, or talent, or how much you want it.

Grit is the act of getting up when you fall down. Grit is screwing up and trying again. Grit is keeping going, even when you don't see progress.

And I'm not there yet. I've still got 230 days to go.

But I'm determined.

I'm going to make it.

It's inevitable.

Because I've decided I'm the kind of person who hits her goals every time.

Celebrating Her Debut Exhibition

A few months ago in our first coaching session, my client Laura Wilson told me about her impossible goal of becoming a Professional Artist.

I remember her saying she couldn't see how it would be possible.

Could she actually charge money for her art?

Would anyone pay for it?

Where would the customers come from?

This weekend, after a million roadblocks, she had her DEBUT ART EXHIBITION, selling her photography prints in a gallery in Auckland, New Zealand.

She turned down a well-paid government job offer for this.

She faced difficult conversations with her parents for this.

She packed up and moved across the country for this.

And now, her effort is paying off: She's already making a part-time income from her art. Whaaaat?!

She has an actual exhibition and a website, with actual prints people are actually buying, with actual money.

And we're not even done yet. Next step in our coaching: Taking her from part-time to full-time.

I'm bursting with excitement and joy for you, Laura!

This is just the beginning.

Buy Laura's prints here.

Follow Laura on Instagram here.

My December 2020 Goals

December is upon us – and in the past, I would have used this month to ‘wind down’ from the year. But this time, I’ve got a different approach. I’m thinking about ramping up to 2021. What do I need to do NOW if I’m going to hit my goals in 2021? I haven’t even set solid goals for 2021 yet – but I’ve got a general vision of where I need to go. So December is my run-up.

With that in mind, here are my December Goals:

1. Find my Donna.
   If you’ve ever seen the TV show Suits, you’ll know that Donna is the badass executive assistant to a hot-shot lawyer named Harvey. She anticipates his needs ahead of time, she works super quickly, and she knows anyone who is anyone. This month, I’m looking to hire someone to help me handle the behind-the-scenes of my business as it grows and scales. Since I’m a High Performance Coach, I love working with other high performers – and I’m excited to have THE BEST executive assistant ever. If you think this might be you, email me.

2. Grow my Facebook group to 3000 members.
   I’ve taken some time off actively growing my Facebook group (we’re currently at 2408) while I had a massive season of onboarding clients, but now I’m reading to get back to the mission of the group: to help as many women as possible achieve their impossible goals.

3. Batch-create my content once per week.
   For the last 499 days, I’ve blogged on this website. 99% of the time, I publish my content on the same day as I write it. However, I’m finding time management a bigger challenge recently (hence my desire to hire a Donna), so I’m going to try batch-creating my content once per week, and then releasing it day-by-day. It’s a test really, to see if it frees up more time in my day, and to see if getting into “zone” when writing helps me create more valuable content.

4. Walk/run 2x a week.
   I’ve been a bit slack with my exercise recently, while I’ve been focusing all of my energy on other goals. However, I want exercise to be a priority to me, so I’m ready to ease back into it.

5. Make the process of achieving all of these goals enjoyable.
   I believe we can hit any goal we set our minds to – as long as we are willing to do whatever it takes. Anyone can hit a goal if they grit their teeth and bear it. But I don’t want to hit my goals that way – I want to have fun achieving them. So I’m taking my goal setting to a whole extra level, by only choosing pathways to achieving my goals that are actually enjoyable.

What are your December Goals?

November 2020 Goals Review

• Get all the systems in my business sorted. Ahhh my systems are SOOO MUCH BETTER. I feel like I can breathe now. I've migrated all of my clients onto a new system, my hard drive is backed up, my invoicing systems are on track and I'm channeling my inner "Donna" from suits to stay organised (until I actually find someone like her, and then I will hire her!).

  The thought that helped me the most: When I'm organised, I'm more relaxed.

• Do my physio exercises 3x a day. I did not do this – not because I didn't try, but because I discovered that this actually causes me extra pain in my shoulder. Doing it three times a day is overdoing it, and because of that, I even had to skip days. Not ideal. I've learned that once a day is better. It's frustrating because I feel like my progress is so slow, but I also know that the healing process is happening. I just have to keep going.

  The thought that helped me the most: Michael Jordan would do it.

• Go to bed by 12am every night. I'm actually so happy with how I did. I made it a priority to go to bed by 12, and I did it, nearly every night! Whaaaat?! I did, however, adjust this goal to be weekdays only. And that feels good. Weekdays, 12am bedtime. Weekends, 1am (because I get to sleep in!).

  The thought that helped me the most: I ENJOY going to bed on time! (Sometimes I have to remind myself that it's actually a pleasure to get into bed, and that I'm not missing out if I don't stay up).

How did your November goals go? What thoughts helped you the most?👇

Three Things I Coach All My Clients On

Mindset, Strategy, and Action. These are the three things I coach my clients on.

Every single goal requires all three.

Whenever someone brings me a goal they’ve been working on but isn’t working, it’s because one of these three things isn’t aligned. They’ve got a great strategy but their mindset doesn’t match it. Or they’re taking a ton of action but it’s directionless – they don’t have a decent strategy.

Which one is holding you back from your goal?

How to Become Your Own Guarantee

If you want to hit an impossible goal, you have to have your own back 100%.

You have to decide you're willing to do whatever it takes – and actually mean it.

