She Opened a Bookshop

As of this weekend, my wonderful client Keira's bookshop, Reading Roots, is officially OPEN! 📚📚📚

📖  2 months ago, this was still just an idea.

📖  7 weeks ago, she put in an offer to lease a building.

📖  3 weeks ago, she didn't even have the books to sell.

📖  1 week ago,  she still didn't have a key to the shop.

On Friday, she opened her bookshop at 29 Market Place, Wetherby, United Kingdom, AND she hit her opening day sales goal.

9 weeks, you guys. 9 weeks was all it took to go from dream to reality.

During a global pandemic.

UNREAL.

My mind is officially boggled.

And she faced a million challenges.

They wouldn't give her the keys, the RAM in the till got stolen, the letting process was a nightmare, there was another nation-wide lockdown that set her back several weeks, and she lost a loved one ❤️

Any of these things alone would have been a good enough reason to give up.

But she didn't. Every single week in our sessions, she showed up ready for creative problem-solving.

She made it happen, despite the tremendous obstacles.

Keira, I honour you for your incredible persistence and strength.

Impossible things can happen, if you decide to go all in.

Keira's success can be evidence that you will be successful too.

You can open a book shop in a pandemic, or ski across Antarctica, or launch a tech giant.

Just like Keira – all you have to do is decide.

Congratulations, Keira. You did it! 🎉🎉🎉

Learning to Expand My Power

My impossible goal philosophy has always been about "doing whatever it takes."

But only in the last 6 months, has it really clicked in my brain what that actually means.

Sometimes doing everything in my power isn't enough to hit the goal. Sometimes, I have to find a way to build extra power.

And that is the key I was missing before.

I use to just stop at my natural ability to get things done, instead of asking how I can become better.

I used to think "Well, I've done everything in my power" – and feel like I was forced to give up.

Like it wasn't in my control.

But what if I change what "everything in my power" is?

Then suddenly it's not about how hard the task is, but how strong I am willing to get.

The goal doesn't need to be easier. I need to get stronger.

That's why I believe in impossible goals.

That's why I know I'll hit my goals this month, and next month, and next year.

Not because it's hard or easy.

But because I'm deciding to get stronger.

The Best Part about December

It's December and I know that means Christmas gets all the hype.

But to me, the best part of December is always New Year's Eve.

And to be honest, even though I love a good boogie at a giant party, my dream New Years Eve is actually:

• a vision board party where we all set our goals for the next year

• long, deep conversations where we share our biggest, most impossible desires

• a huge platter of crackers and dips

• a long journaling session and visualisation meditation

• getting to sleep soon after midnight so we can wake up early and go for a run or do our new morning routine or whatever you've planned as the new YOU.

Tell me you feel the magic of NYE too.

I mean, I love to dance and sing and kiss at midnight, but really, I just want to lie awake in bed with a cup of hot chocolate and plan for the person I'm about to become.

Anyone else?

New Zealand's First Peak Performance Coffee

Today, after a ton of testing and product development, my brilliant client Chanelle has officially launched Win Your Day – New Zealand's first peak performance coffee! ☕️

(She invented this coffee blend from scratch, you guys! And it's infused with nootropics and superfoods to give you all the benefits and none of the jitters).

SO stoked for you Chanelle, you've put in soooo much effort for this.

Check out her gorgeous website & buy her coffees here.

Support her on Instagram here.

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?👇

Creating a New System

One of the things I’ve blogged about a lot over the last year is time management. I’ve made a lot of progress, but as things shift in my business and life, I keep needing new solutions.

Currently, I create content every day. What you’re reading on my blog is almost always posted on the day it was written. I’ve always been resistant to batch-create my content in one go, because I feel like it doesn’t represent what is actually going on in my head that day. But now that I’m coaching almost all day, it’s incredibly inefficient for me to write just one blog post each day (and sometimes I end up writing only a few words, as you may know!). So I’m ready to try batching my content – just to see if I like it.

I’ve decided that Friday is my day, and I will spend Friday creating content for the entire week, as well as getting all the images and scheduling it, so I don’t have to do it in between my coaching calls.

I have no idea if this is going to be a life changer or a disaster, but I’m ready to give it a go!

I will keep you posted! Have you tried batch-creating content? Do you prefer it? Let me know in the comments by clicking the title of this post.

You Didn't Come This Far to Only Come This Far

Keep going, you’ve got this. There’s nothing more to say.