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I know I am SO blessed in many ways. My kids are healthy and well, Christmas is almost here, and my business is booming. I have steady work and income right now. I am extra grateful for this because I know of many people who have the opposite problem right now.
This time of year is a fantastic time to delve deep into your business or personal life (or both) and focus on what needs to happen and/or change in the upcoming New Year. I don’t know about you, but 2023 was a doozy. It was packed full of lessons, new worries, and teachable moments.
But I made it. I’m still here. And I’m wiser now thanks to the new and uncomfortable experiences I navigated these last 12 months. I am a Warrior Woman and dang proud of that.
I have gained many stellar takeaways from these last 365 days, and I’m using this wisdom to define my path for 2024. The best way to do this (I’ve found) is to ask myself what I call my Five Dream Discovering Questions. The thoughts and answers to these critical questions are like my North Star.
Everyone has wants, needs, goals, Bucket Lists, and things they desire to achieve in their lifetime. Some are as simple as “I want to learn yoga,” and some are more complex like “I want to retire at 60.” Not only do our goals keep us motivated, but they also give us a reason to crawl out of bed every day. We all love our goals because they are like the go-go juice in our life tank. But goals are just pretty words on paper unless you get clear on what needs to happen to get there. That’s where these questions come in handy.
These same dream-discovering questions are something you can use to ignite your path to “awesomeness” in the coming New Year in business and life.
Question #1: I am an expert in____________?
Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves when we feel like we are floundering the quicksand known as life is to remind ourselves of all the things we are good at. Like “expert” good at. Many people grumble, “I’m not an expert in anything” yet have vast knowledge or experience on several things. I also want to remind my peeps that being an “expert” is not always about knowing everything: it’s about knowing where to find the answers on the things you don’t know. I may not be a 100% expert in social media, but I know more than the average bear and know where to find the answers to the social media questions I am unsure of.
What are you an expert in? Write it ALL down. Go ahead…do it. I’ll wait.
Question #2: What do I want to be known for?
It seems like, even though I have been a business owner and work-from-home-professional for over 12 years now, I still feel like I need to define what I “want to be when I grow up” every New Year. This question always helps me laser in on my strengths and what brings me joy as I define my sources of income for 2024.
If this seems overwhelming, focus only on one or two things you feel confident in exploring and pursuing. Trying to juggle too many hypothetical balls is very much like trying to paint a two-story house with one gallon of paint. That one gallon of paint represents your time and energy so pick which side of the house will give you the most impact and “bang for your buck.”
Once you determine that, the path to what you need to do next to advance your life or business will unfold. I guarantee it.
Question #3: I am happiest when I am____________________.
For me this helped me weed out all the tasks and income stream that felt like drudgery and drained my soul. When I spend time being aware of my moods and state of mind surrounding tasks or projects, I can really see what things I need to “bless and release.” Obviously, there are things like paying bills, filing taxes, going to the dentist, or getting my vehicle repaired are in the “unfun” category. But I also never forget that I’m paying bills because I’m living a good life, I pay taxes because I’m working and making money, I can go to the dentist or doctor because I have health insurance, and repair bills are because I have a great set of wheels that gets me where I need to go.
PERSPECTIVE.
When answer question #3, I encourage everyone to really ask themselves what makes their heart sing…and nurture those aspects of their life to the fullest. Then do more of that :).
Question #4: What is My End Game?
The deeper and more serious sister to Goal Setting is Your End Game. The Goal Setting sister likes to make lengthy wish lists on pretty floral paper with a super-cute pink pen. The End Game sister is the grittier more active sister who’s never able to sit still and traded in her pink pen for a hardhat and work boots years ago. Your End Game is the journey, the process, the movement towards your goals, not just the speculation or yearning for them. Your End Game is the finish line where, after you did your homework, put on the miles, logged the time and took your knocks are rewarded with the victory of reaching your ultimate goal. Your End Game is the reason get out of bed every day, try hard and even make those pretty goal lists to begin with.
End Games are funny things. They don’t come in specially-marked-boxes or are available online with free shipping. End Games are unique to every person and need to be respected and worked just like any good project. Like following a map while on vacation, your End Game needs a plotted route so that every step you take in life is towards your the ultimate result of your dreams. End Games are the laser focus you need to be able to strategically stay on task, avoid getting mislead by the inevitable Shiny Object and find yourself taking Origami classes when your end goal is to become a New York Times Best Selling Author.
Our journey to our End Games can be that way as well because sometimes we can’t see the solution when we are too close to the problem. There will be times when we feel like we are continually taking running leaps to clear a hypothetical roadblock only to fall short, hit the wall and land on our fannies. Instead repeating this ineffective tactic, pause, regroup, re-evaluate and look for the work-around. The path to success is rarely straight but instead is filled with hills and valleys, twists and turns. Understanding this as we carve our path to our End Game will make the trip a much more pleasurable and memorable journey. If you want a deeper dive into getting clear on your End Game, check out my past article on this topic on the Huffington Post here.
Question #5: What do I need to do to move my business or life FORWARD?
As you look back on questions 1-4, I hope that the answers will give a clearer vision of what you want to achieve in 2024. But the last step is the most important one yet: what do you need to do to implement/move forward. Don’t let your dreams and goals languish on paper because you don’t know what to do next. Some tasks seem too big to comprehend until you break them down into achievable steps.
Here’s Some Ideas on Creating Steps or Milestones:
Set your goal(s).
Write down every action you can think of connected to that goal (pick a business name, update resume, buy a etc.).
Organize those actions into categories (money, physical, education etc.).
Set a deadline for each action (I want to take and complete the by____).
Now do something that moves the needle forward every single day. Little things totally count. Even if you feel like you are moving forward towards your dream in millimeters, it’s still forward movement.
You got this!
One More Thing
If your dream in the coming year is to bring a story to light, I can help! As a Non-Fiction Ghostwriter and Book Shepherd I know that many, many people have at least one story inside of them. Maybe it’s a memoir filled with the knowledge that came from a lifelong journey through tough times. Maybe it is a how-to book that reflects something you are passionate about, like homeschooling, rescuing animals, and helping small business owners run their shops better. Maybe you are a survivor and have many lessons to teach and share. The common thread all of these scenarios have is that, no matter what stage of life you are in, it’s never too late (or early) to share your story with the world in the form of a published book.
“Every writing project originates with an idea, and the concept starts with the storyteller.”
But what do you do if you have a story to tell, but don’t have the time, patience, writing chops, or organizational skills to bring your book to life? Or maybe, you struggle to articulate your story because of trauma, shyness, or being unsure of the writing process. To date, I have help four authors pluck their story from their brains and bring their published story to the reading public. If this sounds like something you’d like to know more about, contact me at RebeccaFlansburg (at) Gmail (dot) com to schedule a consultation or go HERE for more details.