Here's how:

Write yourself a list of all the CRAZY things you're willing to do to hit your goal.

"Anything" isn't enough.

The problem with being willing to do "anything" is that we don't know what "anything" actually involves.

You need specific examples.

• I'm willing to message every single person I know on Facebook and ask them if they know someone who can help me.

• I'm willing to email everyone at the company until I get a reply.

• I'm willing to knock on my neighbours doors and ask for likes on Instagram.

• I'm willing to drive 6 hours on a bus just to go to a networking event in another city.

• I'm willing to spend my savings on Facebook ads.

• I'm willing to ask 1000 people at the mall on Saturday.

• I'm willing to get up at 4am for international zoom calls.

• I'm willing to train at the gym before AND after work.

And you have to be prepared to follow through with your list to get the job done.

Impossible results don't happen by accident.

They happen because you're willing to do what others aren't.

Commit to making it happen, no matter what, and things will start to shift.

I guarantee it.

1000 Days to Fully Booked

It took me over 1000 days to get fully booked with 20 clients in my business.

Yup. A thousand.

I started my coaching business in February 2018, and I don't have a glamourous "I made 6 figures in my first 10 minutes" story.

My story is one of hustle, and grind, and screwing up, and figuring it out.

And never, ever, giving up.

Ever.

And you know what kept me going the whole time?

Knowing that when I get to tell the story of my success one day, it will be one actually people will want to hear.

One with twists, turns, mistakes, screw-ups, sleepless nights, a ton of hustling, discipline and making-do.

No one wants to hear the story of the person who sailed through life and got everything they wanted without any work at all.

Listen. I'm not someone who will tell you marketing your business is "super easy if you use this one secret trick".

Nope.

I'm here to tell you takes a RIDICULOUS amount of effort to build a business.

But it's always worth it.

Plus now I know that if it was all taken away from me today, I would be fully booked again in 60 days. Zero doubt about it.

It's BECAUSE it took me 1000 days to nail it, that I've been helping my clients do it 10x faster.

• Georgia launched a drama school in under 2 weeks – that now pays her a full-time income.

• Katrin got fully booked in her coaching business in 6 weeks.

• Cindy signed a new client TODAY.

• Nancy created enough freelancing clients to quit her corporate job.

Here's the ultimate truth:

You'll get fully booked in your business when you're willing to show up for it every day for the rest of your life until you die.

You probably won't have to.

But you've got to be willing to.

Because there's a wild marketing secret no one is talking about, because it doesn't "sell" – but I'm telling you, it changed the game for me:

Relentless. freaking. effort.

Being Fully Booked

For the first time since starting my business 2.5 years ago, I feel like I've had an entire week of working IN my business.

• I coached 19 clients.

• I sent notes to my clients.

• I kept them accountable.

• I posted on my blog.

• I did marketing things.

• I sent invoices.

• I stopped working by 6pm.

• I spent my evenings with my family.

I was actually living the life of a fully booked business owner, instead of the life of trying to become a fully booked business owner (where I’m running around like a crazy person to get things done).

And I've been fully booked for a wee while now – but this week finally felt like the first time where I just simply ran my business instead of trying to run one.

It feels so good.

But I also know that I am a goal-getter. You can't shake it out of me.

I will be going for the next level, like... *checks watch* …right now.

There is always another level. The fun is creating it, not achieving it.

But it does feel amazing to have achieved something I spent almost 1000 days creating.

Commercial Space Flight Is Now Available

Yesterday I posted about how to be an astronaut, and today, the first email that arrived in my inbox was about how SpaceX's Resilience aircraft has reached the International Space Station. It marks the first ever successful commercially certified space transport mission.

I often think about how the things that used to seem impossible are now just part of normal daily life and we don’t even stop to think how amazing they are.

• Computers

• Phones

• Electricity

• Airplanes

• Many medicines

• Almost everything else at one point

If going to the moon was impossible 100 years ago, and now we are looking at the first commercial space flights – what is to say that we can’t go on commercial space flights in our life? Who says we can’t all be astronauts?

It might happen.

Nothing is impossible.

How To Be An Astronaut (Position Available)

Here's the thing: Most goals are googleable.

We pretend we don't know how to achieve our goals.

But we do.

99% of the time, we know exactly what our next step is.

Even going to the moon isn't rocket science.

The path is clear:

• Get a Bachelor's degree in STEM

• Get a job at NASA

• Apply to be an astronaut

A quick google search even found me the actual job application to become an astronaut from an opening earlier this year (have a read, it's actually epic – it says "Travel Required: Extensive" )

If I just found that in a 10-second online search, can we really say we "don't know how"?

You DO know what to do to achieve your impossible goal.

You know you should be reaching out to the person, or writing the email, or doing the workout.

It's just the mind drama that holds us back.

Our thoughts stop us from taking action.

• It's so hard

• I'm not ready

• What will people think?

• Am I good enough?

• I'm too tired

• I'll do it after this

• I can't be bothered

These seemingly innocent thoughts are the reason we don't achieve our wildest dreams.

Listen. If you want to be an astronaut, be an astronaut.

The world isn't stopping you.

It's just your own thoughts.

Choose new ones.

Decide you can be an actual astronaut.

Decide you're ready now.

Decide you're not too young or too old.

Decide it doesn't matter what people will think.

Decide you're good enough.

Decide to do it now.

P.S. If anyone actually applies for that astronaut job, do let me know